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Norma closed her eyes. Fifty thousand dollars, she thought. In the morning, as she left the apartment, Norma saw the card halves on the table. Impulsively, she dropped them into her purse.
诺玛闭上眼睛。5万美金呢，她想着。第二天早上，她离开家时，看到了桌上被撕成两半的名片，她冲动地把碎片装进了包里。
After lunch, she took them out and taped the edges together. "Why am I doing this?" she thought.
午饭后，她把撕碎的名片拿出来，粘了起来。“我为什么要这样做呢？”她想着。
Just before five, she dialed the number.
快到5点钟时，她拨通了名片上的电话号码。
"Good afternoon," said Mr. Steward's voice.
“下午好，”斯图沃德先生的声音响起。
Norma cleared her throat. "This is Mrs. Lewis," she said.
诺玛清了清喉咙，“我是刘易斯太太，”她说。
"Yes, Mrs. Lewis," Mr. Steward sounded pleased.
“啊，刘易斯太太，”斯图沃德先生听上去很高兴的样子。
"I'm curious."
“我很好奇。”
"That's natural," Mr. Steward said.
“那很自然，”斯图沃德先生说。
"Not that I believe a word of what you told us."
“并不是我相信你告诉我们的那些话。”
"Oh, it's quite authentic," Mr. Steward answered.
“哦，我说的可都是实话，”斯图沃德先生回答道。
"Well, whatever—" Norma swallowed. "When you said someone in the world would die, what do you mean?"
“嗯，不管是什么——”诺玛咽了一下口水，“你说世界上有一个人会死去，是什么意思？”
"Exactly that," he answered. "It could be anyone. All we guarantee is that you don't know them. And, of course, that you wouldn't have to watch them die."
“确实有一个人会死去，”他回答道，“死的可能是任何一个人，我们所能保证的只是您并不认识他们。当然，您也不必看着他们死去。”
"For $50,000." Norma said.
“就为这5万美金的报酬？”诺玛说。
"That's correct."
“是的。”
She made a scoffing sound. "That's crazy."
她冷笑了一声：“这太疯狂了。”
"Nonetheless, that is the proposition," Mr. Steward said. "Would you like me to return the button unit?"
“不过这只是一个提议，”斯图沃德先生说，“您想要我把那个按钮装置送回去吗？”
Norma stiffened. "Certainly not." She hung up angrily.
诺玛愣了一下。“当然不，”她生气地挂断电话。
