“好天气,不是吗?”
"My kind of day," I agreed.
“我喜欢的天气。”我赞同道。
"What did you do yesterday?" His tone was just a bit too proprietary.
“你昨天都在做什么?”他的语气有点儿像是在过问自己的所有物的情况。"
I mostly worked on my essay." I didn't add that I was finished with it — no need to sound smug.
“我几乎都在写我的论文。”我没有补充说我已经完成了——没有必然让自己显得是在炫耀。
He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Oh yeah — that's due Thursday, right?"
他用手背拍了一下额头。“哦,是的——那是在周四截止,对吧?”
"Um, Wednesday, I think."
“呃,我想,应该是周三。”
"Wednesday?" He frowned. "That's not good… What are you writing yours on?"
“周三?”他皱起眉。“大事不妙……你的题目是什么?”
"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic."
“莎士比亚对待女性角色的态度是否是厌恶女性的表现。”
He stared at me like I'd just spoken in pig Latin.
他盯着我,就好像我刚刚在说隐语一样。
"I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he said, deflated. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go out."
“我想我今晚就得着手写论文了。”他泄气地说道。“我本来还想问你愿不愿意出去逛逛呢。”
"Oh." I was taken off guard. Why couldn't I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward?
“哦。”我卸下了防备。为什么我每次跟迈克愉快的谈话都得以尴尬告终呢?
"Well, we could go to dinner or something… and I could work on it later." He smiled at me hopefully.
“嗯,我们可以一起吃晚餐,或者……我可以晚些再写论文。”他满怀希望地向我微笑着。
"Mike…" I hated being put on the spot. "I don't think that would be the best idea."
“迈克……”我不喜欢被置于这种处境。“我不认为这是一个好主意。”
His face fell. "Why?" he asked, his eyes guarded. My thoughts flickered to Edward, wondering if that's where his thoughts were as well.
他拉下脸来。“为什么?”他问道,眼里充满了警惕。我飞快地想起了爱德华,怀疑着这是否恰好也是他所想到的。
"I think… and if you ever repeat what I'm saying right now I will cheerfully beat you to death," I threatened, "but I think that would hurt Jessica's feelings."
“我觉得……如果你敢立刻重复我所说的话,我会很乐意弄死你的。”我威胁道。“但我觉得这会伤害杰西卡的感情。”
He was bewildered, obviously not thinking in that direction at all. "Jessica?"
他完全不知所措,显然根本没有往这方面想。“杰西卡?”
"Really, Mike, are you blind?"
“真的,迈克,你是瞎子吗?”
"Oh," he exhaled — clearly dazed. I took advantage of that to make my escape.
“哦。”他轻呼道——显然还在迷惑着。我利用这一点,让自己脱身。
《暮光之城》与图书题目相得益彰的是,“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容:“只是分别善恶树上的果子,你不可吃,因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实,这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。