The Great Gatsby — Page 129
他们以前经营着一家小旅馆。"
They used to run a small hotel."
"我明白了。"
"I see."
他是应黛西的请求打来电话的——问我明天能否去她家吃午饭？
He was calling up at Daisy's request—would I come to lunch at her house tomorrow?
贝克小姐也会在场。
Miss Baker would be there.
半小时后，黛西本人打来电话，听说我会去，似乎松了一口气。
Half an hour later Daisy herself telephoned and seemed relieved to find that I was coming.
有什么事要发生了。
Something was up.
然而我实在不敢相信，他们会选择这个场合来上演一出好戏——尤其是盖茨比在花园里描述的那种令人揪心的场面。
And yet I couldn't believe that they would choose this occasion for a scene—especially for the rather harrowing scene that Gatsby had outlined in the garden.
第二天酷热难耐，几乎是这个夏天最后一个、也肯定是最热的一天。
The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer.
当我乘坐的火车从隧道中钻出，驶入阳光之中，只有国家饼干公司那刺耳的汽笛声，打破了正午时分那沸腾般的寂静。
As my train emerged from the tunnel into sunlight, only the hot whistles of the National Biscuit Company broke the simmering hush at noon.
车厢里的草编座椅仿佛随时都会燃烧起来；坐在我旁边的女人，起初还在白色女衬衫上留下几滴细密的汗珠，后来，当她手中的报纸被汗水浸湿之后，她绝望地发出一声凄凉的叫喊，彻底屈服于这难耐的酷热之中。
The straw seats of the car hovered on the edge of combustion; the woman next to me perspired delicately for a while into her white shirtwaist, and then, as her newspaper dampened under her fingers, lapsed despairingly into deep heat with a desolate cry.
她的手提包啪的一声掉到了地板上。
Her pocketbook slapped to the floor.
"哎呀！"她喘着气说。
"Oh, my!" she gasped.
我疲惫地弯腰把它捡起来还给她，用手指捏着包角的最边缘、伸直手臂递过去，以示我对它毫无非分之想——但附近的人，包括那位女士，还是照样怀疑我。
I picked it up with a weary bend and handed it back to her, holding it at arm's length and by the extreme tip of the corners to indicate that I had no designs upon it—but everyone near by, including the woman, suspected me just the same.
"热啊！"列车员对着熟识的面孔说道，"这鬼天气！……热！……热！……热！……够热了吧？热不热？热不……？"
"Hot!" said the conductor to familiar faces. "Some weather! … Hot! … Hot! … Hot! … Is it hot enough for you? Is it hot? Is it … ?
Vocabulary
- used
- 过去常常（used to），表示过去的习惯
- run
- 经营；管理（一家店或企业）
- up
- 与call搭配，call up意为"打电话给某人"
- request
- 请求；要求某人做某事
- herself
- 她亲自；反身代词，强调本人
- telephoned
- 打了电话；telephone的过去式
- relieved
- 感到宽慰的；放心的
- yet
- 然而；但是（表示转折）
- occasion
- 场合；特定的时机或时刻
- scene
- （令人难堪的）场面；争吵
- especially
- 尤其；特别是
- rather
- 相当；用于加强形容词程度
- harrowing
- 令人痛苦的；极度令人心酸的
- outlined
- 概述；简要描述某事的要点
- broiling
- 酷热的；天气极度炎热
- certainly
- 肯定地；毫无疑问地
- emerged
- 出现；从某处显现出来
- tunnel
- 隧道；穿越山体或地下的通道
- whistles
- 汽笛声；工厂或火车发出的鸣叫声
- simmering
- 即将沸腾的；形容压抑的热气或紧张感
- hush
- 寂静；安静的状态
- straw
- 稻草编制的；稻草材质的
- hovered
- 悬停；在某状态的边缘徘徊
- edge
- 边缘；接近某状态的临界点
- combustion
- 燃烧；物质剧烈氧化发热的过程
- perspired
- 出汗；流汗（perspire的过去式）
- delicately
- 轻微地；精致地，此处指微微出汗
- shirtwaist
- 女式衬衫；一种上衣款式
- dampened
- 变湿润的；被汗水打湿的
- lapsed
- 陷入；沉入（某种状态）
- despairingly
- 绝望地；带着无奈和绝望
- desolate
- 凄凉的；孤寂而悲伤的
- pocketbook
- 手提包；女性随身携带的小包
- slapped
- 啪地掉落；用力拍打或掉落
- gasped
- 倒吸一口气；因惊讶而喘气
- weary
- 疲惫的；极度劳累的
- bend
- 弯腰；弯曲身体的动作
- length
- 长度；at arm's length意为保持距离
- extreme
- 极端的；最末端的
- tip
- 尖端；物体最末端的部分
- indicate
- 表明；显示出某种意图
- designs
- 企图；不良意图（have designs on）
- upon
- 对……；在……上（正式用法的on）
- including
- 包括；含有某人或某物在内
- suspected
- 怀疑；猜测某人有不良意图
- conductor
- 列车员；火车上负责检票的工作人员
- familiar
- 熟悉的；认识的
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