Unit-7-The-Chaser課文翻譯綜合教程三

1、Unit 7 The ChaserJohn Henry Collier1 Alan Austen, as nervous as a kitten, went up certain dark and creaky stairs in the neighborhood of Pell Street, and peered about for a long time on the dim hallway before he found the name he wanted written obscurely on one of the doors. 2 He pushed open this doo

2、r, as he had been told to do, and found himself in a tiny room, which contained no furniture but a plain kitchen table, a rocking-chair, and an ordinary chair. On one of the dirty buff-coloured walls were a couple of shelves, containing in all perhaps a dozen bottles and jars. 3 An old man sat in th

3、e rocking-chair, reading a newspaper. Alan, without a word, handed him the card he had been given. “Sit down, Mr. Austen,” said the old man very politely. “I am glad to make your acquaintance.” 4 “Is it true,” asked Alan, “that you have a certain mixture that has er quite extraordinary effects?” 5 “

4、My dear sir,” replied the old man, “my stock in trade is not very large I dont deal in laxatives and teething mixtures but such as it is, it is varied. I think nothing I sell has effects which could be precisely described as ordinary.” 6 “Well, the fact is ” began Alan. 7 “Here, for example,” interr

5、upted the old man, reaching for a bottle from the shelf. “Here is a liquid as colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.” 8 “Do you mean it is a poison?” cried Alan, very much horri

6、fied. 9 “Call it a glove-cleaner if you like,” said the old man indifferently. “Maybe it will clean gloves. I have never tried. One might call it a life-cleaner. Lives need cleaning sometimes.” 10 “I want nothing of that sort,” said Alan. 11 “Probably it is just as well,” said the old man. “Do you k

7、now the price of this? For one teaspoonful, which is sufficient, I ask five thousand dollars. Never less. Not a penny less.” 12 “I hope all your mixtures are not as expensive,” said Alan apprehensively. 13 “Oh dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no good charging that sort of price for a love p

8、otion, for example. Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion.” 14 “I am glad to hear that,” said Alan. 15 “I look at it like this,” said the old man. “Please a customer with one article, and he will come back when he need

9、s another. Even if it is more costly. He will save up for it, if necessary.” 16 “So,” said Alan, “you really do sell love potions?” 17 “If I did not sell love potions,” said the old man, reaching for another bottle, “I should not have mentioned the other matter to you. It is only when one is in a po

10、sition to oblige that one can afford to be so confidential. “ 18 “And these potions,” said Alan. “They are not just just er ” 19 “Oh, no,” said the old man. “Their effects are permanent, and extend far beyond the mere casual impulse. But they include it. Oh, yes they include it. Bountifully, insiste

11、ntly. Everlastingly.” 20 “Dear me!” said Alan, attempting a look of scientific detachment. “How very interesting!” 21 “But consider the spiritual side,” said the old man. 22 “I do, indeed,” said Alan. 23 “For indifference,” said the old man, “they substitute devotion. For scorn, adoration. Give one

12、tiny measure of this to the young lady its flavour is imperceptible in orange juice, soup, or cocktails and however gay and giddy she is, she will change altogether. She will want nothing but solitude and you.” 24 “I can hardly believe it,” said Alan. “She is so fond of parties.” 25 “She will not li

13、ke them anymore,” said the old man. “She will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet.” 26 “She will actually be jealous?” cried Alan in a rapture. “Of me?” 27 “Yes, she will want to be everything to you.” 28 “She is, already. Only she doesnt care about it.” 29 “She will, when she has taken this.

14、 She will care intensely. You will be her sole interest in life.” 30 “Wonderful!” cried Alan. 31 “She will want to know all you do,” said the old man. “All that has happened to you during the day. Every word of it. She will want to know what you are thinking about, why you smile suddenly, why you ar

15、e looking sad.” 32 “That is love!” cried Alan. 33 “Yes,” said the old man. “How carefully she will look after you! She will never allow you to be tired, to sit in a draught, to neglect your food. If you are an hour late, she will be terrified. She will think you are killed, or that some siren has ca

16、ught you.” 34 “I can hardly imagine Diana like that!” cried Alan, overwhelmed with joy. 35 “You will not have to use your imagination,” said the old man. “And, by the way, since there are always sirens, if by any chance you should, later on, slip a little, you need not worry. She will forgive you, i

17、n the end. She will be terribly hurt, of course, but she will forgive you in the end.” 36 “That will not happen,” said Alan fervently. 37 “Of course not,” said the old man. “But, if it did, you need not worry. She would never divorce you. Oh, no! And, of course, she will never give you the least, th

18、e very least, grounds for uneasiness.” 38 “And how much,” said Alan, “is this wonderful mixture?” 39 “It is not as dear,” said the old man, “as the glove-cleaner, or life-cleaner, as I sometimes call it. No. That is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to be older than you are, to indu

19、lge in that sort of thing. One has to save up for it.” 40 “But the love potion?” said Alan. 41 “Oh, that,” said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty-looking phial. “That is just a dollar.” 42 “I cant tell you how grateful I am,” said Alan, watchin

20、g him fill it. 43 “I like to oblige,” said the old man. “Then customers come back, later in life, when they are better off, and want more expensive things. Here you are. You will find it very effective.” 44 “Thank you again,” said Alan. “Good-bye.” 45 “Au revoir,” said the man. 解酒水艾倫奧斯丁，緊張得像只小貓，心里七上

21、八下、忐忑不安的進(jìn)了裴爾街區(qū)的一個樓道，黑乎乎的樓梯咯吱咯吱直響。他在昏暗的平臺上停了下來，仔細(xì)張望了許久，才看到了那扇門，門上那個模糊不清的名字正是他要找的。按別人說的，他推開了門，門里面是一間很小的屋子，屋里幾乎沒什么家具，除了一張餐桌，一把搖椅，還有一把普普通通的椅子。一面臟乎乎的暗黃色的墻上擱著兩個架子，架子上陳列著十幾個瓶瓶罐罐。一位老人正坐在搖椅上，看著報紙。艾倫一言不發(fā)把別人給的那張卡片遞給了老人?！罢堊?，艾倫先生，”老人禮貌地說。“很高興認(rèn)識你。”“是真的嗎？”艾倫問，“你真有那種藥嗎，有-嗯很神奇效果的哪種藥嗎？”“我親愛的先生，”老人回答到，“我這兒的貨不是很多瀉藥、長牙藥

22、我可沒有不過，我的東西雖不多，品種可也不少。而且我的這些藥，它的藥效，嚴(yán)格來說，可沒一樣可以說是普普通通的。”“嗯，實際上.”艾倫開口說?！跋襁@一瓶，” 老人打斷艾倫，指著架子上的一瓶藥水說，“這瓶藥水跟水一樣沒顏色，也幾乎沒有味道，摻在水，葡萄酒，或者其它飲料中很難被察覺。就算是進(jìn)行尸體解剖，就現(xiàn)在所知的方法來說，要發(fā)現(xiàn)也很難?！薄澳愕囊馑?，它是毒藥嗎？”艾倫驚恐的喊道?！澳阋窃敢猓Q它手套清除劑也可，”老人漠然回答，“也許它可以清除掉手套，我沒試過。或者稱它生命清除劑也未嘗不可，生命有時也需要清除，人類才能得以凈化?！薄斑@東西我可一點(diǎn)都不想要，”艾倫說?！安灰茫崩先苏f，“你可知道這

23、東西的價格？一茶匙的量，也夠用了，我賣五千美元，絕對不能少，一分也不能少。”“你的藥不會都這么貴吧，”艾倫憂心忡忡?！班?，親愛的，不全這么貴，”老人說，“像這愛情水，如果我開這么個價，那可不是個好標(biāo)價。買愛情水的年輕人很少有五千美元的，要不，他們也不會需要愛情水了?！薄奥犉饋碚媸亲屓烁吲d，”艾倫說?！拔疫@么想來著，”老人說，“要是一樣?xùn)|西讓顧客滿意了，當(dāng)他需要其它東西時，就會再回來，即便是更貴的貨物，只要是有必要，省吃儉用他也會湊足了錢來買的?！薄澳?，”艾倫說，“你真有愛情水賣？”“沒愛情水，”老人說，“我會跟你羅嗦那些嗎。一個人要是沒點(diǎn)能耐，別人怎會這么信任他。”“那這些藥水，”艾倫說，“他

24、們不會只是-只是嗯”“哦，不會，”老人說，“藥效會持久存在，服了這藥水，他的愛情之水將會綿綿不斷如滔滔江水，偶爾心頭掠過的那愛的小浪花，只會是那其中的滄海一粟，當(dāng)然這種偶爾的愛的浪花自然也有，哦，是，當(dāng)然包括在內(nèi)。但他們會源源不斷，持之以恒，經(jīng)久不衰的。”“哦，天哪！”艾倫說，竭力擺出一副置身之外的神態(tài)，“那真太有趣了！”“你再想想精神方面！”老人說?！昂?，我會?！鞍瑐愓f。“她對你不會再漠不關(guān)心，”老人說，“卻是忠心耿耿。也不會再吹毛求疵而是柔情蜜意。年輕的姑娘只要吃過這么一小點(diǎn)兒愛情水-摻在橙汁、湯汁或是雞尾酒中，絲毫聞不出味道-不管她之前多會尋歡作樂，吃過后，就會像變了個人似的。什么都不會想，什么都不會要，只會想一個人跟你呆著。”“真讓人難以相信，”艾倫說，“她可喜歡呼朋喚友了?！薄耙院笏粫矚g了，”老人說，“她會擔(dān)心，你在聚會上會碰到漂亮姑娘?！薄八鏁刀蕟幔俊卑瑐愋?/p>