评论
打印
Edward's wife is a bean counter who wraps him around her little finger.
爱德华的老婆不仅精打细算，而且牢牢地控制着他。
【Andrew's Note】
Nobody likes a bean counter. Someone who focuses on the little details of life, especially money, is usually not very pleasant to be around.
没有人喜欢过于斤斤计较的人。那种把精力放在鸡毛蒜皮（尤其是金钱）这样生活小节上的人，与人交往往往是不受欢迎的。
[1] Marston often invites Edward for dinner but Edward hasn't returned the invitation even once. Edward gave him an official invitation for dinner somewhere the day before yesterday. They had a very nice dinner, but when Edward asked for the bill, he was dumbfounded. The bill amounted to 268 dollars. Edward groped in his pocket for all his notes and coins, but he could only piece together 108 dollars and nothing more.
[2] It was Marston again who picked up the bill, leaving Edward embarrassed, with no chance to return his kindness. Edward felt ashamed for he thought Marston might feel he just tried to give lip service. Edward didn't dare to give Marston any more promises, because he could only spend $100 on dinner, a limit set by his wife.
[3] Edward just tried to save what little money he could from bonuses. But every time he got back home late at night, his wife would take him to task and give him a piece of her mind. Edward could never keep more than 100 dollars in his wallet. Otherwise, his wife might accuse him, as she often put it, of spending money gathering roses with beautiful young ladies. So now Edward has to refuse to dine out with all his friends because he might have to foot the bill. He couldn't change the status quo unless he got on the gravy train and had money to burn in his pocket.
[4] All in all, Edward has a wife who pinches pennies and tries hard to twist him around her little finger, restraining all his expenditures and his ability to socialize. On the other hand, she loves Edward and their son wholeheartedly and never spends any money for her own benefit. She is still wearing clothes she used to wear before getting married. So Edward can't really complain as far as her well-intentioned stinginess is concerned.
【参考译文】
[1] 马斯顿经常邀请爱德华一起吃晚餐，可爱德华却连一次也没有回请马斯顿。前天，爱德华发出了正式邀请，在某个地方吃晚饭。他们吃了一顿丰盛的晚餐；爱德华要来账单时，当场就目瞪口呆了：共计268美元。爱德华在衣兜里摸来摸去，把所有的票子和硬币拼凑在一起也只有108美元，多一分都没有。
[2] 这回又是马斯顿付了账单，让爱德华好没面子，也没有机会回敬他的好意。爱德华感到歉疚，因为他想马斯顿会认为自己口惠而心不实。爱德华再也不敢有任何许诺了，因为他只能花100美元请客吃顿晚饭，这可是老婆大人定的规矩。
[3] 爱德华尽量从奖金里省点小钱。但每次回家晚了，他老婆就拿他试问，把他骂得狗血喷头的。通常他的钱夹里放的钱都不到100元。不然，就像她经常说的那样，他可能把钱花在和哪个年轻漂亮的女人一起寻欢作乐上了。所以现在他只好拒绝和朋友们出外吃饭，以免付账。除非他发大财有用不完的钱，不然他是不能改变现状的。
[4] 总之，他老婆过于节俭，控制他的一切开销，也限制了他的社交能力。另一方面，她却全心全意地爱着爱德华和儿子，从没在自己身上花过钱。她现在还穿着结婚前的衣服。所以就她那点善意的抠门（吝啬），爱德华也就没什么好抱怨的。
