Chapter 96

"Hello, Mr. Patel. My name is Tomohiro Okamoto. I amfrom the Maritime¹ Department in the Japanese Ministry² ofTransport. This is my assistant, Atsuro Chiba. We have cometo see you about the sinking of the ship Tsimtsum , of whichyou were a passenger. Would it be possible to talk to younow?""Yes, of course.""Thank you. It is very kind of you. [translation] Now,Atsuro-kun, you're new at this, so payattention and see to learn." "Yes, Okamoto-san." "Is the taperecorder on?" "Yes it is." "Good. Oh I'm so tired! For therecord, today is February 19th, 1978. Case file number250663, concerning the disappearance³ of the cargo⁴ shipTsimtsum.
[/translation] Are youcomfortable, Mr. Patel?" "Yes, I am. Thank you. And you?""We are very comfortable." "You've come all the way fromTokyo?" "We were in Long Beach, California. We drove down.""Did you have a good trip?" "We had a wonderful trip. It wasa beautiful drive." "I had a terrible trip." "Yes, we spoke⁵ to thepolice before coming here and we saw the lifeboat." "I'm a littlehungry." "Would you like a cookie?" "Oh, yes!" "Here you go.""Thank you!""You're welcome. It's only a cookie. Now, Mr. Patel, we werewondering if you could tell us what happened to you, with asmuch detail as possible.""Yes. I'd be happy to."

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

4 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。