雷蒙德·卡佛：告诉女人们我们出去一趟 | 双语阅读

杰瑞和比尔是一对从小一起长大的好朋友，上同一所学校，选同一个老师的课，穿同一件衬衫和紧身裤，甚至约会同一个姑娘。两个人的命运紧紧交织在一起。
婚后两人也经常带着妻子在周末聚会。有一次聚餐后，杰瑞提议开车出去兜兜风。比尔说：
"Sounds good to me. I'll tell the women we're going."
“好主意，我去告诉女人们我们出去一趟。”

后来便发生了令人毛骨悚然的事。回读这句话才发现，重点不是我去告诉「女人们」我们出去一趟，而是：我去告诉女人们，「我们」出去一趟。

Tell the Women We're Going

告诉女人们我们出去一趟

作者 | 雷蒙德·卡佛

译者 | 小二

原著 | 《当我们谈论爱情时我们在谈论什么》

出版 | 南海出版公司

BILL Jamison had always been best friends with Jerry Roberts. The two grew up in the south area, near the old fairgrounds, went through grade school and junior high together, and then on to Eisenhower, where they took as many of the same teachers as they could manage, wore each other's shirts and sweaters and pegged pants, and dated and banged the same girls—whichever came up as a matter of course.

比尔·贾米森一直是杰瑞·罗伯茨最好的朋友。两人在南区一个靠近旧集市的地方长大，一起读完小学和初中，然后一起去上艾森豪威尔高中。他们在那儿尽可能地选同一个老师的课，换穿对方的衬衫、运动衫和紧腿裤，约会和睡同一个姑娘——一切都理所当然。

• fairground [ˈfɛrɡraʊnd] n. a place where a fair showing farm animals, farm products, etc. is held 集市 
• grade school 小学
• junior high 初中
• pegged pants 缩小裤脚的长裤，窄管裤，锥形裤
• bang [bæŋ] v. 
  to have sex with a woman 
  与某人发生性关系
• come up 出现，发生
• (as) a matter of course 

   (as) the usual and correct thing to do （

  作为）理所当然的事，（当作）常规

Summers they took jobs together—swamping peaches, picking cherries, stringing hops, anything they could do that paid a little and where there was no boss to get on your ass. And then they bought a car together. The summer before their senior year, they chipped in and bought a red 54 Plymouth for $325.

夏天他们一起去做工——浇灌桃树、摘樱桃、穿晒啤酒花，干任何能赚点小钱又没有老板在屁股后面盯着的活。随后他俩合买了一辆车。高中最后一年前的夏天，他们凑了钱，花三百二十五块买了一辆五四年的红色普利茅斯。

• swamp [swɒmp] v. to cover a place or thing with a large amount of water 淹没，浸没

• string  [strɪŋ] v. to put a string through a number of objects 用细绳（或线等）把…串在一起

• hop [hɒp] n. 啤酒花

• get on sb’s ass 纠缠某人，盯着某人干

• chip in  to con tribute money or effort to something as part of a group effort 凑钱

They shared it. It worked out fine.

他们伙着用那辆车。一点问题都没有。

But Jerry got married before the end of the first semester and dropped out of school to work steady at Robby's Mart.

但杰瑞在第一学期结束前结了婚，退学在罗比百货找了份正式工作。

As for Bill, he'd dated the girl too. Carol was her name, and she went just fine with Jerry, and Bill went over there every chance he got. It made him feel older, having married friends. He'd go over there for lunch or for supper, and they'd listen to Elvis or to Bill Haley and the Comets.

至于比尔，他也约会过那个姑娘。她叫卡罗尔，和杰瑞相处得很好，比尔一有时间就上他们那儿玩。有了结了婚的朋友，他觉得自己变老了。他去他们那儿吃中饭或晚饭，大家一起听埃尔维斯，或者比尔·海利和彗星乐队。

But sometimes Carol and Jerry would start making out right with Bill still there, and he'd have to get up and excuse himself and take a walk to Dezorn's Service Station to get some Coke because there was only the one bed in the apartment, a hide-away that came down in the living room. Or sometimes Jerry and Carol would head off to the bathroom, and Bill would have to move to the kitchen and pretend to be interested in the cupboards and the refrigerator and not trying to listen.

但有时候，卡罗尔和杰瑞会当着比尔的面就亲热起来，因为公寓里只有一张床，一张在客厅里展开放着的折叠床，比尔不得不起身，找个借口出去遛一圈，到迪松加油站买可乐。有时卡罗尔和杰瑞会跑进卫生间里，而比尔不得不去厨房，假装对碗柜和冰箱感兴趣，并没有在听。

• make out 

  to engage in sexual activity

  亲热
• head off to sth 前往…

So he stopped going over so much; and then June he graduated, took a job at the Darigold plant, and joined the National Guard. In a year he had a milk route of his own and was going steady with Linda. So Bill and Linda would go over to Jerry and Carol's, drink beer, and listen to records.

所以他不再那么频繁地去他们那儿了。接着六月份他毕了业，在达瑞果德的工厂找了份工作，加入了国民警备队。一年后，他有了自己的事业，和琳达的关系也确定下来了。因而比尔和琳达会去杰瑞和卡罗尔那里，喝啤酒，听音乐。

• go steady with sb
   t
  o h
  ave a long regular romantic relationship with someone 
  与某人有固定的恋爱关系
• record 
  n.[C]唱片
  

Carol and Linda got along fine, and Bill was flattered when Carol said that, confidentially, Linda was "a real person."

卡罗尔和琳达相处得很好，当比尔听到卡罗尔私底下说琳达是个“真诚的人”时，他很开心。

• flattered

   [ˈflætərd] adj. 受宠若惊的，感到荣幸的
• confidentially [kənˈfɪdəntiəli] adv. 私下地，机密地

Jerry liked Linda too. "She's great," Jerry said.

杰瑞也喜欢琳达。“她很棒。”杰瑞说。

When Bill and Linda got married, Jerry was best man. The reception, of course, was at the Donnelly Hotel, Jerry and Bill cutting up together and linking arms and tossing off glasses of spiked punch. But once, in the middle of all this happiness, Bill looked at Jerry and thought how much older Jerry looked, a lot older than twenty-two. By then Jerry was the happy father of two kids and had moved up to assistant manager at Robby's, and Carol had one in the oven again.

比尔和琳达结婚时，杰瑞是伴郎。婚宴当然设在唐纳利旅馆，杰瑞和比尔在一起胡闹，他们勾肩搭背，一杯接一杯地干着潘趣酒。但在这欢庆期间，比尔有一次无意看了一眼杰瑞，觉得他看上去很老，比二十二岁要老多了。那时杰瑞已经是有两个孩子的幸福的父亲，已被提拔为罗比百货的助理经理，而卡罗尔的肚子里又怀了一个。

• reception 
  [rɪˈsɛpʃən] n. [C] 
  a social occasion held to welcome someone or to celebrate a particular event 
  接待会，招待会
• cut up 
  to behave in a noisy and silly way 
  胡闹，吵吵嚷嚷地出洋相
• toss off 
  [tɔs ɒf] v.
  to drink something quickly and easily, usually alcohol 
  快乐地喝完，轻松地做完
• spike
  v.
  to add alcohol, poison or a drug to sb's drink or food without them knowing 在…中偷偷掺入（烈酒、毒药或毒品）
• punch 
  n.[U] 
  a hot or cold drink made by mixing water, fruit juice, spices, and usually wine or another alcoholic drink
  潘趣酒
• have one / a bun in the oven 
  to be pregnant
  怀孕

THEY saw each other every Saturday and Sunday, sometimes oftener if it was a holiday. If the weather was good, they'd be over at Jerry's to barbecue hot dogs and turn the kids loose in the wading pool Jerry had got for next to nothing, like a lot of other things he got from the Mart.

他们每个星期六和星期天都要聚一聚，如果赶上节假日，聚得还要勤一些。天气不错的话，他们会在杰瑞家烧烤热狗，让孩子们在塑料小游泳池里玩耍，就像杰瑞从百货店里弄来的其他东西一样，这个小游泳池几乎没花他什么钱。

• turn sb loose
   to release or set free
  放开（某人），释放（某人）
• the wading pool 
  a shallow pool for children to play in
  戏水池，浅水池
• next to nothing 
  almost nothing
  几乎没有什么

Jerry had a nice house. It was up on a hill overlooking the Naches. There were other houses around, but not too close. Jerry was doing all right. When Bill and Linda and Jerry and Carol got together, it was always at Jerry's place because Jerry had the barbecue and the records and too many kids to drag around.

杰瑞有栋很不错的房子，就在一个可以眺望纳切斯河的小山上。周围有些其他房子，但靠得不是很近。杰瑞混得还可以。比尔、琳达、杰瑞和卡罗尔聚会时，总是在杰瑞家，因为杰瑞有烧烤炉和唱片，而且孩子太多，不便举家出行。

• overlook
  [ˌoʊvərˈlʊk] v.
  if a building, etc. overlooks a place, you can see that place from the building
  俯瞰

It was a Sunday at Jerry's place the time it happened.

事情发生在星期天，在杰瑞家。

The women were in the kitchen straightening up. Jerry's girls were out in the yard throwing a plastic ball into the wading pool, yelling, and splashing after it.

女人们正在厨房里收拾。杰瑞的女儿们正在院子里往游泳池里扔塑料球，一边大声喊叫，一边拍打着水，追着球。

• straighten up 
  to make sth neat and tidy
  整理
• splash 
  [splæʃ] v. 
  to cause liquid to scatter about, especially by hitting a surface or object
  溅，泼

Jerry and Bill were sitting in the reclining chairs on the patio, drinking beer and just relaxing.

杰瑞和比尔正坐在露台的躺椅上喝啤酒，歇着。

• the reclining chair
  s
  躺椅
• patio
  n.[C] 露台，平台

Bill was doing most of the talking—things about people they knew, about Darigold, about the four-door Pontiac Catalina he was thinking of buying.

大部分时间都是比尔在说话——说他们都认识的人，达瑞果德公司的事，以及他想买的那辆四门庞帝亚克卡特琳娜。

Jerry was staring at the clothesline, or at the '68 Chevy hardtop that stood in the garage. Bill was thinking how Jerry was getting to be deep, the way he stared all the time and hardly did any talking at all.

杰瑞不是盯着晾衣绳，就是盯着车棚里停着的那辆六八年硬顶雪佛兰。比尔想，杰瑞怎么就变得深沉起来了，总是盯着什么看，一声都不吭。

• clothesline
  [ˈkloʊz.laɪn] n. [C] 晾衣绳，晾衣绳架
• hardtop
  ['hɑːd.tɑːp] n. [C] 硬顶敞篷车
• deep
  [diːp] adj.
  if a person is deep, they hide their real feelings and opinions
  深沉的，琢磨不透的

Bill moved in his chair and lighted a cigarette.

比尔在椅子里动了动，点着一根烟。

He said, "Anything wrong, man? I mean, you know." 

他说：“有什么事吗，哥们儿？我是说，你知道我的意思。”

Jerry finished his beer and then mashed the can. He shrugged. "You know," he said. Bill nodded.

杰瑞喝完他的啤酒，把啤酒罐捏扁。他耸了耸肩。

• mash
  [mæʃ] v
  .
  t
  o press something unpleasant or soft into a flat shape
   捏扁，压扁
• shrug
  [ʃrʌg] v. 耸肩

Then Jerry said, "How about a little run?" 

随后杰瑞说：“出去遛一圈？”

"Sounds good to me," Bill said. "I'll tell the women we're going."

“好主意，”比尔说，“我去告诉女人们我们出去一趟。”

THEY took the Naches River highway out to Gleed, Jerry driving. The day was sunny and warm, and air blew through the car.

他们沿着纳切斯河高速往格利德开。杰瑞开的车。天气晴朗暖和，阵阵清风吹进车子里面。

"Where we headed?" Bill said.

“去哪儿？”比尔说。

"Let's shoot a few balls.”

“去打几杆子球。”

“Fine with me," Bill said. He felt a whole lot better just seeing Jerry brighten up.

“没问题。”比尔说。看见杰瑞开朗些了，他觉得好受多了。

• brighten up to become cheerful, to become more lively（使）变得快乐、振奋

"Guy's got to get out," Jerry said. He looked at Bill. "You know what I mean?"

“男人不能老闷在家里。”杰瑞说。他看着比尔。“你明白我的意思吗？”

Bill understood. He liked to get out with the guys from the plant for the Friday-night bowling league. He liked to stop off twice a week after work to have a few beers with Jack Broderick. He knew a guy's got to get out.

比尔明白。他愿意和厂里的同事一起去周五晚的保龄球比赛。他喜欢每周能有两次，在下班后和杰克·布罗德里克一起喝上几杯啤酒。他知道男人需要出去走走。

• stop off

  If you stop off somewhere, you stop for a short time in the middle of a journey. 中途逗留

"Still standing," Jerry said, as they pulled up onto the gravel in front of the Rec Center.

开到休闲中心前面的碎石子路面上时，杰瑞说：“还没关门。”

• pull up 
  to stop (a vehicle)
  （汽车）停下
• grave
  l 
  [ˈɡrævl] n. [U]
  small pieces of rock
  碎石，沙砾

They went inside, Bill holding the door for Jerry, Jerry punching Bill lightly in the stomach as he went on by.

他们进到里面，比尔帮杰瑞扶着门。杰瑞走过比尔身边时，在他肚子上轻轻捅了一拳。

• punch 
  [pʌntʃ] v.
  to hit with a closed hand or fist
  击打

"Hey there!"

“嗨！”

It was Riley.

说话的是瑞里。

"Hey, how you boys keeping?"

“嗨，小伙子们在忙什么呢？”

It was Riley coming around from behind the counter, grinning. He was a heavy man. He had on a short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt that hung outside his jeans. Riley said, "So how you boys been keeping?"

瑞里从柜台后面走出来，咧嘴笑着。他是个大胖子。他穿着一件夏威夷短袖衬衫，下摆挂在牛仔裤的外面。瑞里说：“你们都在忙些什么呢？”

• grin [ɡrɪn] v. to smile widely 露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

"Ah, dry up and give us a couple of Olys," Jerry said, winking at Bill. "So how you been, Riley?" Jerry said.

“哎哟，少废话，给我们来两杯奥林酒。”杰瑞说道，冲比尔眨了眨眼。“你怎么样，瑞里？”杰瑞说。

• dry up
  [draɪ ʌp] v. 使（某人）闭嘴

Riley said, "So how you boys doing? Where you been keeping yourselves? You boys getting any on the side? Jerry, the last time I seen you, your old lady was six months gone."

瑞里说：“小伙子们怎么样？都在哪儿忙着呢？有没有在外面又搞上一个？杰瑞，上次我见到你的时候，你那娘儿们已经怀上六个月了。”

• on the side 
  secretly 
  秘密地
  

Jerry stood a minute and blinked his eyes.

杰瑞站了一会儿，眨了眨眼睛。

"So how about the Olys?" Bill said.

“奥林酒呢？”比尔说。

They took stools near the window. Jerry said, "What kind of place is this, Riley, that it don't have any girls on a Sunday afternoon?"

他们坐在靠窗的凳子上。杰瑞说：“这是个什么鬼地方，瑞里，星期天下午都见不着一个姑娘？”

• stool 
  [stuːl] n. [C] 凳子

Riley laughed. He said, "I guess they're all in church praying for it."

瑞里笑了。他说：“我估计她们都正在教堂里为来这儿而祷告呢。”

They each had five cans of beer and took two hours to play three racks of rotation and two racks of snooker, Riley sitting on a stool and talking and watching them play, Bill always looking at his watch and then looking at Jerry.

他们每人喝了五罐啤酒，花两小时打了三局顺序球，两局斯诺克。瑞里坐在一个凳子上，一边说话一边看他们玩。比尔不停地看看表，再看看杰瑞。

• rack
  [ræk] n.（用于台球或斯诺克比赛开球时放置球的）三角框
  
  
• rotation

   [roʊˈteɪʃn] n. 顺序球，一种十五球的台球游戏，玩时须按照球的号码顺序击球
• snooker

   [ˈsnuːkər] n. [U] 斯诺克球戏

Bill said, "So what do you think, Jerry? I mean, what do you think?" Bill said.

比尔说：“怎么样，杰瑞？我是说，你觉得可以了吗？”

Jerry drained his can, mashed it, then stood for a time turning the can in his hand.

杰瑞喝光了啤酒，捏扁了酒罐，然后转着手里的罐子，站了一会儿。

• drain 
  [dreɪn] v.
  to empty a cup or glass by drinking everything in it 
  喝光，喝干

BACK on the highway, Jerry opened it up—little jumps of eighty-five and ninety. They'd just passed an old pickup loaded with furniture when they saw the two girls.

上高速后，杰瑞放开了——车速猛增至八十五到九十英里之间。他们超过一辆载着家具的旧卡车，随即便看见了那两个女孩。

• pickup
  ['pɪkʌp] n.
  a small truck with an open back
  （尤指载货的）小型汽车

"Look at that!" Jerry said, slowing. "I could use some of that.”

“看那儿！”杰瑞说，慢了下来，“我想来点那个。”

Jerry drove another mile or so and then pulled off the road. "Let's go back," Jerry said. "Let's try it."

杰瑞又往前开了一英里左右，然后停在路边。“我们转回去，”杰瑞说，“我们去试试。”

"Jesus," Bill said. "I don't know.”

“天哪，”比尔说，“我说不好。”

“I could use some," Jerry said.

“我需要来点那个。”杰瑞说。

Bill said, "Yeah, but I don't know."

比尔说：“也许吧，但我说不好。”

"For Christ's sake," Jerry said.

“你就别废话了。”杰瑞说。

Bill glanced at his watch and then looked all around. He said, "You do the talking. I'm rusty."

比尔瞟了一眼他的表，又四下看了看，他说：“你去搭话，我不太熟练了。

• rusty
  [ˈrʌsti] adj.
  out of practice, not as skillful as before
  （技能或能力）退化或生疏的

Jerry hooted as he whipped the car around.

杰瑞掉转车头时按了一声喇叭。

• toot [tuːt] v. to make a short, sharp sound（使）发出短促的声音，短促地按喇叭
• whip sth around to move something quickly in a circular motion 转动某物

He slowed when he came nearly even with the girls. He pulled the Chevy onto the shoulder across from them. The girls kept on going on their bicycles, but they looked at each other and laughed. The one on the inside was dark-haired, tall, and willowy. The other was light-haired and smaller. They both wore shorts and halters.

快与女孩碰头时，他慢了下来。他把雪佛兰停在她们对面的路肩上。女孩们继续往前骑着脚踏车，但她们互相看了一眼，笑出声来。靠路边骑的女孩黑头发，高个子，身材苗条。另一个头发是浅色的，个子小一点。两人都穿着短裤和挂脖背心。

• shoulder
  [ˈʃoʊldər] n. （路边的）路肩
• willowy 
  [ˈwɪloʊi] ad
  j.
   tall, thin and attractive 
  苗条的，婀娜多姿的
• halter
  ['hɔltər] n. （女用的）背心式上衣

“Bitches," Jerry said. He waited for the cars to pass so he could pull a U.

“骚货。”杰瑞说。他等着其他车子开过去，好掉转车头。

"I'll take the brunette," he said. He said, "The little one's yours."

“我要那个黑头发的，”他说，“那个小个的归你。”

• brunette
   [bruˈnet] n. 深色头发的女人

Bill moved his back against the front seat and touched the bridge of his sunglasses. "They're not going to do anything," Bill said.

比尔靠在前排椅子上挪了挪背，又往上推了推墨镜。“她们不会做什么的。”比尔说。

"They're going to be on your side," Jerry said.

“她们会在你那一边。”杰瑞说。

He pulled across the road and drove back. "Get ready," Jerry said.

他掉过车头往回开。“准备好。”杰瑞说。

"Hi," Bill said as the girls bicycled up. "My name's Bill," Bill said.

“嗨。”女孩骑上来时比尔说。“我叫比尔。”比尔说。

“That's nice," the brunette said.

“很好呀。”黑头发说。

"Where are you going?" Bill said.

“你们这是去哪儿呀？”比尔说。

The girls didn't answer. The little one laughed. They kept bicycling and Jerry kept driving.

女孩们没有回答。小个子笑了起来。她们继续骑着车，杰瑞继续开着车。

"Oh, come on now. Where you going?" Bill said.

“哦， 别这样嘛，你们去哪儿”比尔说。

"No place," the little one said.

“不去哪儿。”小个子说。

“Where's no place?" Bill said.

“不去哪儿在哪儿呀？”比尔说。

"Wouldn't you like to know," the little one said.

“你不会想知道的。”小个子说。

"I told you my name," Bill said. "What's yours? My friend's Jerry," Bill said.

“我告诉你们我的名字了。”比尔说。“你叫什么？我的朋友叫杰瑞。”比尔说。

The girls looked at each other and laughed.

女孩们互相看了看，笑了。

A car came up from behind. The driver hit his horn.

一辆车从后面开上来。开车的按了声喇叭。

"Cram it!" Jerry shouted.

“闭嘴！”杰瑞大喊道。

He pulled off a little and let the car go around. Then he pulled back up alongside the girls.

他往边上开了一点，好让那辆车开过去。然后，他又把车开到和女孩们并排。

Bill said, "We'll give you a lift. We'll take you where you want. That's a promise. You must be tired riding those bicycles. You look tired. Too much exercise isn't good for a person. Especially for girls.”

比尔说：“我们可以捎上你们一程。我们会送你们去你们想要去的地方。保证做到。你们骑车一定很累了。你们看上去就很累。运动太多对人没好处。特别是女孩子。”

• give sb a lift 

  捎某人一程
  
  

The girls laughed.

女孩们只管笑。

"You see?" Bill said. "Now tell us your names."

“明白了吧？”比尔说，“现在告诉我们你们叫什么。”

"I'm Barbara, she's Sharon," the little one said.

“我叫芭芭拉，她叫莎伦。”小个子说。

"All right!" Jerry said. "Now find out where they're going."

“很好！”杰瑞说，“现在搞清楚她们要去哪儿。”

"Where you girls going?" Bill said. "Barb?"

“姑娘们要去哪儿呀？”比尔说，“芭比？”

She laughed. "No place," she said. "Just down the road."

她笑了。“不去哪儿，”她说，“就顺着路往前走。”

"Where down the road?”

“往前走到哪里？”

“Do you want me to tell them?" she said to the other girl.

“你想我告诉他们吗？”她对另一个女孩说。

"I don't care," the other girl said. "It doesn't make any difference," she said. "I'm not going to go anyplace with anybody anyway," the one named Sharon said.

“我才不在乎呢。”另一个女孩说。“说不说都一样。”她说。“反正我不会跟任何人去任何地方的。”名叫莎伦的女孩说。

"Where you going?" Bill said. "Are you going to Picture Rock?"

“你们去哪儿？”比尔说，“你们是去画岩风景区吧？”

The girls laughed.

女孩们笑了起来。

“That's where they're going," Jerry said.

“她们肯定是去那里。”杰瑞说。

He fed the Chevy gas and pulled up off onto the shoulder so that the girls had to come by on his side.

他踩了一脚油门，开到前面的路肩上停了下来，这样女孩就得从他那一边经过。

"Don't be that way," Jerry said. He said, "Come on." He said, "We're all introduced."

“不要这样子嘛。”杰瑞说。他说：“来吧。”他说：“我们已经认识了。”

The girls just rode on by.

女孩们只管骑了过去。

"I won't bite you!" Jerry shouted.

“我不会害你们的！”杰瑞喊道。

The brunette glanced back. It seemed to Jerry she was looking at him in the right kind of way. But with a girl you could never be sure.

黑头发的女孩回头看了一眼。杰瑞觉得她这一瞥有点特别的意味。但关于女孩，你是永远也搞不清楚的。

Jerry gunned it back onto the highway, dirt and pebbles flying from under the tires.

杰瑞冲上了高速，泥土和石子在车轮下飞溅。

• gun

  v.

  to make an engine operate at a higher speed

  使加速，使高速运转

"Well be seeing you!" Bill called as they went speeding by.

“我们会再见的！”从她们身旁疾驶而过时，比尔喊道。

"It's in the bag," Jerry said. "You see the look that cunt gave me?"

“跑不了了，”杰瑞说，“你看见那个骚货看我的眼神了吗？”

"I don't know," Bill said. "Maybe we should cut for home."

“我说不准，”比尔说，“也许我们该回去了。”

"We got it made!" Jerry said.

“这事已经搞定了！”杰瑞说。

HE pulled off the road under some trees. The highway forked here at Picture Rock, one road going on to Yakima, the other heading for Naches, Enumclaw, the Chinook Pass, Seattle.

他在有几棵树的路边停了车。公路在画岩风景区这儿分了岔。一条路通向亚基马，另一条通向纳切斯、恩努克劳、奇诺克通道和西雅图。

• pull off

  [pʊl ɒf] v. （下车） 离开公路

A hundred yards off the road was a high, sloping, black mound of rock, part of a low range of hills, honeycombed with footpaths and small caves, Indian sign-painting here and there on the cave walls. The cliff side of the rock faced the highway and all over it there were things like this: NACHES 67 —GLEED WILDCATS—JESUS SAVES—BEAT YAKIMA — REPENT NOW.

离路一百码的地方有一个高而倾斜的黑岩石山包，它是山麓的一部分，像蜂窝一样密布着小路和洞穴。洞穴墙上到处是印第安人留下的画符。岩石山的绝壁面对着高速公路，上面写满了这样的东西：纳切斯67——格利德野猫队——基督救赎——打败亚基马队——现在就忏悔吧。

• fork [fɔrk] v. 分叉
• mound [maʊnd] n.[C] a large pile of earth, stones, etc. like a small hill 土堆，沙石堆，小丘
• range n.[C]a line or group of mountains or hills 山脉
• honeycombed [ˈhʌniˌkoʊmd] adj. filled with many holes, hollow passages etc 蜂巢状的
• repent [rɪˈpent] v. to feel and show that you are sorry for sth bad or wrong that you have done 悔改
  

They sat in the car, smoking cigarettes. Mosquitoes came in and tried to get at their hands.

他们坐在车里吸烟。蚊子飞进来，试图叮他们的手。

"Wish we had a beer now," Jerry said. "I sure could go for a beer," he said.

“真希望现在有罐啤酒喝。”杰瑞说。“我真需要来罐啤酒。”他说。

Bill said, "Me too," and looked at his watch.

比尔说：“我也是。”他看了看表。

WHEN the girls came into view, Jerry and Bill got out of the car. They leaned against the fender in front.

女孩进入视线后，杰瑞和比尔下了车。他们靠在车子的前挡泥板上。

• fender

  [ˈfɛndər] n. [C] 挡泥板

"Remember," Jerry said, starting away from the car, "the dark one's mine. You got the other one."

“记住了，”杰瑞说，他离开了车子，“黑头发的那个归我。另外一个是你的。”

The girls dropped their bicycles and started up one of the paths. They disappeared around a bend and then reappeared again, a little higher up. They were standing there and looking down.

女孩们丢下脚踏车，向其中一条小路跑去。她们消失在一个转弯处，而后又在高一点的地方重新出现了。她们站在那儿往下看。

• bend

  [bɛnd] n. [C] 

  a curved or angled part of a road, river, or other geographical feature

   弯曲处 

“What're you guys following us for?" the brunette called down. Jerry just started up the path.

“你们跟着我们干什么？”黑头发向下喊道。

Jerry just started up the path.

杰瑞向那条路走去。

The girls turned away and went off again at a trot.

女孩们转过身，再次快步跑开了。

• trot 

  n.[sing.] 

  a slow run by a human

  （人的）慢跑，小步跑

Jerry and Bill kept climbing at a walking pace. Bill was smoking a cigarette, stopping every so often to get a good drag. When the path turned, he looked back and caught a glimpse of the car.

杰瑞和比尔不急不缓地继续往上爬。比尔正抽着烟，不时停下来吸一大口。在小路转弯处，他回头看了一眼他们的车子。

• drag n.[C] the act of breathing in smoke from your cigarette

   吸入一口烟

"Move it!" Jerry said.

“走呀！”杰瑞说。

"I'm coming," Bill said.

“来了。”比尔说。

They kept climbing. But then Bill had to catch his breath. He couldn't see the car now. He couldn't see the highway, either. To his left and all the way down, he could see a strip of the Naches like a strip of aluminum foil.

他们不停地爬着。但比尔不得不停下来喘口气。他现在已经看不见车子了。他也看不见高速公路了。从左边往下看，他能看见像一条铝箔一样的纳切斯河。

Jerry said, "You go right and I'll go straight. We'll cut the cockteasers off."

杰瑞说：“你往右，我直走。我们去截断这两个骚货的退路。”

• cockteaser

  ['kɒkˌtiːzər] n.

   a woman who deliberately behaves in a sexually provocative way towards men in order to excite them
   诱惑男人的女人

Bill nodded. He was too winded to speak.

比尔点点头。他已经喘得说不上话来了。

• be too winded to do sth

   be 

  to

  o tired to do sth
  太累不能做某事

He went higher for a while, and then the path began to drop, turning toward the valley. He looked and saw the girls. He saw them crouched behind an outcrop. Maybe they were smiling.

他往上走了一点，路开始下坡，转向了山谷。他望了望，看见了女孩们。她们蹲在一块岩石的后面。也许她们正在那儿发笑。

• crouch

  [kraʊtʃ] v. 

  to lower your body close to the ground by bending your legs 
  蹲伏
• outcrop

  [ˈaʊtkrɒp] n. 

  a large rock, often with a pointed top, that sticks out from a cliff or hill
   露出地面的岩石层

Bill took out a cigarette. But he could not get it lit. Then Jerry showed up. It did not matter after that.

比尔拿出一根烟。但他点不着。然后，杰瑞出现了。这之后，一切就不重要了。

Bill had just wanted to fuck. Or even to see them naked. On the other hand, it was okay with him if it didn't work out.

比尔只想干那件事。甚至只想看看她们脱光了的样子。也就是说，就算这事不成，他也无所谓。

He never knew what Jerry wanted. But it started and ended with a rock. Jerry used the same rock on both girls, first on the girl called Sharon and then on the one that was supposed to be Bill's.

他从来不知道杰瑞到底想干什么。但这一切都始于并结束于一块石头。杰瑞对两个女孩用了同一块石头。先是那个叫莎伦的女孩，然后是那个本来该归比尔的女孩。

The End

推荐阅读

精品课程

外刊精读社·第4季

全新课程，重磅上线！

精选英美外刊报道，

ChatGPT, 人口负增长，网红带货...

一网打尽2023年热点话题！

点击下方图片，即可了解详情👇

45天快速突破长难句训练营「4月班」带你吃透非谓语动词、三大从句、倒装、独立主格、强调、省略等核心语法点扫描下方二维码，即可报名👇
考研英语真题精读班词、句、篇、题层层夯实，
无死角吃透每一个考点。
逻辑思路、写作表达、翻译技巧，通通拿下。扫描下方二维码，即可了解详情👇开学季活动
3月1日-31日
两门联报，全场65折
史上最低折扣
扫描下方二维码，即可了解详情👇
 找到我🧣微博：@Lexie的英语窝🍠小红书：跟Lexie学外刊

这周的文学专栏就到这里，祝阅读愉快💛

点击阅读原文，

发现更多英文学习宝藏！

↓↓↓