莱斯利：安迪又有新的号码了，他对此并不高兴。

Andy:I dislike being a number.

安迪：我不喜欢变成一个数字。

I even hate to take a number.

我憎恨数字。

All of us dislike being identified by number I think.

我想没人喜欢被人用数字来辨认。

First we’re all saddled with a nine digit social security number.

先是强加给我们一个有九位数字的社会安全号。

I have a business address,that’s ten numbers.

我有一个商务地址，那是用十位数来代表的。

I have a business telephone number,area code,that’s ten more.

我有个办公电话的号码(包括电话区号)，那又是一个十位数。

Already I have twenty_nine numbers.

这样我就有二十九个数字了。

A ten number telephone including the area code,home address and zip code,eight numbers.

再加上十位数的电话号码(包括电话区号)，还有代表家庭住址和邮政区号的八位数，

I have forty_seven numbers and I’m just getting started.

我有了四十七个数字，而这才刚刚开始。

We have two cars each with two license plates;

我们有两辆车，也就有两个牌照。

my bank account number has nine digits.

我的银行账号有九个数字，

Now I’m up to six_seven numbers that I should remember.

现在我得记住六十七个数字了。

Yesterday I got my new American express card;

昨天，我领到了新的美国运通卡，

it has fifteen digits.

客观存在有十五个数字。

What’s that all about?

这是什么意思?

The number one trillion has only thirteen digits.

一万亿也不过十三位，

Why do they need a number so many times bigger,than the number of people there are in the whole United States?

他们为什么要用这么大的数字呢?美国的总人口数翻上几番都不如它大。

My Visa card has sixteen digits;my Master card has another sixteen.

我的签证卡是十六位数字，万事达卡又是十六位。

Now I’m up to a hundred and fourteen numbers that somebody uses to put their finger on me.

瑞在别人要辨认我的时候，我就有一百一十四个数字了。

The zip code was going to be magic.

邮政区号变得越来越不可思议。

Now a lot of addresses have added four numbers to their zip.

现在有很多地址的邮政区号又加了四个数字。

In most cities,the telephone company is adding more area codes to confuse people.

很多城市的电话公司都在将电话区号升位，这把人们弄得越来越糊涂。

There are two hundred and seventy million Americans,

现在有两亿七千万美国人。

why doesn’t each one of us get assigned just one of the two hundred and seventy million numbers and that number,would work for everything.

为什么不是只有两亿七千万个号码，每个人一个，而且一个号码就可以应付所有的事情呢?

It would be your social security number,your address,phone number,bank account number,American Express,everything.

它既是你的社会安全号，又能代表你的地址、电话号码、银行账号、美国运通卡卡号，所有的一切。

Why should our zip code be different from our area code?

为什么我们的邮政区号和电话区号不同呢?

I mean this is a computer world.

我是说，这是一个电脑化的世界。

Phone company computers would recognize who the number was when someone dialed it and rang that person.

你如果给别人打电话，一拨号，电话公司的计算机应该就能够辨认这个号码是谁的。

There would be a different sounding ring for each person in the house or office.

无论是家里还是办公室里的电话，找不同的人，响铃声应该不同。

There are a few details that would have to be worked out of course;

当然，还有些具体的细节问题需要解决。

I’m sure none of us wants our American Express card on our license plate.

比如说，我敢肯定，没人希望自己的运通卡号码出现在自己的车牌上。