I Had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.
呂叔湘：
這個故事我是東一點西一點從許多人那兒得來的，一如道聽途說常有的事情，每次所聽到的都有點不同。
王鎮國：
這故事，我從若干方面點點滴滴打聽而來，像通常的情形一樣，每次所聽到的往往互有出入。
朋友的看法：
梁兄（A1+B2）：這個故事我是東一點西一點從許多人那兒得來的，像通常的情形一樣，每次所聽到的往往互有出入。
Howard：試試看：這故事我從許多人口中拼湊得來。這種口傳故事每個人的說法都有些出入，本來就不足為奇。
小讀者：
這故事，我是東一點西一點分別聽來的，當然，不同的人，各有不同的說法。
這故事，我是東拼西湊從不同人口中聽來的，當然，每回的版本都不一樣。
這故事，我是一點點到處聽來的，當然，像這種情況，自然是人言言殊／各有版本／莫衷一是．．．。
（梁：這個「當然」下得不錯。）
----
當時還有討論，不過沒貼出來：
If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office. If you know the post-office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to
it, drop the reins on his hollow-backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade: and you must have asked
who he was.
呂叔湘：
您要是到過馬薩諸塞州的史撘克菲爾鎮，你準認得那個郵局。您認得那個郵局，您準看過伊坦‧弗洛美姆趕輛車子來到這兒， 把繮繩往他的瘦馬的背上一撘，拖著腳步過磚頭的人行道， 走進郵局門口的白石柱子，而且您準要問人這是誰。
王鎮國：
倘若你熟悉馬薩諸塞州的史撘克菲，你準知道那兒的郵局。倘若你知道這所郵局，你一定看到過伊丹 ‧傅羅姆趕馬車來，他把韁繩往那匹枯瘦的栗色馬身上一丟， 就拖曳著腳步，穿過磚砌的人行道，拐進了白色的柱廊。 你一定探問過，他是什麼人。
枝節問題：
查詢繮的結果如下：找不到符合的詞彙！
我發現中文似乎無法表達冒號。
建築 hollow-backed Said of a piece of wood, stone, etc., whose unexposed face has been hollowed out so that it fits against an irregular surface more tightly.
·bay A reddish-brown animal, especially a horse having a black mane and tail. 鹿毛の馬
張瑞麟：好一陣子沒有讀英文和法文了。
關於句中的冒號，我個人認為那只是用來表示and you must have asked who he was和句中其他（前面）的部分是分開的而已。-----
"There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there’s only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a fairly good time."
- from ETHAN FROME by Edith Wharton
- from ETHAN FROME by Edith Wharton
This brilliantly wrought, tragic novella explores the repressed emotions and destructive passions of working-class people far removed from the elevated social milieu usually inhabited by Wharton’s characters. Ethan Frome is a poor farmer, trapped in a marriage to a demanding and controlling wife, Zeena. When Zeena’s young cousin Mattie enters their household she opens a window of hope in Ethan’s bleak life, but his wife’s reaction prompts a desperate attempt to escape fate that goes horribly wrong. Ethan Frome is an unforgettable story with the force of myth, featuring realistic and haunting characters as vivid as any Wharton ever conjured.
