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A Pair of Socks
一雙襪子
One fine afternoon I was walking along Fifth Avenue, when I remembered that it was necessary to buy a pair of socks. Why I wished to buy only one pair is unimportant. I turned into the first sock shop that caught my eye, and a boy clerk who could not have been more than seventeen years old came forward. "What can I do for you, sir?" "I wish to buy a pair of socks." His eyes glowed. There was a note of passion in his voice. "Did you know that you had come into the finest place in the world to buy socks?" I had not been aware of that, as my entrance had been accidental. "Come with me," said the boy, ecstatically. I followed him to the rear of the shop, and he began to haul down from the shelves box after box, displaying their contents for my delectation.
一個明朗的下午，我走在第五大街上，忽然想起得買雙短襪。至于為什么我只買一雙，那是無關緊要的。我看到第一家襪子店，便走了進去，一個年紀不到17歲的少年店員向我迎來?！澳裁?，先生？”“我想買雙短襪?！彼难劬﹂W出光芒，話語里含著激情。“您是否知道您來到的是世上最好的襪店？”這我倒沒有意識到，因為我是偶然走進來這家商店的。“請跟我來，”那少年欣喜若狂地說。我隨他來到店堂后部，少年從貨架上拖下一個又一個盒子，把里面的襪子展示在我面前，讓我賞鑒。
"Hold on, lad, I am going to buy only one pair!" "I know that," said he, "but I want you to see how marvelously beautiful these are. Aren't they wonderful?" There was on his face an expression of solemn and holy rapture, as if he were revealing to me the mysteries of his religion. I became far more interested in him than in the socks. I looked at him in amazement. "My friend," said I, "if you can keep this up, if this is not merely the enthusiasm that comes from novelty, from having a new job, if you can keep up this zeal and excitement day after day, in ten years you will own every sock in the United States." (To be continued)
“等等，小伙子，我只要買一雙！”“這我知道，”他說?！安贿^，我想讓您看看這些襪子有多漂亮，真是好看極了！”他臉上洋溢著莊嚴和神圣的狂喜，像是在向我啟示他所信奉的宗教的玄理。我對他的興趣遠遠超過了對襪子的興趣。我詫異地望著他。“我的朋友，”我說，“如果你能一直這樣熱情，如果這熱情不只是因為你感到新奇，或因為得到了一個新的工作——如果你能天天如此，把這種熱忱和激情保持下去，不消十年，你會成為全美國的短襪大王。”（待續）
