《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter II》第4节
“I can’t complain,” answered Wilson unconvincingly. “When are you going to sell me that car?” “Next week; I’ve got my man working on it now.” “Works pretty slow, don’t he?” “No, he doesn’t,” said Tom coldly. “And if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all.” “I don’t mean that,” explained Wilson quickly. “I just meant—” His voice faded off and Tom glanced impatiently around the garage. Then I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crêpe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice: “Get some chairs, why don’t you, so somebody can sit down.”
注释摘要
威尔逊的这句“I can't complain”是英文里一个再普通不过的客套话，意思大致是“还行吧”“没什么可抱怨的”，但叙述者立刻用“unconvincingly”这个副词捅破了它——他说得毫无说服力。这是尼克惯用的手法：先让一个人物开口，然后用一个词把他的话掀翻。下一句威尔逊就直接切入了正题：“你什么时候把那辆车卖给我？”他真正关心的压根儿不是寒暄，而…