The Great Gatsby — Page 94
「还有另一件小事，」他迟疑地说，停顿了一下。
"There's another little thing," he said uncertainly, and hesitated.
「你宁愿推迟几天再说吗？」我问道。
"Would you rather put it off for a few days?" I asked.
「哦，不是关于那件事。至少——」他支支吾吾地试着开口好几次。
"Oh, it isn't about that. At least—" He fumbled with a series of beginnings.
「唉，我以为——唉，你瞧，老兄，你赚的钱不多，对吧？」
"Why, I thought—why, look here, old sport, you don't make much money, do you?"
「不太多。」
"Not very much."
这似乎让他放心了，他更自信地继续说道。
This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.
「我就知道你赚得不多，请原谅我这样说——你知道，我在旁边做一点小生意，算是副业，你明白的。我想如果你赚得不太多——你是在卖债券，对吗，老兄？」
"I thought you didn't, if you'll pardon my—you see, I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of side line, you understand. And I thought that if you don't make very much—You're selling bonds, aren't you, old sport?"
「正在尝试。」
"Trying to."
「那么，这件事会让你感兴趣的。它不会占用你太多时间，你也许能捞到一笔不错的钱。这碰巧是件相当机密的事情。」
"Well, this would interest you. It wouldn't take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money. It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing."
我现在意识到，在不同的情形下，那次谈话也许会成为我人生中的一个转折点。但是，由于那个提议显然是在笨拙地要求我提供某种服务作为回报，我别无选择，只能就此打断他。
I realize now that under different circumstances that conversation might have been one of the crises of my life. But, because the offer was obviously and tactlessly for a service to be rendered, I had no choice except to cut him off there.
「我已经忙得不可开交了，」我说，「非常感谢，但我没办法再接手更多工作了。」
"I've got my hands full," I said. "I'm much obliged but I couldn't take on any more work."
「你不需要和沃尔夫赛姆有任何生意往来。」他显然以为我在回避午餐时提到的那个「关系」，但我向他保证他想错了。
"You wouldn't have to do any business with Wolfshiem." Evidently he thought that I was shying away from the "gonnegtion" mentioned at lunch, but I assured him he was wrong.
Vocabulary
- There
- 用于引出句子或指示某处
- 's
- 'is'或'has'的缩写形式
- another
- 另一个，再一个
- little
- 小的；少量的
- thing
- 事情，物品
- said
- 说，speak的过去式
- uncertainly
- 不确定地，犹豫地，不自信地
- hesitated
- 犹豫，迟疑不决
- Would
- 表示委婉请求或假设的情态动词
- rather
- 宁愿，更愿意；相当地
- put
- 放置；推迟（与off搭配）
- off
- 推迟，延期（put off）
- few
- 几个，少数的
- asked
- 询问，ask的过去式
- isn't
- is not的缩写，不是
- about
- 关于；大约
- least
- 至少，最少（at least）
- fumbled
- 笨手笨脚地摸索；结巴地说
- series
- 一系列，一连串
- beginnings
- 开头，开始，起头（复数）
- thought
- 认为，想，think的过去式
- look
- 看；注意（look here表示注意听）
- old
- 老的；old sport是亲切称呼
- sport
- 运动；此处作亲切称呼
- make
- 赚得；制作；使得
- much
- 很多，大量
- seemed
- 似乎，好像，seem的过去式
- reassure
- 使安心，消除疑虑，给予保证
- continued
- 继续，持续，continue的过去式
- confidently
- 自信地，有把握地
- if
- 如果，假如，条件连词
- pardon
- 原谅，宽恕；if you'll pardon意为"请见谅"
- carry
- 携带；carry on表示继续
- business
- 生意，业务，商业
- side
- 旁边；on the side表示兼职副业
- sort
- 种类，类型；sort of表示某种
- line
- 行业，业务范围
- understand
- 理解，明白
- selling
- 销售，出售，sell的现在分词
- bonds
- 债券，金融证券（复数）
- Trying
- 努力尝试，try的现在分词
- would
- 将会；表示假设或委婉请求
- interest
- 使感兴趣；兴趣；利息
- take
- 占用；拿，带
- might
- 可能，也许，情态动词
- pick
- 挑选；pick up表示获得
- nice
- 好的，令人愉快的
- bit
- 一点，少量
- happens
- 碰巧，恰好发生
- confidential
- 机密的，保密的，不对外公开的
- realize
- 意识到，认识到，了解
- under
- 在…之下；处于某种情况下
- different
- 不同的，各异的
- circumstances
- 情况，处境，环境（复数）
- conversation
- 对话，谈话，交谈
- crises
- 危机，紧急关头（crisis的复数）
- life
- 生命，生活，人生
- because
- 因为，由于，表示原因
- offer
- 提议，提供，出价
- obviously
- 显然地，明显地
- tactlessly
- 不得体地，不圆滑地，缺乏技巧地
- service
- 服务，帮助，贡献
- rendered
- 提供，给予，render的过去式
- choice
- 选择，抉择
- except
- 除了，只有，表示例外
- cut
- 切断，打断，拒绝
- hands
- 手；got hands full表示忙碌
- full
- 满的；hands full表示手头很忙
- obliged
- 感激的；被迫的，不得不
- Evidently
- 显然，明显地，很明显
- shying
- 退缩，回避，shy away的分词形式
- away
- 离开，远离（shy away from回避）
- gonnegtion
- connection的口音拼写，指关系或联系
- mentioned
- 提到，提及，mention的过去式
- lunch
- 午餐，午饭
- assured
- 向…保证，使确信，assure的过去式
- wrong
- 错误的，不对的
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