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The Election
选举
“Do you think an election is an exciting event?” Jane asked.
“你以为选举是件令人兴奋的事吗？”简问我。
She was wearing an elegant dress with an elliptical pattern.
她穿着椭圆式样的裙装，看上去很雅致。
We both entered the elevator at the same time.
我和简同时进了电梯，
“In some ways it is,” I replied.
“在某些方面是必须的。”我回答。
“We're witnessing a vital element of democracy.
“我们正目睹着民主制度最重要的组成部分——民主选举。
Unfortunately, the voting process is not as elementary as it once was.”
可惜啊，选举过程不像过去那样单纯初级了。”
“If only we could elevate the quality of the candidates,” Jane said.
“要是我们能提高候选人的素质就好了。”简说，
“Have you noticed how hard it is to elicit a straight answer from them?
“你是否注意到要从他们的嘴里得到一个直接的回答有多难？
Some of them sound pretty dizzy, like they've spent too much time at a high elevation.”
其中一些人的话听起来天花乱坠，玄之又玄，似乎要炫耀他们身居高位已有多时。”
“Oh, that's funny!” I said.
“噢，多滑稽啊！”我说，
“But not everyone can be as eloquent as you are if you were eligible to run for an elected office, would you do it?”
“但并非每个人都像你这样能言善辩。如果有资格来竞选一个政府公职，你会参加竞选吗？”
“I don't know,” Jane replied.
“不知道，”简回答说，
“Would you vote for me if I told you that I could eliminate crime?
“如果我说我能消除犯罪，你会选我吗？
What if I said I could capture that elusive terrorist, Bin Laden?”
如果我说我能抓住难以捉到的恐怖分子本拉登，又会怎么样？”
“You may as well claim that you can emancipate the slaves,” I said.
“你不妨声称你能解放奴隶，”我说，
“If I was that gullible, I'd probably be willing to buy a bottle of elixir from you.”
“如果我那么容易上当，我真可能要买你一瓶长生不老药了。”
“I think you should stop talking before I elongate your neck,” Jane joked.
“别再说了，否则我会把你的脖子拽长的，”简开玩笑说，
“The emancipation you're referring to was a serious and significant issue back then.
“你所说的解放奴隶在当时是个严肃重要的问题。
These days, we still have very serious issues, both worldwide and domestic like how to elucidate the federal budget and how to aid the emaciated children in undeveloped countries.”
目前，不论国际，还是国内，我们都面临着一些很严肃的问题，比如，如何解释联邦的预算和怎样救助欠发达国家的贫弱儿童等问题。”
“Figuratively speaking, my 24-27 schedule during this election has emaciated me,” I said.
“说得形象些，我选举期间的24-27日的日程安排已经使我衣带渐宽，身心憔悴。”我说，
“Would you mind if we continued this discussion over lunch?”
“如果我们边吃午饭边继续讨论，你不介意吧？”
“Not at all,” replied Jane.
“当然不，”简回答，
“It's hard to think with a empty stomach.”
“肚子空空，脑子懵懂。此之谓也。”
