The impression of being in a pleasant cocoon¹, far from real life, is heightened by the decisive use of the glass partition between you and the driver.

在你和司机之间断然加装上一道玻璃隔断，一定会更加让你觉得，自己像是蜗居在惬意的蚕茧里，远远隔离在真实世界之外。

If your previous experience of partitions has been the greasy² Plexiglas in taxis, which forces you to bellow³ your instructions at the driver and makes payment of the fare a process of crushed fingers and muttered oaths, the limo partition will come as a revelation to you.

你以前领教过的士车厢里的隔断吧，是那种油腻腻的树脂玻璃。假如你有事要吩咐司机，都得扯开喉咙大吼；付钱时，手指头也常会卡在洞口，令你忍不住嘟嘟嚷嚷地诅咒一番。但豪华轿车内的隔断就不一样了，于你而言简直是天赐福音。

One touch of the button in your armrest and the conversation-proof glass hisses⁵ up and stops communication dead.

只要轻触一下座椅扶手上的按键，隔音玻璃窗便嘶嘶作响，迅速升起，谈话也就此隔开。

(All professional drivers, for some reason, love to chat.Don’t tolerate it.You’re not paying all that money to listen to a lecture on Bush’s fiscal⁶ policies.)

（职业司机不知为什么，个个都爱跟人聊天。是可忍，孰不可忍。你付这么些钱，并不是为了听司机就布什的财政政策神侃一通。）

So there you are, a million miles from those yahoos on the street, immune from the weather, protected from small talk from the cockpit, going wherever you want to go in your own controlled environment.A perfect setting for a romantic assignation.

所以，你坐在大轿车里，离大街上那些凡夫俗子相距十万八千里，既不受气候影响，也免遭来自驾驶座的闲话絮叨。爱去哪儿，就去哪儿，而且尽在你的掌控之中。这儿可真是赴浪漫之约的绝佳场所啊。

Women love limos.The minute they settle back in the seat they feel pampered⁷ and relaxed.

女士都爱豪华大轿车。她们一靠在座位上，那种备受娇宠、身心松弛的感觉便油然而生。

They mentally dab⁸ a little scent⁹ behind each knee.They take a little more to drink than usual.They tend to lean toward you and whisper.

在心理上，就如同在双膝下擦了些许香水，而且酒喝得也比平常多了一点。这时，她们喜欢依偎着你柔声耳语，好像绽放的花朵一般。

They bloom.A date in a stretch is more intimate, more impressive, and far less prone¹⁰ to distraction¹¹ than a movie and a candle-lit dinner.

在大轿车里约会，和看电影、吃烛光晚餐比起来，更容易亲近，更能打动芳心，也可免受外来干扰。

It is an extremely focused occasion.A word of warning here.Whether on pleasure or business, it is important to observe chauffeur¹² protocol¹³, and this means curbing¹⁴ your natural warmth.

在这样的情境里，她们绝不会心有旁骛。在此必须提醒一句，无论你是去寻欢作乐，还是洽谈公务，请务必遵守乘车须知。这么说的意思是希望你克制一下你天性中的温情主义。我们不是要你粗鲁无礼，而是要你保持有距离的礼貌。

We’re not suggesting rudeness； distant politeness will do very well.In other words, don’t try to shake hands with your chauffeur or ask him how he’s doing.Don’t encourage him to address you by your first name.

换言之，不要跟你的司机握手或寒暄，问他近来可好；不可以让他直接叫你的名字；也绝不要自己动手开门。宁可等上一两分钟，你也要让他走过一辆车长的距离来为你开门。这些人都是行家，他们敬重的，也必定是那些内行的乘客。

And don’t ever open the door yourself, even if you have to wait a minute or two while he walks down the length of the car to let you out.

有过一两次出游之后，你可能就会开始提出特别的要求了。你不会要一辆旧车。你要的车，其中的设施、细节必须完全符合你的要求才行。

These boys are pros¹⁵, and they respect a pro⁴ passenger.After one or two outings, you will probably start to become more specific in your requirements.You won’t want any old limo.You’ll want a limo in which the details are exactly right.A compact-disc player instead of a tape deck.Leather upholstery rather than cloth.Single-malt scotch¹⁶, a freshly ironed copy of The Wall Street Journal, a Fax machine, a silver vase of freesias—once you get into the refinements¹⁸, you’ll never want to get out.

比如说，音响一定是 CD播放机，不可以是卡式录音机；车内一定要用真皮装饰，不可以是布艺的；还须有单一麦芽型的苏格兰威士忌，一份刚熨烫过的《华尔街日报》，一架传真机，以及插在银瓶内的小苍兰——一旦陷入这种精致的享受当中，你恐怕永远不会弃之而去了。

But these come later.While, as we have stated, only a black limo will do, we draw the line at black-tinted windows, for two reasons.

但这些不妨留待后话再叙。尽管一开始就提到，这豪华大轿车非黑色莫取，但我们对黑色的玻璃车窗可要仔细掂量一下。

First, they encourage autograph hunters, who will sidle up when the car is stopped at a light and peer at you and possibly mistake you for Mick Jagger or, worse, Ivan F.Boesky.

原因有二：第一，黑玻璃窗可能引来签名搜集狂。车子一停在红灯前，他们便会悄悄贴近，由车外盯着你看，搞不好会误认你是摇滚明星麦克·杰格。要不更糟，把你当成了华尔街套汇高手伊凡·波伊斯基。

And second, they make it virtually impossible for your friends—or, better still, your enemies—to catch a glimpse of you as you place phone calls and come to grips with the crystal decanters.Clear-glass windows are our recommendation, but it’s a matter of personal choice.In the stretch business, as in most other businesses, there exists a reduced-price trial offer.It works like this:

第二，这黑玻璃让你的朋友——或者最好是你的敌人，几乎不可能看见你人坐在车内，正放下电话，要伸手去抓水晶酒瓶。所以我们建议用透明的玻璃窗，不过这纯属个人自由。和其他大部分行业一样，在豪华大轿车租赁这一行里，都有特惠试用的优待。做法是这样的：

let’s say that you find yourself in Manhattan at the corner of Fifty-fifth and Third one evening around 6:30.All the cabs are taken, but if you make yourself sufficiently¹⁹ obvious as a man in need of transport, it won’t be long before a prowling limo slows down.Hail it.

假设你在傍晚六点半左右，发现自己身陷曼哈顿55街和第三大道的交叉口，而所有的出租车都已有人乘坐。这时，如果你摆出一副急需打车走人的模样，而且相当显眼，那么过不了多久，就会有一辆匍匐潜行的大轿车开始放慢速度接近你。招手叫它。那司机若看你顺眼，就会停下车来。

Providing the driver likes the look of you, he’ll stop, because he’s just dropped his passenger and has a couple of hours to kill before picking him up again.Imbued²⁰ with the spirit of enterprise, the driver will want to use this time profitably.As long as your destination won’t make him late for his pickup²¹, nobody will be the wiser and he’ll be a little richer.The exact price should be agreed on before you get in, but you can be sure that it will be less than a formal arrangement with the limo company.

因为他刚刚送完客人，再去接人之前还有几个小时要打发呢。这些司机骨子里浸透了商人意识，多半会利用这段档期挣钱的。只要你去的地方不耽误他去接人，没有人会傻到有钱不赚一把的。你在上车前一定要先谈妥确切的价钱。但你尽可以放心，这价钱肯定比你向租车公司租车要低得多。

One trip is all it will take to make you start juggling²² your disposable income to pay for further expeditions, until the day comes when you will be ready to enjoy the ultimate refinement¹⁷: taking your stretch for a walk.

只要坐上一次，你就会一发不可收地在你的可支配收入里凑出钱来再坐上几次。这样，终有一天，你会品味到那极至的享受：带上车子去散步。这是一个美好的春夜。你乘车悠闲地穿过两三个街区。那又黑又大的四轮兽顺从地匍匐在你的脚跟下。

A stroll of two or three blocks on a fine spring evening, the great black beast crawling obediently to heel, the bar stocked and waiting, the chauffeur alert to your beckoning²³ finger, a ripple²⁴ of envy through less fortunate pedestrians²⁵ marking your progress—now, there’s a way to work up an appetite for dinner.

车内吧台、饮品、用具一一备齐，只等着你就坐。你只需稍稍动一下手指头，司机便会随时听候你的吩咐。所经之处，一阵阵艳羡的涟漪在那些命运不济的行人之中荡漾——现在，该是调动你的胃口，好好享用晚餐的时候了！