The Great Gatsby — Page 141

她的表情似曾相识——那是一种我在许多女人脸上见过的表情，但出现在默特尔·威尔逊脸上时，却显得毫无目的、令人费解，直到我意识到她那因嫉妒与恐惧而睁大的眼睛，并非盯着汤姆，而是盯着乔丹·贝克——她以为乔丹是他的妻子。

Her expression was curiously familiar—it was an expression I had often seen on women's faces, but on Myrtle Wilson's face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took to be his wife.

没有什么混乱比得上一个头脑简单的人的混乱，当我们驱车离去时，汤姆感受到了恐慌如鞭子般炙热地抽打着他。他的妻子和他的情妇，就在一小时前还稳固而不可侵犯，如今却正从他的掌控中急速滑落。本能驱使他踩下油门，一方面要追上黛西，另一方面要将威尔逊甩在身后，我们以每小时五十英里的速度飞驰向阿斯托利亚，直到在高架桥蛛网般的钢梁之间，我们看见了那辆悠然自得的蓝色双门轿车。

There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control. Instinct made him step on the accelerator with the double purpose of overtaking Daisy and leaving Wilson behind, and we sped along toward Astoria at fifty miles an hour, until, among the spidery girders of the elevated, we came in sight of the easygoing blue coupé.

「五十街附近那些大电影院很凉快，」乔丹提议道。「我喜欢夏日午后的纽约，那时人人都出城去了。这座城市有种很撩人的感觉——像是过熟了，仿佛各种奇异的果实就要纷纷落入你的手中。」

"Those big movies around Fiftieth Street are cool," suggested Jordan. "I love New York on summer afternoons when everyone's away. There's something very sensuous about it—overripe, as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands."

「撩人」这个词让汤姆更加心神不宁，但他还没来得及想出什么反驳，那辆双门轿车便停了下来，黛西向我们招手，示意靠边停车。

The word "sensuous" had the effect of further disquieting Tom, but before he could invent a protest the coupé came to a stop, and Daisy signalled us to draw up alongside.

「我们要去哪里？」她喊道。

"Where are we going?" she cried.

「去看电影怎么样？」

"How about the movies?"

「太热了，」她抱怨道。「你们去吧。我们到处兜兜风，之后再和你们会合。」她勉强振作起精神，挤出了一丝俏皮话。

"It's so hot," she complained. "You go. We'll ride around and meet you after." With an effort her wit rose faintly.