萊斯利：安迪又有新的號碼了，他對此并不高興。

Andy:I dislike being a number.

安迪：我不喜歡變成一個數字。

I even hate to take a number.

我憎恨數字。

All of us dislike being identified by number I think.

我想沒人喜歡被人用數字來辨認。

First we’re all saddled with a nine digit social security number.

先是強加給我們一個有九位數字的社會安全號。

I have a business address,that’s ten numbers.

我有一個商務地址，那是用十位數來代表的。

I have a business telephone number,area code,that’s ten more.

我有個辦公電話的號碼(包括電話區號)，那又是一個十位數。

Already I have twenty_nine numbers.

這樣我就有二十九個數字了。

A ten number telephone including the area code,home address and zip code,eight numbers.

再加上十位數的電話號碼(包括電話區號)，還有代表家庭住址和郵政區號的八位數，

I have forty_seven numbers and I’m just getting started.

我有了四十七個數字，而這才剛剛開始。

We have two cars each with two license plates;

我們有兩輛車，也就有兩個牌照。

my bank account number has nine digits.

我的銀行賬號有九個數字，

Now I’m up to six_seven numbers that I should remember.

現在我得記住六十七個數字了。

Yesterday I got my new American express card;

昨天，我領到了新的美國運通卡，

it has fifteen digits.

客觀存在有十五個數字。

What’s that all about?

這是什么意思?

The number one trillion has only thirteen digits.

一萬億也不過十三位，

Why do they need a number so many times bigger,than the number of people there are in the whole United States?

他們為什么要用這么大的數字呢?美國的總人口數翻上幾番都不如它大。

My Visa card has sixteen digits;my Master card has another sixteen.

我的簽證卡是十六位數字，萬事達卡又是十六位。

Now I’m up to a hundred and fourteen numbers that somebody uses to put their finger on me.

瑞在別人要辨認我的時候，我就有一百一十四個數字了。

The zip code was going to be magic.

郵政區號變得越來越不可思議。

Now a lot of addresses have added four numbers to their zip.

現在有很多地址的郵政區號又加了四個數字。

In most cities,the telephone company is adding more area codes to confuse people.

很多城市的電話公司都在將電話區號升位，這把人們弄得越來越糊涂。

There are two hundred and seventy million Americans,

現在有兩億七千萬美國人。

why doesn’t each one of us get assigned just one of the two hundred and seventy million numbers and that number,would work for everything.

為什么不是只有兩億七千萬個號碼，每個人一個，而且一個號碼就可以應付所有的事情呢?

It would be your social security number,your address,phone number,bank account number,American Express,everything.

它既是你的社會安全號，又能代表你的地址、電話號碼、銀行賬號、美國運通卡卡號，所有的一切。

Why should our zip code be different from our area code?

為什么我們的郵政區號和電話區號不同呢?

I mean this is a computer world.

我是說，這是一個電腦化的世界。

Phone company computers would recognize who the number was when someone dialed it and rang that person.

你如果給別人打電話，一撥號，電話公司的計算機應該就能夠辨認這個號碼是誰的。

There would be a different sounding ring for each person in the house or office.

無論是家里還是辦公室里的電話，找不同的人，響鈴聲應該不同。

There are a few details that would have to be worked out of course;

當然，還有些具體的細節問題需要解決。

I’m sure none of us wants our American Express card on our license plate.

比如說，我敢肯定，沒人希望自己的運通卡號碼出現在自己的車牌上。