The first time the window-rattling(震得窗户作响的) roar of a B-1 bomber woke me up this summer, I thought for one crazed(疯狂的，失去理智的) second we were under attack. By the second time, I’d learned to recognise the sound of US planes taking off from their base at RAF Fairford for what it was: a reminder that although Britain wants no part in this war with Iran, we cannot quite escape the consequences.(到了第二次，我已经学会辨认美国飞机从费尔福德皇家空军基地起飞的声音，也明白了那声音意味着什么：它提醒我们，尽管英国不想卷入这场对伊朗的战争，却无法完全逃脱其后果。)
今年夏天，当B-1轰炸机震得窗户嗡嗡作响的轰鸣声第一次把我吵醒时，有那么疯狂的一瞬间，我以为我们遭到了袭击。到了第二次，我已经学会辨认美国飞机从费尔福德皇家空军基地起飞的声音，也明白了那声音意味着什么：它提醒我们，尽管英国不想卷入这场对伊朗的战争，却无法完全逃脱其后果。
We’ll feel them at the petrol pump(在加油站（油价上）), or in the supermarket this autumn, or in this winter’s heating bills. But living under the flight path adds an extra edge to it(使其更添一层紧张/痛感). The skies finally fell silent last week, but only because the bombers have been hastily summoned home after an alleged terrorist plot to attack Fairford, in which (according to the prime minister) there are “strong indications that Iran played a part”.(上周，天空终于安静下来，但这只是因为轰炸机在据称针对费尔福德的恐怖袭击图谋后匆忙被召回国内——据首相称，有「强烈迹象表明伊朗参与其中」。) If Fairford is now a target of war, did that threat disappear when the Americans did? Nobody knows.
今年秋天，我们会在加油站、超市感受到这些后果，冬天还会体现在取暖账单上。但住在飞机航线下，让这种感受又多了一层切肤之痛。上周，天空终于安静下来，但这只是因为轰炸机在据称针对费尔福德的恐怖袭击图谋后匆忙被召回国内——据首相称，有「强烈迹象表明伊朗参与其中」。如果费尔福德如今成了战争目标，那么美国人一走，威胁就消失了吗？没人知道。
Rural Oxfordshire is peppered with(遍布，星罗棋布) military bases, and after 15 years here I don’t bat an eyelid(毫不在意，眼皮都不眨一下) at helicopters practising low-flying drills, uniforms on the school run, or the stash(一批藏货，储备) of Day-Glo(荧光色的) marshmallow cereal our local supermarket used to keep for homesick Americans. But the Fairford incident follows a serious security breach(漏洞，违反) at RAF Brize Norton last year – and though this involved pro-Palestinian protesters rather than the Russians, it didn’t inspire confidence – and news this summer that the Manchester synagogue attacker had scoped out(侦察，踩点) the security arrangements for the nearby Shrivenham defence academy. Bases nationwide are on high alert, with two Latvians arrested on Thursday on suspicion of trespass(非法闯入) inside RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, home to a Nato intelligence hub. At Fairford, it was a farmer who sounded the alarm, raising some difficult questions about how vigilant(警惕的) to be in small rural communities where strangers tend to stand out. I don’t want to become paranoid(多疑的，偏执的) about every passing dog walker, or leap to ridiculous conclusions(妄下荒谬结论) on hearing a Russian accent. But not since living in London in the aftermath of 9/11 have I felt more alert to anything seemingly out of the ordinary.(但自从9·11之后住在伦敦以来，我从未对任何看似反常的事物如此警觉过。)
牛津郡的乡村地区军事基地星罗棋布。在这里住了15年，我对直升机低空飞行演练、接送孩子上学时看到的军装，以及本地超市过去为思乡的美国人备下的荧光色棉花糖麦片，早已见怪不怪。但费尔福德事件之前，去年布里兹·诺顿皇家空军基地就发生过一起严重的安全漏洞——虽然涉及的是亲巴勒斯坦抗议者而非俄罗斯人，却同样令人难以安心——今年夏天又有消息称，曼彻斯特犹太教堂袭击者曾侦察过附近希里文纳姆国防学院的安保部署。全国各地的基地都处于高度戒备状态，周四有两名拉脱维亚人因涉嫌非法闯入剑桥郡的莫尔斯沃思皇家空军基地被捕，那里是北约情报中心所在地。在费尔福德，报警的是一位农民，这引出了几个棘手问题：在陌生人容易引人注目的小型乡村社区，究竟该保持多高的警惕？我不想对每个路过的遛狗人都疑神疑鬼，也不想一听到俄罗斯口音就妄下荒谬结论。但自从9·11之后住在伦敦以来，我从未对任何看似反常的事物如此警觉过。