了不起的盖茨比(威尔逊夫人租车和买狗)
at 3年前 ca 了不起的盖茨比英文原文 pv 2201 by FOR
“Terrible place, isn’t it,” said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg.
“Awful.”
“It does her good to get away.”
“Doesn’t her husband object?”
“Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive.”
So Tom Buchanan and his girl and I went up together to New York—or not quite together, for Mrs. Wilson sat discreetly in another car. Tom deferred that much to the sensibilities of those East Eggers who might be on the train.
就这样,汤姆·布坎农和他的情人还有我,三人一同上纽约去--或许不能说一同去,因为威尔逊太太很识相,她坐在另一节车厢里。汤姆做了这一点让步,以免引起可能在这趟车上的那些东卵人的反感。
She had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin, which stretched tight over her rather wide hips as Tom helped her to the platform in New York. At the news-stand she bought a copy of TOWN TATTLE. and a moving-picture magazine, and in the station drug-store some cold cream and a small flask of perfume. Up-stairs, in the solemn echoing drive she let four taxicabs drive away before she selected a new one, lavender-colored with gray upholstery, and in this we slid out from the mass of the station into the glowing sunshine. But immediately she turned sharply from the window and, leaning forward, tapped on the front glass.
Solemn:阴暗的。lavender-colored:淡紫色。Upholstery:Upholstery is the soft covering on chairs and seats that makes them more comfortable to sit on.
她已经换上了一件棕色花布连衣裙,到了纽约汤姆扶她下车时那裙子紧紧地绷在她那肥阔的臀部上。她在报摊上买了一份《纽约闲话》和一本电影杂志,又在车站药店①里买了一瓶冷霜和一小瓶香水。在楼上,在那阴沉沉的、有回音的车道里,她放过了四辆出租汽车,然后才选中了一辆新车,车身是淡紫色的,里面坐垫是灰色的。我们坐着这辆车子驶出庞大的车站,开进灿烂的阳光里。可是马上她又猛然把头从车窗前掉过来,身子向前一探,敲敲前面的玻璃。
①美国药店兼售糖果、香烟、饮料及其他杂货。
“I want to get one of those dogs,” she said earnestly. “I want to get one for the apartment. They’re nice to have—a dog.”
We backed up to a gray old man who bore an absurd resemblance to John D. Rockefeller. In a basket swung from his neck cowered a dozen very recent puppies of an indeterminate breed.
Bear a resemblance to:与…相像,与…相似。Swing:摇摆。Cower:萎缩;蜷缩。Indeterminate:难以确定的。
我们的车子倒退到一个白头发老头跟前,他长得活像约翰·D·洛克菲勒①,真有点滑稽。他脖子上挂着一个篮子,里面蹲着十几条新出世的、难以确定品种的小狗崽子。
①美国石油大王,亿万富翁。
“What kind are they?” asked Mrs. Wilson eagerly, as he came to the taxi-window.
“All kinds. What kind do you want, lady?”
“I’d like to get one of those police dogs; I don’t suppose you got that kind?”
The man peered doubtfully into the basket, plunged in his hand and drew one up, wriggling, by the back of the neck.
“That’s no police dog,” said Tom.
“No, it’s not exactly a polICE dog,” said the man with disappointment in his voice. “It’s more of an Airedale.” He passed his hand over the brown wash-rag of a back. “Look at that coat. Some coat. That’s a dog that’ll never bother you with catching cold.”
“I think it’s cute,” said Mrs. Wilson enthusiastically. “How much is it?”
“That dog?” He looked at it admiringly. “That dog will cost you ten dollars.”
The Airedale—undoubtedly there was an Airedale concerned in it somewhere, though its feet were startlingly white—changed hands and settled down into Mrs. Wilson’s lap, where she fondled the weather-proof coat with rapture.
这只硬毛猎狗转了手--毫无疑问它的血统里不知什么地方跟硬毛猎狗有过关系,不过它的爪子却白得出奇①--随即安然躺进威尔逊太太的怀里。她欢大喜地地抚摸着那不怕伤风着凉的皮毛。
①这种狗背上和两侧往往是黑色,其余部位是棕色。
“Is it a boy or a girl?” she asked delicately.
“That dog? That dog’s a boy.”
“It’s a bitch,” said Tom decisively. “Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it.”
"是只母狗,"汤姆斩钉截铁地说,"给你钱。拿去再买十只狗。"