作者是这样介绍白宫的：里头有数不过来的台阶，a place with more stairs I can count, 有一座保龄球场，a bowling alley，还有一个室内花园，an in-house florist. 除了讲到里头的居住，饮食之外，她也提到住在白宫的种种限制。这些限制包括为安全起见，不可以把窗户打开，windows had to be kept shut for security.
接下来的二个句子很有意思。There were days, weeks, and months when I hated politics. And there were moments when the beauty of this country and its people so overwhelmed me that I couldn’t speak. 有好几天，好几个星期，好几个月，我对政治厌恶至极。也有一些时刻，这个国家与人民，他们的美好让我感动到无言以对。二个并列的句子。前一句说到她对政治的厌恶。后一句提到这个可爱的国家与人民。言简意赅，表达生动。
下面这一段，也值得再三揣摩。
Then it was over. Even if you see it coming, even as your final weeks are filled with emotional good-byes, the day itself is still a blur. 八年任期届满。最后的几个星期，大家互道珍重，念念不舍。即使如此，对于最初开始的那一天，我己经没有多少印象了。
A hand goes on the Bible; an oath gets repeated. One president’s furniture gets carried out while another’s come in. 一支手放在圣经上，誓言再次重复。有人把离任总统家俱拉了出去，再把新总统的家俬搬进来。
⋯ just like that, there are new heads on the pillows ... 就这样，白宫里的枕头迎来了新主人。
有没有一种看小说的感觉？序言部分就介绍到这是。接下去是自传的第一部份，Becoming Me。详情后叙。
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