chapter7.3--handout

Background Information

Armistice of 11 November 1918 一战停战协定

“It was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers after the Armistice,” he continued. “We could go to any of the universities in England or France.”("那是停战以后他们为一些军官提供的机会,"他继续说下去,"我们可以上任何英国或者法国的大学。")

整整100年前——1918年11月11日上午11时,在法国贡比涅(Compiègne)的一节火车车厢内,协约国(Allied Powers)与德国签署停火协定,协定标志着历时四年的第一次世界大战的结束。

B-1

这是一场导致4000万多人伤亡的人类历史上最残酷的战争之一。停战协定公布后,人们涌上街头欢呼。

B-2

美国虽然在战争最初两年正式保持中立,但为协约国提供了重要的援助、资金和物资。美国于1917年正式加入协约国参战。

这里Gatsby的叙述如果属实,我们还可以根据这个时间点,推断出一些隐藏的剧情:

1918年11月一战结束,Gatsby被送往Oxford University呆了5个月;
1919年6月Tom和Daisy结婚 (“Still — I was married in the middle of June,” Daisy remembered.)
具体的年份推算大家可以自己在书本内容里找一找线索哦~

所以Daisy在婚礼前夕收到Gatsby的来信内容应该是Gatsby很快就会回国了,所以才令Daisy痛苦无比。



Vocabulary

inviolate

adj. 不受侵犯的;未受损害的 (something that is inviolate cannot be attacked)

原文:His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control.
他的妻子和情妇,直到一小时前还是安安稳稳、不可侵犯的,现在却猛不防正从他的控制下溜走。

💧violate作动词有“违反,侵害”(to disobey or attack)的意思,比如:The media regularly violates people’s privacy.
媒体经常侵犯人们的隐私。

💧inviolate作形容词表示“不容侵犯的”(can not be attacked, changed or destroyed), 比如:We believed our love was inviolate.
我们相信我们的爱是不受亵渎的。

append

vt. 附加;添加;贴上 (to add something to a piece of writing)

原文:“They carried him into my house,” appended Jordan...
"他们把他抬进我家里,"乔丹补充说……

💧append和add, attach含义相同,都表示“添加,附加”,只是更为正式。比如:The results of the client survey are appended to this document.
客户调查的结果附在这个文件里面。

💧append的名词形式appendix一般指“(书末的)附录”。



Crush Your Problems

  1. The relentless beating heat / was beginning to confuse me / and I had a bad moment there / before I realized / that so far / his suspicions hadn’t alighted on Tom.
    酷烈的热浪已经开始搞得我头昏眼花,因此我有一会儿感到很不舒服,然后才意识到,到那时为止他的疑心还没落到汤姆身上。
    💧表达精讲
    ①the relentless beating heat “丝毫未减轻的酷烈热浪” ;relentless指“不间断的”(unpleasantly endless); beating形容“炎热程度非常”(unsual).
    ②his suspicions hadn't alighted on Tom “他的疑心还没落到汤姆身上”;alight on/upon表示“突然发现(想到)”(to suddenly think of or notice sth or sb); 比如:His mind alighted on several possible answers.
    他一下子想到了几个可能的答案。
    上文Mr. Wilson提到自己得知了一个真相(也就是他的妻子Myrtle有了外遇),所以才急着找Tom把那辆二手车卖给他,接着就带自己的妻子离开:“I just got wised up to something funny the last two days,” remarked Wilson. “That’s why I want to get away. That’s why I been bothering you about the car.”(wise up “知道,了解糟糕的真相”;funny “不老实的,错误的”);但他并没有意识到Myrtle出轨的对象是Tom.
  2. I stared at him / and then at Tom, / who had made a parallel discovery / less than an hour before / — and it occurred to me / that there was no difference between men, / in intelligence or race, / so profound / as the difference / between the sick and the well.
    我盯着他看看,又盯着汤姆看看,他在不到半小时以前也有了同样的发现——因此我想到人们在智力或血统方面的任何差异都远不如病人和健康人之间的差异那么深刻。
    💧表达精讲
    ①had made a parallel discovery “有了同样的发现”;parallel本义是“平行的”,引申为“相似的;同时发生的”(simillar or happening at the same time), 这里指Tom和Mr. Wilson都发现自己的妻子有了外遇;
    ②there was no difference...so profound as the difference... “没有比……之间的差异更深刻的了”;
    作者在这里强调the sick和the well的差异对比之大,首先是为了夸张对Mr. Wilson外表的描述:Wilson was so sick that he looked guilty, unforgivably guilty — as if he had just got some poor girl with child.(威尔逊病得那么厉害,因此看上去好像犯了罪,犯了不可饶恕的罪——仿佛他刚刚把一个可怜的姑娘的肚子搞大了。)
    其次也是在讽刺Tom, 他虽然在学识教养和血统地位上都胜过Mr. Wilson, 但在遇到妻子出轨这样的事情上,他和Mr. Wilson的那种失神慌张的反应都是一样的(There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. ),仅凭这一点就足以抹杀他在其他方面的所有优越感。
  3. So engrossed was she / that she had no consciousness / of being observed, / and one emotion after another / crept into her face / like objects into a slowly developing picture.
    她那样全神贯注,因此她毫不觉察有人在注意她,一种接一种的感情在她脸上流露出来,好像物体出现在一张慢慢显影的照片上。
    💧句式拆解
    So engrossed was she that... 正常语序是She was so engrossed that...
    💧表达精讲
    ①engrossed 表示“专心致志的”,常见短语是be engrossed in, 比如:Dad was engrossed in the paper. 爸爸在专心致志地看报。
    ②have consciousness of 表示“意识到”(be aware of);
    ③creep into 表示“开始发生,出现”,比如:As she became more tired, errors began to creep into her work. 由于越来越疲劳,她的工作开始出现差错。
    ④a slowly developing picture “慢慢显影的照片”;develop在这里指“(底片)显影,冲洗照片”,比如:Did you ever get the pictures developed? 你到底有没有把照片冲洗出来?
  4. 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 easy-going blue coupe.
    本能促使他猛踩油门,以达到赶上黛西和把威尔逊抛在脑后的双重目的,于是我们以每小时五十英里的速度向阿斯托里亚飞驰而去。直到在高架铁路蜘蛛网似的钢架中间,我们才看见那辆逍遥自在的蓝色小轿车。
    💧表达精讲
    ①step on the accelerator “踩油门”;在口语中如果你想让别人加速或者踩油门,就可以说:"Step on it!";
    ②the spidery girders of the elevated “高架铁路蜘蛛网似的钢架”;girder指“(大桥的)梁”(a strong beam that supports the bridge);the elevated指“高架公路/铁路”,elevated表示raised off the ground;
    ③the easy-going blue coupe “逍遥自在的蓝色小轿车”;easy-going暗指Daisy和Gatsby在另一辆车上心情十分快活自在。
  5. The prolonged and tumultuous argument / that ended by herding us into that room / eludes me, / though I have a sharp physical memory / that, / in the course of it, / my underwear kept climbing / like a damp snake around my legs / and intermittent beads of sweat / raced cool / across my back.
    那场长时间的、吵吵嚷嚷的争论,以把我们都赶进那间屋子而告终、我现在也弄不清是怎么回事了,虽然我清清楚楚记得,在这个过程中,我的里衣像一条湿漉漉的蛇一样顺着我的腿往上爬,同时一阵阵冷汗珠横流夹背。
    💧句式拆解
    ①The prolonged and tumultuous argument (that引导定语从句修饰argument)...eludes me;
    ②...though I have a sharp physical memory (that引导同位语从句修饰memory);
    ③in the course of it 中的it指代argument.
    💧表达精讲
    ①prolonged and tumultuous “持久而激烈的”;prolonged指continuing for a long time,tumultuous指full of confusion or violence;
    ②herd sb into “把某人赶进某个地方”;herd 本义是“放牧”(to make animals move together in a group), 可以引申为“(粗暴地)使……集合在一起”(to bring people together in a large group,especially roughly).
    ③sth elude(s) sb 指“把某人难倒,使不记得”;这个用法相当于escape, 不直接说某人忘了某事,而说某事“逃离了”某人的注意力,比如:Her name escapes/eludes me (= I can't remember it) . 我记不起她的名字了。
    这里指Nick记不得那段争论的具体细节以及起因了。
    ④a sharp physical memory 指“清晰的身体记忆”,sharp表示“清晰、鲜明的”(clear and definite).
    ⑤in the course of “在……的过程中”,相当于in the process of.
    ⑥intermittent beads of sweat “一阵阵的汗珠”,intermittent指“间歇的,断续的”(stopping and starting often and for short periods); beads of sweat “汗珠”。



Content Analysis

今天的内容里,紧张继续升级。作者在情节安排也设置了不少巧合和隐喻,比如Mr. Wilson也发现了自己太太的不忠,同样的情形在不到一小时之前就发生在了Tom的身上(I stared at him and then at Tom, who had made a parallel discovery less than an hour before). 但对于Tom来说,则变成了两个致命打击,他已经处于极大的不安和混乱中——

💧Clue 1: Dasiy is being obvious about her affair with

Evidence 1: There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic.
一个简单的头脑陷入慌乱时是非同小可的,等到我们车子开走的时候,汤姆感到惊慌失措,心里就像正遭受恐惧鞭打一样。

这里a simple mind不仅指Tom的“思想单纯”(比如缺乏谨慎和周全),还暗示了他“只一门心思地想要获得对周围人事物的掌控权”,可以说是一种近乎不理智的偏执。所以他发现自己的情妇和妻子都在脱离自己控制的时候,便感觉惊慌无比。

Evidence 2: Several times he turned his head and looked back for their car, and if the traffic delayed them he slowed up until they came into sight. I think he was afraid they would dart down a side street and out of his life forever.
有好几次他掉过头去向后看,找他们的车子,如果路上的交通把他们耽误了,他就放慢速度,直到他们重新出现。我想他生怕他们会钻进一条小街,从此永远从他生活里消失。

Mr. Wilson决心带Myrtle离开,而且可能已经把她禁足了(在Tom和Nick以及Jordan逗留修车行的时候,Myrtle只是透过窗户看着他们:In one of the windows over the garage the curtains had been moved aside a little, and Myrtle Wilson was peering down at the car.)所以Tom已经失去了一个筹码,如果再失去Daisy, 他将承受无法想象的流言蜚语带来的羞辱感。

作者还安插了两个隐喻,同时也是两个凶兆(sinister omens), 指向接下来即将发生的冲突和悲剧——

💧Clue 2: The sinister omens — eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and words by Jordan.

Evidence 1: ...and now I turned my head as though I had been warned of something behind. Over the ashheaps the giant eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg kept their vigil...
因此现在我掉过头去,仿佛有人要我提防背后有什么东西。在灰堆上方,T·J·埃克尔堡大夫的巨眼在守望着……

Eckleburg大夫之眼可以看作上帝之眼的象征——监视、审判一切。kept their vigil就是指“守夜”(尤指为了祈祷、守护病人或是提防危险情况)。这里隐晦地暗示了有不详的事情要发生。

Evidence 2: “I love New York on summer afternoons when every one’s away. There’s something very sensuous about it — overripe, as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands.”
"我爱夏天午后的纽约,人都跑光了。它是那么的令人快活——一种熟透的滋味,仿佛各种奇异的果实都纷纷落到你手里。"

sensuous本义指“性感的,肉感的”,强调给人以“感官上的愉悦”(pleasing to people's senses). 这里强调了纽约的娱乐活动都是物质或肉欲上的,暗示了道德上的败落。而overripe指“过熟的,熟到快要烂的”,同样也暗示了故事发展已经进入高潮,所有的矛盾冲突都到了爆发的时间点。

另外,“果实落入手中”(fruits falling into hands)这个意象也和圣经中亚当夏娃偷食禁果的故事有一定联系。这一行为在宗教上的象征意义是“人类的堕落”(fall from grace), 直译是“从上帝的恩典中堕落”,以及“失去纯真”(loss of innocence). 这里暗指接下来故事中的人物们将会作出一些违背道德甚至人性的事情。



Today's Bonus

💧关于《婚礼进行曲》你不知道的事

As Tom took up the receiver the compressed heat exploded into sound and we were listening to the portentous chords of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from the ballroom below.(汤姆一拿起话筒,那憋得紧紧的热气突然爆发出声音,这时我们听到门德尔松的《婚礼进行曲》惊心动魄的和弦从底下舞厅里传上来。)

屋子里火药味正浓的时候,楼底下传来了门德尔松的《婚礼进行曲》,本来欢快激情的音乐变成了让人感觉不详的预兆(portentous指“预示凶兆的”)。《婚礼进行曲》尽管已经成为了一个老掉牙的传统,但其实背后深有讲究,今天的彩蛋我们就来看一看它里面的典故和秘密~

  1. 婚礼进行曲有两首 首先,婚礼进行曲有两首,并且演奏的场合及目的都不同:
    一首是上文提到的由门德尔松(Mendelssohn)创作的,氛围偏向于欢快欣喜,一般在新人牵手走出礼堂时演奏;特点是以响亮的小号声开始,随后进入到一段庄严的列队进行音乐,接下来是较轻松活泼的进行曲,重复两次后与木管乐器的优雅声混为一片,逐渐淡去。
    T-1 另一首则是由瓦格纳(Wagner)创作的,速度徐缓,氛围偏向于庄严肃穆,是新娘入场时要演奏的(for the entry of the bride). 而且有一个明显的特点就是开始和和结尾都有几声钟响,似乎在宣告婚姻的来临。
    T-2
  2. 婚礼进行曲的由来 瓦格纳所作的《婚礼进行曲》,原是三幕传奇歌剧《罗恩格林》里在贵妇们引导新人入新房的混声合唱,后被改编成管弦乐而成为了今天的曲子。
    这首进行曲比较庄重肃穆也跟故事情节有关:人神相爱,但作为人类的新娘必须要严格遵守不询问新郎姓名和来历的誓言,俩人才能结婚;但是后来有坏人从中作梗,引诱新娘破坏了誓言,最后俩人没能顺利结婚并且从此无法见面。
    T-3
    而门德尔松所作的《婚礼进行曲》,是为莎士比亚著名的喜剧作品《仲夏夜之梦》第五幕所作的前奏曲配乐。
    这个故事本身充满了浪漫和梦幻:互相爱慕的男女主人公被女主的父亲反对,女主的父亲给她安排的未婚夫却是女主好友的爱慕对象。后来四个人一起逃入森林,又因为仙王乱施魔汁而导致四人之间情感错乱。但最终仙子还是把错误修正并且促成了两对恋人。
    T-4
    也正是有了甜蜜逗乐的故事,门德尔松的进行曲才更美妙活泼得多~

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