突然的改變 A Change in Lifestyle

He’d always been a meek[溫順的] man. A quiet man. A timid[膽小的] man.

他一直都是一個溫和的男人，安靜的男人，膽小的男人。

Numbers were his life. They were constant[不變的]. Predictable[可預言的]. They always summed[總計] the same. There were no surprises in numbers. They never lied.

數字就是他的生活。它們永不改變、可以預測。它們的總數不會改變。數字沒有意外。它們從不撒謊。

He lived alone. A small house, neatly kept. Bushes trimmed[裝飾]. Lawn manicured[修剪]. Small flowers planted at the foot of the stairs up to the porch.

他獨自一人居住。一個小小的房子，維護得很整潔。矮樹叢裝點其四周，草坪修剪得很整齊，從樓梯底部到門廊的一路上都種滿小花。

His daily movements were like clockwork[發條裝置]. Up at dawn. Out to the porch to pick up his paper, in slippers and robe, before the light of the sun was in his neighbor’s window. Exactly 46 minutes later, he left his home, locked his front door, and walked down the street, briefcase in hand, hat on his head, headed for the first bus of the morning going downtown.

他每天的活動就像上了發條一樣精確。他在黎明時起牀，在陽光照到鄰居的窗臺之前穿着睡袍和拖鞋到門廊取報紙。整整46分鐘後，他離開家，鎖上前門，手提公文包，頭戴帽子走上街道，趕早上的第一班公車到市區。

In the evening, he would come home on the last outbound[往外開的] bus, walk down the street to his home, unlock the door, walk in, close the door, and turn on the porch light.

晚上，他會坐最晚一班從市區開出的公車回家，走過街道，打開門，走進去，關上門，打開門廊的燈。

At exactly 10 p.m. he’d turn off the porch light, and all the other lights in the house and no one would see or hear of him, again, until the next morning.

晚上十點整，他會關上門廊的燈以及屋裏其他的燈。一直到第二天早上，沒有人會看到或者聽到他。

The neighbors were surprised to see a young blond[金髮的] woman leave his house one evening. No one had seen her arrive. They’d just seen her leave. They were equally surprised to see her again on subsequent[後來的] days. Some saw her come, in a cab, others saw her leave on several occasions and walk down the street. One had seen her flag down[打旗號使停下] a cab at the corner. She never stayed the night. They knew that much.

一天晚上，鄰居們驚訝地看到一位年輕的金髮女郎離開他的屋子。沒人看到她什麼時候來的。他們只看到她離開。他們在往後的日子裏吃驚地再次看見她。有人看到她是坐出租車來的，也有人偶爾看到她走過街道離開。有人還看到她在拐角處叫出租車。她從不過夜。他們只知道這麼多。

That last evening, she had come by cab. She went in the house and within a matter of minutes the neighbors heard yelling, and screaming, glass breaking and thumping[極大的] sounds, like things being thrown. And then, it was quiet. A while later, the blond woman left the house, walked to the corner, and caught a cab. And was gone.

最後一晚，她是坐出租車來的。她走進那間屋子沒幾分鐘，鄰居們就聽到叫喊聲，然後是尖叫聲、打碎玻璃的聲音，還有很大的響聲，好像在丟東西。然後是一片寂靜。不一會兒，那位金髮女郎走出屋子，走到拐角處，叫了輛出租車，離開了。

At 10 p.m. the porch light did not turn off. At 11 p.m. his light remained on; to his neighbors it was a beacon[信號] flashing like a neon sign[霓虹燈] that said “Something’s Wrong!”

晚上十點，門廊的燈還沒熄。十一點，他的燈還亮着；對鄰居們而言，這就像霓虹燈閃爍着發出的信號：“出事了！”

At midnight one of the neighbors called the police.

午夜，一位鄰居叫來了警察。

They found the inside of the house a shambles[混亂的局面]. His body lay on the floor, unmarked but for the dent[凹痕] in the top of his head where the base of the trophy[獎盃] had broken a hole in his skull[腦殼].

他們發現屋子裏一片混亂。他的屍體躺在地板上；雖然不易發現，他的頭頂凹了一塊，被獎盃的底座砸出了個窟窿。

The trophy was for “Actuary[保險精算師] of the Year.” It lay on the floor next to his body. Next to that lay a picture, framed, of him, looking rather sheepish[羞怯的], with a paper crown on his head and a bouquet[花束] of flowers on his arm, standing under a banner[橫幅] which read, “Man Most In Need Of A Change In Lifestyle.”

這個獎盃是頒給“年度最佳保險精算師”的。它就躺在屍體旁邊的地板上，獎盃旁邊是一張帶框的照片，上面的他看起來非常羞澀，頭上頂着一個紙王冠，手上抱着一束花，站在一個橫幅下，橫幅上寫着“最需要改變生活方式的人”。

“Maybe not,” thought the detective. “Maybe not.”

“也許不是這樣，”警探想。“也許不是這樣的。”