【第一章】E05 精讲版 | 幸运的一天

英汉对照 

Joe opened his mouth to protest. Then he closed it. He knew nothing he could say would change his mother’s mind.

乔张口想要抗议，可接着又闭口不言。他知道无论自己说什么，都不会改变母亲的想法。

And maybe she was right. Maybe this job really was the best career he could hope for.

也许她是对的。也许这份工作真的是他所能期盼的最好职业。

Joe let out a long sigh. Then he nodded. “Yeah.” 

乔长叹一口气，然后点了点头。“是的。”

“Good.” Libba looked satisfied.

“好。”利芭看上去很满意。

Bzzzz. Joe’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw an unfamiliar number. “Hello?”

嗡嗡嗡。乔的手机在口袋里振动起来。他掏出手机，看到了一个陌生的号码。“你好？”

“How you been, Mr. G?” said a voice Joe recognized but couldn’t place. “It’s Curley—uh, Lamont. Lamont Baker.”

“您最近怎么样，G 先生？”一个乔听得出来但想不起是谁的声音说道。“我是柯利—呃，拉蒙特。拉蒙特·贝克。”

“Curley!” Joe was surprised to hear from his former student. It had been—what? At least a decade since Curley had graduated from middle school. “Hey, man. How you been?”

“柯利！”从前的学生打来电话令乔很惊讶。过去多久了？柯利中学毕业至少已经十年了。“嗨，老弟。你怎么样？” 

“Great, Mr. Gardner.”

“很好，加德纳先生。”

Joe chuckled. “You can call me Joe now. I’m not your teacher anymore.”

乔轻声笑道：“你现在可以直接叫我乔。我不再是你的老师了。”

“Okay, Mr. Gardner. Hey, look,” Curley said, getting to the point, “I’m the new drummer in the Dorothea Williams Quartet, and we’re kicking off our tour with a show at The Half Note tonight...”

“好的，加德纳先生。嗨，听着，”柯利开门见山地说道， “我是多罗西娅·威廉姆斯四重奏乐团的新鼓手。我们的巡回演出今晚要在二分音符开场……”

“Dorothea Williams?” Joe yelped. “You’re kidding. Congratulations, man! Wow. I would die a happy man if I could perform with Dorothea Williams.”

“多罗西娅· 威廉姆斯？”乔大叫一声，“你在开玩笑吧。恭喜恭喜，老弟！要是我能和多罗西娅·威廉姆斯同台表演， 我就算死也会开心。”

“Well,” Curley replied, “this could be your lucky day...”

“那好，”柯利回应道，“今天可能是你的幸运日……”

Moments later, Joe hung up the phone, his heart pounding. Dorothea Williams! I’m gonna try out for the Dorothea Williams!

片刻之后，乔挂断了电话，心怦怦直跳。“多罗西娅· 威廉姆斯！我要去参加多罗西娅·威廉姆斯的选拔！”

Dorothea Williams was one of the greatest living saxophone players, a queen of the New York jazz scene. The chance to play with a musician like her only came around once in a lifetime.

多罗西娅· 威廉姆斯是当今世上最伟大的萨克斯管演奏家之一，在纽约爵士乐界堪称女王。与她这样的音乐家同台演奏，机会一生只有一次。

Joe made a quick excuse to Libba and dashed for the door. He headed for the subway that would take him to the West Village, where The Half Note was located.

乔连忙找借口离开利芭，冲向店门。他要坐地铁去西村，二分音符就在那里。

随堂笔记

change one's mind 改变主意；

There's still time to change your mind.  你还有时间改变主意。 

let out a long sigh 长叹一口气

She let out a sigh of impatience. 她不耐烦地叹了口气。

We all breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. 事情过去后，我们大家都松了一口气。

an unfamiliar number 陌生号码/陌生来电

a voice Joe recognized but couldn’t place 听得出来但想不起是谁的声音

place 与recognize 含义相近，表示：认出；辨认；识别

I've seen her before but I just can't place/recognize her.我以前见过她，不过现在认不出她来。

hear from 得到〔某人的消息〕

Do you ever hear from Joe?你有没有Joe的消息？

not anymore 不再 

She told me not to phone her anymore.她叫我不要再给她打电话。

get (straight) to the point 开门见山，直奔主题，有话直说；

Please get to the point. Don't beat about the bush.  请直说吧，不必拐弯抹角！

kick off 表示[会议、活动]开始

yelp /jelp/ 表示〔因兴奋、疼痛、吃惊等而发出的〕尖叫，叫喊； 

you're kidding（表示对对方刚说过的话感到非常惊奇）你是在开玩笑吧；

die a happy man 死也会开心

He died a poor man. 他在贫困中死去。

My uncle died a hero. 我叔叔死得很英勇。

be somebody's lucky day 是某人的幸运日；

This is my lucky day. 今天我真走运！

hang up 挂断电话 

Don’t hang up on me.别挂我的电话。

try out for sth 参加选拔；争取成为〔团队的一员、戏剧的角色等〕

I tried out for all the female leads. 我试演过各种女主角。

once in a lifetime 一生只有一次

once-in-a-lifetime adj. 一生中难得一次的；千载难逢的；难能可贵的

a once-in-a-lifetime experience  一生只会拥有一次的经历

make an excuse / make excuses 找借口

dash for ... 猛冲向...