He'd always been a meek[温顺的] man. A quiet man. A timid[胆小的] man.

他一直都是一个温和的男人，安静的男人，胆小的男人。

Numbers were his life. They were constant[不变的]. Predictable[可预言的]. They always summed[总计] the same. There were no surprises in numbers. They never lied.

数字就是他的生活。它们永不改变、可以预测。它们的总数不会改变。数字没有意外。它们从不撒谎。

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

他独自一人居住。一个小小的房子，维护得很整洁。矮树丛装点其四周，草坪修剪得很整齐，从楼梯底部到门廊的一路上都种满小花。

His daily movements were like clockwork[发条装置]. 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.

他每天的活动就像上了发条一样精确。他在黎明时起床，在阳光照到邻居的窗台之前穿着睡袍和拖鞋到门廊取报纸。整整46分钟后，他离开家，锁上前门，手提公文包，头戴帽子走上街道，赶早上的第一班公车到市区。

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

晚上，他会坐最晚一班从市区开出的公车回家，走过街道，打开门，走进去，关上门，打开门廊的灯。

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.

晚上十点整，他会关上门廊的灯以及屋里其他的灯。一直到第二天早上，没有人会看到或者听到他。

The neighbors were surprised to see a young blond[金发的] 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[后来的] 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[打旗号使停下] a cab at the corner. She never stayed the night. They knew that much.

一天晚上，邻居们惊讶地看到一位年轻的金发女郎离开他的屋子。没人看到她什么时候来的。他们只看到她离开。他们在往后的日子里吃惊地再次看见她。有人看到她是坐出租车来的，也有人偶尔看到她走过街道离开。有人还看到她在拐角处叫出租车。她从不过夜。他们只知道这么多。

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[极大的] 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.

最后一晚，她是坐出租车来的。她走进那间屋子没几分钟，邻居们就听到叫喊声，然后是尖叫声、打碎玻璃的声音，还有很大的响声，好像在丢东西。然后是一片寂静。不一会儿，那位金发女郎走出屋子，走到拐角处，叫了辆出租车，离开了。

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[信号] flashing like a neon sign[霓虹灯] that said "Something's Wrong!"

晚上十点，门廊的灯还没熄。十一点，他的灯还亮着；对邻居们而言，这就像霓虹灯闪烁着发出的信号："出事了！"

At midnight one of the neighbors called the police.

午夜，一位邻居叫来了警察。

They found the inside of the house a shambles[混乱的局面]. 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[奖杯] had broken a hole in his skull[脑壳].

他们发现屋子里一片混乱。他的尸体躺在地板上；虽然不易发现，他的头顶凹了一块，被奖杯的底座砸出了个窟窿。

The trophy was for "Actuary[保险精算师] 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[横幅] which read, "Man Most In Need Of A Change In Lifestyle."

这个奖杯是颁给"年度最佳保险精算师"的。它就躺在尸体旁边的地板上，奖杯旁边是一张带框的照片，上面的他看起来非常羞涩，头上顶着一个纸王冠，手上抱着一束花，站在一个横幅下，横幅上写着"最需要改变生活方式的人"。