In one of the windows over the garage the curtains had been moved aside a little, and Myrtle Wilson was peering down at the car. So engrossed was she that she had no consciousness of being observed, and one emotion after another crept into her face like objects into a slowly developing picture. Her expression was curiously familiar—it was an expression I had often seen on women’s faces, but on Myrtle Wilson’s face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took to be his wife.
在车行上面一扇窗户面前，窗帘向旁边拉开了一点，茉特尔·威尔逊正在向下窥视着这辆车子。她那样全神贯注，因此她毫不觉察有人在注意她，一种接一种的感情在她脸上流露出来，好像物体出现在一张慢慢显影的照片上。她的表情熟悉得有点蹊跷--这是我时常在女人脸上看到的表情，可是在茉特尔·威尔逊的脸上，这种表情似乎毫无意义而且难以理解，直到我明白她那两只充满妒火、睁得大大的眼睛并不是盯在汤姆身上，而是盯在乔丹·贝克身上，原来她以为乔丹是他的妻子。
engross [inˈɡrəus]v. 用大字体书写,吸引,占用,使全神贯注,独占
inexplicable [ɪnˈeksplɪkəb(ə)l] adj. 无法解释的；难理解的
There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control. Instinct made him step on the accelerator with the double purpose of overtaking Daisy and leaving Wilson behind, and we sped along toward Astoria at fifty miles an hour, until, among the spidery girders of the elevated, we came in sight of the easy-going blue coupe.
一个简单的头脑陷入慌乱时是非同小可的，等到我们车子开走的时候，汤姆感到惊慌失措，心里像油煎一样。他的妻子和情妇，直到一小时前还是安安稳稳、不可侵犯的，现在却猛不防正从他的控制下溜走。本能促使他猛踩油门，以达到赶上黛西和把威尔逊抛在脑后的双重目的，于是我们以每小时五十英里的速度向阿斯托里亚飞驰而去。直到在高架铁路蜘蛛网似的钢架中间，我们才看见那辆逍遥自在的蓝色小轿车。
inviolate [ɪnˈvaɪələt] adj.不受侵犯的，不受亵渎的 something that is inviolate cannot be attacked, changed, or destroyed
precipitate [prɪˈsɪp.ɪ.teɪt] v. FORMAL to make something happen suddenly or sooner than expected
girder [ˈɡɜːdə(r)]n. 大梁，桁
“Those big movies around Fiftieth Street are cool,”suggested Jordan.“I love New York on summer afternoons when every one’s away. There’s something very sensuous about it—overripe, as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands.”
"五十号街附近那些大电影院很凉快，"乔丹提议说，"我爱夏天下午的纽约，人都跑光了。有一种非常肉感的滋味--熟透了，仿佛各种奇异的果实都会落到你手里。"
sensuous [ˈsensjʊəs] adj. 给人以美的享受的；激发美感的
overripe [əʊvəˈraɪp] adj. 过熟的，成熟过头的
The word“sensuous”had the effect of further disquieting Tom, but before he could invent a protest the coupe came to a stop, and Daisy signaled us to draw up alongside.
"肉感"这两个字使汤姆感到更加惶惶不安，但他还没来得及找话来表示反对，小轿车已经停了下来，黛西打着手势叫我们开上去并排停下。
“Where are we going?”she cried.
"我们上哪儿去？"她喊道。
“How about the movies?”
"去看电影怎样？"
“It’s so hot,”she complained.“You go. We’ll ride around and meet you after.”With an effort her wit rose faintly,“We’ll meet you on some corner. I’ll be the man smoking two cigarettes.”
"太热了，"她抱怨道，"你们去吧。我们去兜兜风，过会儿再和你们碰头。"她又勉强讲了两句俏皮话。"我们约好在另一个路口和你们碰头。我就是那个抽着两支香烟的男人。"
“We can’t argue about it here,”Tom said impatiently, as a truck gave out a cursing whistle behind us.“You follow me to the south side of Central Park, in front of the Plaza.”
"我们不能待在这里争论，"汤姆不耐烦地说，这时我们后面有一辆卡车的司机在拼命按喇叭，"你们跟我开到中央公园南边广场饭店前面。"
Several times he turned his head and looked back for their car, and if the traffic delayed them he slowed up until they came into sight. I think he was afraid they would dart down a side street and out of his life forever.
有好几次他掉过头去向后看，找他们的车子，如果路上的交通把他们耽误了，他就放慢速度，直到他们重新出现。我想他生怕他们会钻进一条小街，从此永远从他生活里消失。
dart (MOVE QUICKLY) [dɑːt] v. to move quickly or suddenly
But they didn’t. And we all took the less explicable step of engaging the parlor of a suite in the Plaza Hotel.
可是他们并没有。而我们大家都采取了这个更难理解的步骤--在广场饭店租用了一间套房的客厅。
explicable [ˈeksplɪkəb(ə)l] adj. 可说明的；可解释的
parlor [ˈpɑːlə(r)] n. 起居室
The prolonged and tumultuous argument that ended by herding us into that room eludes me, though I have a sharp physical memory that, in the course of it, my underwear kept climbing like a damp snake around my legs and intermittent beads of sweat raced cool across my back. The notion originated with Daisy’s suggestion that we hire five bath-rooms and take cold baths, and then assumed more tangible form as“a place to have a mint julep.”Each of us said over and over that it was a“crazy idea.”—we all talked at once to a baffled clerk and thought, or pretended to think, that we were being very funny. . . .
那场长时间的、吵吵嚷嚷的争论，以把我们都赶进那间屋子而告终、我现在也弄不清是怎么回事了，虽然我清清楚楚记得，在这个过程中，我的内衣像一条湿漉漉的蛇一样顺着我的腿往上爬，同时一阵阵冷汗珠横流侠背。这个主意起源于黛西的建议，她要我们租五间浴室去洗冷水澡，后来才采取了"喝杯凉薄荷酒的地方"这个更明确的形式。我们每一个人都翻来覆去地说这是个"馊主意"--我们大家同时开口跟一个为难的旅馆办事员讲话，自认为或者假装认为，我们这样很滑稽……
tumultuous [tjuˈmʌltjʊəs] adj. 喧嚣的；骚乱的
elude (NOT REMEMBER) [ɪˈluːd] v. FORMAL If a piece of information eludes you, you cannot remember it
intermittent [ˌintə(ː)ˈmitənt] adj. 间歇的,断断续续的
baffle [ˈbæf.ļ] v. to cause someone to be completely unable to understand or explain something
The room was large and stifling, and, though it was already four o’clock, opening the windows admitted only a gust of hot shrubbery from the Park. Daisy went to the mirror and stood with her back to us, fixing her hair.
那间房子很大但是很闷，虽然已经是四点了，但打开窗户只不过能感受到从公园里的灌木丛刮来一股热风。黛西走到镜子前面，背朝我们站着，理她的头发。
shrubbery [ˈʃrʌbərɪ]n. -ries （庭园中的）灌木栽植地，灌木丛生处
“It’s a swell suite,”whispered Jordan respectfully, and every one laughed.
"这个套间真高级。"乔丹肃然起敬地低声说，引得大家都笑了起来。
“Open another window,”commanded Daisy, without turning around.
"再打开一扇窗户。"黛西命令道，连头也不回。
“There aren’t any more.”
"没有窗户可开了。"
“Well, we’d better telephone for an axe——”
"那么我们顶好打电话要把斧头……"
“The thing to do is to forget about the heat,”said Tom impatiently.“You make it ten times worse by crabbing about it.”
"正确的办法是忘掉热，"汤姆不耐烦地说，"像你这样唠唠叨叨只会热得十倍的难受。"
crab [kræb] 抱怨, 找碴儿 someone who becomes annoyed easily about unimportant things
He unrolled the bottle of whiskey from the towel and put it on the table.
他打开毛巾拿出那瓶威士忌来放在桌上。
“Why not let her alone, old sport?”remarked Gatsby.“You’re the one that wanted to come to town.”
"何必找她的碴呢，老兄？"盖茨比说，"是你自己要进城来的。"
There was a moment of silence. The telephone book slipped from its nail and splashed to the floor, whereupon Jordan whispered,“Excuse me.”—but this time no one laughed.
沉默了一会。电话簿从钉子上滑开，啪的一声掉到地上，于是乔丹低声说："对不起。"但是这一次没人笑了。
“I’ll pick it up,”I offered.
"我去捡起来。"我抢着说。
“I’ve got it.”Gatsby examined the parted string, muttered“Hum!”in an interested way, and tossed the book on a chair.
"我捡到了。"盖茨比仔细看看断开的绳子，表示感兴趣地"哼"了一声，然后把电话簿往椅子上一扔。
“That’s a great expression of yours, isn’t it?”said Tom sharply.
"那是你得意的口头掸，是不是？"汤姆尖锐地说。
“What is?”
"什么是？"
“All this ‘old sport’ business. Where’d you pick that up?”
"张口闭口都是'老兄'。你是从哪里学来的？"
“Now see here,Tom,”said Daisy, turning around from the mirror,“if you’re going to make personal remarks I won’t stay here a minute. Call up and order some ice for the mint julep.”
"你听着，汤姆，"黛西说，一面从镜子前面掉转身来，"如果你打算进行人身攻击，我就一分钟都不待。打个电话要点冰来做薄荷酒。"
As Tom took up the receiver the compressed heat exploded into sound and we were listening to the portentous chords of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from the ballroom below.
汤姆一拿起话筒，那憋得紧紧的热气突然爆发出声音，这时我们听到门德尔松的《婚礼进行曲》惊心动魄的和弦从底下舞厅里传上来。
portentous [pɔːˈtentəs] adj. 预兆的,凶兆的; 有…危险的; 自负的; 不寻常的,难以置信的
“Imagine marrying anybody in this heat!”cried Jordan dismally.
"这么热竟然还有人结婚！"乔丹很难受地喊道。
“Still—I was married in the middle of June,”Daisy remembered,“Louisville in June! Somebody fainted. Who was it fainted,Tom?”
"尽管如此--我就是在六月中旬结婚的，"黛西回忆道，"六月的路易斯维尔！有一个人昏倒了。昏倒的是谁，汤姆？"
“Biloxi,”he answered shortly.
"毕洛克西。"他简慢地答道。
“A man named Biloxi.‘blocks’ Biloxi, and he made boxes—that’s a fact—and he was from Biloxi,Tennessee.”
"一个姓'毕洛克西'的人。'木头人'毕洛克西，他是做盒子的--这是事实--他又是田纳西州毕洛克西市的人。"
木头人、盒子在原文里都和毕洛克西谐音。
“They carried him into my house,”appended Jordan,“because we lived just two doors from the church. And he stayed three weeks, until Daddy told him he had to get out. The day after he left Daddy died.”After a moment she added as if she might have sounded irreverent,“There wasn’t any connection.”
"他们把他抬进我家里，"乔丹补充说，"因为我们住的地方和教堂隔着两家的距离。他一住就住了三个星期，直到爸爸叫他走路。他走后第二天爸爸就死了。"过了一会她又加了一句话说，"两件事井没有什么联系。"
“I used to know a Bill Biloxi from Memphis,”I remarked.
"我从前也认识一个孟菲斯人叫比尔·毕洛克西。"我说。
孟菲斯（Memphis），田纳西州的城市。
“That was his cousin. I knew his whole family history before he left. He gave me an aluminum putter that I use to-day.”
"那是他堂兄弟。他走以前我对他的整个家史都一清二楚了。他送了我一根打高尔夫球的轻击棒，我到今天还在用。"
aluminum [əˈluːmɪnəm] n.〈化〉铝（元素符号为：Al）
putter [ˈpʌtə(r)] n.〈高尔夫〉轻击棒；短球杆
The music had died down as the ceremony began and now a long cheer floated in at the window, followed by intermittent cries of “Yea-ea-ea!” and finally by a burst of jazz as the dancing began.
婚礼一开始音乐就停了，此刻从窗口又飘进来一阵很长的欢呼声，接着又是一阵阵"好啊--好--啊"的叫喊，最后响起爵士乐的声音，跳舞开始了。
“We’re getting old,”said Daisy.“If we were young we’d rise and dance.”
"我们都衰老了，"黛西说，"如果我们还年轻的话，我们就会站起来跳舞的。"
“Remember Biloxi,”Jordan warned her.“Where’d you know him,Tom?”
"别忘了毕洛克西。"乔丹警告她，"你是在哪儿认识他的，汤姆？"
“Biloxi?”He concentrated with an effort.“I didn’t know him. He was a friend of Daisy’s.”
"毕洛克西？"他聚精会神想了一会，"我不认识他。他是黛西的朋友。"
“He was not,”she denied.“I’d never seen him before. He came down in the private car.”
"他才不是哩，"她否认道，"我在那以前从来没见过他。他是坐你的专车来的。"
“Well, he said he knew you. He said he was raised in Louisville. Asa Bird brought him around at the last minute and asked if we had room for him.”
"对啦，他说他认识你。他说他是在路易斯维尔长大的。阿莎·伯德在最后一分钟把他带来，问我们是否有地方让他坐。"
Jordan smiled.
乔丹笑了一笑。
“He was probably bumming his way home. He told me he was president of your class at Yale.”
"他多半是不花钱搭车回家。他告诉我他在耶鲁是你们的班长。"
Tom and I looked at each other blankly.
汤姆和我彼此茫然地对看。
“Biloxi?”
"毕洛克西？"
“First place, we didn’t have any president——”
"首先，我们压根儿没有班长……"
Gatsby’s foot beat a short, restless tattoo and Tom eyed him suddenly.
盖茨比的脚不耐烦地连敲了几声，引起汤姆突然瞧了他一眼。
“By the way, Mr. Gatsby, I understand you’re an Oxford man.”
"说起来，盖茨比先生，我听说你是牛津校友。"
“Not exactly.”
"不完全是那样。"
“Oh, yes, I understand you went to Oxford.”
"哦，是的，我听说你上过牛津。"
“Yes—I went there.”
"是的，我上过那儿。"
A pause. Then Tom’s voice, incredulous and insulting:
停顿了一会。然后是汤姆的声音，带有怀疑和侮辱的口吻：
“You must have gone there about the time Biloxi went to New Haven.”
"你一定是在毕洛克西上纽黑文的时候去牛津的吧。"
Another pause. A waiter knocked and came in with crushed mint and ice but, the silence was unbroken by his “thank you.”and the soft closing of the door. This tremendous detail was to be cleared up at last.
又停顿了一会。一个茶房敲门，端着敲碎了的薄荷叶和冰走进来，但是他的一声"谢谢您"和轻轻的关门声也没打破沉默。这个关系重大的细节终于要澄清了。
“I told you I went there,”said Gatsby.
"我跟你说过了我上过那儿。"盖茨比说。
“I heard you, but I’d like to know when.”
"我听见了，可是我想知道在什么时候。"
“It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That’s why I can’t really call myself an Oxford man.”
"是一九一九年，我只待了五个月。这就是为什么我不能自称是牛津校友的原因。"
Tom glanced around to see if we mirrored his unbelief. But we were all looking at Gatsby.
汤姆瞥了大家一眼，看看我们脸上是否也反映出他的怀疑。但是我们都在看着盖茨比。
“It was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers after the Armistice,”he continued.“We could go to any of the universities in England or France.”
"那是停战以后他们为一些军官提供的机会，"他继续说下去，"我们可以上任何英国或者法国的大学。"
I wanted to get up and slap him on the back. I had one of those renewals of complete faith in him that I’d experienced before.
我真想站起来拍拍他的肩膀。我又一次感到对他完全信任，这是我以前体验过的。
Daisy rose, smiling faintly, and went to the table.
黛西站了起来，微微一笑，走到桌子前面。
“Open the whiskey,Tom,”she ordered,“and I’ll make you a mint julep. Then you won’t seem so stupid to yourself. . . . Look at the mint!”
"打开威士忌，汤姆，"她命令道，"我给你做一杯薄荷酒。然后你就个会觉得自己那么蠢了……你看这些薄荷叶子！"
“Wait a minute,”snapped Tom,“I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question.”
"等一会，"汤姆厉声道，"我还要问盖茨比先生一个问题。"
“Go on,”Gatsby said politely.
"请问吧。"盖茨比很有礼貌地说。
“What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?”
"你到底想在我家里制造什么样的纠纷？"
They were out in the open at last and Gatsby was content.
他们终于把话挑明了，盖茨比倒也满意。
“He isn’t causing a row.”Daisy looked desperately from one to the other.“You’re causing a row. Please have a little self-control.”
"他没制造纠纷，"黛西惊惶地看看这一个又看看那一个，"你在制造纠纷。请你自制一点儿。"
“Self-control!”Repeated Tom incredulously.“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out. . . . Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.”
"自制！"汤姆不能置信地重复道，"我猜想最时髦的事情大概是装聋作哑，让不知从哪儿冒出来的阿猫阿狗跟你老婆凋情。哼，如果那样才算时髦，你可以把我除外……这年头人们开始对家庭生活和家庭制度嗤之以鼻，再下一步他们就该抛弃一切，搞黑人和白人通婚了。"
Flushed with his impassioned gibberish, he saw himself standing alone on the last barrier of civilization.
他满口胡言乱语，脸涨得通红，俨然自以为单独一个人站在文明最后的壁垒上。
“We’re all white here,”murmured Jordan.
"我们这里大家都是白人嘛。"乔丹咕哝着说。
“I know I’m not very popular. I don’t give big parties. I suppose you’ve got to make your house into a pigsty in order to have any friends—in the modern world.”
"我知道我不得人心。我不举行大型宴会。大概你非得把自己的家搞成猪圈才能交朋友--在这个现代世界上。"
Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth. The transition from libertine to prig was so complete.
尽管我和大家一样感到很气愤，每次他一张口我就忍不住想笑。一个酒徒色鬼竟然摇身一变就成了道学先生。
libertine [ˈlɪbətiːn] n. 放荡不羁的人; 淫荡的人
prig [prɪɡ] n. 自命不凡者；道学先生；一本正经的人