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173 The polygonal portrait
173 多邊形肖像
There was a politician who wanted to have a portrait painted in the shape of a polygon.
有一位政治家想要請人畫一幅多邊形的畫像。
He contacted a particular portraitist whose portraiture was purportedly perfect and made a few inquiries:
他與一位獨(dú)樹一幟的肖像畫家取得了聯(lián)系，據(jù)稱這位畫家的肖像畫法已經(jīng)到了近乎完美的地步。他向畫家咨詢了幾個問題。
I would like the portrait to portray a ponderous demeanor, said the politician.
我希望這副畫能描繪出我笨重的樣子。政治家說。
The portraitist replied, If you possess a positive posture and pose a persuasive pose, your portrayal will portend the affection of the populous portion of your constituents.
畫家回答道：如果你能擁有一副積極的姿態(tài)，擺出令人信服的樣子，那么你的肖像將預(yù)示著您的選區(qū)人口中大部分選民的情感意向。
What material will it be made of? he asked.
那這幅畫是用什么材料繪制的呢？
It will be made of porcelain, a non-porous material.
畫家回答說：用瓷，一種非滲透性的材料。
It will also be portable and suitable as a poster if you wish, and, of course, it will be polygonal as you requested, said the portraitist.
如果你愿意的話，還可以做得非常輕便，像一張招貼畫一樣。當(dāng)然，肯定會如你所要求的那樣是多邊形的。
The man asked, I have another concern. I have very large pores on my nose.
政治家又問：我還有另一個擔(dān)心。我鼻子上的毛孔太大，
Will they appear? We can hide them if you wish, answered the artist.
畫上看得出來嗎？…如果你愿意的話，我們可以把毛孔隱藏起來。
Good. My appearance is important to me as I am a politician.
好的。由于我是搞政治的，外表對我來說非常重要。
One last question, said the prospective customer,
還有最后一個問題，這個即將成交的主顧說道，
How long will it take me to receive it after it's done?
畫好以后多久我才能拿到畫像？
If we send it by post, the postal system can have it in your possession a few days after the postmark if the postage is correct, that is, he said.
如果用郵件的方式傳遞，郵局將在所蓋郵戳的幾天以后將畫送到，畫就為您所擁有了—當(dāng)然如果郵資沒有問題的話。畫家回答道。
And what if it gets lost in the mail? Who will be responsible? inquired the politician. The postmaster, of course. He replied.
那如果投遞過程中畫丟失了呢？誰來負(fù)責(zé)任？政治家又問道。當(dāng)然是郵政局長。畫家回答。
Since the portrait was portable, there was no need to send it after all the politician picked it up himself.
實(shí)際上，那畫非常輕便，根本就沒有必要郵寄—政治家自己就可以隨身攜帶。
When he finally received the polygonal portrait, he was quite pleased.
當(dāng)他最終拿到那幅多邊形畫像以后，他感到非常滿意。
