Elodie stood on the sidewalk and watched the city marathon. Hundreds of runners passed her. Some waved, and some looked very tired. She clapped for all of them.
埃洛迪站在人行道上，看着这座城市的马拉松比赛。数百名跑步者从她面前经过。有的在挥手，有的看起来非常累。她为他们每一个人鼓掌。
Near the last corner, a woman in a yellow shirt stopped. She walked to the edge of the road. She looked at the ground. Her face was red and wet. A man held out some water. She did not take it.
在最后一个拐角附近，一位穿黄色上衣的女士停了下来。她走到路边。她看着地面。她的脸又红又湿。一个男人递来一些水。她没有接。
"I can't do this," the woman said quietly. "I want to stop."
“我不行了，”那位女士轻声说，“我想停下来。”
Elodie read the name on her shirt. It said "Rhoda."
埃洛迪读了她衣服上的名字。上面写着“罗达”。
"Rhoda!" Elodie shouted. "Rhoda, don't stop!"
“罗达！”埃洛迪喊道，“罗达，别停！”
The woman looked up. "Do I know you?"
那位女士抬起头。“我认识你吗？”
"No," Elodie said. "But your shirt has your name on it. Come on. The finish is only one block away."
“不认识，”埃洛迪说，“可是你的衣服上有你的名字。来吧。终点只有一个街区远了。”
Rhoda took one slow step, and then another. Elodie walked next to her on the sidewalk. She pointed at the red flags at the end of the street.
罗达慢慢迈出一步，然后又一步。埃洛迪在人行道上走在她旁边。她指着街尽头的红旗。
"Look at the flags," she said. "Only the flags. Nothing else."
“看着那些旗子，”她说，“只看旗子。别的都不要看。”
They passed a bakery, a bus stop and a small school. People in the crowd shouted Rhoda's name too. She started to run again, very slowly.
他们经过了一家面包店、一个公交站和一所小学校。人群里的人也在喊罗达的名字。她又开始跑了，跑得很慢很慢。
At the end of the block, a metal fence stopped Elodie. Rhoda kept going. She crossed the finish line with both arms in the air. Elodie held the fence and clapped until her hands hurt. Her own legs were tired too, but she did not care.
到了街区尽头，一道金属栏杆拦住了埃洛迪。罗达继续往前。她双臂高举，冲过了终点线。埃洛迪扶着栏杆，一直鼓掌到手都疼了。她自己的腿也累了，可是她不在乎。
