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But, in another way, the year of the drought was also one of the worst of my life, because that was the year that Abu Raja, the retired cook, decided it was time Magdaluna got its own telephone. Every civilized village needed a telephone, he said, and Magdaluna was not going to get anywhere until it had one. A telephone would link us with the outside world. A few men—like the retired Turkish-army drill sergeant, and the vineyard keeper—did all they could to talk Abu Raja out of having a telephone brought to the village. But they were outshouted and ignored and finally shunned by the other villagers for resisting progress and trying to keep a good thing from coming to Magdaluna.
但是，从另一方面来看，大旱的那一年也是我一生中最糟糕的一年，因为，就是在那一年,退休厨师阿布·拉贾决定在马格达路纳安装电话，他说，每个文明的村庄都应该安装电话，马格达路纳如果不安装的话，它永远都不会进步。电话可以将我们与外部世界连接起来。一些人——如退役的土耳其军队中的操练军士和葡萄园的管理员——都竭力劝阿布·拉贾不要在村里安装电话。但是，他们微弱的反对声被淹没在拥护的声浪中，其他村民对他们罝之不理，最后都躲避他们，说他们反对进步，阻止先进事物进入马格达路纳。
One warm day in early fall, many of the villagers were out in their fields repairing walls or gathering wood for the winter when the shout went out that the telephone-company truck had arrived at Abu Raja's dikkan, or country store. When the truck came into view, everybody dropped what they were doing and ran to Abu Raja's house to see what was happening.
初秋一个暖和的日子，许多村民都在田间劳作，有的在维修墙面，有的在为过冬准备柴火， 就在这时突然有人高喊着说，电话公司的卡车已到了阿布·拉贾的小店了。当看到卡车时，所 有的人都放下了手中的活，然后跑到阿布·拉贾家去看热闹。
