吹小号的天鹅 第75期:费城(4)

 He saw a man leaning on the wide railing in front of the Bird House.

他看到一个倚在鸟屋前的宽栅栏旁的男人。

The man was dressed in a purple suit and wore a Tyrolean hat.

这个男人穿着一套紫色的西装，戴着一顶蒂罗尔式的帽子。

His face looked shrewd and wise, as though he knew a great many things, many of them not worth knowing.

他的脸显得精明而又睿智，好象他知道相当多的事情，其中的不少都是别人不屑于去了解的事情一样。

"That must be Abe "Lucky" Lucas," thought Louis.

“那人一定就是阿贝·'幸运'·卢卡斯了，”路易斯想。

He swam quickly over. "Ko-hoh!" he said, through his trumpet¹.

他飞快地游了过去。“吭—嗬！”他通过他的小号说。

"My pleasure," replied Mr. Lucas. "You are right on time. The splashdown was sensational².

“很高兴见到你，”卢卡斯先生回答，“你来的很准时。降落的效果也很有震撼力。

Welcome to the Philadelphia Zoo, which crawls with rare mammals, birds, reptiles³, amphibians⁴, and fishes,

欢迎到费城动物园来，这里到处都是珍稀的哺乳动物，鸟类，爬行动物，两栖动物，鱼类，

including sharks, rays, and other fishlike vertebrates.

包括鲨鱼，鳐鱼，还有其他的和鱼类似的脊椎动物。

吹小号的天鹅

Watch out for wild animals--this place is replete⁵ with them:

要当心那些野兽--这地方也是它们的天下：

snakes, zebras, monkeys, elephants, lions, tigers, wolves, foxes, bears, hippos, rhinos⁶, woodchucks, skunks⁷, hawks⁸, and owls⁹.

有蛇，斑马，猴子，大象，狮子，老虎，狼，狐狸，熊，河马，犀牛，土拨鼠，臭鼬，鹰，还有猫头鹰。

I seldom come here; my work confines me to the throbbing¹⁰ heart of the city, among the money changers.

我很少到这里来；我的工作已经把我限定在跳动着的城市心脏内，在钱商之间了。

I am under great pressure from my work. How was your trip from Boston?"

我一直活在工作的强大压力之下。你从波士顿来这儿的路上如何？”

"Smooth," wrote Louis on his slate¹¹. "I made good time. What about my job?"

“很顺利，”路易斯在他的石板上写，“一切都好。我的工作是什么？”

"A happy question," replied Mr. Lucas. "The job will start on October fifteenth. The contract has been finalized¹².

“这是个叫人开心的问题，”卢卡斯先生回答，“这个工作将从十月十五号开始。合约已经订好了。

Your place of employment is a nightclub of great renown¹³, across the river

你的工作地方是一家非常有名的夜总会，就在河对面

a place of high fashion and low prices, a jumpy joint¹⁴.

一个相当时髦的收费低廉的地方，一个令人心跳的场所。

You will be called upon to make appearances each evening except Sunday, and play your trumpet for the happy customers.

你将在每天晚上为快乐的客人们吹奏小号，除了星期日以外。

Once in a while you can join a jazz group: "Louis the Swan on trumpet."

有时你可以去参加一个爵士乐团：'吹小号的天鹅路易斯'。

The pay is very good. My spirits are lifted by thinking about the pay.

报酬是很丰厚的，一想到报酬我的情绪就上来了。

Wealth and happiness are around the corner for Louis the Swan and Lucky Lucas, the great of heart.

财富和幸福都在天鹅路易斯和好心肠的幸运卢卡斯身边转悠着呢。

My agent's fee is ten percent, a mere¹⁵ bagatelle¹⁶."

我的佣金才百分之十，简直是小菜儿一碟。”

"How do I get to the nightclub?" asked Louis, who only understood about half of what Mr. Lucas was saying.

“我怎么去夜总会呢？”对卢卡斯先生的话只听懂了一半的路易斯问。

"In a taxicab," replied Mr. Lucas.

“坐出租车，”卢卡斯先生回答，

"Be at the North Entrance of the Zoo, Girard Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street,

“在动物园北门，吉拉德街⑾和第三十四街之间，

at nine o'clock on the evening of October fifteenth, a night that will live in memory.

从十月十五号晚上九点起，一个夜晚将活在你的记忆深处了。

A cab will await your pleasure and will transport you to the club. The driver is a friend of mine.

一辆出租车将在那里听候你的差遣，把你送到夜总会去。司机是我的一个老朋友。

He, too, is under pressure from his work."

他也活在工作的重压之下。”

"Who's going to pay for the cab?" asked Louis on his slate.

“谁来付出租车费呢？”路易斯在他的石板上问。

"I am," replied Mr. Lucas. "Lucky Lucas, the generous of heart, pays for the cab for Louis the Swan.

“我，”卢卡斯先生回答，“幸运卢卡斯，那个有着一副慷慨心肠的人，将为天鹅路易斯付出租车费。

And by the way, I see that you are wearing a moneybag and that it is plump with moola.

顺便说一句，我看你带了一个票子装得鼓鼓的钱袋子。

I suggest, from the kindness of my great heart,

我建议，这是出自我那伟大的好心，

that you turn this moneybag over to me for safekeeping during your stay in Philadelphia, a place of many thieves and pickpockets¹⁷."

你在费城逗留期间应该把这个钱袋交我保管，因为这里可是一个盗贼和扒手盛行的地方。”

"No, thank you," wrote Louis. "Will keep moneybag myself."

“不必了，谢谢你，”路易斯写，“我宁愿自己来保管它。”

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

3 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

5 replete   

adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁

参考例句：

• He was replete with food and drink.他吃喝得饱饱的。
• This immense space may be replete with happiness and glory.这巨大的空间可能充满了幸福和光荣。

6 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

7 skunks   

n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 )；臭鼬毛皮；卑鄙的人；可恶的人

参考例句：

• Slim swans and slender skunks swim in the slippery slime. 苗条的天鹅和纤细的臭鼬在滑滑的黏泥上游泳。 来自互联网
• But not all baby skunks are so lucky. -We're coming down. 但不是所有的臭鼬宝宝都会如此幸运。-我们正在下来。 来自互联网

8 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

9 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

10 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

11 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

12 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 renown   

n.声誉，名望

参考例句：

• His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
• She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

15 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

16 bagatelle   

n.琐事；小曲儿

参考例句：

• To him money is a bagatelle.金钱对他来说不算一回事。
• One day, they argued for a bagatelle of their children.一天，夫妻为了孩子的一件小事吵起来。

17 pickpockets   

n.扒手( pickpocket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crowded markets are a happy hunting ground for pickpockets. 拥挤的市场是扒手大展身手的好地方。
• He warned me against pickpockets. 他让我提防小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》