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Lesson 43 Fully insured 全保险 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. | 
