Gustav Briegleb: Have you read the Times this morning?
Mrs. Collins: No.
Gustav Briegleb: Well, maybe you should give it a gander and then come over here to the parish for breakfast, in, say, an hour. I think we should meet.
Mrs. Collins: Hello? Mysterious case of...Acting on the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, Dr. Earl W. Tarr, child specialist, examined Walter Collins to determine the cause of his loss of weight, paleness, confusion, and rundown condition noticed since the return of the boy to his mother last Monday."
Gustav Briegleb: Lovely bit of phrasing, isn't it? Noticed since the return of the boy to his mother. Now, not only does that clearly state you're the boy's mother, but one could infer from it that you're somehow responsible for these changes. And that the police department is concerned for the boy's welfare while he's in your charge. You should try the eggs. They're very nice.
Mrs. Collins: "'I examined the boy quite thoroughly,' Dr. Tarr said,'And it's clear that he has something to tell. 'I'm sure that in time..."'
Dr. Tarr: ...time he will give his boyish story of the entire affair, but not until he has faith in his listener. And that is what is lacking here, faith in the poor lad's story. Course of my examination, I found nothing to dispute the findings of the LAPD.
Mrs. Collins: Why would they do this?
Gustav Briegleb: To avoid admitting they made a mistake when they brought back the wrong boy. Of course, anyone reading the newspaper with half a brain would see through it instantly. Sadly, that would exclude about half the readership of the Times. Mrs. Collins, I have made it my mission in life to bring to light all the things the LAPD wish none of us ever knew about. A department ruled by violence, abuse, murder, corruption and intimidation. When Chief Davis took over the force two years ago, he said...
Chief Davis: We will hold court against gunmen in the streets of Los Angeles.I want them brought in dead, not alive, and I will reprimand any officer who shows the least mercy to a criminal.
Gustav Briegleb: He picked 50 of the most violent cops on the force, gave them machine guns and permission to shoot anyone who got in their way. He called them the Gun Squad. No lawyers, no trials, no questions, no suspensions, no investigations. Just piles of bodies. Bodies in the morgues, bodies in the hospitals, bodies by the side of the road. And not because the LAPD wanted to wipe out crime. No. The LAPD wanted to wipe out the competition. Mayor Cryer and half the force are on the take. Gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, you name it. Because once you give people the freedom to do whatever they want, as the Lord found in the Garden of Eden, they will do exactly that. This police department does not tolerate dissent, or contradiction, or even embarrassment. And you are in a position to embarrass them and they do not like it. They will do anything in their power to discredit you. I've seen that happen too many times to start going blind now. That's why I wanted to meet you, to let you know what you're getting yourself into and to help you fight it, if you choose to.
Mrs. Collins: Reverend, I appreciate everything that you're doing and everything that you said, but I'm not on a mission. I just want my son home.
Gustav Briegleb: Mrs. Collins, a lot of mothers' sons have been sacrificed to expediency around here. Your son, unfortunately, would not be the first. But if you do it right, he may very well be the last.
妙語(yǔ)佳句，活學(xué)活用
1. give it a gander/take a gander: 看一看，看一眼。Gander在美國(guó)俚語(yǔ)中表示“一看，一瞥”，see how the gander hops則是指“觀望，看風(fēng)使舵”。
3. phrasing：措辭。報(bào)紙上的一番phrasing為警方開(kāi)脫了責(zé)任，但也有可能Most newsmen missed the significance of the phrasing.（對(duì)這一措詞的意義，大多數(shù)新聞?dòng)浾叨紱](méi)有聽(tīng)出來(lái)）。
4. boyish：孩子氣的，幼稚的。Jenny不僅有a boyish grin（孩子氣的咧嘴笑）還會(huì)boyish pranks（孩子氣的胡鬧），她真是個(gè)a girl who behaves in a boyish manner.（行為有些孩子氣的女孩）。
5. have faith in: 相信，信任。Have you any faith in his words?（你相信他說(shuō)的話嗎？）我可不相信，因?yàn)镮 have lost faith in him.（我對(duì)他已失去信心）。
6. with half a brain：Gustav Briegleb的意思是，只要“稍微用點(diǎn)腦筋”讀報(bào)紙，就能see through it（看穿其中的實(shí)質(zhì)）。
7. bring to light：發(fā)現(xiàn)，揭發(fā)。He threatened to bring the matter to light.（他威脅要把真相公布于眾），但即使他不揭發(fā)，Time bring everything(all thing) to light.（只要日子長(zhǎng)，秘密會(huì)曝光。）
8. machine gun：機(jī)關(guān)槍。在a burst/hail of machine-gun fire（一陣猛烈的機(jī)關(guān)槍掃射）之后，先遣部隊(duì)又引爆了gunpower（火藥），并持automatic rifle（自動(dòng)步槍）沖鋒上陣。
9. get in one's way: 擋路，妨礙。例如：Nobody can get in my way here.（沒(méi)有人能在這里妨礙我），而get out of one's way則是指“不要擋路”。
10.on the take：接受賄賂，或敲詐，伺機(jī)損人利己。此外，load the dice against也可以表示“使用不正當(dāng)手段，占人便宜，例如：Mr Smith used his great wealth to load the dice in his favour.（史密斯先生利用他的龐大財(cái)富使事情對(duì)自己有利）。
11.be in a position to：能夠，有做……的機(jī)會(huì)。Will I be in a position to express my opinion on this?（我能對(duì)此發(fā)表意見(jiàn)嗎？）
