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She was shocked again.
她又一次大吃一惊。
"Mother, you must come, if only to explain to me what is the harm of visiting the surface of the earth."
“母亲，您一定要来，哪怕只是给我解释解释观光地球的表面有什么害处也好。”
"No harm," she replied, controlling herself.
“没有什么害处，”她控制着自己回答说。
"But no advantage. The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no advantage.
“不过也没有什么好处。地球的表面只是尘土和泥泞，
The surface of the earth is only dust and mud, no life remains on it, and you would need a respirator, or the cold of the outer air would kill you.
上面已经没有生命存在了，而且你需要有一个呼吸保护器，不然的话，外部大气的寒冷会使你丧命的。
One dies immediately in the outer air."
在外部大气里，谁都会立刻死掉。”
"I know; of course I shall take all precautions." "And besides—" "Well?" She considered, and chose her words with care.
“我知道；当然我要事事都加小心。”“此外——”“怎么？”她思考着，谨慎地选择她的字眼。
Her son had a queer temper, and she wished to dissuade him from the expedition.
她的儿子有个古怪脾气，但她想劝阻他不要做这次远征。
"It is contrary to the spirit of the age," she asserted.
“这是违反时代精神的。”她坚持说。
"Do you mean by that, contrary to the Machine?" "In a sense, but—" His image is the blue plate faded.
“您的意思是说，这是反对那大机器的吗？”“在某种意义上是可以这样说，不过——”他的形象在蓝盘里消失了。
"Kuno!" He had isolated himself.
“基诺！”他把他自己隔绝起来了。
For a moment Vashti felt lonely.
有一会儿时间，瓦西蒂感到孤寂了。
Then she generated the light, and the sight of her room, flooded with radiance and studded with electric buttons, revived her.
于是她让房间亮起来，她那处处通明、电钮密布的房间的全景使她精神恢复了过来。
There were buttons and switches everywhere – buttons to call for food for music, for clothing.
那里到处是电钮和开关——要食品的电钮、要音乐的电钮、要衣服的电钮。
There was the hot-bath button, by pressure of which a basin of imitation marble rose out of the floor, filled to the brim with a warm deodorized liquid.
有热水浴的电钮，按一下这个电钮，一个仿云石的澡盆便从地板下面升上来，里面有满到盆边的一种温热的除臭液体。
There was the cold-bath button.
还有冷浴的电钮。
There was the button that produced literature, and there were of course the buttons by which she communicated with her friends.
有创作文学的电钮，当然还有她借以同她的朋友们交谈的电钮。
The room, though it contained nothing, was in touch with all that she cared for in the world.
这个房间，虽然里面没有什么东西，却同她所关心的世界上的一切保持着接触。
Vashanti's next move was to turn off the isolation switch, and all the accumulations of the last three minutes burst upon her.
瓦西蒂的下一步行动是关掉那个隔绝开关，于是最近三分钟所积压的一切一下子都麋集到她身上来。
The room was filled with the noise of bells, and speaking-tubes.
房里是一片电铃声和话筒声。
What was the new food like? Could she recommend it? Has she had any ideas lately? Might one tell her one's own ideas?
那种新食品怎么样？她能不能给推荐呢？她最近有什么思想意念吗？有个人想同她谈谈自己的思想意念，可以吗？
Would she make an engagement to visit the public nurseries at an early date? – say this day month.
她肯不肯约定一个早一点的日期，去访问公立保育所呢？——假定说下个月的今天吧。
To most of these questions she replied with irritation – a growing quality in that accelerated age.
对于这些问题，她大多很不耐烦地一一作了回答，这是年龄日增的一个鲜明的特点。
She said that the new food was horrible.
她说，那种新食品简直叫人生厌。
That she could not visit the public nurseries through press of engagements.
她说她不能由于约定催逼得紧就去访问公立保育所。
That she had no ideas of her own but had just been told one-that four stars and three in the middle were like a man: she doubted there was much in it.
她说她没有什么自己的思想意念，只不过听一个人告诉她，四颗星和在它们当中的三颗星是像一个人的腰带，她不认为其中有什么意义。
Then she switched off her correspondents, for it was time to deliver her lecture on Australian music.
随后她关掉她的通讯开关，因为已是该做她那篇论奥地利音乐的演讲的时候了。
