Such a machine, Alan had realised, could be used on the zeta-function calculation, to save the dreary work of adding, multiplying, and looking up of cosines.
艾伦意识到，这样的机器就可以用于ζ 函数的计算，从而避免那些繁琐的工作，比如乘法和查余弦表。
Alan must have described this idea to Titchmarsh, for a letter from him dated 1 December 1937 approved of this programme of extending the calculation, and mentioned:
艾伦一定是把这个想法告诉了蒂施马奇，因为有一封1937年12月1日来自蒂施马奇的信，赞同了这项计划，并且提到：
'I have seen the tide-predicting machine at Liverpool, but it did not occur to me to use it in this way.'
"我在利物浦也见过那台潮汐预测机，但我没想到可以用在这里。"
There were some diversions.
这时还有一些插曲。
The hockey playing continued, although without Francis Price and Shaun Wylie the team had lost its sparkle.
艾伦仍然在玩曲棍球，他们的队伍已经溃不成军了，因为缺少了弗兰西斯·普利斯和肖恩·怀利。
At Thanksgiving he drove north to visit Jack and Mary Crawford for a second time.
感恩节的时候，他第二次开车去北方，拜访杰克和玛丽·克劳福德，
('I am getting more competent with the car.')
他的驾驶技术已经很有进步了。
Before Christmas, Alan took up an invitation from his friend Venable Martin to go and stay with him.
圣诞节前，艾伦接受维纳博·马丁的邀请，前去和他一起度假。
He came from a small town in South Carolina.
他住在南卡罗莱那的一个小镇上。
We drove down from here in two days and then I stayed there for two or three days before I came back to Virginia to stay with Mrs Welbourne.
两天后我们开车南下，在那里待了两三天，然后回到弗吉尼亚，拜访了威尔伯尼夫人。