Last week at a dinner party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold. Mrs. Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I tried to make conversation.
'A new play is coming to "The Globe" soon,' I said. 'Will you be seeing it?'
'No,' she answered.
'Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year?' I asked.
'No,' she answered.
'Will you be staying in England?' I asked.
'No,' she answered.
In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner.
'Young man,' she answered, 'if you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner!"
在上星期的一次宴会上，女主人要我坐在兰姆伯尔德夫人的旁边。兰伯尔德夫人是一位身材大，表情严肃的女人，穿一件紧身的黑衣服。她甚至不看的时候，我在她身旁坐下来。她的眼睛盯着自己的盘子，在很短的时间，她忙着吃。我试着跟她交谈。"一个新的戏剧要"球"很快，"我说。"你会去看吗？"不，"她回答说。"您今年去国外度假吗？"我问。"不，"她回答说。"您就呆在英国吗？"我问。"不，"她回答说。在绝望中，我问她是否吃得尽兴。"年轻人，"她回答说，"如果你多吃点，少说点，我们两个都会吃得好的！"
