Otis had been driving for nearly four hours when the car began to pull strangely to the right. He gripped the wheel a little tighter, telling himself it was probably just the wind. Then a dull thumping sound made the truth impossible to ignore. The front right tire had gone completely flat.
奥蒂斯已经开了将近四个小时的车，这时车开始奇怪地往右偏。他把方向盘握得更紧了一点，告诉自己多半只是风的缘故。接着，一阵沉闷的砰砰声让他再也无法无视真相。右前轮胎彻底没气了。
He eased onto the shoulder, hazard lights blinking, and sat for a moment listening to cars rush past at highway speed. He hadn't changed a tire in years, and the manual in the glove compartment looked thicker than he remembered. Still, there was nothing to do but get out and try.
他把车缓缓靠到路肩上，闪着警示灯，坐了一会儿，听着车辆以高速公路的速度呼啸而过。他已经好几年没换过轮胎了，手套箱里的说明书看起来比他记忆中厚得多。不过，除了下车试试，也没有别的办法。
The spare tire was tucked beneath the trunk floor, alongside a jack that seemed to be missing half its instructions. Otis laid everything out on the gravel shoulder and worked through the steps one at a time. He loosened the lug nuts before raising the car, exactly as the manual advised.
备用轮胎收在后备厢底板下面，旁边是一个千斤顶，说明书似乎缺了一半。奥蒂斯把所有东西摊在碎石路肩上，一步一步地照着做。他按说明书的要求，在顶起车之前先拧松了轮胎螺母。
A trucker slowed down and called through his open window, "You need a hand?" Otis waved him off politely. "I think I've got it, but thank you," he said, appreciating the offer even so. He wanted to prove to himself that he could manage this alone, at least once.
一位卡车司机放慢车速，从敞开的车窗里喊道：“要帮忙吗？”奥蒂斯礼貌地摆手谢绝了。“我想我能行，不过谢谢你。”他说，即便如此，他仍很感激这份好意。他想向自己证明，至少这一次，他能一个人搞定这件事。
The jack groaned as it lifted the car, and for a moment Otis worried it might not hold. It did. He removed the flat tire, rolled the spare into place, and tightened each nut in the crossing pattern the manual recommended. Sweat gathered despite the cool afternoon air.
千斤顶吱嘎作响地把车顶了起来，有那么一会儿，奥蒂斯担心它撑不住。它撑住了。他卸下没气的轮胎，把备胎滚到位置上，按说明书推荐的对角交叉顺序拧紧每一颗螺母。虽然下午的空气很凉，汗还是聚了起来。
By the time he lowered the car back down, his hands were streaked with dust and his shirt clung to his back. Still, the spare tire sat firmly in place. He tested it with a small push before loading the flat and the tools back into the trunk.
等他把车放下来的时候，他的手上沾满了灰尘，衬衫贴在背上。不过，备用轮胎稳稳地装在那里。他用手轻轻推了推试了一下，然后才把坏轮胎和工具装回后备厢。
Had he called for roadside assistance instead, he would have lost at least an hour waiting on this stretch of highway. Doing it himself had taken barely twenty-five minutes, once he stopped second-guessing every step.
要是他叫了道路救援，在这段高速公路上至少要白等一个小时。自己动手只花了二十五分钟出头，只要他不再对每一步都犹豫不决。
Otis checked his mirrors, pulled carefully back onto the highway, and drove the last two hours at a slightly more cautious speed than before. He made a mental note to buy a new spare and check the others before his next long trip. He also wanted to remember that he was more capable than he usually gave himself credit for.
奥蒂斯查看了后视镜，小心地驶回高速公路，在剩下的两个小时里，他开得比之前稍微谨慎一些。他在心里记下：下次长途旅行之前，要买一个新的备胎，并检查其他几个轮胎。他还想记住，自己其实比平时给自己的评价要能干得多。
