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Indeed, for six weeks I tried to find out. I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. As I traveled, I discovered that others shared my fear. Folks were always warning me about someplace else. In Montana they told me to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming. In Nebraska I was warned that people would not be as nice in Iowa.
实际上，整整六个星期的时间里我试图找出答案。我搭了82次便车，行程4,223英里，穿越了14个州。在旅途中，我发现其他人跟我一样有担心。人们总是在警告我当心别的什么地方。在蒙大拿州，他们叫我留神怀俄明州的牛仔，而在内布拉斯加州，人们提醒我说艾奥瓦州的人可不如他们友好。
Yet I was treated with kindness in every state I traveled. I was amazed by the stubborn capacity of Americans to help a stranger, even when it seemed to run contrary to their own best interests. One day in Nebraska a four-door sedan pulled to the road shoulder. When I reached the window, I saw two little old ladies dressed in their Sunday finest.
然而，在我所去的每个州，我都受到了友善的对待。我诧异于美国人执意帮助陌生人的能力，甚至于在看来与自己的最大利益相冲突时他们也绝不袖手旁观。有一天，在内布拉斯加，一辆四门小轿车在路肩停下。我走到车窗边，看到两位穿着节日盛装的瘦小老妇人。
I know you're not supposed to pick up hitchhikers, but it's so far between towns out here, you feel bad passing a person, said the driver, who introduced herself as Vi. She and her sister Helen were going to see an eye doctor in Ainsworth, Nebraska.
“我知道这年头不该带搭便车的，但这里前不着村后不着店的，不停车感觉真不好。”自称“维”的司机说。她和姐姐海伦是去内布拉斯加的安斯沃思看眼科医生的。
I didn't know whether to kiss them or scold them for stopping. This woman was telling me she'd rather risk her life than feel bad about passing a stranger on the side of the road. When they dropped me at a highway junction, I looked at Vi. We both spoke at the same time: "Be careful."
她们为我停了车，我都不知道是该亲吻她们呢还是该责备她们。这个女人是在告诉我，她宁肯冒生命危险也不愿意因为没为一个站在路边的陌生人停车而感到内疚。她们在一个高速路口把我放下时，我望着维。我们俩异口同声地说，“小心。”
