184.Recipe for a recluse
184.隐士的处方

It is difficult to recount how I ended up this way. It is my recollection that it was the recommendation of my financial advisor that I sell off all my stocks and holdings. Only in this way could I reconcile matters with my creditors. I recoiled in horror on the day that the recession turned into a depression. It caused the stock market to drop to its lowest point in fifty years. My investing was not reckless. As others, I invested strictly according to what my stockbroker recommended. Who would think that this little recession would go so far?
现在很难描述我是如何会落到这样一个结局的。我记起在我的财政顾问的建议下，我卖掉了我的股票和所有财产。因为只有这样才能调解我与债权人之间的关系。我不无恐惧地想起经济衰退转化为经济大萧条的那一天，正是这次大萧条使股市降到了50年以来的最低点。其实我在股市上的投资并不鲁莽。和其他人一样，我严格按照股票经纪人的推荐来购买。但谁会料到这次小衰退会走这么远呢？

After I lost everything, I had to move out of my two-story house in the suburbs. My wife and kids went to live with her parents. I am now living in a dirty little rectangular room downtown. I have a little rectangle for a coffee table and a little rectangle for a bed. I don't dare go out for fear that I will be recognized by one of my creditors. Upon recognition, they may come and take what little I have left. My recreational activities are limited. I have little recreation aside from my books. I went to my niece's piano recital last month in the dark, incognito. I must live as a recluse.
一无所有以后，我不得不搬出了我在郊区的那幢两层楼房。我妻子和孩子去和岳父母一块住了。我现在住在市中心的一间肮脏狭小的矩形房子里。我有一个长方形的咖啡桌和一张长方形的床。我不敢外出，害怕被某个债权人认出。一旦被认出来，他们就会把我仅有的一丁点儿东西都拿走。我的娱乐活动也受到了限制。除了书籍以外我就没有其他消遣了。上个月，我去听了我侄女的钢琴独奏会——我是隐瞒身份，在黑暗中悄悄去的。我准是活得像一个隐士一样了。
I want to reclaim my life, I want to rectify the situation with my creditors, and I want reconciliation with my wife and family. I reckon it will take some time yet. As the country is trying to reconstruct, the unemployed are gradually being recruited by the government for jobs all around the country, but I have not yet been qualified as a recipient of such welfare. I have been a good citizen; I would simply like reciprocal treatment from the government. Perhaps I can get a job on a construction site somewhere or do farm labor. As for now, I must follow the recipe that has been prescribed to me. I must remain a recluse.
我想让我的生活重新回到原来的状态，我想调整我和债权入相处的关系，同时我也想调和我妻子和家人之间的关系。但我估计这一切还需要时间。现在国家正在重建过程中，全国各地的失业工人都逐渐被重新招回，可我目前还没有资格接受这种福利。我一直是一个好公民，我不过就是希望从政府身上得到些互惠的待遇。也许我可以在什么地方找一个建筑工的活，或者去做一些农活。但现在，我必须照开给我的处方生活，我还得把这个隐士继续当下去。