84 Charing Cross Road 查令十字街84號

Businessman on plane: Your first trip to London?


Helene Hanff: Yes.


Businessman on plane: You want a word of advice? Don't trust the cab drivers; they'll take you five miles to go three blocks... and, uh, don't waste your time looking at a street map. Nobody can find their way around London - not even Londoners.


Helene Hanff: Maybe I should go to Baltimore instead.


Businessman on plane: No; you'll enjoy it. London's a great place.

飛機上的商人：妳第一次到倫敦嗎？


海倫漢芙（安娜班克勞馥飾）：是啊。


商人：我給妳一點忠告。不要相信計程車司機；明明五條街就到了他們會開三英哩...。還有，不要浪費時間看街道圖。在倫敦，沒有人找得到路－－倫敦客也一樣。


海倫漢芙：也許我應該去巴爾迪摩就好了。


商人：別誤會，妳會玩得很開心的。倫敦是個很棒的地方。

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Helen Haff: I used to go to English movies just to look at the streets Years ago, a guy I knew told me that people going to England find exactly what they're looking for. I said I'd go looking for the England of English literature He nodded and said, "It's there."

海倫漢芙：我以前常去看英國電影，只為了看那些街道。幾年前有個認識的人跟我說，大家到英國去旅遊，看到的英國完完全全就是他們想看的英國。我說，我去英國的話，會想英國文學的英國。他點點頭說：「有，就在那裡。」

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Helene Hanff: I love inscriptions on flyleafs and notes in margins. I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned and reading passages someone long-gone has called my attention to.

海倫漢芙：我喜歡（舊）書頁首的題辭和留在書裡空白處的筆記。我喜歡翻別人翻過的書頁，還有閱讀別人很久以前提醒我該讀的段落時那種同志的感覺。

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Helen Hanff: I'm afraid to handle such soft vellum and heavy cream-colored pages. Being used to the dead-white paper and cardboard covers of American books...I never knew a book could besuch a joy to the touch.

海倫漢芙：一頁一頁乳白色的紙和那麼柔軟的上等書皮，讓我拿在手上都有點害怕。我習慣了美國書顏色慘白的紙和硬紙皮...。我想也沒有想過一本書竟然可以摸起來讓人如此賞心悅目。