I was staying at a hotel in Chicago lllinois during a business trip and i was going to stay for the whole weekend.
有一次出差，我住在芝加哥伊利诺州的一个酒店，准备在那儿住上一整周。
It was an older hotel ,one that still used small keys rather than keycards to enter the rooms.
那是一家古老的酒店，进房间时仍然用的小钥匙而不是刷房卡。
I didn’t mind. It seemed nice to get away from the onslaught of technology.
但我不在意，能够逃离科技的侵扰也是很不错的。
When i checked into the hotel, it was completely packed.
当我去登记入住时，酒店里挤满了人。
A nasty storm had rolled in, stranding many tourists and cancelling flights.
可怕的暴风雨来袭，航班取消了，滞留了许多游客。
No more rooms were available and many people were being turned away because of the lack of vacancy.
酒店没有空房了，因此许多游客都因为酒店客满被拒之门外。
When i approached the front desk to check in, I noticed that all the keys for the rooms on the 8th floor were still on the wall.
当我走近前台去登记时，我发现所有八楼房间的钥匙依然挂在墙上。
Not a single key was missing.
没有一把钥匙不在。
It seemed odd that an entire floor would be vacant when so many people were all clambering to check in and get to their rooms.
奇怪的是，这么多人上来登记入住，想要得到一个房间，却有一整楼是空着的。
I could see the clerk was stressing out and he was ready to to just give up and go home, so I tried to lighten the mood a little bit.
我看见前台职员焦躁不安，准备放弃回家，因此我试着去缓和一下他的心情。
“Kind of weird,isn’t it?”
“有点奇怪，不是吗？”
“What is ?”The clerk asked.
“什么奇怪？”职员说。
“How everybody on the 8th floor is missing.”
“怎么八楼的每个人都不在。”
The clerk gave me an odd look and his face paled. “What do you know about the 8th floor ?” He replied in a serious tone.
职员眼神怪异地看了我一眼，脸色苍白。他用一中严肃的口吻问我：“你对八楼都知道些什么？”
“What ? Oh , nothing!” I answered honestly , a little embarrassed that my attempt to lighten the mood backfired. “ I just noticed that all the keys for the 8th floor are still behind the desk.”
“什么？我什么也不知道！”我老实回答了他，对自己尝试去缓和氛围却事与愿违略感尴尬，“我只是注意到八楼所有的钥匙都还挂在墙上。”
He went back to check in me and handed me the key to my room on the ninth floor. “Enjoy your stay.”
他回到座位为我办了入住手续，给我了一把九楼房间的钥匙，说：“愿您住得愉快。”
“I will… thanks.” I awkwardly accepted the key and grabbed my bag, heading for the elevator.
“我会…谢谢。”我尴尬地接过钥匙，拿上行李，向电梯走去。
Just like the lobby, the elevator was also packed.
电梯也和大厅一样拥挤。
It was difficult ti stand next to so many strangers so close by, let alone enter and exit a small car.
本来这么多陌生人挤着站就很困难，更别说进进出出这么一个小车子。
I struggled to reach and press the button for the ninth floor,but i managed to see over the crowd of people and reach the button panel.
我努力挤进去，去按九楼的按钮，但是穿过人群走到按钮旁时，
It was then that i noticed that the buttons seemed to be missing a floor:8.
我注意到楼层按钮少了一层：8楼。
“That’s funny.” I thought out loud. “ I wonder why there’s no button for the 8th floor.”
我想着想着就大声地说了出来：“真是奇怪，我在想为什么没有八楼的按钮呢？”
But no one in the elevator reacted. They either didn’t care or they were too preoccupied and didn’t hear me.
但是电梯里没有一个人做出反应，或许他们根本就不关心，也或许他们太过专注没有听到我说话。