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That 1972 race was our first rite of political passage.
1972年的总统大选给我们从政之路上了宝贵的第一课。
After completing law school in the spring of 1973, Bill took me on my first trip to Europe to revisit his haunts as a Rhodes Scholar. We set out to visit as many cathedrals as we could, We meandered from Salisbury to Lincoln to Durham to York, pausing to explore the ruins of a monastery laid waste by Cromwell's troops or wandering through the gardens of a great country estate.
1973年春，我从耶鲁法学院毕业，比尔带我首次去欧洲旅行，重温当年他这位罗德学者在英国的游历之处。我们尽可能多地拜访各个教堂，两人一路从索尔兹伯里经林肯、达勒姆玩到约克，偶尔停下来凭吊被克伦威尔部队弃置的修道院遗址，或流连于乡间古堡的花园之间。
Then at twilight in the beautiful Lake District of England, we found ourselves on the shores of Lake Ennerdale, where Bill asked me to marry him.
一天傍晚，我俩来到英格兰风景如画的湖区，比尔在艾纳戴尔湖畔向我求婚。
I was desperately in love with him but utterly confused about my life and future. So I said, "No, not now." What I meant was, "Give me time."
我深深地爱着他，但我完全不清楚自己的生活与未来，所以我说“不行，现在还不行”，言外之意是“给我一点时间”。
My mother had suffered from her parents' divorce, and her sad and lonely childhood was imprinted on my heart. I knew that when I decided to marry, I wanted it to be for life. Looking back to that time and to the person I was, I realize how scared I was of commitment in general and of Bill's intensity in particular. I thought of him as a force of nature and wondered whether I'd be up to the task of living through his seasons.
外公与外婆离婚让母亲吃了不少苦，加上母亲悲苦、寂寞的童年深深印在我心中，所以我下定决心，一旦结婚，一定要和丈夫白头偕老。现在想想，那时的我多么害怕承诺，更害怕招架不了比尔的深情。我觉得他像大自然般多变，并怀疑自己是否有本事应付他的春夏秋冬。
Bill Clinton is nothing if not persistent. He sets goals, and I was one of them. He asked me to marry him again, and again, and I always said no. Eventually he said, 'Well, I'm not going to ask you to marry me any more, and if you ever decide you want to marry me then you have to tell me." He would wait me out.
比尔若不执着，那就不是比尔·克林顿了。他已经定下好些目标，而我就是其中之一。他一再向我求婚，我也一再拒绝他。最后他说：“我不会再向你求婚了，如果哪天你决定要嫁给我，请你务必告诉我。”他会等到我点头为止。
