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They were doing the dishes, his wife washing while he dried. Unlike most men he knew, he really pitched in on the housework. A few months earlier he'd overheard a friend of his wife's congratulate her on having such a considerate husband.
They talked about different things and somehow got on the subject of whether white people should marry black people. He said that all things considered, he thought it was a bad idea.

"Why?" she asked.
Sometimes his wife got this look where she pinched her brows together and bit her lower lip. When he saw her like this he knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he never did. Actually it made him talk more. She had that look now.
"Why?" she asked again, and stood there with her hand inside a bowl, just holding it above the water.
"Listen," he said, "I went to school with blacks, and I've worked with blacks and we've always gotten along just fine. I don't need you coming along now and implying that I'm a racist."

"I didn't imply anything," she said, "I just don't see what's wrong with a white person marrying a black person, that's all."
"They don't come from the same culture. Why, they even have their own language. That's okay with me, I like hearing them talk." "But it's different. A person from their culture and a person from our culture could never really know each other."
"Like you know me?" his wife asked.
"Yes. Like I know you."
"But if they love each other," she said.

Oh boy, he thought. He said, "Don't take my word for it. Look at the statistics. Most of those marriages break up."
"Statistics." She was piling dishes on the draining-board at a terrific rate. Many of them were still greasy. "All right," she said, "what about foreigners?

I suppose you think the same thing about two foreigners getting married."
"Yes," he said, "as a matter of fact I do. How can you understand someone who comes from a completely different background?"
"Different," said his wife. "Not the same, like us."
"Yes, different," he snapped, angry with her for resorting to this trick of repeating his words so that they sounded hypocritical. "These are dirty," he said, and threw all the silverware back into the sink.

参考译文

他们在洗盘子，妻子洗，他擦干。与他认识的大多数男人不同，他确实主动地帮助做家务。几个月前他无意间听到他妻子的一个朋友祝贺她有这样一个体贴的丈夫。

他们闲聊着不同的事情，不知不觉地就谈到了白人是否应该和黑人结婚这一话题。他说，综合各方面考虑，这不是一个好主意。

“为什么？”她问。
有时他妻子会做出这样的表情：紧锁双眉，咬住下唇。当他看到妻子的这种表情时，他知道他应该闭嘴了，但他从来都做不到，相反他说得更多了，又问道：“为什么？”
“听着，”他说，“我和黑人一起上学，一起工作，我们一直都相处得很好，我不需要你现在出来暗示我是个种族主义者。”

“我没有暗示什么。”她说，“我只是不理解白人和黑人结婚有什么不对，仅此而已。”
“他们文化不同，甚至语言也不同。但这对我来说无所谓，我喜欢听他们说话。”“但结婚就不同了，有着黑人文化背景的人和有我们文化背景的人是永远不可能真正了解对方的。”
“就像你了解我那样，对吗？”妻子问。
“是的，就像我了解你一样。”
“但是如果他们彼此相爱呢？”她说。

哦，天啊，他想。他说，“不要和我较真。看看数据吧，那样的婚姻大多数都不能长久。”
“数据。”她以极快的速度将盘子摞在滴水板上，许多盘子上还有油渍。“好吧”，她说，“如果是外国人呢？我猜你对于两个来自不用国家的人结婚也有相同的看法吧。”
“你猜对了。”他说，“我就是这么看的。你怎么能理解一个来自和你背景完全不同的人呢？”
“不同。”他妻子说，“不一样，不像我们这样？”
“是的，不同，”他厉声说。她采用这样的方式重复他说的话，先得他非常虚伪，他对此感到非常生气。“这些还没洗干净，”他说着，把所有的银制餐具都扔回水池里。

词汇释义

1.racist n. adj.种族主义者[的]

例句：

I find his racist views totally repugnant.
我十分厌恶他的种族主义观点.

2.statistics n. 统计,统计数字,统计学

例句：

The official prefixed an explanatory note to the list of statistics.
那官员在统计表前加了一段说明文字.

3.sink n. 接收端,沟渠,污水槽

例句：

The dirty dishes are in the sink.
那些脏盘子在洗涤槽内。