“You must have one of those “eight-hour things” that’s going all around town,” she said. “You’ll feel perfectly well tomorrow.”
Eight hours seemed to be a reasonable time to have a cold, and I was looking forward to staying in bed, particularly since the Yankees and Red Sox were playing a crucial game to get into the American League playoffs.
* * *My sister called, and I told her I had one of those “eight-hour things that’s been going all around.”
“Are you sure it’s only an “eight-hour thing”?” she asked. “It could be the “24-hour bug”[160] Harold had last week. Do you have any fever?”
“A little — maybe 100.”
“That’s the “24-hour bug” for sure. Drink lots of fluids and take aspirin, and you’ll be able to shake it off.”
I really hadn’t counted on staying in bed for 24 hours, but it’s stupid to fight a bug. My other sister called up 10 minutes later. “Edith says you’ve got a 24-hour bug.”
“I don’t know if it’s a bug or just a cold.”
“Is your nose red from blowing it?”
“Yah, sure it is. Why do you ask?”
“Then you don’t have a “24-hour bug.” You have a “48-hour virus”.”
“My secretary said all I had was an “eight-hour thing.” How come you moved it up to 48 hours?”
“The “eight-hour thing” is entirely different. You feel funny but your nose doesn’t get red when you blow it. The “24-hour bug” has all the symptoms of the “eight-hour” one, except that you cough a lot. The “48-hour virus” makes you sneeze, cough and perspire while you’re sleeping. You have to stay in bed for two days.”
“But I can’t stay in bed for two days.”
“Look,” my sister said. “If you don’t want medical advice, don’t ask me.”
I think I might have been all right except that my secretary told Healy I was home with the flu.
Примечания
1
code: a system of figures used to represent telephone numbers of the cities and countries which have been changed to all-figure numbers. A London all-figure number is 01-2222870. 01 is the code to be dialed if you make a call from telephones outside the London Area. But if you make a call in London you must dial only the last seven figures those after the hyphen.
For numbers in New York City diaclass="underline" 0-01 212 followed by the last 7 digits of the number of the customer you require.
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Complimentary Ticket пригласительный билет
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I’ll see that you are paged in the restaurant. Я попрошу, чтобы вас вызвали из ресторана.
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hors-d’oeuvre or turtle soup, sole or omelette, beef fillet or roast duckling закуска или суп из черепахи, палтус или омлет, говяжье филе или жареная утка
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7 for 7.30 с 7 до 7.30 (сбор гостей)
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BEA: British European Airways Британская европейская авиатранспортная компания
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economy class: second class
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Heathrow: the biggest airport in London
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West London Air Terminaclass="underline" central passenger station that serves as a junction with other lines
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what’s playing Am. что будет
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Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953): a prominent American playwright; “Long Day’s Journey into Night” «Долгий день уходит в ночь”
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to have other fish to fry иметь другие более важные дела
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I’m brimming over with joy and happiness. Я преисполнен радости и счастья.
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the Development Programme Программа развития (экономики)
(обратно)15
the U.N. technical assistance техническая помощь, оказываемая ООН
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to hit the spot Am. попасть в точку, угодить
(обратно)17
free: unoccupied
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Marsh speaking: the generally accepted formal way for a man to announce himself on the telephone is for him to use his surname only, omitting the title Mr. An alternative, perhaps slightly less formal, would be to use the Christian name as well, which is generally accepted in American English, e.g. This is James Marsh speaking.
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a Mr Weston: the fact that the operator uses the indefinite article with the name indicates that she does not know the caller.
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on the line: a standard phrase used by operators to refer to an incoming call
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What can I do for you?: almost a fixed phrase, which is very often used as a polite way of asking someone what he wants
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surveyor инспектор, приемщик
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Splendid: an exclamation of approval which may sound to some people just a little too hearty or pompous
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quick work: often used to refer to anything that has been done quickly, not simply a job or work; e.g. “You made quick work of that ice-cream”, where the implication is that ice-cream was eaten quickly.
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you’ll be pleased to know: a fixed phrase which would be more appropriate in written English. It is one of the phrases which adds formality to this conversation, and would be unlikely in informal telephone conversations.
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subsidence осадка
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You’ve taken a load off my mind: this phrase is colloquial, and is used by someone who has had a cause for worry or anxiety removed.
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to hold things up: to delay proceedings (задержать работу)
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the outstanding work: work that has not yet been completed. Contrast the frequent use of “outstanding” to imply “of outstanding merit, qualities”, etc., as in “He is an outstanding man in every way”, “She has done some outstanding work at school”.
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