两次记录
第二天早上七点，我和同事来到旧车站，邻居们笑着打招呼，我按照计划开始记录等车的人。
At seven the next morning, my colleague and I arrived at the old bus stop, where neighbors greeted us with smiles, and I began recording people waiting as planned.
一个小时里，车站一直很忙，有上班的人，也有准备去医院的老人。
For an hour, the stop stayed busy, with people going to work and older people heading to hospital.
我每隔十五分钟记录一次人数，同事帮忙核对时间，我还写明天气和观察的位置。
I recorded the numbers every fifteen minutes, with my colleague helping check the times, and also noted the weather and where I stood.
晚上六点我又去了同一个地方，这次等车的人少得多，旁边的商店却很热闹。
At six in the evening, I returned to the same place; far fewer people were waiting, but the nearby shops were lively.
如果只拿晚上的记录写报道，读者可能以为这个车站几乎没有人使用。
If I used only the evening observations, readers might think hardly anyone used the stop.
如果只写早上的情况，又容易让人误会这里整天都有同样多的人。
If I described only the morning, it would be easy to suggest that it was equally busy all day.
两次记录都是有用的证据，可是其中任何一次都不能代表所有时间。
Both observations were useful evidence, but neither could represent every time of day.
我把两次的结果放在一起比较，在旁边写上，这只是一个工作日的观察。
I compared the two sets of results and wrote beside them that these were observations from just one working day.
经过车站的一位居民建议，星期六也应该来看看，因为周末的乘客可能不一样。
A passing resident suggested returning on Saturday because weekend passengers might be different.
我感谢他的建议，约好星期六再来，星期五的报道则会清楚说明这次只观察了工作日。
I thanked him and arranged to return on Saturday, while making clear in Friday's report that this visit covered only a working day.
回到报社，同事帮我检查记录，我在稿子里明确写出观察范围，也列出接下来要了解的问题。
Back at the newspaper, my colleague helped check my notes, and I clearly stated the observations' scope in the draft and listed questions to explore next.
下午，负责项目的人打来电话，说他找到一份更早的调查，可以让我参考。
That afternoon, the project manager called to say he had found an earlier survey that I could consult.
那份调查统计的是经过河边的人，并没有区分等车、购物和散步的人。
That survey counted people passing the river without separating those waiting for buses, shopping, or walking.
所以它和我的记录并不一定互相矛盾，只是回答了不同的问题。
So it did not necessarily contradict my records; it was simply answering a different question.
我在报道中保留了两种资料的区别，没有把不同的数字硬放在一起计算。
In the report, I preserved the distinction between the two kinds of material rather than forcing the different figures into one calculation.
接着，我们谈到预算，原方案把大部分钱安排在新道路和长椅上。
We then discussed the budget: the original proposal devoted most of the money to the new path and benches.
如果要保留车站附近的通道，还要改善商店门口的排水，就需要重新安排一部分费用。
Keeping access near the bus stop and improving drainage outside the shops would require reallocating some costs.
他感谢居民提供的建议，答应把不同选择的费用写清楚，让大家一起讨论可行的安排。
He thanked the residents for their suggestions and promised to set out the costs of different choices clearly so that everyone could discuss workable arrangements together.
我给那位照顾母亲的居民打了电话，告诉她保留通道已经进入方案讨论，最后的选择会请大家一起参与。
I called the resident who cared for her mother and told her that preserving access was now being considered in the proposals, and residents would be invited to help discuss the final choice.
她高兴地说，邻居们愿意陪她参加讨论，能一起为每天走的路出主意，让她觉得很温暖。
She happily said that her neighbors would join her at the discussion, and that helping shape their everyday route together made her feel warmly supported.
星期四，报社收到通知，项目组准备公开比较两种修改后的方案。
On Thursday, the newspaper received notice that the project team would publicly compare two revised proposals.
看到新图纸里已经有了保留通道和改善排水的选择，我和邻居们都很高兴，约好带着记录一起去讨论。
Seeing that the revised drawings included an option to preserve access and improve drainage, the neighbors and I were delighted and agreed to take our records to the discussion together.
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