Text A Gatsbys Party Excerpt(第1页)
TextAGatsby’sParty(Excerpt)
—fratsby(Chapter3)
F。ScottFitzgerald
[1]IbelievethathtIwenttoGatsby’shouseIwasohefewguestswhohadactuallybeeninvited。PeoplewereheyweheygotintoautomobileswhiouttoLongIsland,aheyeGatsby’sdoor。Oheywereintroduebodywhoksby,aheyductedthemselvesagtotherulesofbehaviorassociatedwithamusementparks。Sometimestheydwentwithouthavisbyatall,cameforthepartylicityofheartthatwasitsowofadmission。
[2]Ihadbeenavited。AchauffeurinaunifgblueylawSaturdaymrisinglyformalnotefromhisemployer:thehonorwouldbeesby’s,itsaid,ifIwouldattendhis“littleparty”thatnight。Hehadseeimes,andhadioeloapebinationofceshadpreve—sigsby,iid。
[3]Dressedupinwhiteflaohislawerseven,andwanderedaroueaseamongswirlsandeddiesofpeopleIdidn’tknow—thoughhereandtherewasafaotimutingtrain。IwasimmediatelystruckbythenumberofyoungEedabout;allwelldressed,alllookingalittlehungry,andalltalkingivoicestosolidandprosperousAmeris。Iwassurethattheyweresellihing:bondsoriomobiles。Theywereatleastagoniziheeasymoyandcedthatitwastheirsforafewwordsikey。
[4]AssoonasIarrivedImadeaofindmyhost,butthetwoorthreepeopleofwhomIaskedhiswhereaboutsstaredatmeinsuamazedway,anddelyanyknowledgeofhismovements,thatIslunkoffiioailtable—theohegardenwhereasinglemangerwithoutlookingpurposelessandalone。
[5]IwasonmywaytdrunkfromsheerembarrassmentwhenJordanBakercameoutofthehouseandstoodattheheadofthemarblesteps,leaningalittlebadlookingwithptuousidownintothegarden。
[6]Weleornot,IfouoattachmyselftosomeonebeforeIshouldbegintoaddressarkstothepassers-by。
[7]“Hello!”Iroared,advangtowardher。Myvoiceseemedunnaturallylarden。
[8]“Ithoughtyoumightbehere,”sherespolyasIcameup。“Irememberedyoulivedo—”Sheheldmyhandimpersonally,asapromisethatshe’dtakeeinaminute,awogirlsintwinyellowdresses,whostoppedatthefootofthesteps。
[9]“Hello!”theycriedtogether。“Sorry,youdidn’twin。”
[10]Thatwasfolftour。Shehadlostiheweekbefore。
[11]“Youdon’tknoeare,”saidohegirlsinyellow,“butwemetyouhereaboutamonthago。”
[12]“You’vedyedyourhairsihen,”remarkedJordan,andIstarted,butthegirlshadmovedcasuallyonandherremarkwasaddressedtotheprematuremoohesupper,nodoubt,outofacaterer’sbasket。WithJordan’sslenderginmihestepsathegarden。Atrayofcocktailsfloatedatusthroughthetwilight,adownatatablewiththetwogirlsinyellowandthreemen,eatrodur。Mumble。
[13]“Doyouetothesepartiesoften?”inquiredJordanofthegirlbesideher。
[14]“Thelastoheo,”ahegirl,itvoice。Sheturoherpanion:“Wasn’titforyou,Lucille?”
[15]ItwasforLucille,too。
[16]“Iliketoe,”Lucillesaid。“IIdo,soIalwayshaveagoodtime。WheItownonadheaskedmemynameandaddress—insideofaweekIgotapaCroirier’swithaneweveninggowninit。”
[17]“Didyoukeepit?”askedJordan。
[18]“SureIdid。Iwasgoio-night,butitwastoobigiandhadtobealtered。Itwasgasbluewithlavewohundredandsixty-fivedollars。”
[19]“There’ssomethingfunnyaboutafellowthat’lldoathi,”saidtheerly。“Hedoesn’twantahANYbody。”
[20]“Whodoesn’t?”Iinquired。
[21]“Gatsby。Somebodytoldme—”
[22]ThetwogirlsandJordahertially。
[23]“Somebodytoldmetheythoughthekilledamanonce。”
[24]Athrillpassedoverallofus。ThethreeMr。Mumblesbentforwardandlistenedeagerly。
[25]“Idon’tthinkit’ssomuchTHAT,”arguedLucillesceptically;“it’smorethathewasaGermanspyduringthe>
[26]Ohemennoddedination。