Tramcar

Question 1

开电车的人开电车。在大太阳底下，电车轨道像两条光莹莹的，水里

钻出来的曲蟮，抽长了，又缩短了；抽长了，又缩短了，就这么样往前移——柔滑的，老长老长的曲蟮，没有完，没有完……

Answer 1

The tramcar driver drove his tram. The tramcar tracks, in the blazing sun, shimmered like two shiny eels crawling out of the water,- they stretched and shrank, stretched and shrank, on their onward way—soft and slippery, long old eels, never ending, never ending . . .

Question 2

开电车的人眼睛盯住
了这两条蠕蠕的车轨，然而他不发疯。
如果不碰到封锁，电车的进行是永远不会断的。封锁了。

Answer 2

the driver fixed his eyes on the undulating tracks, and didn’t go mad. If there hadn’t been an air raid, if the city hadn’t been sealed, the tramcar would have gone on forever. The city was sealed.

Question 3

摇铃了。“叮玲玲玲玲玲，”每一个“玲”字是冷冷的一小点，一点

一点连成了一条虚线，切断了时间与空间。

Answer 3

The alarm-bell rang. Ding— ding-ding—ding. Every ”ding” was a cold little dot, the dots all adding up to a dotted line, cutting across time and space.

Question 4

电车停了，马路上的人却开始奔跑，在街的左面的人们奔到街的右面，
在右面的人们奔到左面。商店一律地沙啦啦拉上铁门。女太太们发狂一般
扯动铁栅栏，

Answer 4

The tramcar ground to a halt, but the people on the street ran: those on the left side of the street ran over to the right, and those on the right ran over to the left. All the shops, in a single sweep, rattled down their metal gates. Matrons tugged madly at the railings.

Question 5

“让我们进来一会儿！我这儿有孩子哪，有年纪大的
人！”然而门还是关得紧腾腾的。铁门里的人和铁门外的人眼睁睁对看着，
互相惧怕着。

Answer 5

”Let us in for just a while,” they cried. ”We have children here, and old people!” But the gates stayed tightly shut. Those inside the metal gates and those outside the metal gates stood glaring at each other, fearing one another.

Question 6

电车里的人相当镇静。他们有座位可坐，虽然设备简陋一点，和多数乘客的家里的情形比较起来，还是略胜一筹。街上渐渐地也安静下来，并不是绝对的寂静，

Answer 6

Inside the tram, people were fairly quiet. They had somewhere to sit, and though the place was rather plain, it still was better, for most of them, than what they had at home. Gradually, the street also grew quiet: not that it was a complete silence,

Question 7

但是人声逐渐渺茫，像睡梦里所听到的芦花枕头里的赶

咐。这庞大的城市在阳光里盹着了，重重地把头搁在人们的肩上，口涎顺着人们的衣服缓缓流下去，不能想象的巨大的重量压住了每一个人。

Answer 7

but the sound of voices eased into a confused blur, like the soft rustle of a straw-stuffed pillow, heard in a dream. The huge, shambling city sat dozing in the sun, its head resting heavily on people’s shoulders, its spittle slowly dripping down their shirts, an inconceivably enormous weight pressing down on everyone.

Question 8

上海似乎从来没有这么静过——大白天里！

Answer 8

Never before, it seemed, had Shanghai been this quiet—and in the middle of the day!

Question 9

一个乞丐趁着鸦雀无声的

时候，提高了喉咙唱将起来：“阿有老爷太太先生小姐做做好事救救我可怜人哇？阿有老爷太太……”然而他不久就停了下来，被这不经见的沉寂吓噤住了

Answer 9

A beggar, taking advantage of the breathless, birdless quiet, lifted up his voice and began to chant: ”Good master, good lady, kind sir, kind ma’am, won’t’you give alms to this poor man? Good master, good lady . . .” But after a short while he stopped, scared silent by the eerie quiet.

Question 10

还有一个较有勇气的山东乞丐，毅然打破了这静默。他的嗓子浑圆嘹亮：“可怜啊可怜！一个人啊没钱！”悠久的歌，从一个世纪唱到下一个世纪。音乐性的节奏传染上了开电车的。开电车的也是山东人。他长长地叹了一口气，抱着胳膊，向车门上一靠，跟着唱了起来：“可怜啊可怜！
一个人啊没钱！”

Answer 10

Then there was a braver beggar, a man from Shandong, who firmly broke the silence. His voice was round and resonant: ”Sad, sad, sad! No money do I have!” An old, old song, sung from one century to the next. The tram driver, who also was from Shandong, succumbed to the sonorous tune. Heaving a long sigh, he folded his arms across his chest, leaned against the tram door, and joined in: ”Sad, sad, sad! No money do I have!”

Question 11

电车里，一部分的乘客下去了。剩下的一群中，零零落落也有人说句把话。靠近门口的几个公事房里回来的人继续谈讲下去。一个人撒喇一声抖开了扇子，下了结论道：“总而言之，他别的毛病没有，就吃亏在不会做人。”另一个鼻子里哼了一声，冷笑道：“说他不会做人，他把上头敷衍得挺好的呢！”

Answer 11

Some of the tram passengers got out. But there was still a little loose, scattered chatter; near the door, a group of office workers was discussing something. One of them, with a quick, ripping sound, shook his fan open and offered his conclusion: ”Well, in the end, there’s nothing wrong with him—- it’s just that he doesn’t know how to act.” From another nose came a short grunt, followed by a cold smile: ”Doesn’t know how to act? He sure knows how to toady up to the bosses !”

Question 12

一对长得颇像兄妹的中年夫妇把手吊在皮圈上，双双站在电车的正中，

她突然叫道：“当心别把裤子弄脏了！”他吃了一惊，抬起他的手，手里拎着一包熏鱼。他小心翼翼使那油汪汪的纸口袋与他的西装裤子维持二寸远的距离。他太太兀自絮叨道：“现在干洗是什么价钱？做一条裤子是什么价钱？”

Answer 12

A middle-aged couple who looked very much like brother and sister stood together in the middle of the tram, holding onto the leather straps. ”Care- ful!” the woman suddenly yelped. ”Don’t get your trousers dirty!” The man flinched, then slowly raised the hand from which a packet of smoked fish dangled. Very cautiously, very gingerly, he held the paper packet, which was brimming with oil, several inches away from his suit pants. His wife did not let up. ”Do you know what dry—cleaning costs these days? Or what it costs to get a pair of trousers made?”

Question 13

坐在角落里的吕宗桢，华茂银行的会计师，看见了那熏鱼，就联想到

他夫人托他在银行附近一家面食摊子上买的菠菜包子。女人就是这样！弯弯扭扭最难找的小胡同里买来的包子必定是价廉物美的！

Answer 13

Lu Zongzhen, accountant for Huamao Bank, was sitting in the corner. When he saw the smoked fish, he was reminded of the steamed dumplings stuffed with spinach that his wife had asked him to buy at a noodle stand near the bank. Women are always like that. Dumplings bought in the hardest-to- find, most twisty—windy little alleys had to be the best, no matter what.

Question 14

她一点也不为他

着想——一个齐齐整整穿着西装戴着玳瑁边眼镜提着公事皮包的人，抱着报纸里的热腾腾的包子满街跑，实在是不像话！然而无论如何，假使这封锁延长下去，耽误了他的晚饭，至少这包子可以派用场。他看了看手表，才四点半。该是心理作用罢？他已经觉得饿了

Answer 14

She didn’t for a moment think of how it would be for him—neatly dressed in suit and tie, with tortoiseshell eyeglasses and a leather briefcase, then, tucked under his arm, these steaming hot dumplings wrapped in newspaper—how ludicrous! Still, if the city were sealed for a long time, so that his dinner was delayed, then he could at least make do with the dumplings. He glanced at his watch,- only four-thirty. Must be the power of sugges- tion. He felt hungry already.

Question 15

他轻轻揭开报纸的一角，
向里面张了一张。一个个雪白的，喷出淡淡的麻油气味。一部分的报纸粘
住了包子，他谨慎地把报纸撕了下来，包子上印了铅字，字都是反的，像
镜子里映出来的，然而他有这耐心，低下头去逐个认了出来：
 案几妗…申请……华股动态……隆重登场候教……”

Answer 15

Carefully pulling back a corner of the paper, he took a look inside. Snowy white mounds, breathing soft little whiffs of sesame oil. A piece of newspaper had stuck to the dumplings, and he gravely peeled it off; the ink was printed on the dumplings, with all the writing in reverse, as though it were reflected in a mirror. He. peered down and slowly picked the words out: ”Obituaries . . . Positions Wanted . . . Stock Market..Developments . . . Now Playing . . .”

Question 16

都是得用的字眼儿，不知道为什么转载到包子上，就带点开玩笑性质。也许因为“吃”是太严重的一件事了，相形之下，其他的一切都成了笑话。吕宗桢看着也觉得不顺眼，可是他并没有笑，他是一个老实人。他从包子上的文章看到报上的文章，把半页旧报纸读完了，若是翻过来看，包子就得跌出来，只得罢了。他在这里看报，全车的人都学了样，有报的看报，没有报的看发票，看章程，看名片。任何印刷物都没有的人，就看街上的市招。他们不能不
填满这可怕的空虚——不然，他们的脑子也许会活动起来。思想是痛苦的一件事

Answer 16

Normal, useful phrases, but they did look a bit odd on a dumpling. Maybe because eating is such serious business; compared to it, everything else is just a joke. Lu Zongzhen thought it looked funny, but he didn’t laugh: he was a very straightforward kind of fellow. After reading the dumplings, he read the newspaper, but when he’d finished half a page of old news, he found that if he turned the page all the dumplings would fall out, and so he had to stop. While Lu read the paper, others in the tram did likewise. People who had newspapers read them; those without newspapers read receipts, or lists of rules and regulations, or business cards. People who were stuck without a single scrap of printed matter read shop signs along the street. They simply had to fill this terrifying emptiness—otherwise, their brains might start to work. Thinking is a painful business.

Question 17

只有吕宗桢对面坐着的一个老头子，手心里骨碌碌骨碌碌搓着两只油光水滑的核桃，有板有眼的小动作代替了思想。
他剃着光头，红黄皮色，满脸浮油，打着皱，整个的头像一个核桃。
他的脑子就像核桃仁，甜的，滋润的，可是没有多大意思。

Answer 17

Sitting across from Lu Zongzhen was an old man who, with a dull clacking sound, rolled two slippery, glossy walnuts in his palm: a rhythmic little gesture can substitute for thought. The old man had a clean-shaven pate, a reddish yellow complexion, and an oily sheen on his face. When his brows were furrowed, his head looked like a walnut. The thoughts inside were walnut—flavored: smooth and sweet, but in the end, empty-tasting.

Question 18

老头子右首坐着吴翠远，看上去像一个教会派的少奶奶，但是还没有结婚。她穿着一件白洋纱旗袍，滚一道窄窄的蓝边——深蓝与白，很有点讣闻的风味。她携着一把蓝白格子小遮阳伞。头发梳成千篇一律的式样，唯恐唤起公众的注意。
然而她实在没有过分触目的危险。她长得不难看，可是她那种美是一种模棱两可的，仿佛怕得罪了谁的美，脸上一切都是淡淡的，松弛的，没有轮廓。连她自己的母亲也形容不出她是长脸还是圆脸。

Answer 18

To the old man’s right sat Wu’ Cuiyuan, who looked like one of those young Christian wives, though she was still unmarried. Her Chinese gown of white cotton was trimmed with a narrow blue border—the navy blue around the white reminded one of the black borders around an obituary and she carried a little blue-and-white checked parasol. Her hairstyle was utterly banal, so as not to attract attention. Actually, she hadn’t much reason to fear. She wasn’t bad-looking, but hers was an uncertain, unfocused beauty, an afraid-she—had—offended-someone kind of beauty. Her face was bland, slack, lacking definition. Even her own mother couldn’t say for certain whether her face was long or round.

Question 19

在家里她是一个好女儿，在学校里她是一个好学生。大学毕了业后，翠远就在母校服务，担任英文助教。她现在打算利用封锁的时间改改卷子。翻开了第一篇，是一个男生做的，大声疾呼抨击都市的罪恶，充满了正义感的愤怒，用不很合文法的，吃吃艾艾的句子，骂着“红嘴唇的卖淫妇…… 大世界……下等舞场与酒吧间“。翠远略略沉吟了一会，就找出红铅笔来批了一个”Ａ“字。

Answer 19

At home she was a good daughter, at school she was a good student. After graduating from college, Cuiyuan had become an English instructor at her alma mater. Now, stuck in the air raid, she decided to grade a few papers while she waited. The first one was written by a male student. It railed against the evils of the big city, full of righteous anger, the prose stiff, choppy, un’grammatical. ”Painted prostitutes . . . cruising the Cosmo . . . low-class bars and dancing-halls.” Cuiyuan paused for a moment, then pulled out her red pencil and gave the paper an ”A.”

Question 20

若在平时，批了也就批了，可是今天她有太多的

考虑的时间，她不由地要质问自己，为什么她给了他这么好的分数：不问倒也罢了，一问，她竟涨红了脸。她突然明白了：因为这学生是胆敢这么毫无顾忌地对她说这些话的唯一的一个男子。 他拿她当做一个见多识广的人看待；他拿她当做一个男人，一个心腹。

Answer 20

Ordinarily, she would have gone right on to the next one, but now, because she had too much time to think, she couldn’t help wondering why she had given this student such a high mark. If she hadn’t asked herself this question, she could have ignored the whole matter, but once she did ask, her face suffused with red. Suddenly, she understood: it was because this student was the only man who fearlessly and forthrightly said such things to her. He treated her like an intelligent, sophisticated person; as if she were a man, someone who really understood.

Question 21

他看得起她。翠远在学校里老是觉得谁都看不起她——从校长起，教授、学生、校役……学生们尤其愤慨得厉害：“申大越来越糟了！一天不如一天！用中国人教英文，照说，已经是不应当，何况是没有出过洋的中国人！”翠远在学校里受气，在家里也受气。吴家是一个新式的，带着宗教背景的模范家庭。家里竭力鼓励女儿用功读书，一步一步往上爬，爬到了顶儿尖儿上——一个二十来岁的女孩子在大学里教书！

Answer 21

He respected her. Cuiyuan always felt that no one at school respected her—from the president on down to the professors, the students, even the janitors. The students’ grumbling was especially hard to take: ”This place is really falling apart. Getting worse every day. It’s bad enough having to learn English from a Chinese, but then to learn it from a Chinese who’s never gone abroad . . .” Cuiyuan took abuse at school, took abuse at home. The Wu household was a modern, model household, devout and serious. The family had pushed their daughter to study hard, to climb upwards step by step, right to the tip—top . . . A girl in her twenties teaching at a university!

Question 22

打破了女子职业的新纪录。然而家长渐渐对她失掉了兴趣，宁愿她当初在书本上马虎一点，匀出点时间来找一个有钱的女婿。

她是一个好女儿，好学生。她家里都是好人，天天洗澡，看报，听无线电向来不听申曲滑稽京戏什么的，而专听贝多芬瓦格涅的交响乐，听不懂也要听。世界上的好人比真人多……翠远不快乐。

Answer 22

A girl in her twenties teaching at a university! It set a record for women’s professional achievement. But her parents’ enthusiasm began to wear thin and now they wished she hadn’t been quite so serious, wished she’d taken more time out from her studies, tried to find herself a rich husband. She was a good daughter, a good student. All the people in her family were good people; they took baths every day and read the newspaper; when they listened to the wireless, they never tuned into local folk—opera, comic opera, that sort of thing, but listened only to the symphonies of Beethoven and Wagner; they didn’t understand what they were listening to, but still they listened. In this world, there are more good people than real people.