unit7thechaser课文翻译综合教程三

Unit7TheChaserJohnHenryCollierAlanAusten,asnervousasakitten,wentupcertaindarkandcreakystairsintheneighborhoodofPellStreet,andpeeredaboutforalongtimeonthedimhallwaybeforehefoundthenamehewantedwrittenobscurelyononeofthedoors.Hepushedopenthisdoor,ashehadbeentoldtodo,andfoundhimselfinatinyroom,whichcontainednofurniturebutaplainkitchentable,arocking-chair,andanordinarychair.Ononeofthedirtybuff-colouredwallswereacoupleofshelves,containinginallperhapsadozenbottlesandjars.Anoldmansatintherocking-chair,readinganewspaper.Alan,withoutaword,handedhimthecardhehadbeengiven.“Sitdown,Mr.Austen,”saidtheoldmanverypolitely.“Iamgladtomakeyouracquaintance.”“Isittrue,”askedAlan,“thatyouhaveacertainmixturethathas…er…quiteextraordinaryeffects”“Mydearsir,”repliedtheoldman,“mystockintradeisnotverylarge—Idon'tdealinlaxativesandteethingmixtures—butsuchasitis,itisvaried.IthinknothingIsellhaseffectswhichcouldbepreciselydescribedasordinary.”“Well,thefactis…”beganAlan.“Here,forexample,”interruptedtheoldman,reachingforabottlefromtheshelf.“Hereisaliquidascolourlessaswater,almosttasteless,quiteimperceptibleincoffee,wine,oranyotherbeverage.Itisalsoquiteimperceptibletoanyknownmethodofautopsy.”“Doyoumeanitisapoison”criedAlan,verymuchhorrified.“Callitaglove-cleanerifyoulike,”saidtheoldmanindifferently.“Maybeitwillcleangloves.Ihavenevertried.Onemightcallitalife-cleaner.Livesneedcleaningsometimes.”“Iwantnothingofthatsort,”saidAlan.“Probablyitisjustaswell,”saidtheoldman.“DoyouknowthepriceofthisForoneteaspoonful,whichissufficient,Iaskfivethousanddollars.Neverless.Notapennyless.”“Ihopeallyourmixturesarenotasexpensive,”saidAlanapprehseinvely.“Ohdear,no,”saidtheoldman.“Itwouldbenogoodchargingthatsortofpriceforalovepotion,forexample.Youngpeoplewhoneedalovepotionveryseldomhavefivethousanddollars.Otherwisetheywouldnotneedalovepotion.”14“Iamgladtohearthat,”saidAlan.“Ilookatitlikethis,”saidtheoldman.“Pleaseacustomerwithonearticle,andhewillcomebackwhenheneedsanother.Evenifitismorecostly.Hewillsaveupforit,ifnecessary.”“So,”saidAlan,“youreallydoselllovepotions”“IfIdidnotselllovepotions,”saidtheoldman,reachingforanotherbottle,“Ishouldnothavementionedtheothermattertoyou.Itisonlywhenoneisinapositiontoobligethatonecanaffordtobesoconfidential.““Andthesepotions,”saidAlan.“Theyarenotjust…just…er…”“Oh,no,”saidtheoldman.“Theireffectsarepermanent,andextendfarbeyondthemerecasualimpulse.Buttheyincludeit.Oh,yestheyincludeit.Bountifully,insistently.Everlastingly.”“Dearme!”saidAlan,attemptingalookofscientificdetachment.“Howveryinteresting!”“Butconsiderthespiritualside,”saidtheoldman.“Ido,indeed,”saidAlan.“Forindifference,”saidtheoldman,“theysubstitutedevotion.Forscorn,adoration.Giveonetinymeasureofthistotheyounglady—itsflavourisimperceptibleinorangejuice,soup,orcocktails—andhowevergayandgiddysheis,shewillchangealtogether.Shewillwantnothingbutsolitudeandyou.”24“Icanhardlybelieveit,”saidAlan.“Sheissofondofparties.”“Shewillnotlikethemanymore,”saidtheoldman.“Shewillbeafraidoftheprettygirlsyoumaymeet.”“Shewillactuallybejealous”criedAlaninarapture.“Ofme”“Yes,shewillwanttobeeverythingtoyou.”“Sheis,already.Onlyshedoesn'tcareaboutit.”“Shewill,whenshehastakenthis.Shewillcareintensely.Youwillbehersoleinterestinlife.”“Wonderful!”criedAlan.“Shewillwanttoknowallyoudo,”saidtheoldman.“Allthathashappenedtoyouduringtheday.Everywordofit.Shewillwanttoknowwhatyouarethinkingabout,whyyousmilesuddenly,whyyouarelookingsad.”32Thatislove!”criedAlan.32“Yes,”saidtheoldman.“Howcarefullyshewilllookafteryou!Shewillneverallowyoutobetired,tositinadraught,toneglectyourfood.Ifyouareanhourlate,shewillbeterrified.Shewillthinkyouarekilled,orthatsomesirenhascaughtyou.”“IcanhardlyimagineDianalikethat!”criedAlan,overwhelmedwithjoy.“Youwillnothavetouseyourimagination,”saidtheoldman.“And,bytheway,sincetherearealwayssirens,ifbyanychanceyoushould,lateron,slipalittle,youneednotworry.Shewillforgiveyou,intheend.Shewillbeterriblyhurt,ofcourse,butshewillforgiveyou—intheend.”“Thatwillnothappen,”saidAlanfervently.“Ofcoursenot,”saidtheoldman.“But,ifitdid,youneednotworry.Shewouldneverdivorceyou.Oh,no!And,ofcourse,shewillnevergiveyoutheleast,theveryleast,groundsfor—uneasiness.”“Andhowmuch,”saidAlan,“isthiswonderfulmixture”“Itisnotasdear,”saidtheoldman,“astheglove-cleaner,orlife-cleaner,asIsometimescallit.No.Thatisfivethousanddollars,neverapennyless.Onehastobeolderthanyouare,toindulgeinthatsortofthing.Onehastosaveupforit.”“Butthelovepotion”saidAlan.“Oh,that,”saidtheoldman,openingthedrawerinthekitchentable,andtakingoutatiny,ratherdirty-lookingphial.“Thatisjustadollar.”42UI5“Ican'ttellyouhowgratefulIam,”saidAlan,watchinghimfilit.43“Iliketooblige,”saidtheoldman.“Thencustomerscomeback,laterinlife,whentheyarebetteroff,andwantmoreexpensivethings.Hereyouare.Youwillfinditveryeffective.”44“Thankyouagain,”saidAlan“Good-bye.”45“Aurevoir,”saidtheman.解酒水艾伦•奥斯丁，紧张得像只小猫，心里七上八下、忐忑不安的进了裴尔街区的一个楼道，黑乎乎的楼梯咯吱咯吱直响。他在昏暗的平台上停了下来，仔细张望了许久，才看到了那扇门，门上那个模糊不清的名字正是他要找的。按别人说的，他推开了门，门里面是一间很小的屋子，屋里几乎没什么家具，除了一张餐桌，一把摇椅，还有一把普普通通的椅子。一面脏乎乎的暗黄色的墙上搁着两个架子，架子上陈列着十几个瓶瓶罐罐。一位老人正坐在摇椅上，看着报纸。艾伦一言不发把别人给的那张卡片递给了老人。“请坐，艾伦先生，”老人礼貌地说。“很高兴认识你。”“是真的吗”艾伦问，“你真有那种药吗，有--嗯—很神奇效果的哪种药吗”“我亲爱的先生，”老人回答到，“我这儿的货不是很多—泻药、长牙药我可没有—不过，我的东西虽不多，品种可也不少。而且我的这些药，它的药效，严格来说，可没一样可以说是普普通通的。”“嗯，实际上……•”艾伦开口说。“像这一瓶，”老人打断艾伦，指着架子上的一瓶药水说，“这瓶药水跟水一样没颜色，也几乎没有味道，掺在水，葡萄酒，或者其它饮料中很难被察觉。就算是进行尸体解剖，就现在所知的方法来说，要发现也很难。”“你的意思，它是毒药吗”艾伦惊恐的喊道。“你要是愿意，称它手套清除剂也可，”老人漠然回答，“也许它可以清除掉手套，我没试过。或者称它生命清除剂也未尝不可，生命有时也需要清除，人类才能得以净化。”“这东西我可一点都不想要，”艾伦说。“不要更好，”老人说，“你可知道这东西的价格一茶匙的量，也够用了，我卖五千美元，绝对不能少，一分也不能少。”“你的药不会都这么贵吧，”艾伦忧心忡忡。“噢，亲爱的，不全这么贵，”老人说，“像这爱情水，如果我开这么个价，那可不是个好标价。买爱情水的年轻人很少有五千美元的，要不，他们也不会需要爱情水了。”“听起来真是让人高兴，”艾伦说。“我这么想来着，”老人说，“要是一样东西让顾客满意了，当他需要其它东西时，就会再回来，即便是更贵的货物，只要是有必要，省吃俭用他也会凑足了钱来买的。”“那，”艾伦说，“你真有爱情水卖”“没爱情水，”老人说，“我会跟你罗嗦那些吗。一个人要是没点能耐，别人怎会这么信任他。”“那这些药水，”艾伦说，“他们不会只是--只是—嗯—”“哦，不会，”老人说，“药效会持久存在，服了这药水，他的爱情之水将会绵绵不断如滔滔江水，偶尔心头掠过的那爱的小浪花，只会是那其中的沧海一粟，当然这种偶尔的爱的浪花自然也有，哦，是，当然包括在内。但他们会源源不断，持之以恒，经久不衰的。”“哦，天哪！”艾伦说，竭力摆出一副置身之外的神态，“那真太有趣了！”“你再想想精神方面！”老人说。“好，我会。“艾伦说。“她对你不会再漠不关心，”老人说，“却是忠心耿耿。也不会再吹毛求疵而是柔情蜜意。年轻的姑娘只要吃过这么一小点儿爱情水---掺在橙汁、汤汁或是鸡尾酒中，丝毫闻不出味道---不管她之前多会寻欢作乐，吃过后，就会像变了个人似的。什么都不会想，什么都不会要，只会想一个人跟你呆着。”“真让人难以相信，”艾伦说，“她可喜欢呼朋唤友了。”“以后她不会喜欢了，”老人说，“她会担心，你在聚会上会碰到漂亮姑娘。”“她真会嫉妒吗”艾伦欣喜若狂，“会为我吗”“会的，她会希望，对于你来说，她就是你的一切。”“她已经是我的一切了，早就是了，只是她不在乎而已。”“服了爱情水后，她会在乎的你，会非非常常在乎你的。你将会是她生命中唯一的乐趣。”“太棒了！”艾伦叫道。“她会想知道