《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter IV》第4节
All these people came to Gatsby’s house in the summer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At nine o’clock, one morning late in July, Gatsby’s gorgeous car lurched up the rocky drive to my door and gave out a burst of melody from its three-noted horn. It was the first time he had called on me, though I had gone to two of his parties, mounted in his hydroplane, and, at his urgent invitation, made frequent use of his beach. “Good morning, old sport. You’re having lunch with me today and I thought we’d ride up together.” He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work in youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games. This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness. He was never quite still; there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand. He saw me looking with admiration at his car. “It’s pretty, isn’t it, old sport?” He jumped off to give me a better view. “Haven’t you ever seen it before?”
注释摘要
这一节一开头，尼克用一句话干净利落地收束了前面那一长串宾客名单，然后时间突然跳到七月下旬的一个早晨：盖茨比的豪车跌跌撞撞地冲上尼克家门口的石子路，喇叭发出一阵三个音符的旋律。这是盖茨比第一次主动拜访尼克。尼克已经去过他的两场派对，坐过他的水上飞机，还被他再三邀请而频繁使用他家的海滩，但盖茨比亲自登门，这还是头一回。盖茨比开口就叫他“old sport”，说…