当那艘大型远洋客轮正驶入港口时，满载货物的小船纷纷飞速驶来。
Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour.
还没等那艘船抛锚停稳，小船上的人便已爬上了甲板，甲板上很快就铺满了来自波斯的彩色地毯、印度的绸缎、铜质咖啡壶，以及精美的手工银器。
Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware.
很难不为之心动。
It was difficult not to be tempted.
船上许多游客已经开始和小贩讨价还价了，但我决定等下船之后再买东西。
Many of the tourists on board had begun bargaining with the tradesmen, but I decided not to buy anything until I had disembarked.
我刚一下船，就被一个想卖给我钻戒的男人缠上了。
I had no sooner got off the ship than I was assailed by a man who wanted to sell me a diamond ring.
我本无意购买，但我无法掩盖这样一个事实：那些钻石的尺寸实在令我大为叹服。
I had no intention of buying one, but I could not conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds.
其中一些大得像玻璃弹珠一样。
Some of them were as big as marbles.
那个男人不遗余力地证明那些钻石是真的。
The man went to great lengths to prove that the diamonds were real.
当我们走过一家商店时，他把一颗钻石紧紧抵住橱窗，在玻璃上划出了一道深深的划痕。
As we were walking past a shop, he held a diamond firmly against the window and made a deep impression in the glass.
我花了半个多小时才摆脱了他。
It took me over half an hour to get rid of him.
下一个走近我的男人在兜售昂贵的钢笔和手表。
The next man to approach me was selling expensive pens and watches.
我仔细检查了其中一支钢笔。它看起来的确像真品。
I examined one of the pens closely. It certainly looked genuine.
在金色笔帽的底部，"美国制造"这几个字被工整地镌刻在上面。
At the base of the gold cap, the words 'made in the U.S.A.' had been neatly inscribed.
那个男人说这支钢笔价值50英镑，但作为特别优惠，他愿意以30英镑让我拿走。
The man said that the pen was worth £50, but as a special favour, he would let me have it for £30.
我摇了摇头，竖起五根手指，示意我愿意出五英镑。
I shook my head and held up five fingers indicating that I was willing to pay £5.
那个男人手舞足蹈，表现得好像我的出价荒谬至极，但他最终还是把价格降到了10英镑。
Gesticulating wildly, the man acted as if he found my offer outrageous, but he eventually reduced the price to 10 pounds.
我耸了耸肩，开始走开，片刻之后，他跑来追上我，把那支钢笔塞进了我手里。
Shrugging my shoulders I began to walk away when, a moment later, he ran after me and thrust the pen into my hands.
尽管他不断绝望地举起双臂，他还是毫不犹豫地接受了我给他的5英镑。
Though he kept throwing up his arms in despair, he readily accepted the £5 I gave him.
我对自己这笔精彩的交易感到特别满意——直到我回到船上。
I felt especially pleased with my wonderful bargain--until I got back to the ship.
无论我怎么努力，都无法给这支漂亮的钢笔灌墨水，而且直到今天，它从未写出过一个字！
No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to fill this beautiful pen with ink and to this day it has never written a single word!