【有声英语文学名著】了不起的盖茨比 第2章(1)
时间:2019-02-16 作者:英语课 分类:有声英语文学名著
英语课
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter 2 - Part 1
About half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate 1 area of land. This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges 2 and hills and grotesque 3 gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling 4 through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-gray men swarm 5 up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight. But above the gray land and the spasms 6 of bleak 7 dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic—their irises 8 are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist 9 set them there to fatten 10 his practice in the borough 11 of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days, under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground.
The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul 12 river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges 13 through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal 14 scene for as long as half an hour. There is always a halt there of at least a minute, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress.
The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomsoever he knew. Though I was curious to see her, I had no desire to meet her—but I did. I went up to New York with Tom on the train one afternoon, and when we stopped by the ashheaps he jumped to his feet and, taking hold of my elbow, literally 15 forced me from the car.
“We’re getting off,” he insisted. “I want you to meet my girl.”
I think he’d tanked up a good deal at luncheon 16, and his determination to have my company bordered on violence. The supercilious 17 assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do.
I followed him over a low whitewashed 18 railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg’s persistent 19 stare. The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it, and contiguous to absolutely nothing. One of the three shops it contained was for rent and another was an all-night restaurant, approached by a trail of ashes; the third was a garage—Repairs. GEORGE B. WILSON. Cars bought and sold.—and I followed Tom inside.
The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck 20 of a Ford 21 which crouched 22 in a dim corner. It had occurred to me that this shadow of a garage must be a blind, and that sumptuous 23 and romantic apartments were concealed 24 overhead, when the proprietor 25 himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. He was a blond, spiritless man, anaemic, and faintly handsome. When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes.
“Hello, Wilson, old man,” said Tom, slapping him jovially 26 on the shoulder. “How’s business?”
“I can’t complain,” answered Wilson unconvincingly. “When are you going to sell me that car?”
“Next week; I’ve got my man working on it now.”
“Works pretty slow, don’t he?”
“No, he doesn’t,” said Tom coldly. “And if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all.”
“I don’t mean that,” explained Wilson quickly. “I just meant——”
His voice faded off and Tom glanced impatiently around the garage. Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout 27, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously 28 as some women can. Her face, above a spotted 29 dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet 30 or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality 31 about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke 32 to her husband in a soft, coarse voice:
“Get some chairs, why don’t you, so somebody can sit down.”
“Oh, sure,” agreed Wilson hurriedly, and went toward the little office, mingling 33 immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen 34 dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity—except his wife, who moved close to Tom.
“I want to see you,” said Tom intently. “Get on the next train.”
“All right.”
“I’ll meet you by the news-stand on the lower level.” She nodded and moved away from him just as George Wilson emerged with two chairs from his office door.
We waited for her down the road and out of sight. It was a few days before the Fourth of July, and a gray, scrawny Italian child was setting torpedoes 35 in a row along the railroad track.
“Terrible place, isn’t it,” said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg.
“Awful.”
“It does her good to get away.”
“Doesn’t her husband object?”
“Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive.”
So Tom Buchanan and his girl and I went up together to New York—or not quite together, for Mrs. Wilson sat discreetly 36 in another car. Tom deferred 37 that much to the sensibilities of those East Eggers who might be on the train.
She had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin, which stretched tight over her rather wide hips 38 as Tom helped her to the platform in New York. At the news-stand she bought a copy of TOWN TATTLE. and a moving-picture magazine, and in the station drug-store some cold cream and a small flask 39 of perfume. Up-stairs, in the solemn echoing drive she let four taxicabs drive away before she selected a new one, lavender-colored with gray upholstery, and in this we slid out from the mass of the station into the glowing sunshine. But immediately she turned sharply from the window and, leaning forward, tapped on the front glass.
“I want to get one of those dogs,” she said earnestly. “I want to get one for the apartment. They’re nice to have—a dog.”
We backed up to a gray old man who bore an absurd resemblance to John D. Rockefeller. In a basket swung from his neck cowered 40 a dozen very recent puppies of an indeterminate breed.
“What kind are they?” asked Mrs. Wilson eagerly, as he came to the taxi-window.
“All kinds. What kind do you want, lady?”
“I’d like to get one of those police dogs; I don’t suppose you got that kind?”
The man peered doubtfully into the basket, plunged 41 in his hand and drew one up, wriggling 42, by the back of the neck.
“That’s no police dog,” said Tom.
“No, it’s not exactly a police dog,” said the man with disappointment in his voice. “It’s more of an Airedale.”
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂
- The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
- We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后,我们都觉得万分孤寂。
n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊
- The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
- Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上,这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物)
- His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
- Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。
adj.摇摇欲坠的
- an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
- The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。
n.(昆虫)等一大群;vi.成群飞舞;蜂拥而入
- There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
- A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。
n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 );抽搐;(能量、行为等的)突发;发作
- After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后,痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的
- They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
- The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。
n.虹( iris的名词复数 );虹膜;虹彩;鸢尾(花)
- The cottage gardens blaze with irises, lilies and peonies. 村舍花园万紫千红,鸢尾、百合花和牡丹竞相争艳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The irises were of flecked grey. 虹膜呈斑驳的灰色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.眼科医生
- I wonder if the oculist could fit me in next Friday.不知眼科医生能否在下星期五给我安排一个时间。
- If your eyes are infected,you must go to an oculist.如果你的眼睛受到感染,就要去看眼科医生。
v.使肥,变肥
- The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快,以适应市场需求。
- We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。
n.享有自治权的市镇;(英)自治市镇
- He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
- That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规
- Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
- What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气!
驳船( barge的名词复数 )
- The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
- There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
- That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
- My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
n.午宴,午餐,便宴
- We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
- I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。
adj.目中无人的,高傲的;adv.高傲地;n.高傲
- The shop assistant was very supercilious towards me when I asked for some help.我要买东西招呼售货员时,那个售货员对我不屑一顾。
- His manner is supercilious and arrogant.他非常傲慢自大。
粉饰,美化,掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )
- The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
- The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形,状近葫芦,外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
- Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
- No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
- They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
- If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
- He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
- The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的
- The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
- We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
- The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
- I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
n.所有人;业主;经营者
- The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
- The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。
adv.愉快地,高兴地
- "Hello, Wilson, old man,'said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. "How's business?" “哈罗,威尔逊,你这家伙,”汤姆说,一面嘻嘻哈哈地拍拍他的肩膀,“生意怎么样?” 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
- Hall greeted him jovially enough, but Gorman and Walson scowled as they grunted curt "Good Mornings." 霍尔兴致十足地向他打招呼,戈曼和沃森却满脸不豫之色,敷衍地咕哝句“早安”。 来自辞典例句
adj.强壮的,粗大的,结实的,勇猛的,矮胖的
- He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
- The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。
adv.感觉上
- She swayed her hips sensuously as she danced. 她跳舞时扭动着臀部十分诱人。 来自辞典例句
- The tiger uncurled sensuously. 那老虎舒舒服服地伸了个懒腰。 来自互联网
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
- The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
- Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
n.(问题等的)一个方面;(多面体的)面
- He has perfected himself in every facet of his job.他已使自己对工作的各个方面都得心应手。
- Every facet of college life is fascinating.大学生活的每个方面都令人兴奋。
n.活力,生命力,效力
- He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后,身强体壮,充满活力。
- He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
adj.混合的
- There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间,已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
- The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。
adj.灰的
- His face was ashen and wet with sweat.他面如土色,汗如雨下。
- Her ashen face showed how much the news had shocked her.她灰白的脸显示出那消息使她多么震惊。
鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 ); 油井爆破筒; 刺客; 掼炮
- We top off, take on provisions and torpedoes, and go. 我们维修完,装上给养和鱼雷就出发。
- The torpedoes hit amidship, and there followed a series of crashing explosions. 鱼雷击中了船腹,引起了一阵隆隆的爆炸声。
ad.(言行)审慎地,慎重地
- He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇,一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
- Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么,有意避开了。
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从
- The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
- a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的
- She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
- They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.瓶,火药筒,砂箱
- There is some deposit in the bottom of the flask.这只烧杯的底部有些沉淀物。
- He took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.他从帆布包里拿出一个金属瓶子。
v.畏缩,抖缩( cower的过去式 )
- A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响,人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
- He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里,吓得语无伦次。
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
- The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
- She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。