It was caused, Carty pointed out, by the circumstance that the telephone, like the telegraph, used a ground circuit for the return wire; the resultant scrapings and moanings and howlings were merely the multitudinous voices of mother earth herself.

卡蒂指出，这是由于电话像电报一样使用接地电路作为回线的情况造成的；由此产生的刮擦声、呻吟声和嚎叫声只是地球母亲自己的无数声音。