I stared back, struggling to think clearly in spite ofhis face, to find some way to explain. As I searchedfor the words, I could see him getting impatient;frustrated by my silence, he started to scowl. Ilifted my hand from my neck, and held up one finger.
我回视着他，挣扎着不去注意他的脸，仔细地思考着，想要找到合适的解释。当我搜肠刮肚地想着合适的话的时候，我看得出，他开始不耐烦了。他被我的沉默挫败着，开始沉下脸来。我把手从脖子下移开，向他竖起一根手指。
"Let me think," I insisted. His expression cleared, now that he was satisfied that I was planningto answer. I dropped my hand to the table, moving my left hand so that my palms werepressed together. I stared at my hands, twisting and untwisting my fingers, as I finally spoke.
“让我想想。”我坚持着。他的脸立刻明朗起来，他很满意，因为我正计划着回答他的问题。我把手放到桌子上，伸出左手，然后掌心相抵着。我看着自己的双手，十指时伸时屈。最终，我说话了。
"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes…" I hesitated. "I can't be sure — I don't know how toread minds — but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're sayingsomething else." That was the best I could sum up the sensation of anguish that his wordstriggered in me at times.
“嗯，除去那些显而易见的表现，有时候……”我迟疑着。“我不能肯定——我可不会读心术——可有时候当你在说别的事时，你像是努力要说再见一样。”这是我对他的话时不时在我心里引起的那些痛苦的感觉的最好的总结。
"Perceptive," he whispered. And there was the anguish again, surfacing as he confirmed myfear. "That's exactly why you're wrong, though," he began to explain, but then his eyesnarrowed. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?"
“非常敏锐。”他耳语道。又一阵痛苦袭来，表面上看他似乎证实了我的恐惧。“但是，那确实是你错了的原因。”他正要开始解释，但随即，他的眼睛眯缝起来。“你是什么意思，‘那些显而易见的表现’?”
"Well, look at me," I said, unnecessarily as he was already staring. "I'm absolutely ordinary —well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy that I'malmost disabled. And look at you." I waved my hand toward him and all his bewilderingperfection.
“好吧，看着我。”我说道，但这毫无必要，因为他已经在注视着我了。“我无比平凡——嗯，除了一些不好的事，比方说所有这些与死神擦肩而过的经历，还有笨拙得像个残障人士一样。而看看你。”我挥手示意着他，还有他所有的让人迷乱的极致之处。