chapter7.5--handout

Background Information

Coffee joint 廉价咖啡馆

The young Greek, Michaelis, who ran the coffee joint beside the ashheaps was the principal witness at the inquest.（那个年轻的希腊人米切里斯，在灰堆旁边开小咖啡馆的，是验尸时主要的见证人。）

joint指“廉价酒吧（俱乐部，餐厅）”（a cheap bar, club, or restaurant）.

和joint不同的是clip joint, 也称作fleshpot, 专门指“（索价昂贵，敲竹杠）的夜总会”（a night club where customers are tricked into paying excessive amounts of money）.

这些地方往往服务质量和态度恶劣（with surprisingly low-grade goods or services）, 在酒里掺水（watering-down alcoholic drinks）或是驱逐不愿意多花钱的顾客轰出门（throwing out customers when they become unwilling or unable to spend more money）都是常有的事。

而他们能够如此嚣张跋扈，也是因为顾客们本身来这些地方消费就属于违法行为，所以只能忍气吞声而不敢向警方举报（since its victims cannot report the venue without admitting that they broke the law）.

在1920到1933年美国举国上下实行禁酒令的期间，这类夜总会遍地都是。后来纽约州酒类管理局出台了对非法售卖酒品以及欺诈消费者的夜总会的惩罚措施（The New York State Liquor Authority has imposed penalties against any licensed premises permitting such conduct）.

今天英国伦敦的Soho区依然聚集了大量的clip joints（也叫作near beer bars），一般开在合法的脱衣舞吧旁边（alongside legitimate strip bars）. 但是自从2007年这一片被划为红灯区后，便受到法律的严格监管，必须执照经营（licences are required）.

Vocabulary

formidable

adj. 可怕的；令人敬畏的；难以对付的 (very powerful or impressive; frightening; difficult to deal with)

原文：As we passed over the dark bridge her wan face fell lazily against my coat’s shoulder and the formidable stroke of thirty died away with the reassuring pressure of her hand.

我们驶过黝黑的铁桥时她苍白的脸懒懒地靠在我上衣的肩上，她紧紧握住我的手，驱散了三十岁生日的巨大冲击。

💧formidable 在这里指“充满难题”（offering serious difficulties）同时也“令人敬畏”（inspiring fear and respect）, 比如：They had to overcome formidable obstacles.
他们得克服重重障碍。

expostulation

n. 规劝，告诫 (the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest)

原文：The circle closed up again with a running murmur of expostulation; it was a minute before I could see anything at all.

那一圈人又合拢来，同时传出一阵咕咕哝哝的劝告声。有一两分钟我什么也看不见。

💧其动词形式expostulate由ex-和-postulate构成，ex-表示out, postulare表示demand, 即“（为了说服或抗议而）争论，反驳”（to argue or protest about sth）. 比如： "For heaven's sake!" Dot expostulated. "They're cheap and they're useful."
“看在老天的份上！”多特反驳道。“他们便宜而且他们有用。”

Crush Your Problems

1、Tom talked incessantly, / exulting and laughing, / but his voice was / as remote from Jordan and me / as the foreign clamor on the sidewalk / or the tumult of the elevated overhead.
汤姆一路上话说个不停，得意洋洋，哈哈大笑，但他的声音对乔丹和我就好像人行道上嘈杂的人声和头顶上高架铁路轰隆隆的车声一样遥远。

💧句式拆解
这句话里面包含了一个同级比较结构，我们可以调整语序来理解：...but his voice was as remote as...or...(from Jordan and me).

💧表达精讲
①exult 表示“欢欣鼓舞，洋洋得意”，尤其指成功做了某事的时候；比如：‘We made the front page!’ Jos exulted. “我们上了头版！”乔斯欣喜若狂道。

②the foreign clamor on the sidewalk “人行道上嘈杂的人声”；foreign形容“陌生的”（alien in character）; clamor指“（人群的）嘈杂声”（a very loud noise made by a large group of people）;

③the tumult of the elevated overhead “头顶上高架铁路轰隆隆的车声”；tumult指“喧哗，吵闹”（a violent outburst）; the elevated我们已经介绍过，指“高架铁路，公路”。

2、Thirty — / the promise of a decade of loneliness, / a thinning list of single men to know, / a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, / thinning hair.
三十岁——展望十年的孤寂，相熟的单身汉逐渐减少，热情逐渐冷淡，头发逐渐稀疏。

💧表达精讲
①thin 作动词表示“稀疏，变少”，thinning在这里是现在分词作前置定语；

②a thinning list of single men to know “相熟的单身汉逐渐减少”；a thinning list即a shortening list, 也就是指认识的单身汉慢慢都成家了；

③a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm “热情逐渐冷淡”，a thinning brief-case即a reducing store/supply, briefcase原义是“公文包”，这里是以比喻的方式表示“储存，提供”；并且公文包一般用来装重要文件（to hold important papers and documents）, 所以也暗示了生活逐渐流于枯燥繁重的工作，渐渐失去激情和活力。

④thinning hair 即“头发越来越稀疏”。

3、Michaelis was astonished; they had been neighbors for four years, and Wilson had never seemed faintly capable of such a statement.

米切里斯大吃一惊。他们做了四年邻居，威尔逊从来不像是一个能说出这种话来的人。

💧表达精讲
never...faintly capable of “一点也不能”；faint指very small, slight, 比如a faint hope就是“渺茫的希望”，所以faintly表示“一点点地”，而never...faintly就是“一点也不”（not the least）.

such a statement指上文Mr. Wilson说：“I’ve got my wife locked in up there,” explained Wilson calmly. “She’s going to stay there till the day after to-morrow, and then we’re going to move away.” 因为他从来都是一副受太太支使的样子（He was his wife’s man and not his own.）所以邻居对他竟然把太太关在屋子里感到吃惊。

4、The “death car,” / as the newspapers called it, / didn’t stop; / it came out of the gathering darkness, / wavered tragically for a moment, / and then disappeared / around the next bend.
那辆"凶车"——这是报纸上的提法——停都没停车就从渐浓的暮色中出现，出事后悲惨地犹疑了片刻，然后在前面一转弯就不见了。

💧表达精讲
①the gathering darkness “渐浓的暮色”；gathering在这里指表示increasing, growing. 比如the gathering crisis指“危机渐重”；

②waver 表示“犹疑不决，举棋不定”，比如：She never wavered in her determination to succeed. 她要取得成功的决心从未动摇过；

③around the next bend “在下一个转弯”；bend可以指“弯腰，弯曲”，也可以指“拐弯，弯道”，比如：The car came round the bend at a terrifying speed. 那辆汽车以惊人的速度拐过弯道。

5、The mouth was wide open / and ripped at the corners, / as though she had choked a little in giving up / the tremendous vitality / she had stored so long.

她的嘴大张着，嘴角撕破了一点，仿佛她在释放储存了如此久的无比旺盛的精力的时候噎了一下。

💧表达精讲
①ripped at the corners “嘴角撕破了一点”；ripped即torn“撕裂的”；

②the tremendous vitality she had stored so long “她储存了如此久的无比旺盛的精力”；the tremendous vitality即very big, powerful energy;

关于Myrtle的这种活力在前文反复强调过，比如：...but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering.（但是她有一种显而易见的活力，仿佛她浑身的神经都在不停地燃烧。）

Content Analysis

Myrtle和丈夫发生激烈的争吵后冲出屋子跑到了马路上，结果被飞驰而来的汽车撞倒在地，当场毙命。随后向西卵返程的Tom一行人正好遇上这个惨剧，此时Mr. Wilson已经精神崩溃无法自控。在今天的内容里有两个值得关注的点，首先是Mr. Wilson为什么始终没有发现Myrtle的出轨对象是Tom, 以及所谓的肇事车辆the "death car"对本书的主题有什么暗示意义。

💧Clue 1: Why does Mr. Wilson fail to notice Myrtle and Tom's affair?

最直接的原因是Mr. Wilson一直专注于和Tom的交易，以至于从来没有猜想他的另一个身份——Myrtle的秘密情人。另一个原因是，Mr. Wilson长年生活在灰谷，和Tom所处的上流社会圈完全隔绝（no access to Tom's social circles），所以即便Tom平日里带着Myrtle四处招摇，Mr. Wilson对此也毫无察觉。

文中还有一个细节，当邻居想了解他为什么会把自己的太太关起来的时候，他本能的反应是把这位邻居当成出轨的嫌疑对象——

Evidence 1: So naturally Michaelis tried to find out what had happened, but Wilson wouldn’t say a word — instead he began to throw curious, suspicious glances at his visitor and ask him what he’d been doing at certain times on certain days.

因此，米切里斯很自然地想了解发生了什么事，但威尔逊一个字也不肯说——相反地，他却用古怪的、怀疑的目光端详起这位客人来，并且盘问他某些日子某些时间在干什么。

Mr. Wilson的悲剧性很大程度来源于他的社会阶层。他属于被工业文明遗弃的灰谷，在汽车行业流水线上最不起眼的一个位置，做着每天机械的工作，慢慢变得愚钝、麻木。而他急切想得到Tom的二手车，想靠这个赚上一笔，却反复遭受Tom的戏弄。最后，“汽车”成为了他太太死亡的致命凶器——

💧Clue 2: Automobile is a symbol of injury and death.

Evidence 1: The “death car,” as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend.

那辆"凶车"——这是报纸上的提法——停都没停车于从渐浓的暮色中出现，出事后悲惨地犹疑了片刻，然后在前面一转弯就不见了。

作为一种威胁，小说中的汽车造成了各种各样的伤害：

Jordan开车擦破过工人的纽扣；（It started because she passed so close to some workmen that our fender flicked a button on one man’s coat. — Chapter 3.4）

Gatsby派对上的一位客人压坏过醉汉的右手；（Snell was there three days before he went to the penitentiary, so drunk out on the gravel drive that Mrs. Ulysses Swett’s automobile ran over his right hand. — Chapter 4.1）

运送过死人，当过灵车；（A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds, and by more cheerful carriages for friends. — Chapter 4.2）

Tom车上的一位酒店女佣撞断过胳膊；（The girl who was with him got into the papers, too, because her arm was broken — she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel. — Chapter 4.4）

因此，在故事的高潮处，汽车自然而然的充当了刽子手，这是一辆“致死”的汽车，是死亡的运输者。

Today's Bonus

💧Things to know by the time you turn 30

Nick突然意识到自己已经30岁了，这给他带来了恐慌和不安（Thirty — the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair. ）

除了没有任何物质或其他方面的成就外，他在这个节点上还经历着对社会、对人性的困惑。但很快我们就会在Nick的身上看到，真正迈入30岁的标志，不在年龄，不在财富地位，而在于心智的成熟和稳定。以下就是一些关于最好能在30岁之前就知道的处世做人原则~

1、You can do whatever you want in life.
找到正确的路径就可以所向披靡

There are step-by-step ways to accomplish any goal. If it has been accomplished by someone else, all you have to do is to choose your virtual mentor and follow in his or her footsteps.

实现目标并不是一蹴而就的事。最好的是如果有人已经在你之前做过了，那么你就可以找他们成为你的导师，跟随他们的脚步来努力。

If you are doing something that has not been done before, it is more challenging but your path can be mapped out if you take note of the things that have worked for you and those that have not. Do the things that work and pitch the ones that don't.

如果你想做的是一件完全创新的事，挑战则会大得多，但也不是无路可循。你需要做的就是专注行之有效的路径，并且避免在行不通的方法上浪费功夫。

2、You are responsible for every action you take in life and every condition your life is in.
做自己的选择，过自己的人生

Try to ask yourself “Who is the most motivated person to see that your life works out the way you want it to?” The answer is YOU.

试着问自己这样一个问题：谁最愿意为了你能够实现人生目标而不懈奋斗？答案是你自己。

So the next question is, “Who is really going to take responsibility to ensure that your life works out the way you want it to?” Again, there is only one answer.

所以接下来的问题就是：谁最愿意扛起这个重担？答案还是你自己。

It is YOU who makes all of the bajillion everyday decisions that drive your life.
所以为了实现你的人生目标，并且每天为此做出成万上亿个决定的，理所应当地，也是你自己。

3、Not everyone who is an “authority” is right.
没有人是绝对“权威”

Take the following as an example and apply it to in other cases:
借鉴下面的这个例子，并且把它应用在其他情况中：

Whenever anyone gives you any data, check it over for yourself and see if it works for you and seems correct. If it doesn't seem correct, don't rely on it.
无论谁给了你任何信息和数据，先去核实是否对你也是有效并准确的。如果不准确，那么切忌拿来即用。

There is more false data out there than true data. You just have to figure out which is which.
错误的信息和数据远比正确的要多，所以一定要核实判断。

4、Do not seek revenge.
以直报怨，以德报德

Revenge for the sake of revenge never feels good when it is carried out and, believe it or not, it ties you to the person that you have taken revenge against. You will never be free of that person in your thoughts and mind thereafter.

以怨报怨本身就是一件让双方都难受的事，而且你还得跟这个人纠缠不清。这意味着对方会一直在你的脑海里徘徊。

Sometimes you do have to act against a person to stop the damage they are wreaking on others. This is a correct action in the grand scheme of things. But revenge just for revenge's sake is evil.

或许你会出于行侠仗义为了某个人去对抗另一个人。虽然于情于理你这么做是符合道义的，但你也要知道，以怨报怨的最后一定是两败俱伤。

5、Life is fluid.
生活需要变通

Life changes every second of every day. If you have fixed ideas about how it is supposed to be and how you will handle things, you will take the wrong steps.

生活每分每秒都在变化。如果你的思想还是固守自封，那么你在为人处世中就有可能犯错误。

In any given situation, look at it and really see it. Plan your actions accordingly. Operating on fixed ideas and actions will only take you so far. Actual observation and action are always best.

无论在什么情况中，都要审视周围的变化并且认清形势，再决定自己的行动。一成不变只会让你止步不前。切合实际的观察和行动才会带来最好的结果。