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"I guess maybe I'd better," she said. "I wouldn't for the world have him think I had any feeling. I think I'd better shake hands, just the way I would with anybody else. That's just exactly what I'll do."
“我想我最好，”她说，“决不让他觉得我对黑人有任何厌恶。我想最好和他握手，就像我和任何人握手一样。对，我就这样做。”
They reached the tall young Negro, standing by the bookcase. The host performed introductions; the Negro bowed.
他们一起来到站在书柜旁的那个高个黑人青年面前。主人作了介绍，黑人青年鞠躬致意。
"How do you do?" he said.
他说：“你好。”
The woman with the pink velvet poppies extended her hand at the length of her arm and held it so for all the world to see, until the Negro took it, shook it, and gave it back to her.
这个头戴天鹅绒质地粉红罂粟花的女人向前伸直了她的手臂，一动不动，像故意让全世界的人看到似的，直到那个黑人伸手接住她的手，握了握，并松开，她才把手缩回去。
"Oh, how do you do, Mr. Williams," she said. "Well, how do you do. I've just been saying, I've enjoyed your singing so awfully much. I've been to your concerts, and we have you on the phonograph and everything. Oh, I just enjoy it!"
“哦，你好，威廉斯先生，”她说，“你好。我刚才一直在说我特别喜欢听你唱歌。我去过你的演唱会，我有你的唱片和其他所有与你有关的东西。哦，我太喜欢它们了！”
She spoke with great distinctness, moving her lips meticulously, as if talking with the deaf.
她吐字很清晰，嘴唇小心翼翼地上下动着，像是在和聋子说话一样。
"I'm so glad," he said.
“我很高兴你能喜欢我的歌，”他说。
"I'm just simply crazy about that 'Water Boy' thing you sing," she said. "Honestly, I can't get it out of my head. I drive my husband nearly crazy, the way I go around humming it all the time. Oh, he looks just as black as the ace of—Well. Tell me, where on earth do you ever get all those songs of yours? How do you ever get hold of them?"
她说：“我很喜欢你唱的那首《送水工》。老实说，它一直在我的脑海里挥之不去。我时常哼唱那首歌，都快把我丈夫给弄疯了。哦，他阴沉着脸，就像扑克牌中黑桃A那么黑……哦，告诉我，究竟是什么使得你创作出这些歌的？你是怎样得到灵感的？”
