The Ultimate Test

JOYPEACE

John Blanchard straightened his Army uniform; he was at Grand Central Station in New York, looking for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he had never seen, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun earlier when one day, at the library, he was looking through a book and had discovered that somebody had scribbled some notes in the outside margin. The words written showed that the person had much character. Finding more information about the writer of those words, a “Miss Hollis Maynell”, he had written this woman a letter introducing himself. Very soon after this he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year, the two had grown to know and love each other through the mail. John had asked his friend for a photograph, but she refused, saying that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. Finally John had returned from Europe, and now was at the Grand Central Station promptly at 7:00 PM to meet the woman of his dreams for the first time. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel.” Suddenly, John Blanchard saw a young woman coming toward him. She was tall and slim and had lovely blonde hair and deep blue eyes. John started toward her. As he came closer, she smiled at him. Then he remembered about the rose as the sign. Suddenly he caught sight of another lady who was wearing the red rose; she was standing almost directly behind the first young woman he’d seen. He was incredulous, was this the real “Hollis Maynell?” He took a closer look at the second woman. She was well past 40, and had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was quite fat. The blond young woman then began walking quickly away. John wanted to follow her but, at the same time, he felt that he should be loyal to the woman with whom he’d been corresponding. There she stood, waiting, the plump lady wearing the rose. Her gray eyes seemed to have a kindly twinkle. In his mind he was thinking, “I cannot marry this woman but I will always be grateful for our friendship.” He squared his shoulders and saluted, even though he felt a bit choked by the bitterness of his disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?" The woman smiled broadly and said, “I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady, who just went by, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said that this was some kind of test!" The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "and I will tell you who you are."

lanxu

好像是我们英语课文呀

JOYPEACE

那太好了，作一个翻译练习好吗？

liuyang203

感谢给我们的分享，而且还可以练习英文

lanxu

John Blanchard 整了整他的军装; 他正在纽约的guard中心车站，寻找一个他了解其内心，却从未见过面的女孩，一个戴着红玫瑰的女孩。她对他的兴趣早在先前的那一天就已经开始，在图书馆，他从书架上取下一本书，发现有人在边页上写了一些批眉。那些自己显示了她与众不同的性格。他找到更多关于她的信息Hollis Maynell小姐,他给她写了一封信介绍了自己。很快他就度过重洋，到了二战的战场。 在第二年，这两个人通过彼此写信熟悉以致爱上对方。John向他要照片，但他拒绝了。她说：如果他真的在乎她，就不会在意她的外表。终于，John从欧洲回来了，而且，他现在他就在guard中心车站，晚上7点，他将第一次见他梦中的她。“你会认出我”她写到“我会在我的衣领上佩戴一朵红玫瑰”。突然，John看到有一个年轻的女人走向他，她很高，很苗条，可爱的金发，深深的蓝眼睛。John 向她走去。他走近，她看着他笑。但他忽然想起作为标志的红玫瑰。

　　突然，他看到一个戴着红玫瑰的老妇人，她站在你请女人的后面，腰都弯了。难道她就是真正的“Hollis Maynell”？ 他走近看那个女人，她有40多岁，破帽子下是灰色的头发，她很胖。 那个金发女孩很快离开了，John想去追她，但与此同时，他又感到应该忠于跟他通信的人。 那个戴着玫瑰的女人站住了，在等，她的眼睛发出柔和的光。他心里想“我不能跟她结婚，但我要感谢我们之间的友谊”，他挺起胸向她行了个礼，他的心里有些苦闷和失望几乎让他哽咽　“我是John Blanchard中尉， 你一定是Maynell小姐，我非常高兴见到你，可以请你去吃饭吗？”

　　那女人大笑，说“孩子，我不知道这是怎么一回事，但是刚才走过的那个女孩要我在衣服上戴上这朵红玫瑰。她说如果你要请我吃饭，我就要告诉你她在路对面的那家餐馆等你。她说这是某种测试”。 真实的内心在其对不美事物的态度中显现出来。

　　“告诉我你爱谁”Houssaye 写到, "我就能告诉你你是怎样的人." 终于打完了，累死了。

ruthabby

嗬嗬，谢谢你这么辛劳为大家打出来译文，送花一朵！ 在这里再次呼吁大家，如果发英文文章，请提供中文译文，帮助大家学习，交流。 还欢迎朋友们翻译以前的就贴字。让我们携手一同建设这个英语特区，节约网络资源，做荣神益人的好见证！