Elena had lived in her apartment for three years without any trouble. Then, one night in early spring, she woke up to a low humming sound. It seemed to come from somewhere behind the kitchen wall. She lay still and listened for almost ten minutes, but the noise never stopped.
埃琳娜在自己的公寓里住了三年，从来没出过什么问题。然后，初春的一个夜里，她被一阵低沉的嗡嗡声吵醒了。声音好像来自厨房墙壁后面的某个地方。她一动不动地躺着听了将近十分钟，那声音始终没有停。
The next morning, she mentioned it to her neighbor Marcus, who lived in the apartment below hers. "I haven't heard anything unusual," he said, "but I sleep with earplugs, so that doesn't mean much."
第二天早上，她向住在她楼下的邻居马库斯提起了这件事。“我没听到什么异常的声音，”他说，“不过我睡觉戴耳塞，所以这也说明不了什么。”
For the next few nights, the humming kept returning, always around midnight. Elena started to wonder if it might be something wrong with the building's wiring. She called the building manager, who promised to send someone to check the electrical panel.
接下来的几个晚上，嗡嗡声一直回来，总是在午夜前后。埃琳娜开始怀疑，会不会是大楼的线路出了问题。她给物业经理打了电话，对方答应派人来检查配电箱。
An electrician came the following week and tested every wire in her apartment. He found nothing unusual and left, telling her the sound probably wasn't dangerous. Still, Elena couldn't relax, since the humming continued every single night.
下一周，一位电工来了，检查了她公寓里的每一根电线。他没有发现任何异常就离开了，还告诉她这个声音大概没有危险。可是埃琳娜还是无法放松，因为嗡嗡声每天晚上都在继续。
One evening, she decided to investigate herself. She stood in the kitchen with her ear close to the wall. Slowly, she moved along it until the sound grew louder. It was strongest near the shared wall with the apartment next door. That apartment had been empty for months.
一天傍晚，她决定自己查个究竟。她站在厨房里，耳朵贴近墙壁。她慢慢地沿着墙移动，直到声音变大。声音在与隔壁公寓共用的那面墙附近最响。那间公寓已经空了好几个月。
Curious, she knocked on Marcus's door again. She asked if he knew who had just moved in next to her. "Actually, yes," he said. "A woman moved in last week. She runs a small pottery business from home."
她好奇地又去敲了马库斯的门。她问他知不知道谁刚刚搬进了她隔壁。“其实，我知道，”他说，“上个星期搬来了一位女士。她在家里经营一个小小的陶艺生意。”
That explained everything. The humming was the sound of her pottery wheel. She used it late at night, after her day job ended. Once Elena introduced herself, the woman apologized and agreed to stop working after ten o'clock. The mystery, it turned out, had a surprisingly creative explanation.
这下什么都说得通了。嗡嗡声就是她的陶轮发出的声音。她在白天的工作结束后，深夜才用它。埃琳娜自我介绍之后，那位女士道了歉，并答应晚上十点以后就不再做陶艺了。事实证明，这个谜团的答案出人意料地富有创意。
