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"Quite a magician, ain't you?" the reporter said, and taking off his hat, he swung it vigorously above the cube. The hat met nothing more resistant than air, and therewith the reporter became the first of a series of professional gentlemen who came to scoff and stayed towonder.
“好一个魔术师，不是吗?“记者说。他脱下帽子，使劲地在立方体上方挥摆。除空气外，帽子什么也没有碰着。于是打这位记者始，随之而来的一连串专业人士都是来时怀着讪笑的心情，但稍后便惊讶不已。
The news spread rapidly and the mayor was among the earliest of the dignitaries to arrive.He was followed by a committee of inquiry from the university, consisting of its president, the head of the physics department, the head of the chemistry department, an associate professor who was an expert metallurgist, the professor of astronomy, and their respective assistants bearing scientific instruments of all kinds.
新闻迅速传开，市长成了最早到达的达官贵人，紧接着是一个来自大学的调查委员会，包括大学校长、物理系系主任、化学系系主任、一位身为冶金学专家的副教授、一位天文学教授以及他们各自的助手，随身携带着各种各样的科学仪器。
"Here, gentlemen," the mayor greeted them, "is an incredible situation. This block of metal arrived in the Thompsons' yard, no one knows precisely when nor from where. There it remains, suspended in mid-air. Where did it come from? Why doesn't it fall? Will there be more like it? When will it go?"
“先生们，”市长向他们招呼道:“这是一个令人难以置信的情况。这块金属落在汤普森的院子里，没有人确切知道它什么时候以及从什么地方来的。它还在那儿，悬在半空中。它是从哪儿来的呢？为什么不往下掉呢？还会有更多的像它这样的物体出现吗？它什么时候会离开呢?”
"One question at a time, if you please, Mr.Mayor," the president of the university said. "Let us first have the facts so far known, and then proceed with an orderly inquiry. Mr.Thompson, would you mind telling us whatever you know about this cube?"
“市长先生，请一次问一个问题，”大学校长说道。“先让我们了解一下已知的情况，然后再进行有序的调查。汤普森先生，请你跟我们讲一讲你所知道的有关这个立方体的一切情况好吗?”
John Thomas's father obliged with a recital of the events of the morning, suppressing, however, the episode of hitting the cube with the spade. He did not want these people to know that he could lose his temper at an inanimate object.
约翰·托马斯的父亲复述了一遍早晨发生的事情，但他隐瞒了用铁锹猛击那个立方体的一段情节。他不想让这些人知道他竟会对一个没有生命的物体发脾气。
