He leaped from the bed and paced the room, I've got to have a raccoon coat, he said passionately. I've got to!
他从床上一跃而起，在房间里踱来踱去。我一定要弄到一件浣熊皮大衣，他激动地说，非弄到不可!
Petey, why? Look at it rationally. Raccoon coats are unsanitary. They shed. They smell bad. They weight too much. They're unsightly. They
皮蒂，你怎么啦?冷静地想一想吧，浣熊皮大衣不卫生，掉毛，味道难闻，既笨重又不好看，而且…
You don't understand, he interrupted impatiently. It's the thing to do. Don't you want to be in the swim?
你不懂，他不耐烦地打断我的话。这就叫时髦。难道你不想赶时髦吗?
No, I said truthfully.
不想，我坦率地回答。
Well, I do, he declared. I'd give anything for a raccoon coat. Anything!
好啦，我可想着呢!他肯定地说。只要有浣熊皮大衣，要我什么我都给，什么都行!
My brain, that precision instrument, slipped into high gear. Anything? I asked, looking at him narrowly.
我的大脑一这件精密的仪器一即刻运转起来。我仔细地打量着他，问道：什么都行?
Anything, he affirmed in ringing tones.
什么都行!他斩钉截铁地说。
I stroked my chin thoughtfully. It so happened that I knew where to set my hands on a raccoon coat.
我若有所思地抚着下巴。好极了，我知道哪儿能弄到浣熊皮大衣。
My father had had one in his undergraduate days; it lay now in a trunk in the attic back home.
我父亲在大学读书时就穿过一件，现在还放在家里顶楼的箱子里。
It also happened that Petey had something I wanted. He didn't have it exactly, but at least he had first rights on it. I refer to his girl, Polly Espy.
恰好皮蒂也有我需要的东西。尽管他还没有弄到手，但至少他有优先权。我说的是他的女朋友波利·埃斯皮。
I had long coveted Polly Espy. Let me emphasize that my desire for this young woman was not emotional in nature.
我早已钟情于波利埃斯皮了。我要特别说明的是，我想得到这妙龄少女并不是由于感情的驱使。
She was, to be sure, a girl who excited the emotions but I was not one to let my heart rule my head. I wanted Polly for a shrewdly calculated, entirely cerebral reason.
她确实是个易于使人动情的姑娘。可我不是那种让感情统治理智的人，我想得到波利是经过了慎重考虑的，完全是出于理智上的原因。
I was a freshman in law school. In a few years I would be out in practice. I was well aware of the importance of the right kind of wife in furthering a lawyer's career.
我是法学院一年级的学生，过不了几年就要挂牌当律师了。我很清楚，一个合适的妻子对一个律师的前途来说是非常重要的。
The successful lawyers I had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women.
我发现大凡有成就的律师几乎都是和美丽、文雅、聪明的女子结婚的。波利只差一条就完全符合这些条件了。她漂亮。
With one omission, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly.
尽管她的身材还没有挂在墙上的美女照片那么苗条，但我相信时间会弥补这个不足。