unit7thechaser课文翻译综合教程三

Unit 7

The Chaser

John Henry Collier

1 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 door, 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

the

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 “My dear sir,” replied the old man, “my stock in trade is not very large

—

I

don’t

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,”

interrupted

the

old

man,

reaching

for

a

bottle

f

rom

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

horrified.

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 know 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 apprehen

sively.

13 “Oh dear, no,” said the old man. “It would be no good charging that sort

of price for a love potion, 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 needs 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 position to oblige that one can afford to be so con

fidential. “

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, i

nsistently. 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 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 bu

t solitude and you.”

24 “I can hardly believe it,” said Alan. “She is so fond of parties.”

25

“She will not like 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 doesn’t care about it.”

29 “She will, when she has taken this. 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 are 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 caught 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, in 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,

the 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 indulge 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 can’t tell you how grateful I am,” said Alan, watching 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，< /p>

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