(单词翻译:单击)
Five grueling nights this took, but it was worth it. I had made a logician out of Polly; I had taught her to think. My job was done. She was worthy of me at last. She was a fit wife for me, a proper hostess for my many mansions, a suitable mother for my well-heeled children.
五个晚上的艰辛,值了。我把波莉变成一个逻辑学家了。她学会了思考。我完成了任务。她达到了我的期望,她会成为我合适的妻子,成为我多处豪宅的女主人,成为我那些富有的孩子们合格的母亲。
It must not be thought that I was without love for this girl. Quite the contrary, Just as Pygmalion loved the perfect woman he had fashioned,so I loved mine. I determined to acquaint her with my feeling at our very next meeting. The time had come to change our relationship from academic to romantic.
不要以为我对这个姑娘没有爱情,恰恰相反,正如皮格马利翁爱恋他自己塑造的完美的女人塑像一样,我也爱我打造出来的女人。我决定下次会面时向她倾吐自己的感情。是将我们的学术转化为浪漫的时刻了。
"Polly," I said when next we sat beneath our oak, "tonight we will not discuss fallacies."
“波莉,”我们再次坐在那棵橡树下,我说,“今晚我们不再讨论谬误了。”
"Aw, gee," she said, disappointed.
“呃,是吗?”她感到失望。
"My dear," I said, favoring her with a smile, "we have now spent five evenings together. We have gotten along splendidly. It is clear that we are well matched."
“亲爱的,”我善意地微笑着,“我们一起度过了五个晚上,我们相处愉快。我们俩显然很般配。”
"Hasty Generalization," said Polly brightly.
“草率结论。”波莉聪明地说。
"I beg your pardon," said I.
“什么?”我问道。
"Hasty Generalization," she repeated. "How can you say that we are well matched on the basis of only five dates?"
“草率结论,”她重复了一遍,“你怎么能仅凭我们的五次约会就说我们俩很般配呢?”
I chuckled with amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons well. "My dear," I Said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner, "five dates is plenty. After all, you don't have to eat a whole cake to know it's good."
挺有趣,我咯咯地笑了起來。这个可爱的小家伙学得可真不赖。“亲爱的,”我容忍地轻拍着她的手说,“五次约会不少了,你不必把整个蛋糕吃下去才知道蛋糕好吃吧。”
"False Analogy", said Polly promptly. "I'm not a cake. I'm a girl."
“错误类比,波莉敏捷地说,“我不是蛋糕,我是女孩。”
I chuckled with somewhat less amusement. The dear child had learned her lessons perhaps too well. I decided to change tactics. Obviously the best approach was a simple, strong, direct declaration of love. I paused for a moment while my massive brain chose the proper words. Then I began:
我又咯咯地笑了,但已经不感到那么有趣了,也许这可爱的孩子学得太好了。我决定改变策略。显然,最好的办法就是简单、坚定、直截了当地向她表白。我停顿了一下,我发达的大脑搜索着恰当的词语。然后我便开始:
"Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars and the constellations of outer space. Please, my darling, say that you will go steady with me, for if you will not, life will be meaningless. I will languish. I will refuse my meals. I will wander the face of the earth, a shambling,hollow-eyed hulk."
“波莉,我爱你。对我来说,你就是我的整个世界,是月亮,是星星,是外太空的所有星座。求你,亲爱的,说你会与我确定关系吧。否则,我的生活就毫无意义,我会备受煎熬,我会绝食,我会变成一个脚步蹒跚、双眼凹陷、到处游荡的躯売。”