意思的有效、精美传输

1.我一下船就让一个人给缠住了，他向我兜销一枚钻戒。(I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.)

2.我无意要买钻戒，但我无法掩饰自己还是被钻石的个头给吸引住了。(I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamond.)

3.我们走经一家路边的商店时，他拿起一块钻石，紧紧地按在窗户上，在玻璃上划出了一道很深的印痕。(As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass.)

4.下一个走向我的人是卖贵重钢笔和手表的。(The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches.)

5.我仔细查看了其中的一支钢笔，看起来的确像是真的。在金笔帽的底部整齐地刻着“美国造”字样。(I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine. At the base of the gold cap, the words ‘Made in USA’ were neatly inscribed.)

6.这人讲这支笔值50英镑，但算我面子大，只需30镑便可拿走。(The man said that the pen was worth 50 pounds, but as a special favor, he would let me have it for 30 pounds.)

7.我摇了摇头，伸出了五个手指，意思是我只愿意付5英镑。(I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay 5 pounds.)

8.一边打着手势，嘴里面一边哇哇乱叫着，这人表现得好像感到我的出价让他发疯一般。但他最终还是把价格降到了10英镑。(Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to 10 pounds.)

9.我耸了耸肩膀便迈步走开了，此时，也就是那么一会儿的功夫，他追了上来并将笔塞到了我的手里面。(Shrugging my shoulders, I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands.)

10.虽然他绝望地不停地向空中甩着胳膊，然而还是很欣然地接过了我给他的那5英镑。(Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the 5 pounds that I gave him.)

11.我为自己杀价的本领沾沾自喜、得意忘形，但回到船上后这种感觉便荡然无存了。无论我怎么摆弄，就是没办法将这支漂亮的笔灌上墨水。时至今日，它还没写出过一个字呢。(I was especially pleased with my wonderful bargain—until I got back to the ship. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day, it has never written a single word! )

12.首先，沉湎于过去是无意义的。(First of all, it is futile to dwell on the past.)