《了不起的盖茨比》节选

2012-09-03 17:04

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在美国各大“最优秀的经典文学作品”榜单中,《了不起的盖茨比》总能高居榜首。著名诗人和文学评论家艾略特称赞道:“这是自亨利•詹姆斯以来美国小说迈出的第一步,因为菲茨杰拉德在书中描写了(那个时代的)宏大、熙攘、轻率和寻欢,凡此种种,曾风靡一时。”今年12月,囊括了莱昂纳多•迪卡普里奥等名演员的最新改编的《了不起的盖茨比》将在北美隆重上映,届时又会掀起了一股“爵士时代”潮。

该故事借穷职员尼克的视角,描写了盖茨比如烟花般的悲剧人生。本选段选的是尼克参加盖茨比举办的聚会,第一次亲眼见到了他常常在别人嘴里提起的神秘莫测的盖茨比。

《了不起的盖茨比》节选

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By F. S. Fitzgerald

安妮 选 言佳 译

Chapter Three (Excerpt)

I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited—they went there. They got into automobiles which carried them out to Long Island[1] and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby and after that they conducted themselves[2] according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.

I had been actually invited. A chauffeur in a uniform of robin’s egg blue crossed my lawn early that Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal note from his employer—the honor would be entirely Gatsby’s, it said, if I would attend his “little party” that night.[3] He had seen me several times and had intended to call on me long before but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it—signed Jay Gatsby in a majestic hand.

Dressed up in white flannels I went over to his lawn a little after seven and wandered around rather ill-at-ease among swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know—though here and there was a face I had noticed on the commuting train...[4]

There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden, old men pushing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably and keeping in the corners—and a great number of single girls dancing individualistically or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps.[5] By midnight the hilarity[6] had increased. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and between the numbers people were doing “stunts” all over the garden, while happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky...[7]

I was still with Jordan Baker. We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter.[8] I was enjoying myself now. I had taken two finger bowls[9] of champagne and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental and profound.

At a lull[10] in the entertainment the man looked at me and smiled. “Your face is familiar,” he said, politely. “Weren’t you in the Third Division[11] during the war?”

“Why, yes. I was in the Ninth Machine-Gun Battalion[12] .”

“I was in the Seventh Infantry[13] until June 1918. I knew I’d seen you somewhere before.”

We talked for a moment about some wet, grey little villages in France. Evidently he lived in this vicinity for he told me that he had just bought a hydroplane and was going to try it out in the morning.[14]

“Want to go with me, old sport[15]? Just near the shore along the Sound[16].”

“What time?”

“Any time that suits you best.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask his name when Jordan looked around and smiled. “Having a gay time now?” she inquired.

“Much better.” I turned again to my new acquaintance. “This is an unusual party for me. I haven’t even seen the host. I live over there——” I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distance, “and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.”

For a moment he looked at me as if he failed to understand.

“I’m Gatsby,” he said suddenly.

“What!” I exclaimed. “Oh, I beg your pardon.”

“I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very good host.”

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished— and I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd.[17] Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care.

第三章 (节选)

我相信那天晚上我第一次到盖茨比家去时,我是少数几个真正接到请帖的客人之一。人们不请自来。他们坐上送他们去长岛的汽车,后来也不知怎么的他们总是出现在盖茨比的家门口。抵达之后,总会有什么认识盖茨比的人为他们介绍一下,此后他们的言谈行事就像身处一般的娱乐场所似地无所顾忌了。有时候他们从来到走根本没见过盖茨比,他们怀着一片至诚前来赴会,这片诚心就可以算作一张入场券了。

我确实是受到邀请的。那个星期六一清早,一位身穿蓝绿色制服的司机穿过我的草地,为他主人送来一封措词相当正式的请柬,上面写道:如蒙我光临当晚他的“小小聚会”,盖茨比当感到不胜荣幸。他数次看到我,并早就打算造访,但由于种种特殊原因未能如愿——杰伊•盖茨比签名,笔迹很神气。

晚上七点刚过,我身穿一套白色法兰绒便装走上他家的草坪,很不自在地在一群群我不认识的人中间走动——虽然偶尔我也能看到某些在城际火车上曾见过的面孔……

此刻,花园里的篷布下有人在跳舞:老头子推着年轻姑娘向后倒退,无止无休地绕着难看的圈子;一些心高气傲的男女抱在一起,跳着时髦的舞步扭来扭去,但基本上就守在一个角落里——还有许多单身姑娘在跳单人舞,或者帮乐队弹一会儿班卓琴,又或者敲一会儿打击乐器。到了午夜,欢闹更甚。一位有名的男高音歌唱家用意大利文演唱,一位臭名昭著的女低音歌手演唱爵士乐曲,在节目之间的空档中,花园里四处有人在表演自己“绝技”,引得阵阵欢乐而空洞的笑声响彻夏夜的天空……

我仍和乔丹•贝克呆在一起。与我们同桌的还有一位与我年纪差不多的男子和一个吵吵闹闹的小姑娘,只要稍微挑逗一下,她就忍不住放声大笑。我现在玩得也挺开心了。我已经喝了两大碗香槟,因此我眼前的景色变成了某种意味深长的、原始粗犷而又奥妙的东西。

在节目间歇期间,那位男士看着我,朝我微笑。“您很面熟,”他很客气地说,“一战期间您是在第三师吧?”

“正是啊。我在第九机枪营。”

“我在第七步兵团,直到1918年6月。我就知道我曾在哪儿见过您。”

我们聊了一会儿法国某处的潮湿阴暗的小村庄。显然他应该就住在附近,因为他告诉我他刚买了一架水上飞机,并且准备明天早晨去试飞一下。

“愿意跟我一块去吗,老兄?就在长岛海湾沿着岸边转转。”

“什么时候?”

“只要你方便,什么时候都行。”

我话已到嘴边刚想问他的名字,这时乔丹转过头来朝我一笑。她问道:“现在玩得开心吧?”

“好多了。”我又转过头去与我的新交朋友说,“对我来说,这是个不寻常的晚会。我连主人都还没见到呢。我就住在那边——”我朝远处看不见的的篱笆一挥手,“这位姓盖茨比的先生派他的司机送给我一份请帖。”

他看了看我,似乎没听懂我的话。

“我就是盖茨比,”他突然说。

“什么!”我惊叫了一声,“噢,真是抱歉。”

“我还以为你知道呢,老兄。我恐怕不是个称职的主人。”

他心领神会地一笑——还不止心领神会。这是极为罕见的笑容,那笑容里含有一种永恒善意的表情,可能你一辈子也就能遇见四五次。它朝着——或者似乎朝着——整个永恒的世界微笑了一瞬间,然后就凝聚在你身上,对你表现出不可抗拒的偏爱。他对你的了解恰恰达到你本人希望被了解的程度,相信你如同你乐于相信你自己那样,并令你舒心,因为他对你的印象正是你最得意时希望给予别人的印象。恰好在这一刻他的笑容消失了——于是我看着的不过是一个风度翩翩的年轻男子,三十一二岁的年纪,说起话来文质彬彬,几乎有点可笑。在他作自我介绍之前不久,我强烈地感觉到他说话似乎字字斟酌。

(来源:英语学习杂志 编辑:丹妮)

Vocabulary:

1. Long Island: 长岛,位于美国纽约市,是纽约市人口最密集的繁荣之地。

2. conduct oneself: 〈正式〉举止,表现。

3. chauffeur: (尤指富人或要人的)司机;robin’s egg blue: 蓝绿色。

4. flannel: 法兰绒衣服;ill-at-ease: 局促不安地,不自在地;swirl: 旋涡,旋转;eddy: 旋涡,涡流。此处用两个意思相近的词来形容熙攘的人群,像海中的旋涡似的;commuting train: (两地之间的)通勤火车。

5. tortuously: 弯曲地,扭曲地;relieve: 减轻,缓和(负担或痛苦);banjo: 班卓琴,又称五弦琴。它上部形似吉他,下部形似铃鼓;traps: 〈美〉只用复数形式,意为“打击乐器”。

6. hilarity: 欢喜,欢闹。

7. tenor: 男高音歌唱家;notorious: 声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的;contralto: 女低音歌唱家;number: 〈音〉曲子;stunt: 花招,噱头,引人注目的举动;vacuous: 空洞的,无意义的。

8. rowdy: 好吵闹的,爱争吵的;provocation: 挑衅,刺激。

9. finger bowl: (餐桌上的)洗手用的碗。宾客用洗手的大碗来喝香槟,可见当时聚会上的狂欢与放纵情景。

10. lull: 间歇,暂停。

11. division: 〈军事〉(一个)师,一般人数在一万人以上。

12. battalion: 〈军事〉(一个)营,一般约有500人左右。

13. infantry: 〈军事〉(一个)步兵团,一般约有2000人左右。

14. vicinity: 邻近,附近;hydroplane: 水上飞机。

15. old sport: 〈俚〉老兄。

16. the Sound: 此处指的是Long Island Sound,纽约长岛海湾。

17. rough-neck: 年轻的人;elaborate: 精心制作的,煞费苦心的。

 

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