Many years ago, in the crowded corridor of a Manhattan hotel, I was surprised to find myself standing face-to-face(面对面地) with Imelda Marcos(菲律宾前第一夫人，以奢华生活闻名), then the first lady of the Philippines. At that time, she was said to possess(拥有，持有) 3,000 pairs of shoes.
多年前，在曼哈顿一家酒店拥挤的走廊里，我惊讶地发现自己与菲律宾时任第一夫人伊梅尔达·马科斯面对面。当时，据说她拥有三千双鞋。
I desperately(拼命地，极度地) longed to ask the wife of the dictatorial(独裁的，专横的) president Ferdinand Marcos why anyone could need all those shoes. And more importantly, why would someone spend so much of her country’s wealth on stiletto heels(细高跟鞋) when so many citizens were so desperately poor? But natural reticence(沉默寡言，缄默), good manners or simply fear prevail(占上风，盛行)ed, and I walked away.
我极其渴望问问那位独裁总统费迪南德·马科斯的妻子，为什么有人需要那么多鞋。更重要的是，为什么在那么多国民极度贫困时，有人会花那么多国家财富去买高跟鞋？但天生的沉默寡言、良好的教养，或者仅仅是恐惧占了上风，我走开了。
I’m fairly certain that Donald Trump’s shoe closet doesn’t come anywhere near the size and grandeur of Imelda Marcos’s, and yet the questions I wanted to ask her are very much like the ones I now would like to ask anyone who will listen.(我相当确信特朗普的鞋柜远不及马科斯的豪华，但我想问她的问题与现在想问别人的问题很相似。)
我相当确信，唐纳德·特朗普的鞋柜无论在规模还是豪华程度上都远不及伊梅尔达·马科斯，然而我想问她的问题，与我现在想问任何愿意听的人的问题非常相似。