My brain, that precision instrument, slipped into high gear. "Anything?"
我的大脑，这部精密的仪器，立刻高速运转。
I asked, looking at him narrowly.
我紧盯着他问：“什么都行?”
"Anything," he affirmed in ringing tones.
“什么都行！”他毫不犹豫。声如铜钟。
I stroked my chin thoughtfully. It so happened that I knew where to set my hands on a raccoon coat. My father had had one in his undergraduate days; it lay now in a trunk in the attic back home. 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.
我摸着下颌，思索。我还真知道哪儿能弄到浣熊皮大衣。我父亲上大学的时候有一件，现在还在家里顶楼的箱子里存着。皮蒂有我想要的东西。他还不算拥有，可至少他抢先一步。我指的是他女朋友波莉·埃斯皮。
I had long coveted Polly Espy. Let me emphasize that my desire for this young woman was not emotional in nature. 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.
我对波莉·埃斯皮垂涎已久。我要特別说明，我喜欢这位妙龄女孩并非出于冲动。虽然她确实让人动情，可我绝不会让情感冲昏头脑。想得到波莉是经过慎重考虑的，完全出于理性。
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. The successful lawyers I had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omission, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly.
我是法学院新生，可过几年就会出道。我明白一个合适的妻子对一个律师的前程有多重要。经我观察，所有成功的律师几乎都毫无例外地要娶一个美丽、优雅、聪慧的女子。波莉完全符合这些标准，可只差一点。
Beautiful she was. She was not yet of pin-up proportions, but I felt sure that time would supply the lack. She already had the makings.
她漂亮，可还赶不上封面女郎。我相信时间会弥补这一缺陷，因为她具备条件。
Gracious she was. By gracious I mean full of graces. She had an erectncss of carriage, an ease of bearing, a poise that clearly indicated the best of breeding. At table her manners were exquisite. I had seen her at the Kozy Kampus Korner eating the specialty of the house—a sandwich that contained scraps of pot roast, gravy, chopped nuts, and a dipper of sauerkraut—without even getting her fingers moist.
她优雅，我是说特別优雅。她亭亭玉立、体态优雅，这一切都表明她出身高贵。进餐时，她行为雅致。我看见过她在“舒适的校园一角”如何享用名点：夹有多汁的炖肉片、碎核桃仁和德国泡菜的三明治。她吃完后居然手指都没弄湿。