評(píng)論
打印
Five grueling nights this took, but it was worth it. I had made a logician out of Polly; I had taught her to think. My job was done. She was worthy of me at last. She was a fit wife for me, a proper hostess for my many mansions, a suitable mother for my well-heeled children.
五個(gè)晚上的艱辛，值了。我把波莉變成一個(gè)邏輯學(xué)家了。她學(xué)會(huì)了思考。我完成了任務(wù)。她達(dá)到了我的期望，她會(huì)成為我合適的妻子，成為我多處豪宅的女主人，成為我那些富有的孩子們合格的母親。
It must not be thought that I was without love for this girl. Quite the contrary, Just as Pygmalion loved the perfect woman he had fashioned，so I loved mine. I determined to acquaint her with my feeling at our very next meeting. The time had come to change our relationship from academic to romantic.
不要以為我對(duì)這個(gè)姑娘沒(méi)有愛(ài)情，恰恰相反，正如皮格馬利翁愛(ài)戀他自己塑造的完美的女人塑像一樣，我也愛(ài)我打造出來(lái)的女人。我決定下次會(huì)面時(shí)向她傾吐自己的感情。是將我們的學(xué)術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)化為浪漫的時(shí)刻了。
"Polly," I said when next we sat beneath our oak, "tonight we will not discuss fallacies."
“波莉，”我們?cè)俅巫谀强孟饦?shù)下，我說(shuō)，“今晚我們不再討論謬誤了。”
"Aw, gee," she said, disappointed.
“呃，是嗎？”她感到失望。
"My dear," I said, favoring her with a smile, "we have now spent five evenings together. We have gotten along splendidly. It is clear that we are well matched."
“親愛(ài)的，”我善意地微笑著，“我們一起度過(guò)了五個(gè)晚上，我們相處愉快。我們倆顯然很般配。”
"Hasty Generalization," said Polly brightly.
“草率結(jié)論。”波莉聰明地說(shuō)。
"I beg your pardon," said I.
“什么？”我問(wèn)道。
"Hasty Generalization," she repeated. "How can you say that we are well matched on the basis of only five dates?"
“草率結(jié)論，”她重復(fù)了一遍，“你怎么能僅憑我們的五次約會(huì)就說(shuō)我們倆很般配呢？”
I chuckled with amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons well. "My dear," I Said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner, "five dates is plenty. After all, you don't have to eat a whole cake to know it's good."
挺有趣，我咯咯地笑了起來(lái)。這個(gè)可愛(ài)的小家伙學(xué)得可真不賴。“親愛(ài)的，”我容忍地輕拍著她的手說(shuō)，“五次約會(huì)不少了，你不必把整個(gè)蛋糕吃下去才知道蛋糕好吃吧。”
"False Analogy", said Polly promptly. "I'm not a cake. I'm a girl."
“錯(cuò)誤類比，波莉敏捷地說(shuō)，“我不是蛋糕，我是女孩。”
I chuckled with somewhat less amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons perhaps too well. I decided to change tactics. Obviously the best approach was a simple, strong, direct declaration of love. I paused for a moment while my massive brain chose the proper words. Then I began:
我又咯咯地笑了，但已經(jīng)不感到那么有趣了，也許這可愛(ài)的孩子學(xué)得太好了。我決定改變策略。顯然，最好的辦法就是簡(jiǎn)單、堅(jiān)定、直截了當(dāng)?shù)叵蛩戆住Ｎ彝ｎD了一下，我發(fā)達(dá)的大腦搜索著恰當(dāng)?shù)脑~語(yǔ)。然后我便開(kāi)始：
"Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars and the constellations of outer space. Please, my darling, say that you will go steady with me, for if you will not, life will be meaningless. I will languish. I will refuse my meals. I will wander the face of the earth, a shambling，hollow-eyed hulk."
“波莉，我愛(ài)你。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，你就是我的整個(gè)世界，是月亮，是星星，是外太空的所有星座。求你，親愛(ài)的，說(shuō)你會(huì)與我確定關(guān)系吧。否則，我的生活就毫無(wú)意義，我會(huì)備受煎熬，我會(huì)絕食，我會(huì)變成一個(gè)腳步蹣跚、雙眼凹陷、到處游蕩的軀売。”
