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Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner
当一艘大型班船进港的时候
as she was entering the harbour.
许多小船载着各种杂货快速向客轮驶来
Before she had anchored,
大船还未下锚
the men from the boats had climbed on board
小船上的人就纷纷爬上客轮
and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persia,
一会儿工夫 甲板上就摆满了色彩斑斓的波斯地毯
silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware.
印度丝绸 铜咖啡壶以及手工制作的漂亮的银器
It was difficult not to be tempted.
要想不为这些东西所动心是很困难的
Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen,
船上许多游客开始同商贩讨价还价起来
but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarked.
但我打定主意上岸之前什么也不买
I had no sooner got off the ship
我刚下船
than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.
就被一个人截住 他向我兜售一枚钻石戒指
I had no intention of buying one,
我根本不想买
but I could not conceal the fact
但我不能掩饰这样一个事实
that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.
其钻石之大给我留下了深刻的印象
Some of them were as big as marbles.
有的钻石像玻璃球那么大
The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real.
那人竭力想证明那钻石是真货
As we were walking past a shop,
我们路过一家商店时
he held a diamond firmly against the window
他将一颗钻石使劲地往橱窗上一按
and made a deep impression in the glass.
在玻璃上留下一道深痕
It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
我花了半个多小时才摆脱了他的纠缠
The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches.
向我兜售的第二个人是卖名贵钢笔和手表的
I examined one of the pens closely.
我仔细察看了一支钢笔
It certainly looked genuine.
那看上去确实不假
At the base of the gold cap,
金笔帽下方
the words 'made in the U.S.A.' had been neatly inscribed.
整齐地刻有美国制造字样
The man said that the pen was worth 50 pounds,
那人说那支笔值50英镑
but as a special favour, he would let me have it for 30 pounds.
为特别优惠 他愿意让我出30英镑成交
I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating
我摇摇头 伸出5根手指表示
that I was willing to pay 5 pounds.
我只愿出5镑钱
Gesticulating wildly,
那人激动地打着手势
the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous,
仿佛我的出价使他不能容忍
but he eventually reduced the price to 10 pounds.
但他终于把价钱降到了10英镑
Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when,
我耸耸肩膀掉头走开了
a moment later,
一会儿
he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands.
他突然从后面追了上来
Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair,
把笔塞到我手里 虽然他绝望地举起双手
he readily accepted the 5 pounds I gave him.
但他毫不迟疑地收下了我付给他的5镑钱
I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain
在回到船上之前
until I got back to the ship.
我一直为我的绝妙的讨价还价而洋洋得意
No matter how hard I tried,
然而不管我如何摆弄
it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink
那支漂亮的钢笔就是吸不进墨水来
and to this day it has never written a single word!
直到今天 那支笔连一个字也没写过
