Grasp the cone with the right hand firmly but gently between thumb and at least one but not more than three fingers, two-thirds of the way upon the cone. Then dart swiftly away to an open area, away from the jostling crowd at the stand. Now take up the classic ice-cream-cone-eating stance: feet from one to one feet apart, body bent forward from the waist at a twenty-five-degree angle, right elbow well up, right forearm horizontal, at a level with your collarbone and about twelve inches from it.

右手牢牢地抓住蛋筒,但要以大拇指和至少一个、不能超过三个的其他手指夹住蛋筒自下而上三分之二的地方。然后飞奔至宽敞处,离开冷饮亭的拥挤人群。现在摆出吃冰漠淋的古典姿势两足相距一两英尺,上半身前倾25度,右肘抬起,右前臂水平提至与颈骨同高处,距离12英寸。

But don’t start eating yet! Check first to see what emergency repairs may be necessary. Sometimes a sugar cone will be so crushed or broken or cracked that all one cm do is gulp at the thing like a savage, getting what he can of it and letting the rest drop to the ground, and then evacuating the area of catastrophe as quickly as possible.

但还别开始吃!先查看一下是否需要进行必要的紧急修补。有时候甜筒给压扁、断裂、破碎了,你只好犹如野人一般狼吞虎咽,能吃.多少算多少,其余的只能任由滴到地上,接着还得要迅速撤离灾难现场。

Checking the cone for possible trouble can be done in a second or two, if one knows where to look and does it systematically. A trouble spot some people overlook is the bottom tip of the cone. This may have been broken off. Or the flap of the cone material at the bottom, usually wrapped over itself in that funny spiral construction, may be folded in a way that is imperfect and leaves an opening. No need to say that through this opening-in a matter of perhaps thirty or, at most, ninety seconds-will begin to pour hundreds of thousands of sticky molecules of melted ice cream.

如果一个人知道该注意什么地方并有系统地去做,检查蛋筒以防隐患只消一两秒钟便可完成。蛋筒的尖底往往是为人们所忽视的地方——这儿或有可能已经破损。再或者蛋筒底部常给弄成可笑的螺旋状,由于扭拧技术欠佳而留下缺口。不用说,过了30秒或至多90秒钟,成百上千融化了的冰激凌粘乎乎的微粒便会从这缺口倾涌而出。

You know in this case then you must instantly get the paper napkin in your left hand under and around the bottom of the cone to stem the forthcoming flow, or else be doomed to eat the cone far too rapidly. It is a grim moment. No one wants to eat a cone under that kind of pressure, but neither does anyone want to end up with the bottom of the cone stuck to a messy napkin.

在此情况下,你要立即用左手拿纸中包在蛋筒底部及四周堵住涌出的冰漠淋,否则的话,你只能匆匆忙忙地吃下蛋筒。这可真令人着恼。没人希望在那样的压力下吃冰激凌,也不会有人希望吃剩个脏兮兮的纸中裹着的蛋筒底。

There’s one other alternative-one that takes both skilled and courage: Forgoing any cradling action, grasp the cone more firmly between thumb and forefinger and extend the other fingers so that they are out of the way of the dripping from the bottom, then increase the waist-bend angle from twenty-five to thirty-five degrees, and then eat the cone, allowing it to drip out of the bottom onto the ground in front of you! Experienced and thoughtful cone-eaters enjoy facing up to this kind of sudden challenge.

还有另一种选择,但那既需要技巧也需要勇气,即:在进行任何补救措施之前,以拇指和食指牢牢夹住蛋筒,并翘起其他手指以免粘上蛋筒底端的冰激凌,然后上身倾度由25度变为35度,再吃蛋筒,随它在你跟前漏洒到地上!经验老道且敏思善想的蛋筒吃家是很乐于面对这种突然的挑战的。