Jasmin is carrying her groceries up the stairs when her neighbor opens the door across the hall. Vesna is seventy-eight, lives alone, and usually greets everyone with a polite nod. Today she is almost dancing.
贾斯敏正拎着杂货上楼，对门的邻居打开了门。韦斯娜七十八岁，一个人住，平时见了谁都只是礼貌地点点头。今天她几乎要跳起舞来了。
"Jasmin, you will never believe it," she says. "A man called this morning. I won a prize! A holiday, and a new television too."
“贾斯敏，你绝对想不到，”她说，“今天早上有个男人打来电话。我中奖了！奖品是一次度假，还有一台新电视。”
"That sounds wonderful," Jasmin says, setting her bags down. "What kind of prize?"
“听起来太棒了，”贾斯敏一边说，一边放下袋子，“是什么奖啊？”
"He said it was from a big travel company. I only need to pay a small fee for the paperwork. It's one hundred and fifty dollars, and then they will send everything. He wants me to buy gift cards at the corner shop and read him the numbers."
“他说是一家大旅游公司的。我只要交一点办手续的费用。是一百五十美元，然后他们就会把所有东西寄来。他让我去街角的商店买礼品卡，再把卡号念给他听。”
Jasmin feels her stomach tighten. She has read about this trick before. But she remembers that Vesna taught her to repot a plant when she first moved in. She does not want to make her neighbor feel foolish.
贾斯敏觉得心里一紧。这种骗局她以前看到过。可她又想起，刚搬来的时候，是韦斯娜教她怎么给植物换盆。她不想让邻居觉得自己很傻。
"Vesna, may I sit with you for a minute? I would like to understand it properly. Would it be all right if we checked the company together?"
“韦斯娜，我能陪您坐一会儿吗？我想好好弄明白这件事。我们一起查一查这家公司，好不好？”
They sit at the kitchen table. Vesna shows her the number on a sticky note. Jasmin searches for the travel company on her phone and finds its official number. "Let's call them, not him," she says. "If the prize is real, they will know about it."
她们在厨房的桌边坐下。韦斯娜把写着号码的便利贴给她看。贾斯敏用手机搜索那家旅游公司，找到了官方电话。“我们给他们打电话，别打给他，”她说，“如果奖是真的，他们会知道的。”
Vesna holds the phone herself. The woman who answers is polite and quick. "No, madam, we do not ask for payments by gift card, and we haven't called anyone this week. I'm sorry, but this is a well-known scam."
韦斯娜亲自拿着手机。接电话的女士礼貌又利落。“不会的，女士，我们不要求用礼品卡付款，而且我们这周没有给任何人打过电话。很抱歉，这是一个很有名的骗局。”
For a moment, Vesna says nothing. Her hands are folded on the table, and her face has gone pink. "He was so friendly," she says quietly. "He knew my name."
韦斯娜沉默了一会儿。她的双手交叠放在桌上，脸涨得通红。“他那么友好，”她轻声说，“他还知道我的名字。”
"They always sound friendly," Jasmin says. "It could happen to anyone. Even I almost fell for one last year."
“他们总是显得很友好，”贾斯敏说，“谁都可能碰上。我去年自己也差点上当。”
"Then I'm glad I told you." Vesna sits up straighter. "What should we do now?"
“那我很庆幸告诉了你。”韦斯娜坐得更直了。“我们现在该怎么办？”
"We report the number to the police, and then I'll help you block it." Jasmin opens a new page on her phone. "And if anyone ever calls with a prize again, you know where I live."
“我们把这个号码报给警察，然后我来帮您把它拉黑。”贾斯敏在手机上打开了一个新页面。“以后要是再有人打电话说您中奖了，您知道我住哪儿。”
"Across the hall," Vesna says, and smiles. "Bring your tea."
“就在对门，”韦斯娜说，笑了，“来的时候带上你的茶。”
