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個、不能超過三個的其他手指夾住蛋筒自下而上三分之二的地方。然后飛奔至寬敞處,離開冷飲亭的擁擠人群。現在擺出吃冰漠淋的古典姿勢兩足相距一兩英尺,上半身前傾25度,右肘抬起,右前臂水平提至與頸骨同高處,距離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.

但還別開始吃!先查看一下是否需要進行必要的緊急修補。有時候甜筒給壓扁、斷裂、破碎了,你只好猶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,接著還得要迅速撤離災難現場。

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.

如果一個人知道該注意什么地方并有系統地去做,檢查蛋筒以防隱患只消一兩秒鐘便可完成。蛋筒的尖底往往是為人們所忽視的地方——這兒或有可能已經破損。再或者蛋筒底部常給弄成可笑的螺旋狀,由于扭擰技術欠佳而留下缺口。不用說,過了30秒或至多90秒鐘,成百上千融化了的冰激凌粘乎乎的微粒便會從這缺口傾涌而出。

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.

在此情況下,你要立即用左手拿紙中包在蛋筒底部及四周堵住涌出的冰漠淋,否則的話,你只能匆匆忙忙地吃下蛋筒。這可真令人著惱。沒人希望在那樣的壓力下吃冰激凌,也不會有人希望吃剩個臟兮兮的紙中裹著的蛋筒底。

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.

還有另一種選擇,但那既需要技巧也需要勇氣,即:在進行任何補救措施之前,以拇指和食指牢牢夾住蛋筒,并翹起其他手指以免粘上蛋筒底端的冰激凌,然后上身傾度由25度變為35度,再吃蛋筒,隨它在你跟前漏灑到地上!經驗老道且敏思善想的蛋筒吃家是很樂于面對這種突然的挑戰的。