Thursday
各位书友，今天我们一起阅读《The Great Gatsby》29-34页。The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922.
Chapter 2
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 area of land. This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque 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 through the powdery air.
西卵和纽约之间大约一半路程的地方，汽车路匆匆忙忙跟铁路会合，它在铁路旁边跑上四分之一英里，为的是要躲开一片荒凉的地方。这是一个灰烬的山谷——一个离奇古怪的农场，在这里灰烬像麦子一样生长，长成小山小丘和奇形怪状的园子。在这里灰烬堆成房屋、烟囱和炊烟的形式，最后，经过超绝的努力，堆成一个个灰蒙蒙的人，隐隐约约地在走动，而且已经在尘土飞扬的空气中化为灰烬了。
Above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg.
在这片灰蒙蒙的土地以及永远宠罩在它上空的一阵阵暗淡的尘上的上面，你过一会儿就看到T-J-埃克尔堡大夫的眼睛。
The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic--their retinas 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.
埃克尔堡大夫的眼睛是蓝色的，庞大无比——瞳仁就有一码高。这双眼睛不是从一张脸上向外看，而是从架在一个不存在的鼻子上的一副硕大无朋的黄色眼镜向外看。
I went up to New York with Tom on the train one afternoon, and when we stopped by the ash-heaps he jumped to his feet and, taking hold of my elbow, literally forced me from the car.
一天下午，我跟汤姆同行搭火车上纽约去。等我们在灰堆停下来的时候，他一骨碌跳了起来，抓住我的胳膊肘，简直是强迫我下了车。
"We're getting off," he insisted. "I want you to meet my girl."
“我们在这儿下车，”他断然地说，“我要你见见我的女朋友。”
I followed him over a low white-washed railroad fence, and we walked back a hundred yards along the road under Doctor Eckleburg's persistent stare. The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land. 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.
我跟着他跨过一排刷得雪白的低低的铁路栅栏，然后沿着公路，在埃克尔堡大夫目不转睛的注视之下，往回走了一百码。眼前唯一的建筑物是一小排黄砖房子，坐落在这片荒原的边缘，这排房子里有三家店铺，一家正在招租，另一家是通宵营业的饭馆，门前有一条炉渣小道；第三家是个汽车修理行——“乔治-B-威尔逊。修理汽车。买卖汽车。”我跟着汤姆走了进去——
The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust−covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner. The proprietor 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.
车行里毫无兴旺的气象，空空如也。只看见一辆汽车，一部盖满灰尘、破旧不堪的福特车，蹲在阴暗的角落里。这时老板出现在一间办公室的门口，不停地在一块抹布上擦着手。他是个头发金黄、没精打采的人，脸上没有血色，样子还不难看。他一看见我们，那对浅蓝的眼睛就流露出一线暗淡的希望。
"Hello, Wilson, old man," said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. "How's business?"
“嗨，威尔逊，老家伙，”汤姆说，一面嘻嘻哈哈地拍拍他的肩膀，“生意怎么样？”
"I can't complain," answered Wilson unconvincingly. "When are you going to sell me that car?"
“还可以，”威尔逊缺乏说服力地回答，“你什么时候才把那部车子卖给我？”
"Next week; I've got my man working on it now."
“下星期。我现在已经让我的司机在整修它了。”
"Works pretty slow, don't he?"
“他干得很慢，是不是？”
"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."
“不，他干得不慢，”汤姆冷冷地说，“如果你有这样的看法，也许我还是把它拿到别处去卖为好。”
"I don't mean that," explained Wilson quickly. "I just meant--"
“我不是这个意思，”威尔逊连忙解释，“我只是说……”
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.
他的声音逐渐消失，同时汤姆不耐烦地向车行四面张望。接着我听到楼梯上有脚步的声音，过了一会儿一个女人粗粗的身材挡住了办公室门口的光线。
She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe−de−chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality 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.
她年纪三十五六，身子胖胖的，可是如同有些女人一样，胖得很美。她穿了一件有油渍的深蓝双绉连衣裙，她的脸庞没有一丝一毫的美，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。她慢慢地一笑，然后大摇大摆地从她丈夫身边穿过，仿佛他只是个幽灵，走过来跟汤姆握手，两眼直盯着他。
Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice: "Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down."
接着她用舌头润了润嘴唇，头也不回就低低地、粗声粗气地对她丈夫说：“你怎么不拿两张椅子来，让人家坐下。”
"Oh, sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly, and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls.
“对，对。”威尔逊连忙答应，随即向小办公室走去，他的身影马上就跟墙壁的水泥色打成一片了。
"I want to see you," said Tom intently. "Get on the next train."
“我要见你，”汤姆热切地说道，“搭下一班火车。”
"All right."
“好吧。”
"I'll meet you by the news−stand on the lower level."
“我在车站下层的报摊旁边等你。”
She nodded and moved away from him just as George Wilson emerged with two chairs from his office door.
她点点头就从他身边走开，正赶上威尔逊从办公室里搬了两张椅子出来。
We waited for her down the road and out of sight.
我们在公路上没人看见的地方等她。
"Terrible place, isn't it," said Tom, exchanging a frown with Doctor Eckleburg.
“多可怕的地方，是不是！”汤姆说，同时皱起眉头看着埃克尔堡大夫。
"Awful."
“糟透了。”
"It does her good to get away."
“换换环境对她有好处。”
"Doesn't her husband object?"
“她丈夫没意见吗？”
"Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He's so dumb he doesn't know he's alive."
“威尔逊？他以为她是到纽约去看她妹妹。他蠢得要命，连自己活着都不知道。”
重点语句
1.This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque 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 through the powdery air.
这是一个灰烬的山谷——一个离奇古怪的农场，在这里灰烬像麦子一样生长，长成小山小丘和奇形怪状的园子。在这里灰烬堆成房屋、烟囱和炊烟的形式，最后，经过超绝的努力，堆成一个个灰蒙蒙的人，隐隐约约地在走动，而且已经在尘土飞扬的空气中化为灰烬了。
2. The interior was unprosperous and bare.
车行里毫无兴旺的气象，空空如也。
3. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering.
她穿了一件有油渍的深蓝双绉连衣裙，她的脸庞没有一丝一毫的美，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。
4. "Oh, sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly, and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls.
“对，对。”威尔逊连忙答应，随即向小办公室走去，他的身影马上就跟墙壁的水泥色打成一片了。
重点词汇
1. desolate：荒凉的；无人烟的
2. gigantic：巨大的，庞大的
3. anaemic：贫血的，患贫血症的；无活力的
4. sensuously：感觉上
5. coarse：粗糙的；粗俗的；下等的
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本月共读《The Great Gatsbty》英文版
点击公众号菜单栏“每月读原著”立即加入有书英语共读
☞ 主播：Wilson，口语培训师。爱音乐，爱运动，爱英语，兴趣广泛，尤其对和声音有关的一切事情充满热情。个人公众号：Wilson语音范
☞ 领读达人：谢可慧，专栏作者。热爱读书写字，迷恋任何具有挑战性的人和事。新浪微博：谢可慧的村庄，个人公众号：秋小愚
☞ 设计：刘莹，英语共读首席体验官
☞ 编校：刘亚南，英语共读负责人，85后
—共读书籍简介—
《了不起的盖茨比》是美国作家弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德1925年所写的一部以20世纪20年代的纽约市及长岛为背景的中篇小说，小说的背景被设定在现代化的美国社会中上阶层的白人圈内，通过卡拉韦的叙述展开。
《了不起的盖茨比》问世，奠定了弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德在现代美国文学史上的地位，成了20年代"爵士时代"的发言人和"迷惘的一代"的代表作家之一。20世纪末，美国学术界权威在百年英语文学长河中选出一百部最优秀的小说，《了不起的盖茨比》高居第二位，傲然跻身当代经典行列。
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