读者文摘:魔术改变了我的生活(8)

"I need each of you to think of a number between one and fifty.

“我需要你们每个人在1到50之间想出一个数字。

When I point to you, call your number out loud so everyone can hear."

当我指着你的时候，把你的号码大声喊出来，这样每个人都能听见。”

"Sixteen."

“16”

"Thirty-two."

“32”

"Nine."

“9”

"Forty-three."

“43”

"Eleven."

“11”

I pause before the last person, a girl standing¹ in the back of the room.

我在最后一个人面前停了下来，一个女孩站在房间的后面。

When the hat flew toward² her a minute ago, she jumped up to catch it.

一分钟前帽子飞向她时，她跳起来抓住了帽子。

"What's your name?"

“你叫什么名字?”

"Jessica."

“杰西卡”

"Jessica, before you tell me your number, I just want to say this:

“杰西卡，在你说出你的数字之前，我只想说：

When you go home tonight, you are going to be unable to sleep.

当你今晚回家时，你将无法入眠。

You're going to lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, driving yourself crazy wondering what would have happened if you had named a number other than the number you are about to name."

你会躺在床上，盯着天花板，发了疯的想知道如果你说出的不是你要说出的数字，而是另一个数字，会发生什么。”

The audience laughs. Jessica just listens.

观众笑了。杰西卡只是听着。

"Before you give me your number,

“在你说出你的数字之前，

I want you to know in your heart of hearts that it was a free choice,

我想让你们知道，在你们内心深处，这是一个自由的选择，

that there is no way I could have gotten inside your head to make you give me the number I wanted. Right?"

我不可能进入你的大脑，让你说出我想要的号码。对吗?”

She nods slowly.

她慢慢地点头。

"What number are you thinking of?"

“你在想什么数字?”

"Fourteen."

“14”

Every great illusion³ has a moment of calm before the build to the end, and right now the room is completely quiet.

每一次想数字的时候都有片刻的平静，而现在房间是完全安静的。

At some point the bartender had started watching and turned off the music. Everyone is still.

在某个时候，酒保已经开始观看并关掉了音乐，每个人都静止了。

"I want to point out that the odds⁴ of this working by chance alone are in the trillions.

“我想指出的是，单凭运气就能成功的几率是数万亿。

What are the numbers again? Sixteen, thirty-two, nine, fortythree, eleven, and fourteen, right?"

再说一遍数字，16，32，9，43，11，14，对吧?”

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

3 illusion   

n.幻想，错误的观念，错觉，幻觉，假象

参考例句：

• The sun appears to go round the Earth,but it's an illusion.太阳看起来好像绕着地球转，但这只是个错觉。
• They were under the illusion that the company was doing well.他们误以为该公司生意很好。

4 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？