了不起的盖茨比（汤姆质疑盖茨比身份）

     It was like that. Almost the last thing I remember was standing with Daisy and watching the moving-picture director and his Star. They were still under the white plum tree and their faces were touching except for a pale, thin ray of moonlight between. It occurred to me that he had been very slowly bending toward her all evening to attain this proximity, and even while I watched I saw him stoop one ultimate degree and kiss at her cheek.

★Stoop：[stuːp] 俯身;弯腰。

    情况就是这样。我印象中最后一件事大概是我和黛西站在一起望着那位电影导演和他的"大明星"。他们仍然在那棵白梅树下，他们的脸贴得很近，只隔着一线淡淡的白月光。我忽然想到他整个晚上大概一直在慢慢地朝她俯身，才终于凑得这么近，然后正在我望着的这一刻，我看见他弯下最后一点空间，亲吻了她的脸颊。

　　“I like her,” said Daisy, “I think she’s lovely.”

     "我喜欢她，"黛西说，"我觉得她迷人极了。"

     But the rest offended her—and inarguably, because it wasn’t a gesture but an emotion. She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented “place.” that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village—appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand.

★Appall：[əˈpɔːl] 使胆寒；使惊骇。★Begotten：成为…之父;引发;导致beget的过去分词。★Chafed： (尤指因受限制而)恼怒，烦恼。★Euphemism：[ˈjuːfəmɪzəm] 委婉语;委婉说法。★Obtrusive：[əbˈtruːsɪv] 扎眼的;过分炫耀的;显眼的。

    但是其他的一切她都厌恶——而且是无需争辩的，因为这并不是一种姿态，而是一种感情。她十分厌恶西卵，这个前所未有的"胜地"，源自长岛渔村，脱胎自百老汇——--厌恶它那离经叛道的粗犷活力，厌恶这里的人被过分突兀的命运所驱使，沿着捷径，从一无所有走向一无所有的宿命。她从自己无法理解的简单中，看出了某种可怖的东西。

    I sat on the front steps with them while they waited for their car. It was dark here in front; only the bright door sent ten square feet of light volleying out into the soft black morning. Sometimes a shadow moved against a dressing-room blind above, gave way to another shadow, an indefinite procession of shadows, who rouged and powdered in an invisible glass.

★Volley：[ˈvɒli] 截踢,截击(空中球)；（子弹的）群射，齐发。★Rouged：擦口红;在脸上搽胭脂。

    他们在等车时，我坐在大门口的台阶上。门前很暗，只有明亮的门口向幽暗的黎明射出十平方英尺的亮光。有时楼上化妆室的百叶窗有一个人影掠过，接着又是一个人影，络绎不绝的人影，都对着一面看不见的镜子涂脂抹粉。

　　“Who is this Gatsby anyhow?” demanded Tom suddenly. “Some big bootlegger?”

     "这个盖茨比究竟是谁？"汤姆突然质问我，"一个大私酒贩子？"

　　“Where’d you hear that?” I inquired.

     "你在哪儿听来的？"我问他。

　　“I didn’t hear it. I imagined it. A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know.”

     "我不是听来的。我猜的。有很多这样的暴发户都是大私酒贩子，你知道的。"

　　“Not Gatsby,” I said shortly.

     "盖茨比可不是。"我简短地说。

     He was silent for a moment. The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet.

★Crunch：[krʌntʃ] 嘎吱嘎吱地嚼;(使)发出碎裂声;(在路上)行进发出响声。

    他沉默了一会。汽车道上的鹅卵石在他脚底下嘎吱嘎吱的响。

   “Well, he certainly must have strained himself to get this menagerie together.”

★Menagerie：[məˈnædʒəri]  (私人豢养或向公众展览的)一群野生动物。

     "我说，他一定花了很大的气力才把这些牛鬼蛇神聚在一起。"

     A breeze stirred the gray haze of Daisy’s fur collar.

★haze：(尤指热天引起的)薄雾，霾;(烟尘等的)雾霭，烟雾;迷蒙;迷糊。

    一阵微风吹动了黛西的灰雾般的绒毛领子。

　　“At least they’re more interesting than the people we know,” she said with an effort.

    "至少他们比我们认识的人有趣。"她勉力辩解道。

　　“You didn’t look so interested.”

     "看上去你并不怎么感兴趣嘛。"

　　“Well, I was.”

     "哦，我很感兴趣。"

　　Tom laughed and turned to me.

    汤姆哈哈一笑，把脸转向我。

　　“Did you notice Daisy’s face when that girl asked her to put her under a cold shower?”

     "当那个女孩要求黛西给她冲冷水澡的时候，你注意到黛西的脸色吗？"

    Daisy began to sing with the music in a husky, rhythmic whisper, bringing out a meaning in each word that it had never had before and would never have again. When the melody rose, her voice broke up sweetly, following it, in a way contralto voices have, and each change tipped out a little of her warm human magic upon the air.

★Contralto：[kənˈtræltəʊ]女低音;女低音歌手。

    黛西随着音乐而沙哑有节奏的低声哼唱，把每个字都唱出一种以前从未有过、以后也决不会再有的意味。当旋律昂扬起来，她的嗓音也巧妙跟着，悠扬婉转，正是女低音的本色，而且每一点变化都带有一点魔力，使空气中带有温暖的人情味。

　　“Lots of people come who haven’t been invited,” she said suddenly. “That girl hadn’t been invited. They simply force their way in and he’s too polite to object.”

     "很多人不请自来，"她忽然说，"那个女孩子也没有被邀请。他们索性直接闯进来，而盖茨比又太有教养，不好意思谢绝。"

　　“I’d like to know who he is and what he does,” insisted Tom. “And I think I’ll make a point of finding out.”

     "我很想知道他是什么人，又是干什么的，"汤姆固执地说，"我想我一定会找到答案的。"

　　“I can tell you right now,” she answered. “He owned some drug-stores, a lot of drug-stores. He built them up himself.”

     "我现在就可以告诉你，"她答道，"他开了几家药店，很多家。都是他一手创办起来的。"

    The dilatory limousine came rolling up the drive.

★Dilatory：[ˈdɪlətəri] 拖拉的;拖延的;延误的。★Limousine：[ˈlɪməziːn]大型高级轿车;豪华轿车。

    那辆姗姗来迟的大型轿车沿着汽车道开了上来。

　　“Good night, Nick,” said Daisy.

     "晚安，尼克。'黛西说。

    Her glance left me and sought the lighted top of the steps, where THREE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING, a neat, sad little waltz of that year, was drifting out the open door. After all, in the very casualness of Gatsby’s party there were romantic possibilities totally absent from her world. What was it up there in the song that seemed to be calling her back inside? What would happen now in the dim, incalculable hours? Perhaps some unbelievable guest would arrive, a person infinitely rare and to be marvelled at, some authentically radiant young girl who with one fresh glance at Gatsby, one moment of magical encounter, would blot out those five years of unwavering devotion.

★Blot：有意地忘记（不愉快的记忆或想法）；抹去。

    她的目光离开了我，朝着灯光照亮的最上一层台阶看去，当年最流行的那首轻灵而略带伤感的华尔兹舞曲《凌晨三点钟》，正从敞开的大门里流泻出来。毕竟，盖茨比的晚会有随性之风，有种种浪漫的可能性，这在她自己的世界中是完全没有的。那支歌曲里面仿佛有种召唤她回到宅子里的魔力。在这幽暗的、不可预知的时光里，现在又将发生着什么？也许会光临一位令人难以置信的客人，一位令人惊艳不已的绝世佳人。在一刹那魔术般的邂逅，她只要对盖茨比抛去一个鲜活的媚眼，就可以把五年来坚贞不移的爱情一笔勾销。