《当代女孩在阿迪朗达克》开篇：英文原著带中文翻译

The chugging taxicab stopped in front of the apartment on Central Park, West, and the uniformed door attendant bowed out of it, and into the marble vestibule, a demure girl with rosy cheeks.

出租车突突作响，停在中央公园西侧那栋公寓楼前。穿制服的门童躬身拉开车门，一位面颊红润、端庄娴静的姑娘走下车，步入大理石前厅。

"Miss Pursell?" she asked, and there was that in her voice which made the elevator boy look a second time; and he was not unused to seeing pretty girls and hearing them speak.

「是珀塞尔小姐吗？」她问道。她的声音里有一种东西，让开电梯的男孩忍不住又看了她一眼。他并非没见过漂亮姑娘，也不是没听过她们说话。

"Third floor, miss," he said, with a quick touch of his hand to his much-gold-braided cap. Then, as he clanged the steel-grilled door shut, he favored the hall-man with a distinct wink, which Rose Bancroft did not see. But had she seen it she would, perhaps, have given it little consideration, since it did not concern her.

「三楼，小姐，」他说着，手飞快地碰了一下那顶缀满金色饰带的帽子。随后，他哐当一声关上钢栅门，朝门厅侍者明显地使了个眼色，罗斯·班克罗夫特并没有看见。但就算她看见了，或许也不会放在心上，因为这与她无关。

What did concern her was reaching her friend Sylvia Pursell as soon as possible. There were more reasons than one for this, but perhaps the one with which we may now concern ourselves was that Rose had been travelling since early morning, having but just arrived at the Grand Central Terminal from Syracuse.

与她有关的，是尽快见到她的朋友西尔维娅·珀塞尔。理由不止一个，但或许我们现在可以关心的那个理由是，罗斯从清晨起就一直在赶路，刚从锡拉丘兹抵达大中央车站。

Travelling in even the best-portered Pullman, in the middle of the "Chicago Special," is very apt to grime one up, especially if the aforesaid one be wearing a particularly light and dainty dress. So Rose, as she was shot upward in the smooth-running elevator, wondered whether the coloured maid at the Grand Central had made sure that there was no cinder dust on the end of her nose.

即便坐的是行李搬运服务最好的普尔曼车厢，在「芝加哥特快」的中段，也很容易把人弄得灰头土脸，尤其是如果上述这位女士穿了一条特别浅色、特别精致的裙子。所以，当罗斯乘着运行平稳的电梯向上飞去时，她心里琢磨，大中央车站那位有色人种女佣有没有替她确认，她的鼻尖上没有煤灰。

"For," reflected Rose to herself, "if there is one thing more than another, that makes a girl lose her smartness and dignity, it is a black spot on the end of her nose."

「因为，」罗斯暗自思忖，「如果说有哪一件事比别的更让一个姑娘失去利落和体面，那就是鼻尖上有个黑点。」

And Rose had her special reasons for wanting to look at least "smart" when she reached Sylvia's apartment. I'll tell you why later. She ventured to glance into the bevelled mirror which made up the whole back of the car, but the electric bulb was shaded with a rose-tinted glass, and while it made a very pretty effect, still it was not conducive to illumination.

而罗斯有她特别的理由，希望在到达西尔维娅的公寓时至少显得「利落」。我稍后再告诉你为什么。她壮着胆子朝那面镶在车厢后壁、占了整面墙的斜面镜瞥了一眼，但电灯泡罩着玫瑰色玻璃，虽然效果很好看，却并不利于照明。

"I'm almost sure there's a spot," thought Rose, but she dared not raise her veil to make sure. And just then the elevator lad, who had been favouring his solitary passenger with more than one surreptitious glance, called out, in a most respectful tone of voice, a voice not at all in keeping with his previous facetious wink:

「我几乎可以肯定有个黑点，」罗斯想，但她不敢掀起面纱去确认。就在这时，那个开电梯的小伙子，已经不止一次偷偷打量他这位唯一的乘客，用极其恭敬的语气喊了一声，那语气与他先前那副戏谑的挤眼完全不搭：

"Your floor! Miss Pursell's!"

「您到了！珀塞尔小姐家！」

"Thank you," said Rose, quietly, and stepped out.

「谢谢，」罗斯平静地说，走了出去。

A few moments later, Rose having been ushered into a pretty reception hall, and thence to the drawing-room, she and Sylvia had their arms around each other, and Sylvia was kissing her friend, regardless of whether or not there was a spot on Rose's face—her nose or anywhere else.

片刻之后，罗斯被引进一间漂亮的接待厅，又从那里到了客厅，她和西尔维娅已经互相搂着对方的胳膊，西尔维娅亲吻着她的朋友，全然不管罗斯脸上，鼻尖上或别处，有没有黑点。

"It was so sweet of you to come down from Syracuse, my dear!"

「你从锡拉丘兹下来，真是太好了，亲爱的！」

"Nonsense, it was just perfectly lovely of you to ask me. I am so interested!"

「胡说，你请我来才是太好了。我太感兴趣了！」

"I thought you'd be! Did you have a tiresome trip?"

「我就知道你会感兴趣！路上累不累？」

"Oh, not especially so. We were a little late, but made it up. Mrs. Blake, mamma's friend, you know, came part way with me."

「哦，不算特别累。我们晚了一点，但赶回来了。布莱克太太，我妈妈的朋友，你知道的，陪我走了一段路。」

"That was nice. Janet, take Miss Bancroft's things, and then tell Perkins we'll have tea in here."

「那很好。珍妮特，把班克罗夫特小姐的东西拿去，然后告诉珀金斯，我们在这里用茶。」

"Yes, Miss Pursell."

「是，珀塞尔小姐。」

"Are the other girls here?" asked Rose, as she made sure this time, by a hasty glance in a well-lighted mirror, that there was not a spot on her nose.

「其他姑娘到了吗？」罗斯问，这一次她借着一面光线充足的镜子匆匆一瞥，确认自己鼻尖上没有黑点。

"No, they're coming to-night, I presume. Hazel was away when my telegram reached her, but she left Chicago last night, and ought to be here now. I'm not so sure when Alice will arrive. You know her style."

「没有，她们大概今晚来。我的电报送到黑兹尔那里时，她不在，但她昨晚离开了芝加哥，现在应该到了。艾丽斯什么时候到，我就不太确定了。你知道她那个作风。」

"Indeed I do. If she doesn't arrive to-day, next week will do. But are you really going to carry out your plan?"

「我当然知道。她要是今天不到，下星期也行。不过，你真的打算实行你的计划吗？」