正沉醉于爱河的男女主说话多少有些矫情。他们两个讨论temperature的时候简直像两个白痴,恋爱中的人真是啧啧啧!这一段还稍微正常一些。
“She had wonderfully beautiful hair and I would lie sometimes and watch her twisting it up in the light that came in the open door and it shone even in the night as water shines sometimes just before it is really daylight. She had a lovely face and body and lovely smooth skin too. We would be lying together and I would touch her cheeks and her forehead and under her eyes and her chin and throat with the tips of my fingers and say, “Smooth as piano keys,” and she would stroke my chin with her finger and say, “Smooth as emery paper and very hard on piano keys.”
卷头发果然是国际标准撩人动作,想象一下Catherine小护士一边撩头发一边进门的样子是那样的性感。在伴侣身上弹钢琴,真是有情趣。Catherine开的这个玩笑也显得她性感得来又俏皮。是不想要这样的一个俏佳人呢?但作为完全单身狗的我看不太来他们你侬我侬。我特别在意的,是文中的另一个人。
“He was a legitimate hero who bored every one he met. Catherine could not stand him.”
Ettore,文中的“我”是这样形容他的。Ettore看起来是个很沉迷战争狂妄自大的人。他到处向别人炫耀着他的功勋和战争中的英勇经历,还追逐名誉和头衔。“我”不喜欢他,觉得他冷场,Catherine也不喜欢他。我想没有人会喜欢和这样的人说话。但他却勾起了我的同情。
在他们对话后,有一段对Ettore的介绍很重要。他今年才23岁,就跟我一个年纪,本来可能还在读书。他被父母送到了三藩市的叔叔家,本来他可以和他读师范的姐姐一样,在幸福的新大陆过着安逸的生活,远离战争,遨游于知识的海洋。不过战争却恰恰在他回家探望父母的时候打响了。那时他可能还是个十几岁的孩子。可以想象,当时的他会是多么的手足无错,绝对不可能是现在这样一个老练的样子。
然而,战争使他身上挂上了一个个勋章,改变了他的人生方向,也改变了他。作者受的那样的伤,觉得自己都灵魂出窍了,也就得个银章。Ettore获得了好几个银章和铜章说明他经历过多次生死时刻。他23岁的身体上早已伤痕累累。更别提那个银线印记了,那真的是用命赌回来的。这些都是他主动争取的么?显然不是。他的那个银线印记是他被手榴弹意外砸中后,幸运是没死,凭着本能开枪自卫杀死敌人得到的。虽然他辩解说开枪打肚子是为了更准确击中目标,但从他连对方长啥样都不知道就可以明白,其实当时他就是下意识打的枪。
“I don't know why he threw it. I guess he always wanted to throw one. He never saw any real fighting probably. I shot the son of a bitch all right.”
这个敌人就更可笑了。他只有一个手榴弹,毫无战略毫无目的的一扔。也许他就是个第一次上战场的新兵,遇到敌军不知所措,只能随手一扔手雷,结果没有杀敌却被击毙了。整个交锋过程就像玩儿一样,但鲜血和死亡是真实的。英雄真的就是英雄么?其实不过也就是运气比较好罢了。不是每个人都能像男主和Ettore那么幸运,一个人幸运了,倒霉的那些对手们就不计其数。也难怪Ettore会像这段中这样做。
“See me do that? We always touch our stars if anybody mentions getting killed.”
可幸运了又怎样呢,幸运一次,两次不一定有三次四次。而返回前线的机会却是一个接一个不会忘记你的。当每天迎接你的都是死亡时,你的生活根本看不见未来时,你也只能依靠着荣誉和头衔来给自己安慰和鼓励了。Ettore的每一次夸耀其实都是在自我麻醉。
可这又怎样呢?
“When the action isn't successful they hold up all the medals.”
这些你用鲜血换来的心灵慰藉在战时还不能及时颁发,而且在任务失败时说搁置就搁置。
那么多人不凭自我意愿漫无目的地互相残杀着,哈,战争多么可笑。
在了解了Ettore的故事后再看最后他们的道别
“I don't have to wait to be promoted. I'm going to be a captain for merit of war. You know. Three stars with the crossed swords and crown above. That's me.”
“Good luck.”
“Good luck. When you going back to the front?”
“Pretty soon.”
“Well, I'll see you around.”
“So long.”
“So long. Don't take any bad nickels.”
祝你好运哥们,再见!仿佛有什么不好的暗示似的,脑中似乎就想起了一阵枪炮声,心头一阵刺痛。
不得不说海明威人物塑造能力很强,他善于用不同的配角来把整个故事丰满起来。
几个习语
So long.表示再见
Don't take any bad nickels.别上当.
see you around再见(我们会再次见面)
生词
“I'm no boozer and whorehound”
boozer酒鬼
Whorehound嫖客
“What kind of citation you going to get?”
此处表示表扬,但citation还有引用的意思。
“Our children will probably have beastly temperatures.”
beastly有野兽般的意思,我一开始觉得很困惑什么叫野兽般的体温?然后一位temperature有其他意思以为是temper的意思。。。结果发现beastly也表示恶劣的。
【例句】It's time we junked the whole beastly business.
“Because people get very blabby under an anaesthetic.”
Unwisely talking to much.容易泄密的。