05

Chapter 1

The younger of the two was a stranger tome. She was extended full length at her end of the divan(矮长沙发), completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. 两个之中比较年轻的那个，我不认识。她平躺在长沙发的一头，身子一动也不动，下巴稍微向上仰起，仿佛她在上面平衡着一件什么东西，生怕它掉下来似的。If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint(暗示) of it—indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. 如果她从眼角中看到了我，她可毫无表示——其实我倒吃了一惊，差一点要张口向她道歉，因为我的进来惊动了她。

The other girl, Daisy, made an attempt to rise—she leaned slightly forward with a conscientious (认真的)expression— then she laughed, an absurd, charming little laugh, and I laughed too and came forward into the room. 另外那个女孩儿，黛西，想要站起身来——她身子微微向前倾，一脸诚心诚意的表情——接着她噗嗤一笑，又滑稽又可爱地轻轻一笑，我也跟着笑了，接着就走上前去进了屋子。

‘I’m p-paralyzed with happiness.’ “我高兴得瘫……瘫掉了”

She hinted in a murmur that the surname of the balancing girl was Baker. (I’ve heard it said that Daisy’s murmur was only to make people lean toward her; an irrelevant criticism that made it no less charming.) 她低声告诉我那个在搞平衡动作的姑娘姓贝克（我听人说过，黛西的喃喃低语只是为了让人家把身子向她靠近，这是不相干的闲话，丝毫无损于这种表情的魅力）。

At any rate Miss Baker’s lips fluttered,she nodded at me almost imperceptibly and then quickly tipped her head back again—the object she was balancing had obviously tottered a little and given her something of a fright. 不管怎样，贝克小姐的嘴唇微微一动，她几乎看不出来地向我点了点头，接着赶忙把头又仰回去——她在保持平衡的那件东西显然歪了一下，让她吃了一惊。Again a sort of apology arose to my lips. Almost any exhibition of complete self sufficiency draws a stunned tribute(颂词) from me. 道歉的话又一次冒到了我的嘴边。这种几乎是完全我行我素的神情总是使我感到目瞪口呆，满心赞佩。

I looked back at my cousin who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes（笔记,音符）that will never be played again. 我掉过头去看我的表妹，她开始用她那低低的、令人激动的声音向我提问题。这是那种叫人侧耳倾听的声音，仿佛每句话都是永远不会重新演奏的一组音符。

Her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate mouth—but there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion(冲动), a whispered ‘Listen,’ a promise that she had done gay(愉快的), exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour. 她的脸庞忧郁而美丽，脸上有明媚的神采，有两只明媚的眼睛，有一张明媚而热情的嘴，但是她声音甲有一种激动人心的特质，那是为她倾倒过的男人都觉得难以忘怀的：一种抑扬动听的魅力，一声喃喃的“听着”，一种暗示，说她片刻以前刚刚干完一些赏心乐事，而且下一个小时里还有赏心乐事。

I told her how I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way east and how a dozen people had sent their love through me. 我告诉了她我到东部来的途中曾在芝加哥停留一天，有十来个朋友都托我向她问好。

‘Do they miss me?’ she cried ecstatically(狂喜的).“他们想我吗？”，她欣喜若狂的问

‘The whole town is desolate(荒凉的). All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath(花环) and there’s a persistent wail(哀号) all night along the North Shore.’ “全城都凄凄惨惨。所有的汽车都把左后轮漆上了黑漆当花圈，进入城北的湖边整夜哀声不绝于耳”

‘How gorgeous! Let’s go back, Tom.Tomorrow!’ Then she added irrelevantly, ‘You ought to see the baby.’ “太美了！汤姆，咱们回去吧。明天”随即她又毫不相干地说“你应当看看宝宝”

‘I’d like to.’“我非常愿意”

‘She’s asleep. She’s two years old.Haven’t you ever seen her?“她睡着了，她只有两岁，你见过她吗？”

‘Never.’“从来没有”

‘Well, you ought to see her. She’s……‘“那么你应当看看她。她是……”

Tom Buchanan who had been hovering restlessly about the room stopped and rested his hand on my shoulder. 汤姆·布坎农本来坐立不安地在屋子平来回走动，现在停了下来把一只手放在我肩上。

‘What you doing, Nick?’“NICK，你做什么买卖？”

‘I’m a bond man.’“我做证券生意”

‘Who with?’“和谁一起？”

I told him.“我告诉了他”

‘Never heard of them,’ he remarked(说,评论) decisively.“从未听过”，他断然的说。

This annoyed me. 这使我感到不痛快。

‘You will,’ I answered shortly. ‘You will if you stay in the East.’ “你会听到的”我简慢地答道,“你在东部待久了就会听到的.”

‘Oh, I’ll stay in the East, don’t you worry,’ he said, glancing at Daisy and then back at me, as if he were alert for something more. ‘I’d be a God Damned fool to live anywhere else. “噢，我一定会在东部待下来的，你放心吧.”他先望望黛西又望望我，仿佛他在提防还有别的什么名堂。“我要是个天大的傻瓜才会到任何别的地方去住。”

At this point Miss Baker said ‘Absolutely!’with such suddenness that I started—it was the first word she uttered(说,发出) since I came into the room.Evidently it surprised her as much as it did me, for she yawned(打哈欠) and with a series of rapid, deft(熟练的) movements stood up into the room. 这时贝克小姐说：“绝对如此！”来得那么突然，使我吃了一惊——这是我进了屋子之后她说的第一句话。显然她的话也使她自己同样吃惊、因为她打了个呵欠，随即做了一连串迅速而灵巧的动作就站了起来。

‘I’m stiff(僵硬),’ she complained, ‘I’ve been lying on that sofa for as long as I can remember. “我都木了,”她抱怨道，“我在那张沙发上躺了不知多久了。”

‘Don’t look at me,’ Daisy retorted.‘I’ve been trying to get you to New York all afternoon. “别盯着我看，”黛西回嘴说，“我整个下午都在动员你上纽约去。”

‘No, thanks,’ said Miss Baker to the four cocktails just in from the pantry(食品室), ‘I’m absolutely in training. “不要，谢谢，”贝克小姐对着刚从食品间端来的四杯鸡尾酒说，“我正在进行锻炼呢。”

Her host looked at her incredulously(难以置信的). 她的东道主难以置信地看着她。

‘You are!’ He took down his drink as if it were a drop in the bottom of a glass. ‘How you ever get anything done is beyond me. “是嘛！”他把自己的酒喝了下去，仿佛那是杯底的一滴。“我真不明白你怎么可能做得成什么事情。”

I looked at Miss Baker wondering what it was she ‘got done.’ I enjoyed looking at her. 我看看贝克小姐，感到纳闷，她“做得成”的是什么事。我喜欢看她。She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet(军校生). 她是个身材苗条、胸脯小小的姑娘，由于她像个年轻的军校学员那样挺起胸膛更显得英俊挺拔。Her grey sun-strained(神色不安) eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal(相应的) curiosity out of a wan（憔悴的）, charming discontented(不满的) face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. 她那双被太阳照得眯缝着的灰眼睛也看着我，一张苍白、可爱、不满的脸上流露出有礼貌的、回敬的好奇心。我这才想起我以前在什么地方见过她，或者她的照片。

‘You live in West Egg,’ she remarked contemptuously(轻蔑的). ‘I know somebody there. “你住在西卵吧！”她用鄙夷的口气说，“我认识那边的一个人。”

‘I don’t know a single——‘“ 我一个人也不认……”

‘You must know Gatsby.’ “你总该认识盖茨比吧。”

‘Gatsby?’ demanded Daisy. ‘What Gatsby?’ “盖茨比？”黛西追问道，“哪个盖茨比？”