評(píng)論
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"Tell me some more of this keen stuff," she said eagerly.
“再給我講些這類高難的玩意兒吧。”她急切地說(shuō)。
I consulted my watch. "I think we'd better call it a night. I'll take you home now, and you go over all the things you've learned. We'll have another session tomorrow night."
我看了看表說(shuō)：“今晚就講到這里吧。現(xiàn)在該送你回去了。你回去把今天的內(nèi)容復(fù)習(xí)一遍，明晚再上一課吧。”
I deposited her at the girls' dormitory, where she assured me that she had had a perfectly terrif evening, and I went glumly to my room. Petey lay snoring in his bed, the raccoon coat huddled like a great hairy beast at his feet. For a moment I considered waking him and telling him that he could have his girl back. It seemed clear that my project was doomed to failure. The girl simply had a logic-proof head.
我把她送到了女生宿舍。分手時(shí)她說(shuō)今晚她非常愉快，而我則郁郁寡歡地回到我的房間。皮蒂正在睡覺(jué)，鼾聲如雷，那件浣熊皮大衣堆在他的腳邊，像一頭多毛的野獸。我真想馬上把他叫醒，告訴他可以把他的女朋友領(lǐng)回去。顯然，我的計(jì)劃終將失敗，這姑娘一點(diǎn)邏輯思維都沒(méi)有。
But then I reconsidered. I had wasted one evening: I might as well waste another. Who knew? Maybe somewhere in the extinct crater of her mind, a few embers still smoldered. Maybe somehow I could fan them into flame. Admittedly it was not a prospect fraught with hope, but I decided to give it one more try.
可一轉(zhuǎn)念，我想既然已經(jīng)浪費(fèi)了一個(gè)晚上，不妨再用一個(gè)晚上試試看。天知道會(huì)是什么結(jié)果，也許，在她死火山般的腦袋里，還有一點(diǎn)余火仍在閃爍冒煙。也許會(huì)有辦法能把這些火星扇成熊熊烈焰。我承認(rèn)，成功的希望渺茫，可我要再試一次。
Seated under the oak the next evening I said, "Our first fallacy tonight is called Ad Misericordiam."
第二天晚上，我們又坐在那棵橡樹(shù)下，我說(shuō)：“今晚我們先說(shuō)說(shuō)文不對(duì)題。”
She quivered with delight.
她高興得發(fā)抖。
"Listen closely," I said. "A man applies for a job. When the boss asks him what his qualifications are, he replies that he has a wife and six children at home, the wife is a helpless cripple, the children have nothing to eat, no clothes to wear, no shoes on their feet, there are no beds in the house, no coal in the cellar, and winter is coming."
“聽(tīng)仔細(xì)了，”我說(shuō)，“有個(gè)人申請(qǐng)工作。老板問(wèn)他具備什么資歷，他回答說(shuō)他有妻子和六個(gè)孩子，妻子完全殘廢，孩子們身上無(wú)衣，口中無(wú)食，腳上無(wú)鞋，身下沒(méi)床，生火沒(méi)煤，可冬天就要到了。”
A tear rolled down each of Polly's pink checks. "Oh, this is awful, awfal," she sobbed.
淚水流過(guò)波莉那粉紅的面頰。“啊，真糟糕！真糟糕！”她抽泣起來(lái)。
"Yes, it's awful," I agreed, "but it's no argument. The man never answered the boss's questions about his qualifications. Instead he appealed to the boss' sympathy. He committed the fallacy of Ad Misericordiam. Do you understand?"
“是的，真糟糕,”我順著她說(shuō)，“但這沒(méi)用。那人根本沒(méi)有回答老板提出的關(guān)于他所具備的資歷問(wèn)題，反而他想求得老板的同情。他文不對(duì)題。你懂嗎？”
"Have you got a handkerchief?" she blubbered.
“你有手帕嗎？”她啜泣著。
