书城教材教辅新课标英语学习资源库-好孩子的故事
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第15章 Journalism inTennessee(4)

I said, “Ill have to get you to excuse me, I think maybe I might write to suit you after a while, as soon as I had had some practice and learned the language I am confident I could. But, to speak the plain truth, that sort of energy of expression has its inconveniencesinconvenience n.麻烦, 不方便之处, and a man is liable to interruption.

我说:“我可不得不请您原谅,我想我也许再过些时候,写出稿子来就能合您的意,我只要经过一番练习,学会了这儿的笔调,我相信我是能胜任的。可是说老实话,那种措辞的劲头实在有些欠妥,写起文章来难免引起风波、被人打搅。

You see that yourself. Vigorous writing is calculated to elevateelevate vt.举起, 提拔, 振奋, 提升...的职位 the public, no doubt, but then I do not like to attract so much attention as it calls forth. I cant write with comfort when I am interrupted so much as I have been today. I like this berthberth n.停泊处, 卧铺(口语)职业 v.使停泊 well enough, but I dont like to be left here to wait on the customers. The experiences are novel, I grant you, and entertaining, too, after a fashion, but they are not judiciously distributed. A gentleman shoots at you through the window and cripples me, a bombshellbombshell n.炸弹, 突发而惊人的事物 comes down the stovepipe for your gratification and sends the stove door down my throat, a friend drops in to swap compliments with you, and freckles me with bulletholes till my skin wont hold my principles, you go to dinner, and Jones comes with his cowhide, Gillespie throws me out of the window, Thompson tears all my clothes off, and an entire stranger takes my scalp with the easy freedom of an old acquaintanceacquaintance n.相识, 熟人, and in less than five minutes all the blackguards in the country arrive in their warpaint, and proceed to scare the rest of me to death with their tomahawks. Take it altogether, I never had such a spirited time in all my life as I have had today. No, I like you, and I like your calm unruffled way of explaining things to the customers, but you see I am not used to it. The Southern heart is too impulsive, Southern hospitality is too lavishlavish adj.非常大方的, 过分丰富的, 浪费的vt.浪费, 滥用, 慷慨给予 with the stranger. The paragraphs which I have written today, and into whose cold sentences your masterly hand has infused the fervent spirit of Tennesseean journalism, will wake up another nest of hornetshornet n.大黄蜂类, 难缠的人物. All that mob of editors will come—and they will come hungry, too, and want somebody for breakfast. I shall have to bid you adieu. I decline to be present at these festivities. I came South for my health, I will go back on the same errand, and suddenly. Tennesseean journalism is too stirring for me.”

这您自己也明白。文章写得有力量,当然是能够鼓舞大家的精神,这是不成问题的,可是我究竟不愿意像您这个报纸这样,引起人家这么注意。像今天这样,老是有人打搅,我就不能安心写文章。这个职务我是十分喜欢的,可是我不愿意留在这儿招待您那些客人。我所得的经验是新奇的,确实不错,而且还可以算是别有一番风味,可是今天的事情还是有点不大公道。有一位先生从窗户外面向您开枪,结果倒把我打伤了;一颗炸弹从火炉烟筒里丢进来,本来是给您送礼的,结果却叫炉子的门顺着我的喉咙管溜下去了;一个朋友进来和您彼此问候,结果把我打了个满身枪眼,弄得我的皮包不住身子;您出去吃饭,琼斯就来拿皮鞭子揍了我一顿,吉尔斯配把我摔到窗户外面去,汤普生把我的衣服全都撕掉了,还有一个完全陌生的人把我的头皮剥掉了,他简直干得自由自在,就像个老朋友似的;还不到五分钟的工夫,这一带地方所有的坏蛋都涂着鬼脸来了,他们都要拿战斧把我吓得灵魂出窍。整个儿说,像今天所经过的这么一场热闹,我可是一辈子没有遇到过。不行,我喜欢您,我也喜欢您对客人解释问题那种不动声色的作风,可是您要知道,我简直不习惯这些。南方人的心太容易被感情冲动,南方人款待客人太豪爽了。今天我写的那几段话,写得毫无生气,经您大笔一挥,把田纳西新闻笔调的强烈劲势灌注到里面,又不免惹出一窝马蜂来。那一群乱七八糟的编辑们又要到这儿来——他们还会饿着肚子来,要杀一个人当早餐吃哩!我不得不向您告辞了。叫我来参加这场热闹,我只好敬谢不敏。我到南方来,为的是休养身体,现在我要回去,还是为了同一目的,而且是说走就走。田纳西新闻界的作风太使我兴奋了。”

After which we parted with mutual regret, and I took apartments at the hospital.

我说完这些话之后,我们彼此便歉然地分手了,我就搬到医院去,在病房里住下来。