評論
打印
Indeed, for six weeks I tried to find out. I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. As I traveled, I discovered that others shared my fear. Folks were always warning me about someplace else. In Montana they told me to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming. In Nebraska I was warned that people would not be as nice in Iowa.
實際上，整整六個星期的時間里我試圖找出答案。我搭了82次便車，行程4,223英里，穿越了14個州。在旅途中，我發現其他人跟我一樣有擔心。人們總是在警告我當心別的什么地方。在蒙大拿州，他們叫我留神懷俄明州的牛仔，而在內布拉斯加州，人們提醒我說艾奧瓦州的人可不如他們友好。
Yet I was treated with kindness in every state I traveled. I was amazed by the stubborn capacity of Americans to help a stranger, even when it seemed to run contrary to their own best interests. One day in Nebraska a four-door sedan pulled to the road shoulder. When I reached the window, I saw two little old ladies dressed in their Sunday finest.
然而，在我所去的每個州，我都受到了友善的對待。我詫異于美國人執意幫助陌生人的能力，甚至于在看來與自己的最大利益相沖突時他們也絕不袖手旁觀。有一天，在內布拉斯加，一輛四門小轎車在路肩停下。我走到車窗邊，看到兩位穿著節日盛裝的瘦小老婦人。
I know you're not supposed to pick up hitchhikers, but it's so far between towns out here, you feel bad passing a person, said the driver, who introduced herself as Vi. She and her sister Helen were going to see an eye doctor in Ainsworth, Nebraska.
“我知道這年頭不該帶搭便車的，但這里前不著村后不著店的，不停車感覺真不好。”自稱“維”的司機說。她和姐姐海倫是去內布拉斯加的安斯沃思看眼科醫生的。
I didn't know whether to kiss them or scold them for stopping. This woman was telling me she'd rather risk her life than feel bad about passing a stranger on the side of the road. When they dropped me at a highway junction, I looked at Vi. We both spoke at the same time: "Be careful."
她們為我停了車，我都不知道是該親吻她們呢還是該責備她們。這個女人是在告訴我，她寧肯冒生命危險也不愿意因為沒為一個站在路邊的陌生人停車而感到內疚。她們在一個高速路口把我放下時，我望著維。我們倆異口同聲地說，“小心。”
