月亮和六便士 第四十七章(8)

 In the bar in which Strickland and Nichols sat a mechanical piano was loudly grinding out dance music. 在思特里克兰德和尼柯尔斯坐的酒吧间里摆着一架自动钢琴，机械地演奏着喧噪聒耳的舞曲。

Round the room people were sitting at table, here half a dozen sailors uproariously drunk, there a group of soldiers; 屋子四周人们围坐在小桌旁边，这边六七个水手已经喝得半醉，吵吵嚷嚷，那边坐着的是一群士兵。

and in the middle, crowded together, couples were dancing. 屋子中央人们正一对对地挤在一起跳舞。

Bearded sailors with brown faces and large horny hands clasped their partners in a tight embrace. 留着大胡子、面色黝黑的水手用粗硬的大手使劲搂着自己的舞伴。

The women wore nothing but a shift. 女人们身上只穿着内衫。

Now and then two sailors would get up and dance together. The noise was deafening². 不时地也有两个水手站起来互相搂着跳舞。喧闹的声音震耳欲聋。

People were singing, shouting, laughing; and when a man gave a long kiss to the girl sitting on his knees, cat-calls from the English sailors increased the din¹. 没有一个人不在喝，不在叫，不在高声大笑；当一个人使劲吻了一下坐在他膝头上的女人时，英国的水手中就有人嘘叫，更增加了屋子的嘈杂。

The air was heavy with the dust beaten up by the heavy boots of the men, and gray with smoke. It was very hot. 男人们的大靴子扬起的尘土和口里喷出的烟雾弄得屋子乌烟瘴气。空气又闷又热。

Behind the bar was seated a woman nursing her baby. 卖酒的柜台后面坐着一个女人在给孩子喂奶。

The waiter, an undersized youth with a flat, spotty face, hurried to and fro carrying a tray laden³ with glasses of beer. 一个身材矮小、生着一张长满雀斑的扁脸年轻侍者，托着摆满啤酒杯子的托盘不住脚地走来走去。

In a little while Tough Bill, accompanied by two huge negroes, came in, and it was easy to see that he was already three parts drunk. 过了不大一会儿工夫，硬汉子彼尔在两个高大黑人的陪同下走了进来。一眼就可以看出，他已经有七八分醉意了。

He was looking for trouble. 他正在故意寻衅闹事。

He lurched against a table at which three soldiers were sitting and knocked over a glass of beer. 一进门彼尔就东倒西歪地撞在一张台子上，把一杯啤酒打翻了。

There was an angry altercation⁴, and the owner of the bar stepped forward and ordered Tough Bill to go. 坐在这张桌子边上的是三个士兵，双方马上争吵起来。酒吧间老板走出来，叫硬汉子彼尔走出去。

He was a hefty fellow, in the habit of standing⁵ no nonsense from his customers, and Tough Bill hesitated. 老板脾气暴烈，从来不容顾客在他的酒馆闹事。硬汉子彼尔气焰有些收敛，

The landlord was not a man he cared to tackle, for the police were on his side, and with an oath he turned on his heel. 他不太敢同酒吧间老板冲突，因为老板有警察作后盾。彼尔骂了一句，掉转了身躯。

Suddenly he caught sight of Strickland. 忽然，他一眼看见了思特里克兰德。

He rolled up to him. He did not speak. He gathered the spittle in his mouth and spat⁶ full in Strickland's face. 他摇摇晃晃地走到思特里克兰德前边，一句话不说，嘬了一口唾沫，直啐到思特里克兰德脸上。

Strickland seized his glass and flung it at him. 思特里克兰德抄起酒杯，向他扔去。

The dancers stopped suddenly still. 跳舞的人都停了下来。

There was an instant of complete silence, 有那么一分钟，整个酒吧间变得非常安静，一点声音也没有。

but when Tough Bill threw himself on Strickland the lust⁷ of battle seized them all, and in a moment there was a confused scrimmage. 但是等硬汉子彼尔扑到思特里克兰德身上的时候，所有的人的斗志都变得激昂起来。刹那间，酒吧间开始了一场混战。

Tables were overturned, glasses crashed to the ground. There was a hellish row. 啤酒台子打翻了，玻璃杯在地上摔得粉碎。双方厮打得越来越厉害。

The women scattered⁸ to the door and behind the bar. Passers-by surged in from the street. 女人们躲到门边和柜台后面去，过路的行人从街头涌进来。

You heard curses in every tongue the sound of blows, cries; and in the middle of the room a dozen men were fighting with all their might. 只听见到处一片咒骂声、拳击声、喊叫声，屋子中间，一打左右的人打得难解难分。

On a sudden the police rushed in, and everyone who could made for the door. 突然间，警察冲了进来，所有的人都争先恐后地往门外窜。

When the bar was more or less cleared, Tough Bill was lying insensible on the floor with a great gash⁹ in his head. 当酒吧间里多少清静下来以后，只见硬汉子彼尔人事不醒地躺在地上，头上裂了个大口子。

Captain Nichols dragged Strickland, bleeding from a wound in his arm, his clothes in rags, into the street. 尼柯尔斯船长拽着思特里克兰德逃到外面街上，思特里克兰德的胳臂淌着血，衣服撕得一条一条的。

His own face was covered with blood from a blow on the nose. 尼柯尔斯船长也是满脸血污；他的鼻子挨了一拳。

1 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

2 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

3 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

4 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

7 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 gash   

v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep gash in his arm would take weeks to heal over.他胳膊上的割伤很深，需要几个星期的时间才能痊愈。
• After the collision,the body of the ship had a big gash.船被撞后，船身裂开了一个大口子。