評論
打印
The Hitchhiker
搭車者
John Henderson was driving home late last night from an exhausting business trip. He had put off visiting the company's new headquarters in order to get home before midnight, and now he was having trouble staying awake. He turned up the radio and tried to concentrate on the news — something about a robbery but his eyes kept on closing. His wife was back home in Dayton, and he missed having her company on this long trip.
昨天深夜，約翰·亨德森驅車回家，他剛出了一趟令人筋疲力盡的公差。為了在半夜之前趕到家，他把參觀公司新總部的事兒也往后推遲了，而此刻他卻難以保持清醒。他打開收音機，想把注意力集中在新聞上——是關于一則搶劫案什么的——可他的眼皮老是不由自主地要合上。他妻子待在代頓的家里，長途旅行時，他真希望有她在自己身旁做伴。
It was then that he noticed the hitchhiker at the side of the road. Without even thinking about what he was doing, he slowed down and stopped the car. He couldn’t help feeling sorry for the young man who looked so wet and miserable in the rain. "Get in," he said.
就在這時他注意到路旁有個人想搭車。他不假思索地減慢車速，讓車停下來。那個年輕人在雨中已淋得渾身濕透，看上去怪可憐的，約翰不禁為他感到難過。“上車吧，”他說。
John remembered having to hitchhike home from the university before he had a car. He couldn’t stand sitting at the side of the road for hours, waiting for rides.
約翰想起了自己從前沒車時不得不從學校搭便車回家的情景。一連幾個小時坐在路旁等著別人讓他搭車，他實在忍受不了。
The hitchhiker got in and immediately John was sorry that he had picked him up. The young man had a strange face and very penetrating eyes. His clothes were old and dirty, and his long hair needed cutting. The hitchhiker lit a cigarette and said he was going to Woodsville but when John asked him other questions, the young man avoided giving him any personal information and changed the subject.
搭車者一上了車，約翰頓生后悔之意。年輕人有張奇特的臉，兩道目光銳利逼人。他的衣服又舊又臟，長長的頭發也該剪剪了。搭車者點著一支煙，說他要去伍茲威爾，但當約翰問到別的問題時，年輕人卻避而不談任何有關他個人的情況，并改變了話題。
John began to sweat and his thoughts turned nervously to his wallet and all the money he was carrying. He desperately tried to remember what the newscaster had said earlier about a robbery. Don't be ridiculous! He thought to himself. Stop imagining things! This guy isn't a criminal. What's the use of panicking ?
約翰身上開始冒冷汗，他情緒緊張，禁不住想到了自己的錢包，想到了帶在身邊的所有錢財。他竭力想回憶剛才播音員說的那起搶劫案。別犯傻了，他對自己說。別胡思亂想！這家伙不是罪犯。再說驚慌又管什么用？
