【第一章】E01 精讲版 | 平凡之人与炙热之心

英汉对照

Joe Gardner was not someone who made people sit up and take notice. Not at first, anyway. He was tall but mild-mannered, with a thin mustache and a timid smile. He wore glasses with heavy black frames. At forty-six, his black hair was just starting to turn gray. He didn’t care about clothes, so his wardrobe consisted mostly of slacks and black turtlenecks.

乔·加德纳不是会让人们另眼相看的人。最起码一开始不会是这样。他身材高大却文质彬彬，嘴边蓄着薄薄的小胡子， 脸上挂着腼腆的微笑，戴一副黑色粗框眼镜。四十六岁的他黑发刚开始变白。他不在乎穿着打扮，所以他的行头主要就是宽松的长裤和黑色高领毛衣。

Anyone meeting Joe for the first time would never guess that within his chest, his heart beat with white-hot passion—a fire that burned for just one thing.

任何第一次见到乔的人都绝不会想到，他的胸膛里跳动着一颗激情炽热的心，如同一团只为一件事燃烧的火焰。

Joe loved jazz music.

乔热爱爵士乐。

He’d fallen for jazz when he was twelve years old. Since that day, he’d devoted his life to the music—listening to it, studying it, playing it. Jazz was the first thing he thought of in the morning. At night, he went to sleep with riffs and codas swirling through his brain.

他在十二岁时迷上了爵士乐。从那天起，他就将一生献给了这种音乐—倾听、研究、演奏。爵士乐是他早晨想起的第一件事。到了晚上，他入睡时脑海中还萦绕着重复乐段和尾声。

For Joe, the incredible thing about jazz music, the thing that kept it from getting old, was that there were so many ways to play it. And all those ways made you feel something different.

对乔而言，爵士乐的不可思议之处，它经久不衰的原因， 就是有许多种演奏方式。而且种种方式都会令人有不同的感受。

Jazz could be bold and confident. Or playful. Or melancholic. Some jazz made you feel on top of the world. And when you were down in the dumps, jazz could be a balm for your soul.

爵士乐可以大胆而自信，还可以顽皮或忧郁。有些爵士乐使人感觉站在世界之巅。而当人垂头丧气时，爵士乐也能为灵魂带来抚慰。

And then there was the kind of jazz that made you feel like you were being run over by a garbage truck. In other words, jazz played by a middle-school band.

然后还有一种爵士乐，令人感觉像是被垃圾车碾过。换言之，那就是中学乐队演奏的爵士乐。

Unfortunately, Joe was deeply familiar with this variety.

不幸的是，乔对这种类型极其熟悉。

On a Friday morning in late fall, Joe stood at the podium in the M.S. 74 band room. Armed with only a conductor’s baton, he bravely tried to coax a harmony from the noise assaulting his ears.

深秋的一个星期五上午，乔站在 M.S.74 乐队练习室的指挥台上。他只拿着一根指挥棒，勇敢地试图将侵袭耳朵的噪声诱导成和声。

“One, two, three, four! Stay on the beat! Two, three, four—” Joe shouted, waving the baton in vain. He could barely make himself heard over the honking and shrieking of the horn section. “That’s a C-sharp, horns!” 

“一、二、三、四！保持节拍！二、三、四—”乔一边大喊，一边徒劳地挥舞着指挥棒。在号手吹出的尖利鸣响中，他几乎无法使人听到自己的声音。“那是升 C 调，号手！”

随堂笔记

sit up and take notice 突然开始注意到...

mild-mannered 文质彬彬的

turtleneck n. 高领套头衫

white-hot passion 炽热的激情

fall for 爱上谁，迷上什么...

They fell for each other instantly. 他俩一见钟情。

devote one's life to 献身于，致力于...

swirling through his brain 萦绕在他的脑海中... 

incredible adj.不可思议的，难以置信的

melancholic adj.忧郁的、抑郁的

feel on top of the world 快活之极

be down in the dumps 垂头丧气，神情沮丧

Joe's feeling a bit down in the dumps. Joe感到有些忧郁。 

be a balm for your soul 为灵魂带来抚慰

be run over by 被XX碾过、撞倒

coax sth from sth coax v. 劝诱，诱导

He could coax tears and laughter from his audience. 他能博得观众的眼泪和笑声。

assault one's ears （噪声等）刺耳

in vain 徒劳、没结果

I tried in vain to convince him. 我想说服他，但是没成功。

All our efforts were in vain. 我们所有的努力都付诸东流了。

honking and shrieking （音乐的）尖利鸣响

C-sharp 升C调

horn n. 铜管乐器，小号