Somewhat inevitably, children are at some point going to be left to their own devices during the long summer holiday. And coincidentally, that’s exactly the time they come up with the most outlandish ways of keeping themselves entertained, including stealing their parents’ car.
At noon this Monday, 18 July, police in Huzhou City of Zhejiang Province received a call from a Mr. Zhang, saying that his children and SUV were missing.
7月18日星期一中午，浙江省湖州市警方接到张先生的电话，称孩子和SUV失踪了。
With this knowledge, the police initiated a search for the vehicle’s license number on the nation’s traffic camera network. And they quickly came up trumps, finding the car traveling at 120 kilometres per hour on an expressway. But surprising them the most was the fact the driver was none other than Zhang’s 12-year-old son. Also in the vehicle was the lad’s younger sister.
了解到这一情况后，警方开始在国家交通摄像头网络上搜索该车辆的牌照号码。他们很快就拿出了王牌，发现这辆车在高速公路上以 120 公里的时速行驶。但最让他们惊讶的是，司机正是张某12岁的儿子。车里还有小伙子的妹妹。
It later emerged that the children had been left at home alone while their parents were out at work. Bored with nothing to do during the holiday, the boy hit upon the idea of going for a drive and soon found the car key in his mother’s bag.
后来发现，当父母外出工作时，孩子们被单独留在家里。假期里无所事事，男孩觉得无聊，就萌生了开车出去兜风的念头，很快就在妈妈的包里找到了车钥匙。
Something of a driving enthusiast, the boy had previously played a number of driving simulation games and also liked to watch his father while he drove. This had given him the confidence and much of the theoretical knowledge to tackle the real thing.
男孩是个驾驶爱好者，之前玩过很多驾驶模拟游戏，也喜欢看父亲开车。这给了他解决实际问题的信心和大量理论知识。
Intending to just take the car for a little spin, the lad took a wrong turn and ended up on the G25 expressway, heading in the direction of Nanjing.
小伙子本来打算开着车兜一圈，结果拐错了弯，上了G25高速公路，往南京方向开去。
It was then very soon that the boy’s antics became an inter-province affair. Crossing the border from Zhejiang into our very own Jiangsu Province, the lad continued on until his nerve gave out. The hugely-underage driver exited the expressway at Yixing, having covered a total of more than 100 kilometres.
很快，这个男孩的滑稽行为就成了跨省事件。从浙江越过边境，进入我们自己的江苏省，这个小伙子继续前行，直到他的勇气耗尽。这名未成年司机在宜兴高速公路上驶出，总共行驶了100多公里。
In cooperation with Jiangsu Police and the boy’s father, police from the family’s home station in Nanxun District of Huzhou City located the car in a car park beside a school near the expressway exit.
在江苏警方和男孩父亲的配合下，湖州市南浔区男孩家派出所的警察在高速公路出口附近一所学校旁边的停车场找到了这辆车。
Both children were alive and well inside, reports The Paper. An officer spoke with the media outlet, saying, “Cameras revealed that the car was travelling close to the speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour. While it was a little unstable, no danger was present”.
据澎湃新闻报道，两个孩子都还活着，而且体内状况良好。一名警官对媒体表示，“摄像头显示，这辆车的行驶速度接近每小时120公里的限制速度。虽然有点不稳定，但不存在危险”。
Brother and sister were then sent safely home, whereupon both children and parents found themselves in for a severe bout of criticism and education, courtesy of Huzhou’s finest.
随后，兄妹俩被安全送回家，孩子和家长都遭到了湖州最优秀人士的严厉批评和教育。
