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part 2
第2部分
Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation on the table crossly, muttering:
她没有像丈夫希望的那样高兴，而是生气地把请柬扔在桌子上，嘟囔着：
"What do you wish me to do with that?"
“你想让我拿这个怎么办？”
"Why, my dear, I thought you would be glad. You never go out, and this is such a fine opportunity. I had great trouble to get it. Everyone wants to go; it is very select, and they are not giving many invitations to clerks. The whole official world will be there."
“哎呀，亲爱的，我以为你会很高兴的。你从来不出门，这是一个多好的机会啊。我费了好大劲才弄到的。每个人都想去；这是非常精选的，他们不会给职员发很多请柬。整个官场都会在那里。”
She looked at him with an irritated glance and said impatiently:
她用恼怒的目光看着他，不耐烦地说：
"And what do you wish me to put on my back?"
“那你想让我穿什么？”
He had not thought of that. He stammered:
他没有想到这一点。他结结巴巴地说：
"Why, the gown you go to the theatre in. It looks very well to me."
“为什么，你去剧院穿的礼服。在我看来，它看起来很好。”
He stopped, distracted, seeing that his wife was weeping. Two great tears ran slowly from the corners of her eyes toward the corners of her mouth.
他停下来，心烦意乱，看到他的妻子在哭泣。两大滴眼泪慢慢地从她的眼角流向嘴角。
"What's the matter? What's the matter?" he answered.
“怎么了？怎么了？”他回答。
By a violent effort she conquered her grief and replied in a calm voice, while she wiped her wet cheeks:
她用力克制住自己的悲伤，平静地回答，同时擦了擦湿漉漉的脸颊：
"Nothing. Only I have no gown, and, therefore, I can't go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am."
“没什么。只是我没有礼服，所以我不能去参加这个舞会。把你的卡给一些同事，他们的妻子比我装备得更好。”
He was in despair. He resumed:
他绝望了。他接着说：
"Come, let us see, Mathilde. How much would it cost, a suitable gown, which you could use on other occasions--something very simple?"
“来吧，我们看看，玛蒂尔德。一件合适的礼服要多少钱，你可以在其他场合穿的——非常简单的那种？”
She reflected several seconds, making her calculations and wondering also what sum she could ask without drawing on herself an immediate refusal and a frightened exclamation from the economical clerk.
她思考了几秒钟，计算着，同时也想知道她能要求多少钱而不会立即遭到拒绝和来自这位节俭的职员的惊恐的惊叫。
Finally she replied hesitating:
最后，她犹豫地回答：
"I don't know exactly, but I think I could manage it with four hundred francs."
“我不太确切知道，但我想我可以用四百法郎搞定。”
He grew a little pale, because he was laying aside just that amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre, with several friends who went to shoot larks there of a Sunday.
他脸色有点苍白，因为他正准备把这笔钱存起来买一把枪，明年夏天在南泰尔平原上和几个星期天去那里打云雀的朋友一起享受一点射击的乐趣。
But he said:
但他还是说：
"Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty gown."
“好吧。我给你四百法郎。你去买一件漂亮的礼服吧。”
The day of the ball drew near and Madame Loisel seemed sad, uneasy, anxious. Her frock was ready, however. Her husband said to her one evening:
舞会的日子临近了，卢瓦赛尔夫人看起来悲伤、不安、焦虑。然而，她的礼服已经准备好了。一天晚上，她的丈夫对她说：
The Necklace, Napoleon's collection"What is the matter? Come, you have seemed very queer these last three days."
“项链，拿破仑的收藏”“怎么了？来吧，这三天你看起来很奇怪。”
And she answered:
她回答说：
"It annoys me not to have a single piece of jewelry, not a single ornament, nothing to put on. I shall look poverty-stricken. I would almost rather not go at all."
“我很烦恼，因为我没有一件珠宝，没有一件装饰品，没有什么可以戴的。我会看起来很寒酸。我几乎宁愿不去了。”
"You might wear natural flowers," said her husband. "They're very stylish at this time of year. For ten francs you can get two or three magnificent roses."
“你可以戴天然花，”她丈夫说。“在这个季节，它们很时髦。十法郎你可以买到两三朵华丽的玫瑰。”
She was not convinced.
她不相信。
"No; there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich."
“不；没有什么比在其他富有的女人中间看起来贫穷更丢脸的了。”
"How stupid you are!" her husband cried. "Go look up your friend, Madame Forestier, and ask her to lend you some jewels. You're intimate enough with her to do that."
“你真傻！”她丈夫喊道。“去找你的朋友福雷斯蒂埃夫人，让她借给你一些珠宝。你和她关系够亲密的，可以这么做。”
She uttered a cry of joy:
她高兴地叫了一声：
"True! I never thought of it."
“真的！我从来没想过。”
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