5 The new experiment 
　  
　　A few days later，John asked Mary to look at another experiment．He took her into a long，quiet room at the back of the factory．The room was full of the noises of small animals． 
　　'I've been testing the waste products，'he said．'Here，look at this．'He gave her a sheet of paper．'Some of these rats have had the waste products in their food and drinking water．There's no real problem yet． One or two have become ill，but not many．There's nothing very serious．' 
　　Mary read the results carefully．She didn't like this kind of experiment，but she knew it was necessary． And John was right；no rats had died，and not very many were ill． 
　　'So what do you want to show me？'she asked． 
　　'This，'he said．He opened a box by the window．'These ten rats have had the waste products in their drinking water for two weeks now． I gave them a lot—five parts per million．They're going to have babies today．If the babies are OK， we've got nothing to worry about．' 
　　'Oh，John，'she said．'What an awful thing to do！' 
　　'I know，I know，'he said． But he wasn't listening．'Look，'he said excitedly．'Some of them have been born al-ready！' 
　　He lifted some of the baby rats out of the box and looked at them through a magnifying glass． 
　　'Oh dear，'he said at last， sadly．Perhaps there is a prob-lem．Look！' 
　　Mary looked through the magnifying glass．She began to feel ill．There was a long silence． 
　　'There certainly is a problem！'mary's voice sounded loud and high in the quiet room．She stared at the small animals under the magnifying glass．'Baby rats with no eyes，no ears，six leqs！Oh John！John！What have you done？' 
　　He looked at her strangely．'It's awful，isn't it？But I had to know． And remember， Mary—their mothers have had five parts per million of these chemicals in their drinking water for two weeks．That's a lot—much，much more than we're putting in the river．' 
　　Mary looked away from the rats．She remembered the beau-tiful afternoon that they had spent with John's children，sail-ing on the clear blue water．'John，these waste products are dangerous！'she said．'We've got to stop putting them in the river！' 
　　'Of course，of course．'John put his hand on her arm， to comfort her．But it was the same hand—the hand that had held the rats．'Of course we'll stop it，if we need to，Mary．The company can build machines to clean the waste products．I'll start my report for David Wilson next week．' 
　　'But…'she turned round to face him．His hand fell from her arm．'Don't you think we should stop making the paint now，John？Perhaps it'll take years to build those machines，and we're putting the chemicals into the river right now！' 
　　A shadow crossed his face．His eyes looked at hers，then away， out of the window． 
　　'I… don't think we need to do that now，Mary． We're putting very little into the river at the moment．And the com-pany will build those machines，won't they？' 
　　She remembered her long years of work，the hundreds of unsuccessful experiments．She touched his hand，and smiled．'I hope so，John，'she said．'I really hope so．' 
　　She turned，and went quickly out of the room．  
　 
5新实验 
　  
　　几天以后，约翰让玛丽去观看另一个实验。他将她带进工厂后面一个僻静的长屋子里。屋子里充满小动物的叫声。 
　　“我一直在测试这些废料，”他说，“看这东西。”他递给她一张纸。“这其中一些老鼠已经食用了搀有废料的食物和饮用水。还没有出现真正的问题。有一两只已经病了，但不多。情况不是很严重。” 
　　玛丽仔细地读着实验结果。她不喜欢这种实验，但是她知道这有必要。而且约翰是对的。还没有老鼠死亡，生病的也不多。 
　　“那么你想证明什么？”她问。 
　　“这一点，”他说。他打开靠近窗户的一个箱子。“这10只老鼠喝了搀有废料的水到现在已经有两个星期了。我给了它们许多——一百万分之五。它们今天要下小崽儿了。如果它们的小崽儿没问题，我们就不用担心了。” 
　　“哦，约翰，”她说，“做这样的事真可怕。” 
　　“我知道，我知道，”他说。但他并没有在听。“看呀，”他兴奋地说，“有些已经生下了。” 
　　他从箱子里提出几只鼠崽儿，用放大镜观看它们。 
　　“哦，我的天啊，”他最后懊丧地说，“也许有问题。你瞧！” 
　　玛丽透过放大镜观看。她开始感到不好受。沉默了很长一段。 
　　“绝对有问题。”玛丽的声音在寂静的屋子里显得又响又亮。她盯着放大镜下面的小动物。鼠崽儿没有眼睛，没有耳朵，6条腿！“哎！约翰呀约翰！你都干了些什么？” 
　　他奇怪地望着她。“很糟糕，是吧？但我必须知道。要记住，玛丽——它们的母亲是喝了两个星期的掺有百万分之五的这些化学物质的水。那是很大量的，远远超过我们放入河中的。” 
　　玛丽的视线离开老鼠。她想起了和约翰的孩子们共度的美好下午，航行在清澈碧蓝的河水里。“约翰，这些废料有危险！”她说。“我们必须停止向河中倾倒。” 
　　“当然，当然。”约翰将手放在她的臂上，安慰着她。然而就是这同一只手曾拿过老鼠。“如果需要，我们当然会停止这样做，玛丽。公司会制造出机器去清理废料。下星期我给大卫·威尔逊起草一个报告。” 
　　“但是……”她转过身面对着他。他的手从她的臂上落下来。“约翰，你不认为我们应该现在就停止制造这种油漆吗？也许要花几年时间去制造那些机器，而我们现在正在往河里倾倒化学物品！” 
　　一个阴影从他脸上掠过。他双眼注视着她的双眼，然后移开，向窗外望去。 
　　“我……不认为我们现在就需要这样做，玛丽。目前我们只是放入河里一点点。再说公司会制造出那些机器的，对吗？” 
　　她回忆起多年的工作，上百次失败的实验。她触摸着他的手笑了。她说，“我希望如此。我真的希望如此。” 
　　她转身飞快地走出屋子。 
　　　    


 