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The Funeral
葬礼
“Do you want me to escort you to the funeral?” Laura asked.
“你要我陪你参加史密斯先生的葬礼吗？” 劳拉问。
“It might violate the rules of etiquette,” replied Kathy.
“那可能不合礼仪规定，”凯西说，
“Perhaps I had better err on the side of caution.
“我还是多多谨慎不出错为好。
Why don't we meet later at the new ethnic restaurant downstairs? Say, about 6 p.m.?”
我们晚一点，比如下午6点，在那家新开的民族饭店楼梯处见面好吗？”
“Okay.'Laura said.
“好吧。”劳拉说。
Kathy took the escalator down to the lobby where she found a taxi waiting.
凯西乘自动扶梯来到中央大厅，一辆出租车正等在门外。
“Take me to the Smith estate,” she told the driver.
“到史密斯庄园。”她对司机说。
Kathy eschewed funerals, but she had no choice.
凯西向来回避葬礼，但她别无选择。
Attending this one was essential to her job as the family's estate lawyer.
作为史密斯的财产律师，她必须参加这个葬礼。
He was a famous professor of ethics at the local university.
史密斯再当地是个受人尊敬的人，他是当地大学著名的伦理学教授。
His behavior was a bit erratic in the final years of his life but he as careful not to evade his responsibilities.
虽然他晚年行为有写古怪，但他谨慎小心，从不逃避责任。
Before he died, he hired Kathy to evaluate his estate holdings and to draft an indisputable will.
去世前，他委托凯西对他的全部财产进行评估，而后草拟了一份无可争议的遗嘱。
He did not want any differences of opinion between his heirs to escalate into a family feud.
他不愿意财产继承人之间的意见分歧扩大而升级为家庭不和。
The will required Kathy to estimate the value of Mr. Smith's assets, to sell them for a reasonable price, and then to distribute the proceeds.
遗嘱要求凯西对史密斯先生的资产进行评估，并以合理的价格出售，然后把所得收入分给继承人。
The eulogy was the standard speech.
悼词采用标准的哀悼语言。
The priest talked about eternal life as reward for living a good life.
牧师谈论着人一生积德，作为回报，死后才能永生。
At the end of the speech, applause erupted from the audience.
悼词结束的时候，人群中突然爆发出一阵掌声，
In Kathy's opinion, the eruption was loud enough to wake to dead.
在凯西听起来，这掌声爆发得足以可以把死去的人惊醒。
“Was it that bad?” Laura asked.
“葬礼就那么糟糕吗？”劳拉问。
“The music wasn't bad,” Kathy replied.
“音乐还不错，”凯西回答，
“I thought the violin and the piano produced a euphonious combination.”
“我觉得小提琴和钢琴演奏出了悦耳的合音。”
