For 21 years Kevin Freedman had been living with an open secret - he was a car thief, albeit an accidental one.

21年来，Kevin Freedman一直生活在公开的秘密里，他是一个偷车贼，虽然是偶然的。

albeit：虽然

More than two decades ago in 1998 the Canadian man was out running an errand.At the time the then 17-year-old was borrowing his friend's car so he could get around town.

二十多年前的1998年，这位加拿大男子正在执行任务。当时17岁的他借用了朋友车，以便自己能去到镇上。

errand：差事

The car he was driving was a light-coloured mid-90s Ford Taurus, a popular colour and make for the time, he told CBC.

他告诉CBC，当时他驾驶的车是90年代中期生产的浅色福特Taurus，那是当时很流行的颜色。

popular：流行的

After returning from his shopping duties he spotted a white Ford Taurus in the car park with the windows down and doors unlocked.

当购物工作结束后，他在停车场发现了一辆白色的福特Taurus，车窗没管，车门没锁。

spotted：发现

Thinking it was his friend's car, he buckled up, and after some difficulty getting the car started, drove away.He then went down to the police station to pay for a previous parking ticket, but when returning to the car the keys wouldn't open the door and he couldn't get in.

他以为这就是他借的朋友的车，他扣上安全带，折腾着让汽车启动后就开走了。之后他去警察局支付了一张以前的停车票，再回去时钥匙就不能再打开门了，他无法再开车。

previous ：之前的

A local commissioner saw Freedman's struggle and offered to help as he had a Ford with the same key.After wiggling his key around, the door unlocked and after 10 minutes of trying to start the car up Freedman was away.

一名当地人看到Freedman遇到了麻烦，并为他提供帮助。该男子自己也有一辆相同钥匙的福特车，他扭动钥匙帮Freedman打开车门，又花了十分钟启动汽车，之后Freedman就开车走了。

wiggling ：扭动

He soon returned the car to his colleague, apologising for damaging her key and ignition.

他很快就把车还给了同事，并为损坏了车钥匙和启动装置而道歉。

ignition：点火装置

But a day later he noticed something strange - his colleague's car was still in the car park, leading him to think he damaged her car so badly she couldn't drive it.

但是一天之后，他发现了一件奇怪的事情，他同事的车还在停车场，他以为是自己弄坏了车，所以同事没办法再开。

noticed：意识到

"I said Jocelyne, I'm so sorry. What happened to your car? How come you left your car here last night? And she said 'I didn't leave my car here last night.' And it dawned on me finally, at that point, that it wasn't her car. And I said that wasn't your car? And she looked at me and her eyes bugged out and she said 'When you were gone yesterday somebody reported a car stolen.’

“我说，Jocelyne，对不起，你的车怎么了？你怎么昨天晚上把车停在了这里？她说她没有把车停在这里。最后，我突然意识到那不是她的车。她看着我目瞪口呆地说，'昨天你离开时，有人报告有人偷了车。’”

bugged out：目瞪口呆

The woman's car was found in the same spot she left it in and showed no sign of forced entry and nothing was stolen, so police dismissed the report.

被偷车女子的汽车在她离开的同一地点被发现，没有任何证据显示车辆被强迫打开，也没有东西丢失，因此警方驳回了这份报告。

dismissed：驳回

Now, more than 21 years later, 38-year-old Freedman is trying to track down the woman he accidentally stole from.

现在，超过21年后，38岁的Freedman希望找到那个被他不小心偷车的女子。

track down：找到

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