Flora goes to her first dance class on Thursday evening. The class is for beginners. The teacher puts everyone in pairs. Flora's partner is a tall man named Raoul.
星期四晚上，弗洛拉去上她的第一节舞蹈课。这是一个初学者班。老师让大家两人一组。弗洛拉的舞伴是一个高个子男人，名叫拉乌尔。
"We start with the basic step," the teacher says. "Slow, slow, quick, quick."
“我们从基本舞步开始，”老师说，“慢，慢，快，快。”
The music starts. Raoul steps on Flora's foot.
音乐响起。拉乌尔踩到了弗洛拉的脚。
"Sorry," he says.
“对不起，”他说。
One minute later, he does it again. "Sorry!" Then a third time. Flora's toes hurt. Raoul looks at the wall and not at his feet. She thinks he is careless.
一分钟后，他又踩了一次。“对不起！”然后是第三次。弗洛拉的脚趾很疼。拉乌尔看着墙，不看自己的脚。她觉得他太粗心了。
After the fifth "sorry," Flora stops. "You can stop saying sorry," she says. "Just look at your feet."
说到第五个“对不起”时，弗洛拉停了下来。“你别再说对不起了，”她说，“看着你的脚就行。”
"I know," Raoul says. His face is red, and his hands are wet. "I want to look at them. But I forget everything when the music starts. This is my first class too. I am very nervous."
“我知道，”拉乌尔说。他的脸红红的，手心全是汗。“我想看。可是音乐一响，我就什么都忘了。这也是我的第一节课。我非常紧张。”
Flora looks at him again. He is not careless. He is afraid.
弗洛拉又看了看他。他不是粗心，他是害怕。
She laughs. "I am nervous too," she says. "My knees shake."
她笑了。“我也紧张，”她说，“我的膝盖在发抖。”
Raoul laughs as well. "What can we do?"
拉乌尔也笑了。“那我们怎么办？”
"Let's go slowly," says Flora. "We can count out loud."
“我们慢慢来，”弗洛拉说，“我们可以大声数拍子。”
They start again. "One, two, three, four," they say together, very quietly. For ten minutes, nobody steps on anybody.
他们重新开始。“一，二，三，四，”他们一起说，声音很轻很轻。十分钟里，谁也没有踩到谁。
At the end of the class, the teacher claps. Raoul steps on her foot one last time.
下课的时候，老师鼓起掌来。拉乌尔最后又踩了她一脚。
"Sorry," he says.
“对不起，”他说。
"It's okay," says Flora. "Again from the start. One, two…"
“没关系，”弗洛拉说，“再从头来一遍。一，二……”
