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A String of Beads
一串珍珠项链
W.Somerset Maugham
W.萨摩赛特·毛姆
"What a bit of luck that I'm placed next to you," said Laura, as we sat down to dinner.
“我能和你挨着真是荣幸，”劳拉在我们坐下吃饭的时候说。
"For me," I replied politely.
“我也感到很荣幸，”我礼貌地回答。
"That remains to be seen. I particularly wanted to have the chance of talking to you. I've got a story to tell you."
“这得看情况再说。我特别想有机会和你谈谈。我有个故事想讲给你听。"
At this my heart sank a little.
听到这句话，我的心微微一沉。
"I'd sooner you talked about yourself," I answered. "Or even about me."
“我宁愿你谈谈你自己，”我答道“或者甚至谈谈我”
"Oh, but I must tell you the story. I think you'll be able to use it."
“哦，但我必须要讲这个故事给你听我觉得你能用得上。”
"If you must, you must. But let's look at the menu first."
“如果你一定要讲的话，那就请讲吧。不过咱们先来看看菜单。”
"Don't you want me to?" she said, somewhat aggrieved. "I thought you'd be pleased."
“难道你不想让我讲吗？ ”她有点委屈地说“我本以为你会很高兴呢”
"I am. You might have written a play and wanted to read me that."
“我很高兴。你可能写了剧本要念给我听。”
"It happened to some friends of mine. It's perfectly true."
“这件事发生在我的一些朋友身上。它完全属实。”
"That's no recommendation. A true story is never quite so true as an invented one."
“这并非好的推荐。一个真实的故事从来都没有虚构的故事来得真实。”
"What does that mean?"
“这是什么意思？”
"Nothing very much," I admitted. "But I thought it sounded well."
“没什么意思，”我承认“但我觉得这听起来不错。”
"I wish you'd let me get on with it."
“我希望你能让我继续讲这个故事。”
"I'm all attention. I'm not going to eat the soup. It's fattening."
“我洗耳恭听。我不打算喝这汤了，这汤令人发胖。”
