Chapter8-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《了不起的盖茨比The Great Gatsby》

第八章 ①foghorn['fbgh3nn.雾角 我彻夜无法入眠，雾角'一刻不停地在海峡上鸣鸣 ②toss[tos]g辗转反侧 响着，我像是生了病一样、辗转反侧、游离在荒诞怪异 的现实与凶残恐怖的梦境之间。接近黎明时分，我听到 一辆出租车驶上了盖茨比宅邸的车道，我立刻一跃身子 起床，开始穿衣服一我觉得自己有话要对他说，要给 他嘱咐一些事情，等到了早晨就太迟了。 ③dejection[di'd5ekfn]n.泪 我穿过了他的草坪后看到宅邸的前门依旧开着，他 倚靠在厅堂里的一张桌子上，由于祖丧或困顿，显得格 ④wanly['wonli]ad..无力地 外憔悴。 “什么事情也没有发生，”他有气无力地说，“我 等待着，大概四点钟的样子，她走到窗前，伫立了片 刻，然后关掉了灯。” ⑤pavilion[po'vilion]n.大 当天夜晚，我们两个人漫步走过他宅邸的那些大 帐篷 innumerable [inju:marabl] 房间去寻找香烟时，我感觉到，宅邸从未像此刻这样宽 a.无数的 敞宏大。我们把像帐篷布一样的厚窗帘推到一边，摸索 着无边际的黑暗墙壁寻找电灯的开关一还扑通一声绊 倒在一架像幽灵一样的钢琴的键盘上。到处是莫名其妙 ⑦humidor[hju:midb:h.雪 茄盒 的尘埃，房间里散发着霉味，好像许多日子没有通过风 ⑧stale[steil]a.变了味儿的 了。我在一张不熟悉的桌子上找到了保湿烟盒，里面装 了两支变昧干燥的烟卷。我们推开了客厅的落地窗，坐 下来对着外面的黑暗抽烟 “你应该离开，”我说，“可以肯定，他们会追查 1雾角(foghorn)是船上的-一种装备，当出现大雾时会鸣警，提醒 来往船只。 ·269· CHAPTER 8 “You ought to go away,”I said.“lt's pretty certain they''ll trace①your car..” "Go away now,old sport?" "Go to Atlantic City for a week,or up to Montreal." He wouldn't consider it.He couldn't possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do.He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn't bear to shake him free. It was this night that he told me the strange story of his youth with Dan Cody-told it to me because "Jay Gatsby"had broken up like glass against Tom's hard malice,and the long secret extravaganza was played out.I think that he would have acknowledged anything now,without reserve,but he wanted to talk about Daisy. She was the first"nice girl"he had ever known.In various unrevealed capacities he had come in contact with such people,but always with indiscernible barbed wire between.He found her excitingly desirable.He went to her house,at first with other officers from Camp Taylor,then alone. It amazed him-he had never been in such a beautiful house before,but what gave it an air of breathless intensity,was that Daisy lived there-it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him.There was a ripe mystery about it,a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms,of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors,and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances ·270· 第八章 ①trace[treis]追踪 到你的车。” “现在离开吗，老朋友？” “到大西洋城去待一个星期，或者往北去蒙特利 尔2。” 他不予考虑，因为他不可能离开黛西，一定要等到 ②clutch[klat切g握紧 知道她怎么办为止。他仍然抓住最后的一线希望不放， 所以，我不忍心动摇他 正是在那个夜晚，他给我讲述了自己年轻时同丹· 科迪在一起的不可思议的故事一之所以讲述给我听， ③malice[maelis]n.恶意 那是因为“杰伊·盖茨比”如同玻璃一样被汤姻坚硬的 extravaganza [ik,straeva- 'genz的n.盛大活动 恶意击碎了，这出冗长而又隐秘的狂剧已经演罢落幕 了。我觉得，他现在会毫无保留地承认一切，但是，他 想要谈论的是关于黛西的事情。 她是他认识的头一位“优雅”姑娘。过去，他曾 5 indiscernible [,indi'so:nobl] 以种种未表明的身份接触过这类姑娘，但是，他们之 a.不易察觉的 间总会横亘着一道无形的藩篱。他发现，她令人心旌摇 ⑥barbed[ba:bda.带刺的 曳，正是他所心仪的。于是，他上她家去了，刚开始时 同泰勒营别的军官一道去，后来独自一人去。他惊叹不 已一自己从未光顾过如此美丽的宅邸。不过，那儿之 所以有一种令人惊心动魄的氛围，全是因为黛西生活在 其中一在黛西看来，那座宅邸司空见惯，如同他觉得 军营里的帐篷司空见惯一样。宅邸笼罩着一种令人心醉 神往的神秘气氛，一种暗示，表明楼上的那些卧室比其 ⑦redolent[redalant]a.使 他卧室要更加美丽，更加凉爽：表明那儿的走廊过道处 人想起…的 处充满了欢声笑语，幸福快乐；表明那儿有着种种浪漫 的故事—那可不是什么陈腐过时被人悉心收藏起来了 以备日后使用的东西，而是犹如今年那些耀眼炫目的汽 车，那些鲜花尚未凋零的舞会，鲜活灵动，栩栩如生， 芳香四溢。有许多男人曾经爱过黛西，这也令他心情激 1大西洋城(Atlantic City)是美国新泽西州城市，位于费城东南部 一百公里左右处的阿布西肯岛上。1854年建城，1898年铁路建成，城 市得到迅速发展 2蒙特利尔(Montreal)是加拿大的第二大城市，魁北克省的最大 城市，坐落在渥太华河和圣劳伦斯河的交汇处，是典型的英法双语 城市。市内哥特式教堂林立，法语居民占多数，体现出独特的法国 文化底蕴，历史悠久，充满了浓郁的拉丁气息，是北美的“浪漫之 都”。 ·271· CHAPTER 8 whose flowers were scarcely withered.It excited him,too,that many men had already loved Daisy-it increased her value in his eyes.He felt their presence all about the house,pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant?emotions. But he knew that he was in Daisy's house by a colossal accident.However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby,he was at present a penniless young man without a past,and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders.So he made the most of his time.He took what he could get,ravenously and unscrupulously-eventually he took Daisy one still October night,took her because he had no real right to touch her hand. He might have despised himself,for he had certainly taken her under false pretenses.I don't mean that he had traded on his phantom millions, but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security;he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself-that he was fully able to take care of her.As a matter of fact,he had no such facilities-he had no comfortable family standing behind him,and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the world. But he didn't despise himself and it didn't turn out as he had imagined.He had intended,probably,to take what he could and go-but now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail.He knew that Daisy was extraordinary,but he didn't realize just how extraordinary a "nice"girl could be.She vanished into her rich house,into her rich,full life,leaving Gatsby- nothing.He felt married to her,that was all. When they met again,two days later,it was Gatsby who was breathless, who was,somehow,betrayed.Her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine;the wicker of the settee squeaked fashionably as she turned toward him and he kissed her curious and lovely mouth.She had caught a cold, and it made her voice huskier and more charming than ever,and Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves,of the freshness of many clothes,and of Daisy,gleaming like silver, ·272· 第八章 ①wither[wioa]v枯菱 动—这使她在他心中的分量更重了。他感觉到，宅邸 里处处有他们的身影，空气中依旧弥漫着他们激动情感 的回声。 @vibrant[vaibront]a.充满 但是，他知道，自己能够进入黛西的家纯属偶然。 生机的 虽说作为杰伊·盖茨比可能会有辉煌的前程，但他眼下 还只是个一文不名的年轻人，缺乏人生阅历，况且他身 3 penniless ['penilas]a.- 文不名的 上那套军服虽说是难以识破的伪装，但随时都有可能 ④cloak[klouk]n.掩饰 从他的肩头滑落。因此，他最大限度地利用好自己的 时间，如饥似渴，毫无顾忌，占有自己能够占有的东西 5ravenously [raevanasli] 一最后，在十月里的一个宁静的夜晚，他拥有了黛 ad.非常饥饿地 @unscrupulously [An'skru:p- 西。在自己都没有实际权利去触碰她的手的情况下，拥 jolasli的ad.毫不客气地 有了她 ⑦despise[dispaiz鄙视 他可能会鄙视自己，因为他正是利用种种欺骗的手 ⑧under false pretenses以欺 段拥有了她的。我并不是说，他利用自己那虚无缥缈的 骗的手段 百万身价做的交易，而是处心积虑地给黛西营造了一种 ⑨phantom['fantam]a.虚 幻的 安全感。他使她相信，他也和她一样是个有家庭背景的 stratum[stra:tom]n.社会 人一他完全有能力照顾好她。可实际上，他根本没有 阶层 whim[wim]n.怪念头 这方面的能力一他的身后根本没有什么温馨的家庭， 只要毫无人性的政府心血来潮，他就有可能飘零到世界 的任何角落。 但是，他并没有鄙视自己，事情到头来也并没有像 他想象的那样。或许他原本打算占有自己能够占有的东 grail[greil训n.努力追求 西，然后离开一而现如今，他发现，自己已经献身于 的目标 追求一种神圣的理想。他知道，黛西非同寻常，但他并 不清楚，一位“优雅的”姑娘到底有多么非同寻常。她 销声匿迹了，进入到她的豪宅中，进入到她富足充实的 生活中，让盖茨比一一无所有。他只是觉得自己已经 好betray[bi trei]v.背叛 同她结婚了，仅此而已。 wicker[wika]a.柳条编 两天之后，他们再次见面时，盖茨比显得心慌意 织的 鱼squeak[skwi:k]k发出吱 乱，似乎上当受骗的倒是他自己。她的阳台沐浴在璀 吱的响声 璨的星光里，她转身向着他，他亲吻她美妙可爱的双 唇，柳条长椅发出吱嘎的声响。她着凉感冒了，嗓子 显得更加沙哑，但却比平常更加有魅力。盖茨比无比 清晰地意识到财富是如何禁锢和保存青春和神秘的， 意识到数量众多的衣服是如何使人保特清新亮丽的形 象的，意识到黛西是如何像白银一样光亮闪耀，安易 ·273· CHAPTER 8 safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor. "I can't describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her,old sport.I even hoped for a while that she'd throw me over,but she didn't,because she was in love with me too.She thought I knew a lot because I knew different things from her...well,there I was,way off my ambitions,getting deeper in love every minute,and all of a sudden I didn't care.What was the use of doing great things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do?" On the last afternoon before he went abroad,he sat with Daisy in his arms for a long,silent time.It was a cold fall day,with fire in the room and her cheeks flushed.Now and then she moved and he changed his arm a little,and once he kissed her dark shining hair.The afternoon had made them tranquil for a while,as if to give them a deep memory for the long parting the next day promised.They had never been closer in their month of love,nor communicated more profoundly one with another,than when she brushed silent lips against his coat's shoulder or when he touched the end of her fingers,gently,as though she were asleep. He did extraordinarily well in the war.He was a captain before he went to the front,and following the Argonne battles he got his majority and the command of the divisional2 machine guns.After the Armistice he tried frantically to get home,but some complication or misunderstanding sent him to Oxford instead.He was worried now-there was a quality of nervous despair in Daisy's letters.She didn't see why he couldn't come.She was feeling the pressure of the world outside,and she wanted to see him and feel his presence beside her and be reassured that she was doing the right thing after all. For Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant,cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes.All night ·274· 第八章【 地高踞于穷人激烈的生存斗争之上 “我发现自己爱上她了，我无法向你描述自己当时 有多么惊讶，老朋友。有一段时间，我甚至希望，她把 我给甩掉，但她没有，因为她也爱上了我。由于我熟悉 她不熟悉的事情，她便觉得我见多识广…是啊，我就 这样，远离了自己的种种雄心壮志，每时每刻都在深陷 情网，而霎时间，我对一切都不管不顾了。如果我告诉 她自己打算怎么做便可以享受到更加快乐的时光，那立 志要去干那些惊天动地的事业又有什么用呢？” 出国前的最后那个下午，他长时间默默无语地把 黛西搂在怀里坐着。那是个寒意很浓的秋日，房间里面 ①tranquil['trankwil]a,宁 生着火，她的脸颊红扑扑的。她时不时地会动一下，他 静的 也会稍稍变换一下自己手臂的姿势。他有一次还亲吻她 乌黑透亮的头发。那天下午，他们度过了一段平静安宁 的时光，好像要为翌日开始的漫长离别留下深切记忆似 的。当时，她用嘴唇默默地拂过他上衣的肩头，他抚摸 着她的指尖，动作轻柔，她好像是睡着了。他们恋爱着 的那一个月当中，从来没有如此亲密无间、如此心灵相 交，互诉衷肠。 他在战争期间表现出色，不同凡响。还没有开赴前 divisional [di'visonol]a. 线，便晋升为上尉。阿戈讷森林战役后，擢升为少校， 师的 complication [,kampli'keifn] 担任师部机枪连连长。停战之后，他心急火燎，想方设 n.复杂的事情 法要回国，但阴差阳错，或者纯属误会，他去了牛津大 学。他当时忧心仲仲一因为黛西的来信中流露出了绝 望的情绪。黛西不明白，他为何不回去。她感受到了外 界的压力，想要见到他，感受有他在身边的滋味，想要 确认自己的选择是正确的 ④snobbery[snabari]n.勢 黛西毕竟还很年轻，她那虚华的世界中充满着兰花 5 suggestiveness [sa'd3es- 的芬芳，愉悦欢快的势利场景，还有给当年定下节奏的 tivnas]n.联想 ⑥tune [tju:n].曲调 乐队，用各种新的曲调谱写着人生的忧伤与柔情。萨克 ·275· CHAPTER 8 the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the Beale Street Blues while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust.At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low, sweet fever,while fresh faces drifted here and there like rose petals blown by the sad horns around the floor. Through this twilight universe Daisy began to move again with the season; suddenly she was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men,and drowsing asleep at dawn with the beads and chiffon of an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the floor beside her bed.And all the time something within her was crying for a decision. She wanted her life shaped now,immediately-and the decision must be made by some force-of love,of money,of unquestionable practicality that was close at hand. That force took shape in the middle of spring with the arrival of Tom Buchanan.There was a wholesome bulkiness about his person and his position,and Daisy was flattered.Doubtless there was a certain struggle and a certain relief.The letter reached Gatsby while he was still at Oxford. It was dawn now on Long Island and we went about opening the rest of the windows downstairs,filling the house with gray-turning,gold-turning light. ·276· 第八章 斯管通宵达旦地哀号，演绎着《比尔街勃鲁斯音乐》2 绝望的蕴意，同时有上百双金银舞鞋跳动着，扬起闪亮 的尘埃。到了光线昏暗的晚茶时间，总会有那么一些 ①throb[0rb)g有规律的 颤动 房间随着这种低沉、甜蜜而又热烈的音乐节奏而不停 ②petal[petal]n.花瓣 地震颤着，同时，一张张清新的面孔到处飘来荡去， 犹如一片片玫瑰花瓣，被吹出忧伤之声的乐管吹落一 地。 昏暗朦胧的世界里，黛西再度开始了新的社交季。 ③drowse[drauz,打瞌睡 突然之间，她再次每天同五六个男人进行五六次约会， ④chiffon ['fifon]n.尊绸装 饰品 直到黎明才昏然入睡，床前的地板上点缀夜礼服的珠子 和丝绸饰物同调零的兰花缠在一块儿。一直以来，她的 内心渴望做出决断。现在想要有人替她塑造好人生，立 Gpracticality [praektikaeloti] 刻进行一这个决断必须要由近在咫尺的某种力量来促 n.实际情况 成一爱情的力量，金钱的力量，毫无疑问，必须是实 实在在的力量。 ⑥bulkiness[bAlkinas]n.庞 仲春时节，随着汤姆·布坎南的到来，这种力量形 大 成了。他身体健康，体格强壮，地位理想，实力雄厚， 黛西显得很有脸面。毫无疑问，她的心里一定有过纠 结，后来也一定释然了。盖茨比还在牛津大学时，收到 了她的信件。 此时是长岛的黎明时分，我们走过去把楼下其他窗 户都打开，让室内充满渐渐发白、渐渐金黄的光线。一 1萨克斯管(saxophone)是一种木管乐器，音色介于木管乐器和铜 管乐器之间。其发明者萨克斯先生(Antoine-Joseph“Adolphe"”Sax. 1814一1894)是比利时著名的乐器生产者和发明家 2《比尔街勃鲁斯音乐》(Seale Street Blues)是一首美国作词作曲 家汉迪(W.C.Handy,.1873-1958)于1916年创作的一首著名歌曲 其中的比尔街是指20世纪早期田纳西州的孟菲斯非裔美国人主要的娱 乐区，勃鲁斯音乐是一种忧伤而缓慢的美国黑人民歌，该音乐的发展 与比尔街密不可分。 3英美人每天花费大量的时间在喝茶上（美国人承袭了英国人的喝 茶传统)。以英国人为例，清晨刚一醒来，便靠在床头享受一杯“床 前茶”(early momning tea),早餐时再来一杯“早餐茶”(breakfast te),上午公务再繁忙，也得停顿二十分钟品一口“工休茶”(tea break),下午下班前又到了喝茶(afternoon tea)吃甜点的时刻， 回家后晚餐前再来一次“傍晚茶”(high tea)(下午五六点之间、 有肉食冷盘的正式茶点)，睡觉前还少不了“告别茶”(bedtime ea)。可谓是以茶开始每一天，以茶结束每一天。 ·277· CHAPTER 8 The shadow of a tree fell abruptly across the dew and ghostly birds began to sing among the blue leaves.There was a slow,pleasant movement in the air, scarcely a wind,promising a cool,lovely day. "I don't think she ever loved him."Gatsby turned around from a window and looked at me challengingly."You must remember,old sport,she was very excited this afternoon.He told her those things in a way that frightened her- that made it look as if I was some kind of cheap sharper2.And the result was she hardly knew what she was saying." He sat down gloomily. "Of course she might have loved him just for a minute,when they were first married-and loved me more even then,do you see?" Suddenly he came out with a curious remark. "In any case,.”he said,“it was just personal..” What could you make of that,except to suspect some intensity in his conception of the affair that couldn't be measured? He came back from France when Tom and Daisy were still on their wedding trip,and made a miserable but irresistible journey to Louisville on the last of his army pay.He stayed there a week,walking the streets where their footsteps had clicked together through the November night and revisiting the out-of-the-way places to which they had driven in her white car.Just as Daisy's house had always seemed to him more mysterious and gay than other houses, so his idea of the city itself,even though she was gone from it,was pervaded with a melancholy beauty. He left,feeling that if he had searched harder,he might have found her- that he was leaving her behind.The day-coach-he was penniless now-was hot.He went out to the open vestibule and sat down on a folding-chair,and the station slid away and the backs of unfamiliar buildings moved by.Then out into the spring fields,where a yellow trolley raced them for a minute with people in it who might once have seen the pale magic of her face along the casual street. The track curved and now it was going away from the sun,which as it ·278·