雷蒙德·卡佛：年轻人，你们为什么不跳个舞？| 双语阅读

雷蒙德·卡佛(Raymond Carver, 1938-1988) ，被称为“继海明威之后美国最具影响力的短篇小说家”，《伦敦时报》更是在其去世后誉之“美国的契诃夫”。

卡佛一生作品以短篇小说和诗歌为主，最负盛名的当属《当我们谈论爱情时我们在谈论什么》了。这是一部短篇小说集，由17篇短篇小说组成。今天想分享给大家的便是书里第一篇小说《你们为什么不跳个舞》。

Why Don’t You Dance

作者雷蒙德·卡佛

译者小二

出版社译林出版社

In the kitchen, he poured another drink and looked at the bedroom suite in his front yard. The mattress was stripped and the candy-striped sheets lay beside two pillows on the chiffonier. Except for that, things looked much the way they had in the bedroom–nightstand and reading lamp on his side of the bed, nightstand and reading lamp on her side.

厨房里，他又给自己倒了杯酒，看着前院摆着的卧室家具。床垫上面罩着的床单已被扒了下来，条形图案的床单就放在梳妆橱上摆着的两个枕头的边上。除此以外，其他东西与在卧室时的摆放一模一样——他那边的床头柜和台灯，她那边的床头柜和台灯。

suite [swiːt] n. a set of matching furniture 一套家具
mattress [ˈmætrəs] n. 床垫
strip [strɪp] v. to remove everything that covers it 剥离
chiffonier [ˌʃɪfəˈnɪr] n. a tall, elegant chest of drawers 西洋梳镜柜

His side, her side.

He considered this as he sipped the whiskey.

他那一边，她那一边。

他一边喝着威士忌一边想着这个。

sip [sɪp] v. to drink by taking just a small amount at a time 小口地喝

The chiffonier stood a few feet from the foot of the bed. He had emptied the drawers into cartons that morning, and the cartons were in the living room. A portable heater was next to the chiffonier. A rattan chair with a decorator pillow stood at the foot of the bed. The buffed aluminum kitchen set took up a part of the driveway. A yellow muslin cloth, much too large, a gift, covered the table and hung down over the sides. A potted fern was on the table, along with a box of silverware and a record player, also gifts. A big console-model television set rested on a coffee table, and a few feet away from this stood a sofa and chair and a floor lamp. The desk was pushed against the garage door. A few utensils were on the desk, along with a wall clock and two framed prints. There was also in the driveway a carton with cups, glasses, and plates, each object wrapped in newspaper. That morning he had cleared out the closets, and except for the three cartons in the living room, all the stuff was out of the house. He had run an extension cord on out there and everything was connected. Things worked, no different from how it was when they were inside.

梳妆橱立在离床脚几尺远的地方。那天早晨他已把抽屉里的东西全都倒进了纸箱里，那几只纸箱在客厅里放着。梳妆橱边上摆着个便携式的取暖器。紧靠床脚的是一张上面放着装饰用枕头的藤椅。擦得亮晶晶的铝制炊具占据了车道的一部分。桌子上盖着一块黄色平纹细布桌布（一件礼品），桌布很大，从桌子的四边耷拉下来。桌子上放着一盆蕨草和一盒刀叉，还放着一个唱机（也是一件礼品）。

一台落地式大电视机被放在茶几的上面，离它几尺远的地方放着一张沙发、一把椅子和一盏落地台灯。写字桌抵着车库门放着，上面有几件厨房用具、一台壁钟和两幅装了镜框的画。车道上还放着个纸箱子，里面装着咖啡杯、玻璃杯和盘子，每个都用报纸包着。那天早晨，他清空了壁橱，除了客厅里放着的三个纸箱外，所有东西都从房子里搬了出来。他拖了根延长线出来，把所有电器都接通了。每件都能工作，跟在屋里时没两样。

carton [ˈkɑːrtn] n. a large, strong cardboard box in which goods are stored and transported 硬纸箱
portable [ˈpɔːrtəbl] adj. easily carried or moved 便携式的
buff [bʌf] v. to clean or polish with a buff 用软皮革擦亮
muslin [ˈmʌzlɪn] n. very thin, cotton cloth 薄棉布
pot [pɑːt] v. to put a plant into a flowerpot filled with soil 把……栽入盆中
console [ˈkɑːnsoʊl] n. 控制台
utensil [juːˈtensl] n. 器皿; 用具
driveway [ˈdraɪvweɪ] n. 私人车道

Now and then a car slowed and people stared. But no one stopped.

It occurred to him that he wouldn’t, either.

“It must be a yard sale,” the girl said to the boy.

This girl and this boy were furnishing a little apartment.

“Let’s see what they want for the bed,” the girl said.

“And for the TV,” the boy said.

The boy pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the kitchen table.

不时会有辆车慢下来，有人往这儿瞧上一眼。但谁都没停下来。

他突然觉得，要是他也不会停下来的。

“肯定是在卖旧货，”女孩对男孩说。

女孩和男孩正在布置一个小公寓。

“看看床要多少钱，”女孩说。

“还有电视机，”男孩说。

男孩拐上车道，在餐桌前把车停住。

They got out of the car and began to examine things, the girl touching the muslin cloth, the boy plugging in the blender and turning the dial to MINCE, the girl picking up a chafing dish, the boy turning on the television set and making little adjustments.

他们下车查看东西。女孩摸了摸平纹细布桌布，男孩插上搅拌机的插头，把旋钮转到“切碎”那一档，女孩拿起一个陶土罐，男孩打开电视，稍稍调了一下。

plug [plʌɡ] v. to block a hole with something 堵; 塞
blender [ˈblendər] v. an electrical kitchen appliance used for mixing liquids and soft foods together or turning fruit or vegetables into liquid (食物)搅拌机
dial [ˈdaɪəl] n. a control on a device or piece of equipment which you can move in order to adjust the setting, for example, to select or change the frequency on a radio or the temperature of a heater (收音机、加热器等的) 调谐钮
mince [mɪns] v. to cut or grind food up into very small pieces,usually in a machine 铰碎

He sat down on the sofa to watch. He lit a cigarette, looked around, flipped the match into the grass.

The girl sat on the bed. She pushed off her shoes and lay back. She thought she could see a star.

“Come here, Jack. Try this bed. Bring one of those pillows,” she said.

“How is it?” he said.

“Try it,” she said.

He looked around. The house was dark.

他坐在沙发上看了起来。他点了根烟，四周看了看，把火柴弹到了草地里。

女孩坐在床上，她脱掉鞋子，躺了下来。她觉得她看见了一颗星星。

“过来，杰克，试试这个床。拿个枕头过来，”她说。

“怎样？”他说。

“过来试试，”她说。

他往四周看了看，房子里面漆黑一片的。

flip [flɪp] v. to throw something somewhere using your thumb and/or fingers （用手指）轻抛，轻掷

“I feel funny,” he said. “Better see if anybody’s home.”

She bounced on the bed.

“Try it first,” she said.

He lay down on the bed and put the pillow under his head.

“How does it feel?” she said.

“It feels firm,” he said.

She turned on her side and put her hand to his face.

“Kiss me,” she said.

“Let’s get up,” he said.

“Kiss me,” she said.

She closed her eyes. She held him.

He said, “I’ll see if anybody’s home.”

“我觉得有点怪，”他说。“最好看看家里有没有人。”

她在床上蹦了蹦。

“先试试看，”她说。

他在床上躺下，把枕头垫在头下。

“觉得怎样？”她说。

“挺结实的，”他说。

她侧过身来，把手放在他脸上。

“吻我，”她说。

“我们起来吧，”他说。

“吻我，”她说。

她闭上眼睛，抱住了他。

他说：“我去看看有没有人在家。”

bounce [baʊns] v. to jump up and down on something （在…上）跳动，蹦

But he just sat up and stayed where he was, making believe he was watching the television.

Lights came on in houses up and down the street.

“Wouldn’t it be funny if,” the girl said and grinned and didn’t finish.

The boy laughed, but for no good reason, he switched the reading lamp on.

The girl brushed away a mosquito, whereupon the boy stood up and tucked in his shirt.

但他只是坐了起来并在原处待着，让人觉得他正在看电视。

街上左邻右舍的灯都亮了起来。

“会不会有点滑稽，要是……”女孩没说完就咯咯地笑了起来。

男孩笑了起来，但不知道为什么，他打开了台灯。

女孩赶走一个蚊子，男孩随即站起身来，塞了塞他的衬衣。

grin [ɡrɪn] v. to smile broadly 咧嘴笑
tuck [tʌk] v. If you tuck something somewhere, you put it there so that it is safe, comfortable, or neat (为舒服或整齐) 把…塞入; 把…夹入

“I’ll see if anybody’s home,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s home. But if anybody is, I’ll see what things are going for.”

“Whatever they ask, offer ten dollars less. It’s always a good idea,” she said. “And, besides, they must be desperate or something.”

“It’s a pretty good TV,” the boy said.

“Ask them how much,” the girl said.

“我去看看家里有没有人，”他说。“不像有人的样子。但如果有的话，我问问价钱。”

“他们要多少，砍掉十块。这个主意没错，”她说，“此外，他们肯定很急迫或是什么。”

“很不错的一个电视机，”男孩说。

“问他们要多少，”女孩说。

The man came down the sidewalk with a sack from the market. He had sandwiches, beer, whiskey. He saw the car in the driveway and the girl on the bed. He saw the television set going and the boy on the porch.

男人拎着一个超市的购物袋沿着人行道走来。他买了三明治、啤酒和威士忌。他看见了车道上停着的车和床上的女孩。他看见了打开的电视机和阳台上的男孩。

sack [sæk] n. a large bag made of thick paper or rough material 大麻袋; 大厚纸袋

“Hello,” the man said to the girl. “You found the bed. That’s good.”

“Hello,” the girl said, and got up. “I was just trying it out.” She patted the bed. “It’s a pretty good bed.”

“It’s a good bed,” the man said, and put down the sack and took out the beer and the whiskey.

“哎，”男人对女孩说。“你发现这张床了。很好。”

“哎，”女孩说，站了起来。“我刚才只是试了试。”她拍了拍床。“很好的一张床。”

“是张好床，”男人说，他放下袋子，拿出啤酒和威士忌。

“I was thinking fifty dollars for the bed,” the man said.

“Would you take forty?” the girl asked.

“I’ll take forty,” the man said.

He took a glass out of the carton. He took the newspaper off the glass. He broke the seal on the whiskey.

“我们以为这里没人，”男孩说。“我们对这个床，或许还有这台电视机感兴趣。也许还有这张写字桌。这床你想卖多少钱？”

“我本想卖五十块，”男人说。

“四十块愿意吗？”女孩问道。

“四十就四十，”男人说。

他从纸箱里取出一个玻璃杯，去掉上面包着的报纸。他打开了威士忌酒瓶的封口。

seal [siːl] n. a substance, strip of material, etc. used to fill acrack so that air, liquid, etc, cannot get in or out 密封垫（或带等）

“How about the TV?” the boy said.

“Twenty-five.”

“Would you take fifteen?” the girl said.

“Fifteen’s okay. I could take fifteen,” the man said.

The girl looked at the boy.

“电视机呢？”男孩说。

“二十五。”

“十五块愿意吗？”

“十五块可以。十五块我愿意，”男人说。

女孩看着男孩。

“You kids, you’ll want a drink,” the man said. “Glasses in that box. I’m going to sit down. I’m going to sit down on the sofa.”

The man sat on the sofa, leaned back, and stared at the boy and the girl.

The boy found two glasses and poured whiskey.

“That’s enough,” the girl said. “I think I want water in mine.”

She pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table.

“孩子们，你们要喝一杯的话，”男人说。“杯子在箱子里。我得坐下了。我就坐在沙发上。”

男人在沙发上坐下，往后一靠，盯着男孩和女孩看。

男孩找出两个玻璃杯，往里面倒威士忌。

“够了，”女孩说。“我想往我的里面掺点水。”

她拉出一把椅子，在餐桌旁边坐了下来。

“There’s water in that spigot over there,” the man said. “Turn on that spigot.”

The boy came back with the watered whiskey. He cleared his throat and sat down at the kitchen table.

He grinned. But he didn’t drink anything from his glass.

“那边的水龙头有水，”男人说。“打开水龙头。”

男孩端着掺了水的威士忌回来。他咳了一声并在餐桌旁坐下。

他咧开嘴笑了笑，但没有喝酒。

The man gazed at the television. He finished his drink and started another. He reached to turn on the floor lamp. It was then that his cigarette dropped from his fingers and fell between the cushions.

The girl got up to help him find it.

“So what do you want?” the boy said to the girl.

The boy took out the checkbook and held it to his lips as if thinking.

男人盯着电视机。喝完后他又倒了一杯。他伸手打开落地台灯。就在这时他的烟掉进了沙发的垫子里。

女孩起身帮他找掉下来的烟。

“你到底要什么？”男孩对女孩说。

男孩取出支票本，把它放在嘴唇边上，像是在思考着什么。

gaze [ɡeɪz] v. to look steadily at somebody or something for a long time, either because you are very interested or surprised, or because you are thinking for something else 凝视；注视；盯着

“I want the desk,” the girl said. “How much money is the desk?”

The man waved his hand at this preposterous question.

“Name a figure,” he said.

“我想要写字桌，”女孩说。“写字桌卖多少钱？”

男人冲这个荒谬的问题摆了摆手。

“你说个数吧，”他说。

preposterous [prɪˈpɑːstərəs] adj. extremely unreasonable and foolish 荒谬的

He looked at them as they sat at the table. In the lamplight, there was something about their faces. It was nice or it was nasty. There was no telling.

“I ‘m going to turn off this TV and put on a record,” the man said. “This record-player is going, too. Cheap. Make me an offer.”

他看着桌边坐着的他们。灯光下，他们的面孔看上去有点异样。是善是恶，一点也看不出来。

“我去把电视关了，然后放张唱片，”男人说。“这个唱机也卖。便宜。出个价吧。”

lamplight [ˈlæmplaɪt] n. the light produced by a lamp 灯光

He poured more whiskey and opened a beer.

“Everything goes,” said the man.

The girl held out her glass and the man poured.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re very nice,” she said.

“It goes to your head,” the boy said. “I’m getting it in the head.” He held up his glass and jiggled it.

他倒了更多的威士忌并打开一瓶啤酒。

“每样东西都出手，”男人说。

女孩递过杯子，男人往里面倒了一点。

“谢谢，”她说。“你真好，”她说。

“它有点上头，”男孩说。“我头晕。”他举着玻璃杯，轻轻地晃了晃。

jiggle [ˈdʒɪɡl] v. to move something quickly up and down or from side toside 摇动

The man finished his drink and poured another, and then he found the box with the records.

“Pick something,” the man said to the girl, and he held the records out to her.

The boy was writing the check.

男人喝完酒后又倒了一杯。稍后他找到了装唱片的箱子。

“随便挑一张，”男人对女孩说，把装唱片的箱子递给她。男孩在写支票。

“Here,” the girl said, picking something, picking anything, for she did not know the names on these labels. She got up from the table and sat down again. She did not want to sit still.

“I’m making it out to cash,” the boy said.

“Sure,” the man said.

“这个，”女孩说，她并不认识唱片标签上的那些名字，就随便地拿了一张。她从桌旁站起来，又坐了下来。她不愿意一动不动地坐着。

“我只写上金额，”男孩说。

“没问题，”男人说。

sit still 一动不动地坐着
still adj. not moving 静止的，不动的

They drank. They listened to the record. And then the man put on another.

Why don’t you kids dance? he decided to say, and then he said it. “Why don’t you dance?”

“I don’t think so,” the boy said.

“Go ahead,” the man said. “It’s my yard. You can dance if you want to.”

他们听着唱片，喝酒。然后男人换了张唱片。

孩子们为什么不跳个舞？他本想这么说来着，随后他说道，“你们为什么不跳个舞？”

“我不想跳，”男孩说。

“来吧，”男人说。“这是我的院子。你们想跳就跳。”

Arms about each other, their bodies pressed together, the boy and the girl moved up and down the driveway. They were dancing. And when the record was over, they did it again, and when that one ended, the boy said, “I’m drunk.”

The girl said, “You’re not drunk.”

“Well, I’m drunk,” the boy said.

The man turned the record over and the boy said, “I am.”

手臂互相搭着，身体靠在一起，男孩和女孩在车道上来回移动。他们在跳舞。曲子完了后，他们又跳了一支曲子，跳完后，男孩说，“我喝醉了。”

女孩说：“你没醉。”

“嗯，醉了，”男孩说。

男人把唱片翻了个面，男孩说：“我醉了。”

“It’s okay,” the man said. “It’s my place,” he said.

“Let them watch,” the girl said.

“That’s right,” the man said. “They thought they’d seen everything over here. But they haven’t seen this, have they?” he said.

“跟我跳舞，”女孩先对男孩，然后对男人说道，男人站起身来，她张开手臂向他走去。

“那边的那些人，他们在看，”她说。

“没什么，”男人说。“这是我的地方，”他说。

“让他们看去，”女孩说。

“就是，”男人说。“他们以为这里的什么都见过了。但他们没见过这个，见过吗？”他说。

He felt her breath on his neck.

“I hope you like your bed,” he said.

The girl closed and then opened her eyes. She pushed her face into the man’s shoulder. She pulled the man closer.

“You must be desperate or something,” she said.

他的脖子感到了她的呼吸。

“我希望你喜欢你的床，”他说。

女孩先闭上眼睛，又睁了开来。她把脸埋在男人的肩膀上。她把男人往近拉了拉。

“你肯定是很绝望或怎么了，”她说。

Weeks later, she said: “The guy was about middle-aged. All his things right there in his yard. No lie. We got real pissed and danced. In the driveway. Oh, my God. Don’t laugh. He played us these records. Look at this record-player. The old guy gave it to us. And all these crappy records. Will you look at this shit?”