《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter VII》第27节
That unfamiliar yet recognizable look was back again in Gatsby’s face. “That drugstore business was just small change,” continued Tom slowly, “but you’ve got something on now that Walter’s afraid to tell me about.” I glanced at Daisy, who was staring terrified between Gatsby and her husband, and at Jordan, who had begun to balance an invisible but absorbing object on the tip of her chin. Then I turned back to Gatsby—and was startled at his expression. He looked—and this is said in all contempt for the babbled slander of his garden—as if he had “killed a man.” For a moment the set of his face could be described in just that fantastic way. It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room. The voice begged again to go. “Please, Tom! I can’t stand this any more.” Her frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had had, were definitely gone.
注释摘要
尼克在此刻又一次看见了盖茨比脸上“那种既陌生又可辨认的表情”——这是本章第二次出现这个说法。去城里的路上，当汤姆执意要换车时，这种表情已经掠过盖茨比的面孔一次，尼克那时说它仿佛自己只是“在语言中听说过”。现在它回来了，而且更具体。汤姆正在一层层剥开盖茨比的底细：刚才的药店生意只是“零钱”，真正的大买卖沃尔特不敢说出口。这话的威胁性在于它暗示了暴力——不是商…