Ana entered town hall in a raincoat（雨衣）/ˈreɪnˌkoʊt/ to observe the ballot count（旁听并观察计票）/əbˈzərv ðə ˈbælət kaʊnt/. The poll（投票、民意测验）/pәul/ would choose a mayor（市长）/'mєә/ and decide whether to regulate（管理、控制）/'regjuleit/ riverside（河边、河畔）/'rivәsaid/ building. Chen, the election teller（叙述者、讲故事者）/'telә/, found numerous（很多的、数目众多的）/'nju:mәrәs/ papers with a clumsy（笨拙的、不雅观的）/'klʌmzi/ mark halfway（中途的、不彻底的）/'hɑ:f'wei/ between two boxes. The result was not clear-cut（并不明确）/nɑt ˈklɪrˌkət/. Under the local accord（一致、调和）/ә'kɒ:d/, such votes required a dual（双重的、双的）/'dju:әl/ review and consent（同意、许可）/kәn'sent/ from both counting teams. “The public is waiting. Proclaim（宣布、公告）/prә'kleim/ the result now, and examine those few ballots（投票、投票用纸）/'bælәt/ later.”

“I must halt the count（暂停计票）/hɔlt ðə kaʊnt/. No deputy（副手、代理人）/'depjuti/, senator（参议员、(某些大学的)理事）/'senәtә/, or mayor may interfere with this procedure（干预这一程序）/ˌɪnərˈfɪr wɪθ ðɪs prəˈsiʤər/.” Mr. Bell chose to allege（宣称、主张）/ә'ledʒ/ that delay would provoke（激怒、惹起）/prә'vәuk/ suspicion and overwhelm（淹没、受打击）/.әuvә'hwelm/ volunteers. He was an earnest（定金、诚挚）/'ә:nist/ but impatient member of the municipal congress（国会；代表大会）/ˈkɑŋgrəs/. Chen replied that speed could not constitute（构成、组成）/kәn'stitjut/ democracy（民主政治、民主主义）/di'mɒkrәsi/ by itself. Amid（在其间、在其中）/ә'mid/ growing noise, Chen kept（语境补充词）/kɛpt/ an inward（内心的、向内的）/'inwәd/ focus on the rules. A transparent（透明的、显然的）/træns'pærәnt/ process mattered farther（更远的、进一步的）/'fɑ:ðә/ beyond this room, because one careless decision could trigger（触发器、扳机）/'trigә/ a dispute across the federation（联邦、联合）/fedә'reiʃәn/.

“Could each team quantify the doubtful marks（统计存疑标记）/kˈwɑntɪˌfaɪ ðə ˈdaʊtfəl mɑrks/ and record why a ballot is accepted or rejected?” Chen agreed. Observers（观察者、遵守者）/әb'zә:vә/ from a liberal（自由主义者）/'libәrәl/ alliance（联盟、联合）/ә'laiәns/ and its conservative ally（同盟者、同盟国）/'ælai. ә'lai/ stood（语境补充词）/stʊd/ at parallel tables. They were told（语境补充词）/toʊld/ not to manipulate（操纵、利用）/mә'nipjuleit/ papers, distract（转移、分心）/dis'trækt/ tellers, or incline（使倾向于、使倾斜）/in'klain/ the tray toward oneself（自己；亲自）/ˌwənˈsɛlf/. A scout（守候、侦察）/skaut/ carried copies between the rooms. The work began to lag（落后、蹒跚）/læg/, but no one took a vain（无价值的、徒然的）/vein/ leap（跳跃、剧增）/li:p/ toward a quick answer.

Outside, reporters compared the council to parliament（议会；国会）/ˈpɑrləmɛnt/ and the senate（参议院；评议会）/ˈsɛnɪt/, although its power was much smaller. One radical（激进分子、词根）/'rædikl/ speaker wanted to abolish（废止、革除）/ә'bɒliʃ/ the review; another would propose（提议）/prә'pәuz/ that the council legislate（制定法律）/'ledʒisleit/ a new standard immediately. A retired diplomat（外交官、有外交手腕的人）/'diplәmæt/ and statesman（政治家）/'steitsmәn/ advised calm. A mistress（主妇、女主人）/'mistris/ from a local play and an actor in comic underwear（内衣）/'ʌndәwєә/ passed through on their way to rehearsal（预演、排演）/ri'hә:sl/, briefly distracting the crowd. “I withdraw my demand. Procedure must come before my temper（(钢等的)硬度、脾气）/'tempә/ or political stride（大步、步幅）/straid/.”

The recount（重新计算）/ri'kaunt/ produced a small but inevitable（不可避免的、必然的）/in'evitәbl/ surge（巨涌、汹涌）/sә:dʒ/ for one proposal. Chen could not veto（否决权）/'vi:tәu/ the result; his role was to apply the convention（大会、协定）/kәn'venʃәn/, not control it. Ana's summary explained the uncertain marks, the review method, and the final total without taking sides（选边站；偏袒一方）/ˈteɪkɪŋ saɪdz/. She also noted how patient observers protected the count without directing it. The meeting showed that public confidence does not arise from a dramatic victory. It grows when officials resist pressure（抵抗压力）/rɪˈzɪst ˈprɛʃər/ and make every step open to inspection（可供检查）/ˈoʊpən tɪ ˌɪnˈspɛkʃən/.