了不起的盖茨比（沃尔夫山姆）

    Roaring noon. In a well—fanned Forty-second Street cellar_{[地窖；地下室]} I met Gatsby for lunch. Blinking away the brightness of the street outside, my eyes picked him out obscurely in the anteroom, talking to another man.

    炎热的正午。我在四十二号街一家电扇大开的地下酒馆里跟盖茨比碰头吃午餐。我眨眨眼，躲避外面马路上的亮光，才在前厅里模模糊糊地辨认出他来，他正在跟一个人说话。 

　　“Mr. Carraway, this is my friend Mr. Wolfshiem.”

    "卡拉韦先生，这是我的朋友沃尔夫山姆先生。"

　　A small, flat-nosed Jew raised his large head and regarded me with two fine growths of hair which luxuriated in either nostril. After a moment I discovered his tiny eyes in the half-darkness.

    一个矮小、塌鼻的犹太人抬起了他的大脑袋来打量我，每个鼻孔里都露着一撮长势喜人的鼻毛。过了一会儿我才在半明半暗的室内发现了他的两只小眼睛。

　　“—So I took one look at him,” said Mr. Wolfshiem, shaking my hand earnestly, “and what do you think I did?”

     "……然后我看了他一眼，"沃尔夫山姆先生说着，一边很热切地和我握手，"然后，你猜猜我干了什么？"

　　“What?” I inquired politely.

     "您干了什么？"我礼貌地问。

　　But evidently he was not addressing me, for he dropped my hand and covered Gatsby with his expressive nose.

    但显然他并不是在跟我讲话，因为他放下了我的手，把他那只富于表现力的鼻子转向了盖茨比。 

　　“I handed the money to Katspaugh and I sid: ‘all right, Katspaugh, don’t pay him a penny till he shuts his mouth.’ He shut it then and there.”

    "我把那笔钱交给卡茨鲍，同时我对他说：'好了，卡茨鲍，你要是不住嘴，一分钱也不给你。'他当场就住了嘴。"

     Gatsby took an arm of each of us and moved forward into the restaurant, whereupon Mr. Wolfshiem swallowed a new sentence he was starting and lapsed into a somnambulatory abstraction.

[ lapsed into：（通常指短暂地）进入，陷入（某种说话或行事方式）。abstraction:空想，心不在焉。Somnambulatory：梦游般的。]

    盖茨比拉住我们俩的胳膊，一起走进餐厅。沃尔夫山姆先生刚要说什么，立刻又咽了下去，梦游似的跟着往前走。

 　　“Highballs?” asked the head waiter.

     “都要威士忌吗？”酒馆的领班问。 

　　 “This is a nice restaurant here,” said Mr. Wolfshiem, looking at the Presbyterian nymphs on the ceiling. “But I like across the street better!”

     "这儿的这家馆子不错，"沃尔夫山姆先生一边说，一边看着天花板上画的信奉长老宗的美少女。"但是我更喜欢马路对面那家。"

长老会即长老宗（Presbyterianism），也称归正宗，是新教主要宗派之一，以加尔文的宗教思想为依据，亦称加尔文宗，”归正”为经过改革复归正确之意。在英语国家里，该宗因其教政特点又称长老宗。归正宗产生于16世纪宗教改革时期，与安立甘宗和路德宗并称新教三大主流派别。20世纪，长老宗对普世教会合一运动有相当程度的参与，提倡现代基督教内各宗派和教派重新合一。纽约的地下酒馆会出现长老宗的壁画，某种程度上说明当时的美国社会正在倡导多文化的大融合。 

　　“Yes, highballs,” agreed Gatsby, and then to Mr. Wolfshiem: “It’s too hot over there.”

     "好的，来几杯姜汁威士忌，"盖茨比同意，然后对沃尔夫山姆先生说，"那边太热了。"

　　“Hot and small—yes,” said Mr. Wolfshiem, “but full of memories.”

     "又热又小—是的，"沃尔夫西恩先生说，"但是充满了回忆。"

　　“What place is that?” I asked.

     "那是哪一家馆子？"我问。

　　“The old Metropole.”

     "老大都会。"

　　“The old Metropole,” brooded Mr. Wolfshiem gloomily. “Filled with faces dead and gone. Filled with friends gone now forever. I can’t forget so long as I live the night they shot Rosy Rosenthal there. It was six of us at the table, and Rosy had eat and drunk a lot all evening. When it was almost morning the waiter came up to him with a funny look and says somebody wants to speak to him outside. ‘all right,’ says Rosy, and begins to get up, and I pulled him down in his chair.

     "老大都会，"沃尔夫山姆先生忧伤地回忆道，"多少人去过那儿啊，都死的死，散的散了。多少朋友在那儿聚过啊，现在都不在人世了。我只要活着就不会忘记他们开枪打死罗西·罗森塔尔的那个晚上。当时我们一桌六个人，罗西一夜大吃大喝。快到天亮的时候，服务员带着一种尴尬的表情来到他跟前说有个人请他到外面去讲话。'好吧。'罗西说着就要站起来，我又把他拽回椅子里。

大都会酒店，纽约市第一家每个房间都有自来水的酒店，位于时代广场附近的西43街第147号，现在被称为卡萨布兰卡时代广场酒店，20年代曾吸引了大批赌徒驻足。

　　“‘Let the bastards come in here if they want you, Rosy, but don’t you, so help me, move outside this room.’

     "那帮混蛋要找你，让他们进来好了，罗西，你就当为了我，千万不要离开这间屋子。"

　　“It was four o’clock in the morning then, and if we’d of raised the blinds we’d of seen daylight.”

     "那时候已经是清早四点，要是我们把百叶窗拉上去，应该能看见黎明。"

　　“Did he go?” I asked innocently.

     "他去了吗？"我天真地问。

　　“Sure he went.” Mr. Wolfshiem’s nose flashed at me indignantly. “He turned around in the door and says: ‘Don’t let that waiter take away my coffee!’ Then he went out on the sidewalk, and they shot him three times in his full belly and drove away.”

     "他当然去了。"沃尔夫山姆先生的鼻子气呼呼地向我一掀。"他在门口转过身来说：'别让那个服务员把我的咖啡收掉！'说完他就走到外面人行道上，结果他们向他吃得饱饱的肚皮开了三枪，然后开车跑掉了。"

　　“Four of them were electrocuted,” I said, remembering.

     那些人里有四个坐了电椅，被处死了。”我想起来了。

　　“Five, with Becker.” His nostrils turned to me in an interested way. “I understand you’re looking for a business gonnegtion.”

    “是五个，还有贝克尔。” 他的鼻孔又饶有兴致地转向了我，”“我听说你在找关系做生意。”

这段影射的是一桩真实的谋杀案。

罗西·罗森塔尔的原型，是赫尔曼·罗森塔尔（Herman Rosenthal），1912年7月犹太黑帮头目赫尔曼·罗森塔尔走出都城酒店，随后被另一犹太黑帮枪杀。随后有人指出这是纽约警局高官查尔斯·贝克尔的授意，因为罗森塔尔拒绝给纽约警局高额的赌场分成，并把索贿的事捅给了报社。贝克尔因此案，成为美国历史上第一位获谋杀罪而被判处死刑的警察。这起警方涉黑丑闻，也成为纽约进步时代的一大重要事件。　

The juxtaposition of these two remarks was startling. Gatsby answered for me:

Juxtaposition:（形成反差的物体、形象或想法的）并置，并列。

     这两句话连在一起使人听了震惊。盖茨比替我回答：

　　“Oh, no,” he exclaimed, “this isn’t the man.”

     "哦，不是，"他大声说，"这不是那个人。" 

　　“No?” Mr. Wolfshiem seemed disappointed.

     "不是？"沃尔夫山姆先生似乎很失望。

　　“This is just a friend. I told you we’d talk about that some other time.”

     "他就是一个朋友。我告诉过你我们改天再谈那件事嘛。"

　　“I beg your pardon,” said Mr. Wolfshiem, “I had a wrong man.”

     "对不起，"沃尔夫山姆先生说，"我弄错了人。" 

A succulent hash arrived, and Mr. Wolfshiem, forgetting the more sentimental atmosphere of the old Metropole, began to eat with ferocious delicacy. His eyes, meanwhile, roved very slowly all around the room—he completed the arc by turning to inspect the people directly behind. I think that, except for my presence, he would have taken one short glance beneath our own table.

[succulent:多汁美味的。Hash：(回锅)肉丁土豆。]

一盘鲜美的回锅肉丁端上桌来，沃尔夫山姆先生立刻将老都会酒店那股伤感气息抛在脑后，开始优雅地大吃起来。同时他转着眼珠子，把整个餐厅巡视一遍。他又转过身来打量紧坐在我们正后方的的客人，从而结束了扫视。我想，要不是因为我在场，他准会连我们自己桌子底下也去瞧一眼的。

“Look here, old sport,” said Gatsby, leaning toward me, “I’m afraid I made you a little angry this morning in the car.”

     "嘿，，老兄，"盖茨比说着，向我靠过来，"今天早上在车子里我怕有点惹你生气了吧"

　　There was the smile again, but this time I held out against it.

    又是那种微笑，可是这次我无动于衷。

　　“I don’t like mysteries,” I answered. “And I don’t understand why you won’t come out frankly and tell me what you want. Why has it all got to come through Miss Baker?”

     "我不喜欢把事情搞得神神秘秘的，"我回道，"我也不明白你为什么不肯直说，让我知道你想要什么。为什么非得通过贝克小姐来说呢？"

 　　“Oh, it’s nothing underhand,” he assured me. “Miss Baker’s a great sportswoman, you know, and she’d never do anything that wasn’t all right.”

"哦，决不是什么见不得人的事情，"他向我保证，"你也知道，贝克小姐是一位了不起的女运动员，她决不会做什么不正当的事。" 

　　Suddenly he looked at his watch, jumped up, and hurried from the room, leaving me with Mr. Wolfshiem at the table.

忽然间他看了看表，跳了起来，匆匆离开餐厅，把我跟沃尔夫山姆先生留在桌边。

　　“He has to telephone,” said Mr. Wolfshiem, following him with his eyes. “Fine fellow, isn’t he? Handsome to look at and a perfect gentleman.”

     "他得去打电话，"沃尔夫山姆先生目送着他说，"他真是个好伙计，是吧？长得一表人才，还是个完美绅士。" 

　　“Yes.”

     "是的。"

　　“He’s an Oggsford man.”

    "他还是‘牛京’的高材生呢。"牛京，"牛津"的讹音。

　　“Oh!”

     "哦！"

　　“He went to Oggsford College in England. You know Oggsford College?”

     "他上过英国的‘牛京’大学。你知道‘牛京’大学吧？"

　　“I’ve heard of it.”

     "我听说过。"

　　“It’s one of the most famous colleges in the world.”

     "它是全世界最有名的大学之一。"

　　“Have you known Gatsby for a long time?” I inquired.

     "你认识盖茨比很久了吗？"我问道。

　　“Several years,” he answered in a gratified way. “I made the pleasure of his acquaintance just after the war. But I knew I had discovered a man of fine breeding after I talked with him an hour. I said to myself: ‘There’s the kind of man you’d like to take home and introduce to your mother and sister.’.” He paused. “I see you’re looking at my cuff buttons.” I hadn’t been looking at them, but I did now.

     "好几年了，"他心满意足地答道，"大战刚结束，我就很荣幸地跟他混熟了。可是我跟他只谈了一个钟头就知道我遇见了一个非常有教养的人。我就对自己说：“他就是你愿意带回家介绍给你妈妈和妹妹的那种人。”他顿了顿，说道："我知道你在看我的袖扣。"我本来并没有看，可是现在倒注意到了。

　　They were composed of oddly familiar pieces of ivory.

它们是用象牙碎片制作的，看着眼熟得奇怪。

“Finest specimens of human molars,” he informed me.

Specimen：样品；样本；标本。

     "这是精选的人类臼齿标本。"他告诉我。

　　“Well!” I inspected them. “That’s a very interesting idea.”

“噢！”我仔细看了看，“这可真有创意。”

　　“Yeah.” He flipped his sleeves up under his coat. “Yeah, Gatsby’s very careful about women. He would never so much as look at a friend’s wife.”

     “是啊。”他把袖口翻上来，缩进外套里。"“不错，盖茨比对待女人很细心。对朋友的老婆他连看也不看。”

　　When the subject of this instinctive trust returned to the table and sat down Mr. Wolfshiem drank his coffee with a jerk and got to his feet.

    被他寄予本能信任的那个人又回到桌边坐下的时候，沃尔夫山姆先生一口把他的咖啡喝掉，然后站起身来。

　　“I have enjoyed my lunch,” he said, “and I’m going to run off from you two young men before I outstay my welcome.”

     "这顿饭我吃得很开兴，"他说，"趁我还没惹人嫌，先走一步了。" 

    “Don’t hurry, Meyer,” said Gatsby, without enthusiasm. Mr.  Wolfshiem raised his hand in a sort of benediction.

benediction：（基督教的）祝福，赐福祈祷A benediction is a kind of Christian prayer. 

    "别急着走啊，迈耶。"盖茨比不热情地说着。沃尔夫山姆生像祝福似地举起了手。 

　　“You’re very polite, but I belong to another generation,” he announced solemnly. “You sit here and discuss your sports and your young ladies and your——” He supplied an imaginary noun with another wave of his hand. “As for me, I am fifty years old, and I won’t impose myself on you any longer.”

     "你们很有礼貌，不过我是老一辈的人了，"他严肃地说，"你们就坐在这儿，聊聊你们玩的运动、你们的小情人，还有你们的——"他又把手一挥，用来指代一个任人联想的话题    "我呢，是个五十岁的老头子了，就不想打搅你们了。"

　　As he shook hands and turned away his tragic nose was trembling. I wondered if I had said anything to offend him.

他跟我们握握手，转身走了，他那忧伤的鼻子又在颤动。我不知是否我说了什么话冒犯了他。

　　“He becomes very sentimental sometimes,” explained Gatsby. “This is one of his sentimental days. He’s quite a character around New York—a denizen of Broadway.”

     "他有时会变得很多愁善感，"盖茨比解释道，"今天又是他伤感的日子。他在纽约是个人物--百老汇的地头蛇。"

　　“Who is he, anyhow, an actor?”

     "他到底是什么人？是演员吗？"

　　“No.”

     "不是。 

　　“A dentist?”

     "牙科医生？"

　　“Meyer Wolfshiem? No, he’s a gambler.” Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: “He’s the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919.”

     "迈耶·沃尔夫山姆？不，他是个赌徒。"盖茨比迟疑了一下，然后若无其事地补充道，"他就是一九一九年那年非法操纵世界棒球联赛的那个人。" 

　　“Fixed the World’s Series?” I repeated.

    “操纵世界大赛？”我重复了一遍。

　　The idea staggered_{[震惊；大吃一惊]} me. I remembered, of course, that the World’s Series had been fixed in 1919, but if I had thought of it at all I would have thought of it as a thing that merely HAPPENED, the end of some inevitable chain. It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people—with the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.

这让我大为震惊。我当然记得世界棒球联赛在一九一九年被人为操纵过，但就算我全部回想一遍，我也只觉得它是自然发生的，那个结果来自一连串无法避免的事件。我从来没想过一个人可以愚弄五千万人，就像盗贼执意要撬保险箱一样。  

　　“How did he happen to do that?” I asked after a minute.

     "他怎么会干那事？"我愣了一会儿才问道。

　　“He just saw the opportunity.”

     "他只不过是看中了机会，"

　　“Why isn’t he in jail?”

     "他怎么没坐牢呢？"

　　“They can’t get him, old sport. He’s a smart man.”

     "他们抓不到他的把柄，老兄。他是个非常精明的人。" 

1919年，美国棒球界爆发了“黑袜丑闻”（Black Sox Scandal），曾两度摘得美国职业棒球联赛冠军的芝加哥“白袜”队，有8名球员因不满球队老板苛扣报酬，与黑帮赌徒串通，故意在当年的"世界大赛"中输给辛辛那提“红人”队，从而赚取由罗斯坦支付的每人8万美元酬劳。