A Chance in a million 百万分之一的几率
　　We are less credulous than we used to be. In thenineteenth century, a novelist would bring his storyto a conclusion by presenting his readers with aseries of coincidences—most of them wildlyimprobable. Readers happily accepted the fact thatan obscure maidservant was really the hero'smother. A long-lost brother, who was presumeddead, was really alive all the time and wickedlyplotting to bring about the hero's downfall. And soon. Modern readers would find such naive solutions totally unacceptable. Yet, in real life,circumstances do sometimes conspire to bring about coincidences which anyone but anineteenth century novelist would find incredible.

　　When I was a boy, my grandfather told me how a German taxi driver, Franz Bussman, found abrother who was thought to have been killed twenty years before. While on a walking tour withhis wife, he stopped to talk to a workman. After they had gone on, Mrs Bussman commentedon the workman's close resemblance to her husband and even suggested that he might be hisbrother. Franz poured scorn on the idea, pointing out that his brother had been killed in actionduring the war. Though Mrs Bussman was fully acquainted with this story, she thought thatthere was a chance in a million that she might be right. A few days later, she sent a boy to theworkman to ask him if his name was Hans Bussman, Needless to say, the man's name wasHans Bussman and he really was Franz's long-lost brother. When the brothers were reunited,Hans explained how it was that he was still alive. After having been wounded towards theend of the war, he had been sent to hospital and was separated from his unit. Thehospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into Western Germany onfoot. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed. Hansreturned to his family home, but the house had been bombed and no one in the neighbourhoodknew what had become of the inhabitants. Assuming that his family had been killed during an airraid, Hans settled down in a village fifty miles away where he had remained ever since.

　　16. After having been wounded towards the end of the war, he had been sent tohospital and was separated from his unit.

　　战争即将结束时，他负伤被送进医院，并与部队失去联系。

　　语言点:be separated from的意思是“被与…分开”。

　　17. The hospital had been bombed and Hans had made his way back into WesternGermany on foot.

　　医院遭到轰炸，汉斯步行回到了西德。

　　语言点:make one's way back into的意思是“设法返回…”(即回到以前生活的地方)。

　　18. Meanwhile, his unit was lost and all records of him had been destroyed.

　　与此同时，他所在部队被击溃，他的所有档案材料全部毁于战火。

　　语言点1:句子结构分析:was lost本意为“不见了，找不到了”，在此引申为“被击溃”。

　　语言点2:had been destroyed强调战争的严酷性，造成的毁坏几乎无法修复。