Lesson 43 Fully insured 全保險

      Insurance companies are normally willing to insure anything.Insuring public or private property is a standard practice in most countries inthe world. If, however, you were holding an open air garden party or a fete itwould be equally possible to insure yourself in the event of bad weather.Needless to say, the bigger the risk an insurance company takes, the higher thepremium you will have to pay. It is not uncommon to hear that a shippingcompany has made a claim for the cost of salvaging a sunken ship. But the claimmade by a local authority to recover the cost of salvaging a sunken pie dishmust surely be unique.

Admittedly it was an unusual pie dish, for it was eighteen feet longand six feet wide. It had been purchased by a local authority so that anenormous pie could be baked for an annual fair. The pie committee decided thatthe best way to transport the dish would be by canal, so they insured it forthe trip. Shortly after it was launched, the pie committee went to a local innto celebrate. At the same time, a number of teenagers climbed on to the dishand held a little party of their own. Dancing proved to be more than the dishcould bear, for during the party it capsized and sank in seven feet of water.

     The pie committee telephoned a local garage owner who arrived in arecovery truck to salvage the pie dish. Shivering in their wet clothes, theteenagers looked on while three men dived repeatedly into the water to locatethe dish. They had little difficulty in finding it, but hauling it out of thewater proved to be a serious problem. The sides of the dish were so smooth thatit was almost impossible to attach hawsers and chains to the rim withoutdamaging it. Eventually chains were fixed to one end of the dish and a powerfulwinch was put into operation. The dish rose to the surface and was gently drawntowards the canal bank. For one agonizing moment, the dish was perchedprecariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid backinto the water. The men were now obliged to try once more. This time they fixedheavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten thechains. The dish now had to be lifted vertically because one edge was restingagainst the side of the canal. The winch was again put into operation and oneof the men started up the truck. Several minutes later, the dish wassuccessfully hauled above the surface of the water. Water streamed in torrentsover its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal. Therewas a danger that the wave would rebound off the other side of the bank andsend the dish plunging into the water again. By working at tremendous speed,the men managed to get the dish on to dry land before the wave returned.

　　保險公司一般說來愿意承保一切東西。承辦公共財產或私人財產保險是世界上大部分國家的正常業務。如果你要舉辦一次露天游園會或盛宴，為避免碰上不好的天氣而遭受損失也同樣可以保險。不用說，保險公司承擔風險越大，你付的保險費也就越高。航運公司為打撈沉船而提出索賠，這是常有的事，但某地當局為打撈一只焙制餡餅的盤子提出索賠，倒是件新鮮事兒。

　　這個餡餅盤子確實少見，有18英尺長，6英尺寬。某地方當局買下它用來焙制一個巨大的餡餅為一年一度交易會助興。餡餅委員會確認運輸這只盤子的最佳方案是通過運河水運。于是，他們對這只盤子的運輸安全投了保。盤子下水后不久，餡餅委員會成員們來到當地一家小酒店慶賀。就在這個時候，許多十幾歲的孩子爬上盤子舉行他們自己的集會。他們跳起了舞，盤子難以承受。舞會進行過程中，盤子傾覆，沉入了7英尺深的水中。

　　餡餅委員會給當地汽車修理庫老板打電話，他聞訊后開著一輛急修車前來打撈盤子。那些孩子們穿著濕衣服哆嗦，看著3個工人輪番潛入水中以確定盤子的位置。他們沒費多大事兒就找到了盤子，可是把盤子撈出卻是一個很大的難題。盤子四邊十分光滑，要在盤邊拴上繩索或鏈條而同時又不損壞它是很難辦到的。不過，他們終于將鏈條固定在盤子的一端，一臺大功率的絞車開動起來。盤子慢慢浮出水面，被輕輕地拽向運河岸邊。在令人忐忑不安的瞬間，盤子晃晃悠悠地上了岸，但它突然失去了平衡，又跌回水中。工人們只得再來一次。這次，他們用沉重的金屬夾子把盤子夾住，以便往盤子上安裝鐵鏈。這次，盤子必須垂直吊出水面，因為盤子的一邊緊靠著運河河岸。絞盤機再次啟動，一位工人發動了急修車的引擎。幾分鐘后，盤子被成功地拽出了水面。波浪從盤子兩側急涌而出，在運河里掀起一股大浪。但是當波浪從河對岸折回來時，就有再次把盤子拖進水里的危險。工人們動作迅速，終于趕在那股大浪返回之前把盤子拽到了岸上。

 

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