中英文本

160.Deciding to Try
160.决定一试
Then one day, just after getting off the phone with my daughter who was having problems adjusting to living off campus, I glanced through some odds and ends in an old desk drawer! There was a picture of Ursula!
后来有一天，我刚放下女儿打来的电话——她对在校外生活有些不适应，便扫了一眼一个旧抽屉里的零星杂物。里面居然有一张厄休拉的照片。
I whistled under my breath and became occupied again with thoughts of what might have been ...
我低声吹了个口哨，脑子里又充满了可能会发生的事情……
My daughter had just made an off hand remark about getting out and trying to date again.
女儿随口说了一句又要出去约会了。
It had been two years since my wife died.
我妻子过世已经两年。
I had taken one woman out off and on, but that relationship was null and void of any future possibilities-she had just remarried another man herself!
我有时也带一个女人出去，但那种关系没有任何束缚力，不可能有未来，因为她自己刚刚嫁人！

And so I thought that of all times, maybe now was a good time to try and contact Ursula again!
所以我想现在也许是想办法和厄休拉再次取得联系的好时机！
When I told my daughter, she didn't object to the idea!
我把这个想法告诉女儿，她居然没有反对！
And she didn't think it would be off color to contact her even if she was married or something!
她认为即使她结婚了或什么的跟她联系也没有什么不好的！
That put me out of sorts-what if she was married? Why wouldn't she be?
这使我有些不舒服——她要结婚了怎么办？
Well, if she were, then I would be off the hook for trying to start something!
她为什么会不结婚？唉，如果她结了婚，我就准备脱身，不去惹是生非！
And so I started to look for her telephone number.
就这样我开始找她的电话号码。
When I found it I was surprised, she was nowhere near as far away as I had thought.
找到她的号码我吃了一惊，她离我完全没有我想像的那么远。
She lived just across town! And what was of special note was that she lived on the same street we lived on when we were young!
她就住在城市那边。值得特别注意的是，她就住在我们小时候住的那条街！
For some reason I had thought she might live far away, or out of state!
由于某种原因，我以为她住得很远，或者住在国外！
But here she was, just like me, still in the same old town! Now I had to call her!
可是就在这里，像我一样，还住在这座古老的城市里！现在我得给她打电话！

重点讲解

1.off and on（on and off）断断续续地，间断
例句：The Jews and Arabs of Palestine have been fighting off and on for 100 years.
巴勒斯坦的犹太人和阿拉伯人已经断断续续地斗争了100年之久。
2.off campus 在校外
例句：Do you live on or off campus?
你住在校内还是校外？
3.off color身体不舒服，精神不好
例句：She felt a bit off color, but she's much better now.
她觉得有点不舒服,但是现在好多了。
4.off hand 即席的(地)，没有准备的(地）
例句：I'm talking off hand, simply speaking my mind.
我这是信口开河， 随便谈谈脑子里想的东西。
5.off the hook 摆脱责任，脱离困境(或危险),脱身
例句：But let us not pretend that it lets us off the hook.
但是，让我们不要假装这样做我们就可以逃脱责任了。
6.under one's breath 压着嗓子,低声地
例句：Fortunately I said it under my breath, and hedidn't hear.
好在我说的声音很小，他没有听见。