【第一章】E07 精讲版 | 成为偶像乐团的新钢琴手

英汉对照 

To fill it, Curley added, “Joe is Ray Gardner’s son.”

为了打破沉默，柯利补充道：“乔是雷·加德纳的儿子。”

“So,” Dorothea said at last. “We’re down to middle-school band teachers now.”

“所以，”多罗西娅终于说道，“我们现在到了要找中学乐队老师的地步。”

Joe glanced helplessly at Curley. Did that mean he was out? Before he’d even played?

乔无助地瞥了柯利一眼。这是否意味着他出局了？还没等他演奏一曲？

“Get on up here, Teach,” Dorothea commanded, rising from her chair. “We ain’t got all day”.

“ 上这里来， 老师。”多罗西娅从椅子上起身， 命令道， “我们时间不多。”

Joe sprang onto the stage. He barely had time to take a seat at the piano when Dorothea snapped her fingers.

乔跳上了舞台。他刚在钢琴前坐下，多罗西娅就打了个响指。

“What ... what are we playing?” Joe asked.

“我们……我们要演奏什么？”乔问道。

In answer, Dorothea started to play. Curley and the bassist, Miho, a slender woman with a fedora tipped over one eye, joined in without missing a beat.

多罗西娅的回答就是开始演奏。在场的还有贝斯手美穗， 一个身材苗条的女人，被软呢帽遮着一只眼睛。柯利和她也加入进来，没有错过一个节拍。

Joe played a few chords, trying to keep up and figure out where they were going. After a few bars he caught on and pressed the keys harder. Dorothea turned to him and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, It’s all you. Show me what you got.

乔弹出几个和弦，努力跟上节奏，摸清他们的走向。几个小节过后，他就掌握了要领，按动琴键也更有力了些。多罗西娅转过头来，扬起眉毛，仿佛在说：“全看你了。让我瞧瞧你的本事。”

Joe took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and began his solo. The Half Note, Dorothea, and Curley all faded into the background. It was just Joe and the piano. He felt like he was floating—floating on a sea of music...

乔深吸了一口气。他闭上双眼，开始独奏。二分音符、多罗西娅和柯利都渐渐淡去，只余下乔和钢琴。他感到自己就像在漂浮，漂浮在音乐的海洋上……

At some point, Joe realized that the room had gone silent. He opened his eyes. Dorothea, Curley, and Miho were all staring at him.

不知什么时候，乔猛然发觉整个房间都已安静下来。他睁开了双眼。多罗西娅、柯利和美穗都在盯着他。

“Uh, sorry.” Joe lifted his hands from the keyboard, feeling his face go hot. “I zoned out a little back there.”

“ 呃，抱歉。”乔将手从琴键上抬起， 感到脸红得发烫。“我刚才有点走神了。”

“Joe Gardner,” Dorothea said. “Where have you been?”

“乔·加德纳，”多罗西娅问道，“你一直在做什么？”   

“I’ve been teaching middle-school band,” he answered. “But on weekends, I—”

“我一直在教中学乐队，”他答道，“但周末我会—”   

“You got a suit?” Dorothea interrupted. When Joe hesitated, she commanded, “Get a suit, Teach. A good suit. Back here tonight. First show’s at nine. Sound check’s at seven. We’ll see how you do.”

“你有西装吗？”多罗西娅打断了他。就在乔犹豫不决时，她又命令道：“去买套西装，老师。要好西装。今晚回这里来。首场演出九点开始。试音在七点。我们要看看你的表现。”

Joe grinned. But his insides were doing cartwheels. He’d done it! He was the new pianist for the Dorothea Williams Quartet!

乔咧嘴一笑，内心却翻腾不已。他成功了！他是多罗西娅·威廉姆斯四重奏乐团的新钢琴手了！

随堂笔记 

helplessly adv. 无助地，无能为力地

glance at sb/sth  瞥一眼；匆匆一看；扫视

She glanced at her watch. 她匆匆看了看表。 

Take a glance at the morning paper. 你把早报浏览一下吧。

command v. 命令，下令

ain't 是  ‘am not’, ‘is not’, ‘are not’, ‘has not’, or ‘have not’等的缩写形式，表示“不是”或“没有”。

We ain’t got all day. 我们可没那么多时间。

spring onto the stage  跳上了舞台

barely  刚刚〔表示强调〕

Joe had barely finished his coffee when Curley returned. Joe刚刚喝完咖啡，柯利就回来了。

snap one's fingers 打响指，弹指头（捻拇指作响）

bassist /ˈbeɪsəst, ˈbeɪsɪst/ 低音吉他手；贝斯手

slender adj. 修长的；苗条的；纤细的

a slender figure 苗条的身段 

a slim/slender waist 纤细的腰

She is tall and slim. 她是个瘦高个儿.

fedora/fəˈdɔːrə/  n. 浅顶卷檐软呢帽

miss a beat  某人的内心方寸已乱

His heart missed a beat when he saw Dorothea.他在见到多罗西娅的一刹那心跳顿了一下。  

As I opened the letter, my heart missed a beat. 我打开信的时候，就乱了方寸。

keep up with sb/sth 跟上，保持同步

Connie is having trouble keeping up with the rest of the class. 康妮很难跟上班里的其他同学。

figure out  弄懂，搞清楚 

If I have a map, I can figure it out. 要是我有地图的话就能弄明白了。

bar 〔乐曲中的〕小节

a few bars of the song 这首歌的几个小节

raised one's/an eyebrow 扬起眉毛

英释：to move your eyebrows upwards in order to show surprise or disapproval；

This decision caused a few raised eyebrows (=surprised some people).这个决定令一些人感到惊讶。

Show me what you got.  给我看看你有啥；有本事秀出来；让我瞧瞧你的本事。 

Talk is cheap! Show me what you got. 光说没用，给我点真格的看看。

fade into the background  渐渐消失；消失在背景中...

zone out  心不在焉，分神，走神儿

I was just zoning out there for a minute. 我刚才走神了一会儿。

suit /suːt, sjuːt $ suːt/ n. 西服，西装 

商务套装 a business suit

hesitate v. 犹豫，踌躇，迟疑不决

Joe hesitated before replying. Joe 犹豫了一下才回答。

do cartwheels  侧手翻，侧身筋斗