18

Chapter 3

Suddenly one of these gypsies in trembling opal, seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage and moving her hands like Frisco dances out alone on the canvas platform.忽然间，这些吉卜赛人式的姑娘中有一个，满身珠光宝气，一伸手就 抓来一杯鸡尾酒，一回于下去壮壮胆子，然后手舞足蹈，一个人跳到篷布舞池中间去表演。

A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray’s understudy from the ‘Follies.’ The party has begun. 片刻的寂静，乐队指挥殷勤地为她改变了拍子，随后突然响起了一阵叽叽喳喳的说话声，因为有谣言传开，说她是速演剧团的吉尔德·格 雷的替角。晚会正式开始了

I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. 我相信那天晚上我第一次到盖茨比家去时，我是少数几个真正接到请帖的客人之一。

People were not invited—they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. 人们并不是邀请来的——他们是自己来的。他们坐上汽车，车子把他们送到长岛，后来也不知怎么的他们总是出现在盖茨比的门口。

Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby and after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks. 一到之后总会有什么认识盖茨比的人给他们介绍一下，从此他们的言谈行事就像在娱乐场所一样了。Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all,came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission. 有时候他们从来到走根本没见过盖茨比，他们怀着一片至诚前 来赴会，这一点就可以算一张人场券了。

I had been actually invited. A chauffeur in a uniform of robin’s egg blue crossed my lawn early that Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal note from his employer—the honor would be entirely Gatsby’s, it said, if I would attend his ‘little party’ that night. 我确实是受到邀请的。那个星期六一清早，一个身穿蓝绿色制服的司 机穿过我的草地，为他主人送来一封措词非常客气的请柬，上面写道：如蒙 我光临当晚他的“小小聚会”，盖茨比当感到不胜荣幸。

He had seen me several times and had intended to call on me long before but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it—signed Jay Gatsby in a majestic hand. 他已经看到我几次， 并且早就打算造访，但由于种种特殊原因未能如愿——杰伊·盖茨比签名，笔迹很神气。

Dressed up in white flannels I went over to his lawn a little after seven and wandered around rather ill-at-ease among swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know—though here and there was a face I had noticed on the commuting train. 晚上七点一过，我身穿一套白法兰绒便装走过去到他的草坪上，很不 自在地在一群群我不认识的人中间晃来晃去——虽然偶尔也有一个我在区间火车上见过的面扎。

I was immediately struck by the number of young Englishmen dotted about; all well dressed, all looking a little hungry and all talking in low earnest voices to solid and prosperous Americans. 我马上注意到客人中夹着不少年轻的英国人：个个衣着 整齐，个个面有饥色，个个都在低声下气地跟殷实的美国人谈话。

I was sure that they were selling something: bonds or insurance or automobiles. 我敢说他 们都在推销什么——或是债券。或是保险，或是汽车。They were, at least, agonizingly aware of the easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key. 他们最起码都揪心地意识到，近在眼前就有唾手可得的钱，并且相信，只要几句话说得投机,钱就到手了。

As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way and denied so vehemently(强烈的) any knowledge of his movements that I slunk(溜走) off in the direction of the cocktail table—the only place in the garden where a single man could linger(徘徊) without looking purposeless and alone. 我一到之后就设法去找主人，可是问了两三个人他在哪里，他们都大 为惊异地瞪着我，同时矢口否认知道他的行踪，我只好悄悄地向供应鸡尾酒的桌子溜过去——整个花园里只有这个地方，一个单身汉可以留连一下而不显得无聊和孤独。

I was on my way to get roaring drunk from sheer embarrassment when Jordan Baker came out of the house and stood at the head of the marble steps, leaning a little backward and looking with contemptuous interest down into the garden. 我百无聊赖，正准备喝个酩酊大醉，这时乔丹·贝克从屋里走了出来，站在大理石台阶的最上一级，身体微向后仰，用轻貌的神气俯瞰着花园。

Welcome or not, I found it necessary to attach myself to someone before I should begin to address cordial(热情的) remarks to the passers-by. 不管人家欢迎不欢迎，我觉得实在非依附一个人不可，不然的话，我 恐怕要跟过往的客人寒暄起来了。

‘Hello!’ I roared,advancing toward her. My voice seemed unnaturally loud across the garden. “ 哈罗！”我大喊一声，朝她走去。我的声音在花园里听上去似乎响得很 不自然。

‘I thought you might be here,’ she responded absently as I came up. ‘I remembered you lived next door to——‘ “ 我猜你也许会来的，”等我走到跟前，她心不在焉地答道，“我记得你 住在隔壁……”

She held my hand impersonally,as a promise that she’d take care of me in a minute, and gave ear to two girls in twin yellow dresses who stopped at the foot of the steps. 她不带感情地拉拉我的手，作为她答应马上再来理会我的表示，同时去听在台阶下面站住的两个穿着一样的黄色连衣裙的姑娘讲话。

‘Hello!’ they cried together. ‘Sorry you didn’t win.’ “哈罗！”她们同声喊道，“可惜你没赢。”

That was for the golftournament(锦标赛). She had lost inthe finals the week before. 这说的是高尔夫球比赛。她在上星期的决赛中输掉了。

‘You don’t know who we are,’ said one of the girls in yellow, ‘but we met you here about a month ago.’ “ 你不知道我们是谁，”两个穿黄衣的姑娘中的一个说，“可是大约一个 月以前我们在这儿见过面。”

‘You’ve dyed your hair since then,’ remarked Jordan, and I started but the girls had moved casually on and her remark was addressed to the premature moon, produced like the supper, no doubt, out of a caterer’s basket. “你们后来染过头发了。”乔丹说，我听了一惊，但两个姑娘却已经漫不 经心地走开了，因此她这句话说给早升的月亮听了，月亮和晚餐的酒菜一样，无疑也是从包办酒席的人的篮子里拿出来的。

With Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine we descended the steps and sauntered about the garden. 乔丹用她那纤细的、金黄色的 手臂挽着我的手臂，我们走下了台阶，在花园里闲逛。A tray of cocktails floated at us through the twilight and we sat down at a table with the two girls in yellow and three men, each one introduced to us as Mr. Mumble. 一盘鸡尾酒在暮色苍 茫中飘到我们面前，我们就在一张桌子旁坐下，同座的还有那两个穿黄衣的姑娘和三个男的，介绍给我们的时候名字全含含糊糊一带而过。

‘Do you come to these parties often?’ inquired Jordan of the girl beside her. “ 你常来参加这些晚会吗？”乔丹问她旁边的那个姑娘。