When I left his office the sky had turned dark and I got back to West Egg in a drizzle. After changing my clothes I went next door and found Mr. Gatz walking up and down excitedly in the hall. His pride in his son and in his son’s possessions was continually increasing and now he had something to show me.
‘Jimmy sent me this picture.’ He took out his wallet with trembling fingers. ‘Look there.’
我离开他办公室的时候，天色已经变黑，我在蒙蒙细雨中回到了西卵。
我换过衣服之后就到隔壁去，看到盖兹先生兴奋地在门厅里走来走去。他对他儿子和他儿子的财物所感到的自豪一直在不断地增长，现在他又有一样东西要给我看。
“杰米寄给我的这张照片。”他手指哆嗦着掏出了他的钱包，“你瞧吧。”
It was a photograph of the house, cracked in the corners and dirty with many hands. He pointed out every detail to me eagerly. ‘Look there!’ and then sought admiration from my eyes. He had shown it so often that I think it was more real to him now than the house itself.
‘Jimmy sent it to me. I think it’s a very pretty picture. It shows up well.’
‘Very well. Had you seen him lately?’
是这座房子的一张照片，四角破裂，也给许多手摸脏了。他热切地把每一个细节都指给我看。“你瞧!”随即又看我眼中有没有赞赏的神情。他把这张照片给人家看了那么多次数，以致我感觉现在照片比真房子看起来还要真。
“杰米把它寄给我的，我觉得这是一张很好看的照片，照得很好”
“非常好。您近来见过他吗?”
‘He come out to see me two years ago and bought me the house I live in now. Of course we was broke up when he run off from home but I see now there was a reason for it. He knew he had a big future in front of him. And ever since he made a success he was very generous with me.’
He seemed reluctant to put away the picture, held it for another minute, lingeringly, before my eyes. Then he re- turned the wallet and pulled from his pocket a ragged old copy of a book called ‘Hop along Cassidy.’
“他两年前回过家来看我，给我买下了我现在住的房子。当然，他从家里跑走的时候我们很伤心，但是我现在明白他那样做是有道理的。他知道自 己有远大的前程，他发迹之后一走对我很大方。”
他似乎不愿意把那张照片放回去，依依不舍地又在我眼前举了一会工夫。然后他把钱包放了回去，又从口袋小掏出一本破破烂烂的旧书，书名是 《生仔卡西迪》
‘Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you.’
He opened it at the back cover and turned it around for me to see. On the last fly-leaf was printed the word SCHED- ULE, and the date September 12th, 1906. And underneath:
“你瞧瞧，这本书是他小时候着的。真是从小见大。”
他把书的到底翻开，掉转过来让我看，在最后的空白页上端端正正地写着“时间表”几个字和一九零六年九月十二日的日期。下面是:
Rise from bed ... ... ... ... .... 6.00 A.M.
Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling ... ... 6.15-6.30 A.M.
Study electricity, etc ... ... ... ... 7.15-8.15 A.M.
Work ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8.30-4.30 P.M.
Baseball and sports ... ... ... .... 4.30-5.00 P.M.
Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5.00-6.00 P.M.
Study needed inventions ... ... .... . 7.00-9.00 P.M.
起床 上午 6:00
哑铃体操及爬墙 6:15-6:30
学习电学等 7:15-8:15
工作 8:50-下午 4:30
棒球及其他运动 下午 4:30-5:00
练习演说、仪态 5:00-6:00
学习有用的新发明 7:00-9:00
GENERAL RESOLVES
No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable]
No more smoking or chewing
Bath every other day
Read one improving book or magazine per week Save $5.00 [crossed out] $3.00 per week Be better to parents
‘I come across this book by accident,’ said the old man. ‘It just shows you, don’t it?’
‘It just shows you.’
大体决定
不要浪费时间去沙夫特家或(另一姓，字迹不清)
不再吸烟或嚼烟
每隔一天洗澡
每周读有益的书或杂志一份
每周储蓄五元(涂去)三元
对父母更加体贴
“我无意中发现这本书，”老头说，“真是从小见大，是不是?”
“真是从小见大。”
‘Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some re- solves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that. He told me I et like a hog once and I beat him for it.’
He was reluctant to close the book, reading each item aloud and then looking eagerly at me. I think he rather expected me to copy down the list for my own use.
“杰米是注定了要出人头地的，他总是订出一些诸如此类的决心。你注意没有，他用什么办法提高自己的思想?他在这方面一向是了不起的。有一次地说我吃东西像猪一样，我把他揍了一顿。”
他舍不得把书合上，把每一条大声念了一遍，然后眼巴巴地看着我。我想他满以为我会把那张表抄下来给我自己用。
A little before three the Lutheran minister arrived from Flushing and I began to look involuntarily out the windows for other cars. So did Gatsby’s father. And as the time passed every smoking or chewing other day and the servants came in and stood waiting in the hall, his eyes began to blink anxiously and he spoke of the rain in a worried uncertain way. The minister glanced several times at his watch so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came.
快到三点的时候，路德教会的那位牧师从弗勒兴来了，于是我开始不 由自主地向窗户外面望，看看有没有别的车子来。盖茨比的父亲也和我一样。 随着时间过去，佣人都走进来站在门厅甲等候，老人的眼睛对始焦急地眨起来，同时他又忐忑不安地说到外面的雨。牧师看了好几次表，我只好把他拉到一旁，请他再等半个钟头，但是毫无用处。没有一个人来。
用户评论