Food and Talk

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，女主人安排我坐在兰伯尔德夫人的身旁。兰伯尔德夫人是一位身材高大、表情严肃的女人，穿一件紧身的黑衣服。当我在她身旁坐下来的时候，她甚至连头都没有抬一下。她的眼睛盯着自己的盘子，不一会儿就忙着吃起来了。我试图找个话题和她聊聊。

我说：“一出新剧很快就要在‘环球剧场’上演了。”你去看吗？”

她回答说：“不。”

我又问：“您今年去国外度假吗？”

她回答说：“不。”

我再问：“您就呆在英国吗？”

她回答说：“不。”

失望之中我问她饭是否吃得满意。

她回答说：“年轻人，如果你多吃点，少说点，我们两个就都会吃得好的！”