To Have and Have Not要还是不要

　　It had been boring hanging about the hotel all afternoon. The road crew were playing a game with dollar notes. Folding them into small planes to see whose would fly the furthest. 1 Having nothing better to do， I joined in and won five， and then took the opportunity to escape with my profit. Despite the evil-looking clouds ， I had to get out for a while.

　　在宾馆里闲待一个下午是很无聊的。巡回乐团道具管理组的成员在用美元玩游戏，把纸币折成纸飞机的形状然后看谁飞得最远。因为没有什么事情可以做，我加入了他们并且赢了五 局，之后我找了个机会 带着我赢的钱退出了游戏。尽管天色看起来不是很好，我还是决定出去走一走。

　　I headed for a shop on the other side of the street. Unlike the others ，it didn't have a sign shouting its name and business ，and instead of the usual impersonal modern lighting ，there was an appealing glow inside. Strangely nothing was displayed in the window. Not put off by this ，I went inside.

　　我向前走到了街道另一边的一个小店里。与其他的小店不同，它没有吸引眼球的名字和主要经营的 项目，取而代之的是普通的霓虹灯，里面则是吸引人的强光。奇怪的是并没有什么影子映 射在窗户上。 我并没有因为这个而停住脚步，我走了进去。

　　It took my breath away. I didn't know where to look, where to start. On one wall there hung three hand-stitched American quilts that were in such wonderful condition they might have been newly-made. I came across tin toys and antique furniture, and on the wall in front of me, a 1957 Stratocaster guitar , also in excellent condition. A card pushed between the strings said $50. I ran my hand along a long shelf of records, reading their titles. And there was more. . .

　　我屏住呼吸，不知道看哪里也不知道从哪里开始看。一面墙上挂着三个手工缝制的美国壁毯，十分美丽，可能是新做的。我穿过易拉罐和散落的小玩意儿还有古董家具，在我面前的一面墙上 挂着一个崭 新的1957年的 Straocaster 吉他。一张标价卡插在琴弦上，写着50美元，我的手抚摸着放唱片的架子，读着标题。 这里还有很多的……

　　“Can I help you?” She startled me. I hadn't even seen the woman behind the counter come in. The way she looked at me, so directly and with such power. It was a look of such intensity that for a moment I felt as if I were wrapped in some kind of magnetic or electrical field. I found it hard to take and almost turned away. But though it was uncomfortable. I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger, nor strange, to her. 2

　　“我可以帮助你吗?”她吓了我一跳。我没有看见在柜台后面的女人。她看我的方式如此居高临下，这一时让我很紧张像是被一种磁场或是电场紧紧包裹住。很难避开那个眼神。但是尽管很不舒服，我还是觉得那种被直视的感觉很美妙，那种感觉对我来说不陌生，对她来说也不陌生。

　　Besides amusement her expression showed sympathy. It was impossible to tell her age;she reminded me faintly of my grandmother because, although her eyes were friendly. I could see that she was not a woman to fall out with. I spoke at last.“I was just looking really,” I said, though secretly wondering how much of the stuff I could cram into the bus.

　　除了愉悦以外她的神情还流露出慈爱和怜悯。我猜不出她的年龄。尽管她的眼神充满了友善，她使 我想起了我的祖母。我能感觉到她是一个不喜欢与人争吵的人。最后我开口说话，“我真的只是看看”，私 下里却在好奇有多少东西能够塞进汽车。

　　The woman turned away and went at once towards a back room, indicating that I should follow her. But it in no way lived up to the first room. The light made me feel peculiar, too. It came from an oil lamp that was hung from the centre of the ceiling and created huge shadows over everything. 3 There were no rare electric guitars, no old necklaces, no hand-painted boxes with delicate flowers. It was also obvious that it must have taken years, decades, to collect so much rubbish, so many old documents arid papers.

　　她转身离开到后面的屋子，示意我应该跟随其后，但这并非是第一个房间，房间的灯光也让我感觉很特别，灯光来自天花板上的油饤，使一切都笼罩在巨大的阴影之下。这里没有罕见的电吉他，没有古老的项链，没有鲜花装饰的手绘盒子。它很陈旧，很明显是用来存放垃圾和那些平淡无奇的旧文献的。

　　I noticed some old books, whose gold lettering had faded, making their titles impossible to read. “They look interesting,” I said, with some hesitation. “To be able to understand that kind of writing you must first have had a similar experience,'”she said clearly. She noted the confused look on my face, but didn't add anything.

　　我发现了一些旧书，那些金字巳经退去使题目很难辨认。“它们看起来很有趣。”我迟疑地说。“要想了解上面所写，你必须有相似的经历。”她清楚地说。她察觉到我的脸上充满了疑惑可是却没有再说什么。

　　She reached up for a small book which she handed to me. “This is the best book I can give you at the moment,'”she laughed.“ If you use it.” I opened the book to find it full. or rather empty, with blank white pages, but paid her the few dollars she asked for it, becoming embarrassed when I realised the notes were still folded into little paper planes. I put the book in my pocket, thanked her and left.

　　她伸出手拿了一本小书然后递给了我。“这是目前我能够给你的最好的书，”她笑着说道，“如果你要用它。”我打开书发现全部是一片空白，但依然给了她向我要的几美元，当我察觉到美元依然是纸飞机的形状时不免有些尴尬。我把书放到包里，谢过她并离开了。

　　词汇：

　　Impersonal adj客观的;非个人的;没有人情味的;[语] 非人称的 n. [语]非人称动词;不具人格的事物

　　antique adj古老的，年代久远的 n. 古董，古玩

　　startle vt/vi使吓一跳，使惊奇 n. 惊愕，惊恐

　　magnetic adj有吸引力的，磁极的

　　arid adj干旱的，枯萎的,毫无生气的

　　注释：

　　1. The road crew were playing a game with dollar notes. Folding them into small planes to see whose would fly the furthest. 巡回乐团道具管理组的成员在用美元玩游戏，把纸币折成纸飞机的形状，然后看谁飞 得最远。

　　2. I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger , nor strange, to her. 我还是觉得那种被直视的感觉很美妙，那种感觉是我不是陌生人，而且对她来说并不陌生。

　　3. The light made me feel peculiar, too. It came from an oil lamp that was hung from the centre of the ceiling and created huge shadows over everything. 房间的灯光也让我感觉很特别，灯光来自天花板中央的油灯，使一 切都笼罩在巨大的阴影之下。

　　练习：

　　1. Why did the writer want to leave the hotel?

　　A. To enjoy the good weather.

　　B. To have a change of scene.

　　C. To spend all his winnings.

　　D. To get away from the crew.

　　1. B 本题的问题是：为什么作者想要离开宾馆?由本文第一段第一句可以得出答案。在宾馆是十分无聊的，最后一句也写出作者不顾天气不好而想要出去走走，A，C 选项错误，D 选项未提及。

　　2. What attracted the writer to the shop?

　　A. The lack of a sign or name.

　　B. The fact that it was nearby.

　　C. The empty window display.

　　D. The light coming from inside.

　　2. D 本题的问题是：是什么吸引作者到那个商店?由第二段中间“there was an appealing glow inside. ”可以得出答案。A，C 选项不切题。B选项未提及。

　　3. The writer found the stock in the front of the shop__________.

　　A. of top quality

　　B. of good value

　　C. difficult to get at

　　D. badly displayed

　　3. A 本题的问题是：作者发现在小店前面存放的物品是怎样的?从第三段对于物品的详细描述可 以得出答案。 On one wall there hung three hand-stitched American quilts that were in such wonderful condition they might have been newly-made. I came across tin toys and antique furniture, and on the wall in front of me, a 1957 Stratocaster guitar , also in excellent condition.

　　4. What was unusual about the way the woman looked at him?

　　A. It made him feel self-conscious.

　　B. She was happy to stare at him.

　　C. She seemed to know him well.

　　D. It made him want to look away.

　　4. C 本题的问题是：那个女人看他的方式有什么不同?由第四段最后一句I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger, nor strange, to her. 有 一种似曾相识的感觉。

　　5. The writer disliked the back room because__________.

　　A. there was hardly anything in it

　　B. she had ordered him to go there

　　C. he saw nothing he really liked

　　D. it was too dark to look around

　　5. C 本题的问题是：作者不喜欢后屋的原因?从文中的第六段和第七段可以得出结论，他认为没有 什么他真正喜欢的东西。“It was also obvious that it must have taken years, decades, to collect so much rubbish, so many old documents arid papers.”“I noticed some old books, whose gold lettering had faded, making their titles impossible to read. 'They look interesting,' I said, with some hesitation.”