It was Friday morning and a young businessman finally decided to ask his boss for a raise. Before leaving for work, he told his wife what he was about to do. All day long he felt nervous and apprehensive1. Finally, in the late afternoon, he summoned the courage to approach his employer, and to his delight, the boss agreed to the raise.
　　The elated2 husband arrived home and was surprised to see a beautiful table set with their best china and lighted candles. Smelling the aroma3 of a festive meal, he figured that someone from the office had called his wife and tipped her off4.
　　Finding her in the kitchen, he eagerly shared the details of his good news. They embraced and danced around the room before sitting down to the wonderful meal his wife had prepared. Next to his plate he found an artistically5 lettered note that read, “Congratulations, darling. I knew you'd get the raise. This dinner is to show you how much I love you.”
　　Later on his way to the kitchen to help his wife serve dessert, he noticed that a second card had fallen from her pocket. Picking it up, he read, “Don't worry about not getting the raise. You deserve it anyway. This dinner is to show how much I love you.”

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这是一个星期五的早上，一位年轻的商人终于决定要老板为他加薪。临出门上班前，他把他的想法对妻子说了。整整一天，年轻人都处于高度紧张和深深忧虑之中。最后，傍晚时分，他鼓起勇气去见老板，让他喜出望外的是，老板同意了他的要求。
　　兴高采烈的丈夫回到了家。一进家门，他就看到餐桌上整齐摆放着他们最好的瓷餐具，还点着蜡烛，漂亮极了。不仅如此，他还闻到了只有节日欢宴才有的菜香。他猜：肯定是公司里哪位同事打电话，把他加薪的事向妻子透了底。
　　看到妻子在厨房里，他迫不及待地把这个好消息告诉了她。他们在屋子里热烈地拥抱，绕着房间跳舞。然后，他们在餐桌边坐了下来，享用妻子精心准备的美味佳肴。他突然发现在他的碟子旁放着一张用美术体写的便签，上面写道：“祝贺你，亲爱的！我知道你一定能加薪的！这顿晚餐向你表达我对你的深深爱意！”
　　过了一会儿，在去厨房帮助妻子准备甜点的时候，他注意到又一张卡片从妻子的口袋里滑落出来。他捡了起来，念道：“不要为没有加薪而烦恼！不管怎样，我都认为你应该得到加薪！就让这顿晚餐是用来表白我有多么爱你！”

1. apprehensive adj． 忧虑
2． elated  adj． 兴高采烈的
3． aroma  n． 香味
4． tip off 泄密
5． artistically  adv． 艺术地