評論
打印
A String of Beads
一串珍珠項鏈
W.Somerset Maugham
W.薩摩賽特·毛姆
"What a bit of luck that I'm placed next to you," said Laura, as we sat down to dinner.
“我能和你挨著真是榮幸，”勞拉在我們坐下吃飯的時候說。
"For me," I replied politely.
“我也感到很榮幸，”我禮貌地回答。
"That remains to be seen. I particularly wanted to have the chance of talking to you. I've got a story to tell you."
“這得看情況再說。我特別想有機會和你談談。我有個故事想講給你聽。"
At this my heart sank a little.
聽到這句話，我的心微微一沉。
"I'd sooner you talked about yourself," I answered. "Or even about me."
“我寧愿你談談你自己，”我答道“或者甚至談談我”
"Oh, but I must tell you the story. I think you'll be able to use it."
“哦，但我必須要講這個故事給你聽我覺得你能用得上。”
"If you must, you must. But let's look at the menu first."
“如果你一定要講的話，那就請講吧。不過咱們先來看看菜單。”
"Don't you want me to?" she said, somewhat aggrieved. "I thought you'd be pleased."
“難道你不想讓我講嗎？ ”她有點委屈地說“我本以為你會很高興呢”
"I am. You might have written a play and wanted to read me that."
“我很高興。你可能寫了劇本要念給我聽。”
"It happened to some friends of mine. It's perfectly true."
“這件事發生在我的一些朋友身上。它完全屬實。”
"That's no recommendation. A true story is never quite so true as an invented one."
“這并非好的推薦。一個真實的故事從來都沒有虛構的故事來得真實。”
"What does that mean?"
“這是什么意思？”
"Nothing very much," I admitted. "But I thought it sounded well."
“沒什么意思，”我承認“但我覺得這聽起來不錯。”
"I wish you'd let me get on with it."
“我希望你能讓我繼續講這個故事。”
"I'm all attention. I'm not going to eat the soup. It's fattening."
“我洗耳恭聽。我不打算喝這湯了，這湯令人發胖。”
