Their waterproof winter coats are in the closet and the dog keeps watching for them at the window.

他们的冬季防水大衣还放在衣橱里，狗也在窗边密切留意他们归来的身影。

But when you live alone, the temporary absence of your friends and acquaintances leaves a vacuum; they may never come back.

但如果你单独居住，那么朋友或熟人的暂时离别会使你感到空虚，也许他们永远也不会回来了。

The condition of loneliness rises and falls, but the need to talk goes on forever.

孤独的感觉时起时落，但我们却永远需要与人交谈。

It's more basic than needing to listen.

这比需要倾听更重要。

Oh, we all have friends we can tell important things to, people we can call to say we lost our job or fell on a slippery floor and broke our arm.

噢，我们都有朋友，可以把大事要事向他们倾诉。我们可以打电话对朋友说我们丢了工作，或者说我们在湿滑的地板上摔倒了，跌断了胳膊。

It's the daily succession of small complaints and observations and opinions that backs up and chokes us.

每日不断的琐碎抱怨，对各种事情的看法和意见，积在那儿，塞满了我们的心。

We can't really call a friend to say we got a parcel from our sister, or it's getting dark earlier now, or we don't trust that new Supreme Court justice.

我们不会真打电话给一位朋友，说我们收到了姐姐的一个包裹，或者说现在天黑得比较早，或者说我们不信任最高法院新来的法官。

Scientific surveys show that we who live alone talk at length to ourselves and our pets and the television.

科学调查表明，独居的人会对着自己、对着宠物、对着电视机唠叨不休。

We ask the cat whether we should wear the blue suit or the yellow dress.

我们问猫儿今天该穿蓝色套装还是黄色裙装，

We ask the parrot if we should prepare steak, or noodles for, dinner.

问鹦鹉今天晚餐该做牛排还是面条。

We argue with ourselves over who is the greater sportsman: that figure skater or this skier.

我们跟自己争论那个花样滑冰选手和这个滑雪运动员到底谁更了不起。

There's nothing wrong with this.

这没什么不妥，

It's good for us, and a lot less embarrassing than the woman in front of us in line at the market who's telling the cashier that her niece Melissa may be coming to visit on Saturday, and Melissa is very fond of hot chocolate, which is why she bought the powdered hot chocolate mix, though she never drinks it herself.

也对我们有好处，而且不像有些人那么令人尴尬：在超市付款处，排在前面的女人告诉收银员，她的侄女梅利莎星期六可能会来看她。梅莉莎非常喜欢热巧克力，所以她买了速溶热巧克力粉，虽然她自己从来不喝这东西。

It's important to stay rational.

重要的是保持理性。

It's important to stop waiting and settle down and make ourselves comfortable, at least temporarily, and find some grace and pleasure in our condition, not like a self-centered British poet but like a patient princess sealed up in a tower, waiting for the happy ending to our fairy tale.

重要的是不再等待，而是安顿下来，使自己过得舒服，至少暂时要这样。要在我们自身的条件下发现一些优雅和乐趣，不要做一个以自我为中心的英国诗人，而要像一个被关在塔楼里的公主，耐心地等待着我们的童话故事迎来快乐的结局。

After all, here we are.

毕竟，事已至此，

It may not be where we expected to be, but for the time being we might as well call it home.

这或许不是我们所期望的局面，但眼下我们不妨称之为家吧。

Anyway, there is no place like home.

不管怎么说，没有什么地方比家更好。

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本单元完

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Unit 6

Students taking business courses are sometimes a little surprised to find that classes on business ethics have been included in their schedule.

商科学生有时对课程里包含商业道德课略感吃惊。

They often do not realize that bribery in various forms is on the increase in many countries and, in some, has been a way of life for centuries.

他们通常没意识到在很多国家，形形色色的贿赂行为正日益增多。在某些国家，这已成为人们几百年来的一种生活方式。

Suppose that during a negotiation with some government officials, the Minister of Trade makes it clear to you that if you offer him a substantial bribe, you will find it much easier to get an import license for your goods, and you are also likely to avoid \

假定在一场与政府官员的谈判中，贸易部长向你明确表示如能给他一大笔贿赂，那么你的商品拿到进口许可证就会容易得多，还可能避免他所说的“程序上的延误”。

Now, the question is: Do you pay up or stand by your principles

现在的问题是：你是被迫掏钱呢，还是坚持原则