小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » 大琼斯街 Great Jones Street » Chapter 5
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
Chapter 5
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。

the room's tensions were suitable to few enterprises besides my own, that of testing the depths of silence. Or one's willingness to be silent. Or one's fear of this willingness.

The snow turned brown on the window ledge1. There was soup to eat when the old stove worked. Things functioned sporadically2; other things functioned all the time but never to full effect. Through large parts of many nights I sat with Opel's coat around my shoulders. The little radio made its noises, fierce as a baby, never listening to itself. This was America's mechanical voice, its doll voice, coughing out slogans into the dawn, testing itself in the event of emergency, station after station fading away in the suffering breath of the national anthem3. The firemen stayed in the firehouse.

I heard a noise in the hall and put my head out the door. He was there, sitting on the top step, Fenig again, peering down at me through the dimness.

"I couldn't write," he said. "I got started on a science-fiction thing but it bogged4 down in the early stages. I tried to walk it out. You know, pace it out. Sometimes it helps, a simple thing like walking up and down a room. When the inspiration peters out, I get off my duff and start pacing. I pace certain ways, depending on the situation. This time I was pacing five steps north, around, eight steps southeast, over to starting point, five steps north again. It sounds stupid but it works. Do something over and over and soon little irregularities show up in the routine. Unconscious, unbidden. This is when you know you're back in business. Come on up. I'll show you my place."

His room was sparsely5 furnished. It was dominated by an enormous trunk, balding with age, fitted out with huge rusty6 buckles7 and other types of metalwork. A rolled-up carpet lay against a wall. Fenig's typewriter was set on a small metal table with wheels. The shade on a nearby lamp had a cup-and-saucer motif8.

"This is where I live and work," he said.

This was my first good look at Fenig. Because of the hood9, his nose seemed larger perhaps than it really was, and since there is a sense of tragic10 destiny associated with people who have large noses, Fenig in his sweat shirt made me think of a gym teacher standing11 in a rainy playground while kids slash12 laughingly at his arms with improvised13 knives. We sat in old wooden chairs; on each one, several layers of paint were easily distinguishable in the manner of geological strata14. Fenig himself appeared well kept, his clothes neat and recently laundered15.

"Nobody knows me from shit," he said. "But I'm a two-time Laszlo Piatakoff Murder Mystery Award nominee16. My one-acters get produced without exception at a very hip17 agricultural college in Arkansas. I'm in my middle years but I'm going stronger than ever. I've been anthologized in hard cover, paperback18 and goddamn vellum. I know the writer's market like few people know it. The market is a strange thing, almost a living organism. It changes, it palpitates, it grows, it excretes. It sucks things in and then spews them up. It's a living wheel that turns and crackles. The market accepts and rejects. It loves and kills."

Light entered mildly, the only wage a northern winter pays to moderation. A corner of the room began to shimmer19, the sun raising dust in uncertain columns, and I realized I was still wearing Opel's coat. Fenig in his cotton-acrylic hood. Wunderlick tucked in at the waist, baring his bony wrists.

"There's a woman lives downstairs," he said. "First floor. Micklewhite. She's got a kid about twenty, deformed20 and retarded21. He was born with something wrong with his skull22. It's soft for some reason. His head is full of dents23 and funny little configurations24. His family was ashamed and they never did anything. They just kept him in the room. Now the father's dead and the mother's nutty and the kid is still in the room with his pliable25 head. He can't talk or dress himself or anything. I don't know if he can even crawl. I've never seen him myself. She doesn't exhibit him around. But she told me everything. Micklewhite and her all-American boy. I've put him in four stories, sight unseen."

The radiator26 was similar to the one in the room below, a tall stooped object standing in a corner, wholly reconcilable with its surroundings or lack of them, nice to look at and even listen to, the kind of radiator that has a metal receptacle hooked to its back for the purpose of holding water and moistening the air. Our matching radiators27. Something to water once in a while.

"Fame," he said. "It won't happen. But if it does happen. But it won't happen. But if it does. But it won't."

The building was pounded by shock waves from an explosion at a construction site nearby. I watched Fenig's jowls quiver a bit, all the loose skin on his face agitated28 by the tremor29, a disquiet30 at the center of his neatness and calm. There was no sign of a radio, telephone or television set.

"I met Laszlo Piatakoff at a Baskerville Society dinner thing at the Hilton."

"Who is he?" I said.

"Laszlo Piatakoff is the Marjorie Pace Kimball of murder mystery. That's no exaggeration."

Down on the street someone was using a hammer. The sound was vibrant31, accompanied by liquid echoes, and soon it was joined by the sound of another hammer, maybe a block away, a thick ripple32 to each granulating blow, probably Bond Street. The heavier of the two sounds was the more distant, and together they formed a slowly spreading wake, one of time, silence and reverberation33, each of these flowing through the others, softening34 the petrified35 air, until finally one hammer was rested, and the other grew brutal36.

"Everybody knows the thing about an infinite number of monkeys," Fenig said. "An infinite number of monkeys is put to work at an infinite number of typewriters and eventually one of them reproduces a great work of literature. In what language I don't know. But what about an infinite number of writers in an infinite number of cages? Would they make one monkey sound? One genuine chimp37 noise? Would they eventually swing by their toes from an infinite number of monkey bars? Would they shit monkey shit? It's academic, you say. You may be right. I don't know. One thing I do know. It's all a question of being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the market. Spotting its fluctuations38. Measuring its temperament39. I've written millions of words. Every one of them is in that trunk."

When I went downstairs I had to content myself with fashioning an impersonation of sleep, eyes closed, body lax, a studied evenness to my breathing. This, in the end, became tiring, and I ate some food and then sat by the window. The air carried a dismal40 stench, some kind of earth gas released by the detonations41. I closed my eyes again. When I opened them it was well into evening. The room behind me was dark. I thought of opening the window and shouting:

"Fire! Hey, fire!"

The great doors of the firehouse would slowly come open. I'd get a glimpse of the big machine, fire-engine red, rigged with shiny appliances. Then tiny men in black booties would appear, edging out onto the sidewalk, lifting their beady eyes to my window.

"Fire!" I'd shout. "Hey, fire, fire!"

One small man would take several steps forward, moving into the light shed by a streetlamp. He'd tug42 at his booties for a second. Then he'd look back up at my window.

"Water," he would say, barely above a whisper.

A moment would pass and then his little comrades, standing all around him now, would commence whispering, as if by prearranged signal:

"Water, water, water, water, water."

Finally all the tiny men would return to the firehouse and the vaulted43 doors would slowly close behind them.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ledge o1Mxk     
n.壁架,架状突出物;岩架,岩礁
参考例句:
  • They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
  • Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上,摔倒了。
2 sporadically RvowJ     
adv.偶发地,零星地
参考例句:
  • There are some trees sporadically around his house. 他的房子周围零星地有点树木。 来自辞典例句
  • As for other aspects, we will sporadically hand out questionnaires. 在其他方面,我们会偶尔发送调查问卷。 来自互联网
3 anthem vMRyj     
n.圣歌,赞美诗,颂歌
参考例句:
  • All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
  • As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上,唱起了国歌。
4 bogged BxPzmV     
adj.陷于泥沼的v.(使)陷入泥沼, (使)陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 );妨碍,阻碍
参考例句:
  • The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 sparsely 9hyzxF     
adv.稀疏地;稀少地;不足地;贫乏地
参考例句:
  • Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比,这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
7 buckles 9b6f57ea84ab184d0a14e4f889795f56     
搭扣,扣环( buckle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
  • When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时,就发生横向屈曲。
8 motif mEvxX     
n.(图案的)基本花纹,(衣服的)花边;主题
参考例句:
  • Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
  • The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。
9 hood ddwzJ     
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
参考例句:
  • She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
  • The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
10 tragic inaw2     
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
参考例句:
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
11 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
12 slash Hrsyq     
vi.大幅度削减;vt.猛砍,尖锐抨击,大幅减少;n.猛砍,斜线,长切口,衣衩
参考例句:
  • The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
  • Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。
13 improvised tqczb9     
a.即席而作的,即兴的
参考例句:
  • He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
  • We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。
14 strata GUVzv     
n.地层(复数);社会阶层
参考例句:
  • The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
  • They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。
15 laundered 95074eccc0837ff352682b72828e8414     
v.洗(衣服等),洗烫(衣服等)( launder的过去式和过去分词 );洗(黑钱)(把非法收入改头换面,变为貌似合法的收入)
参考例句:
  • Send these sheets to be laundered. 把这些床单送去洗熨。 来自辞典例句
  • The air seems freshly laundered. Sydney thinks of good drying weather. 空气似乎被清洗过,让悉妮想起晴朗干爽适合晒衣服的好天气。 来自互联网
16 nominee FHLxv     
n.被提名者;被任命者;被推荐者
参考例句:
  • His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
  • Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。
17 hip 1dOxX     
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
参考例句:
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
18 paperback WmEzIh     
n.平装本,简装本
参考例句:
  • A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
  • Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。
19 shimmer 7T8z7     
v./n.发微光,发闪光;微光
参考例句:
  • The room was dark,but there was a shimmer of moonlight at the window.屋子里很黑,但靠近窗户的地方有点微光。
  • Nor is there anything more virginal than the shimmer of young foliage.没有什么比新叶的微光更纯洁无瑕了。
20 deformed iutzwV     
adj.畸形的;变形的;丑的,破相了的
参考例句:
  • He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
  • His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。
21 retarded xjAzyy     
a.智力迟钝的,智力发育迟缓的
参考例句:
  • The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手术可以抑制病情的发展。
  • He was so slow that many thought him mentally retarded. 他迟钝得很,许多人以为他智力低下。
22 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
23 dents dents     
n.花边边饰;凹痕( dent的名词复数 );凹部;减少;削弱v.使产生凹痕( dent的第三人称单数 );损害;伤害;挫伤(信心、名誉等)
参考例句:
  • He hammered out the dents in the metal sheet. 他把金属板上的一些凹痕敲掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Tin dents more easily than steel. 锡比钢容易变瘪。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
24 configurations 86f23519571eb918e8812e1979d55409     
n.[化学]结构( configuration的名词复数 );构造;(计算机的)配置;构形(原子在分子中的相对空间位置)
参考例句:
  • Such configurations, obtained theoretically by calculation, are called models of a star. 通过理论计算得到的恒星结构称为恒星模型。 来自辞典例句
  • The other two configurations have overriding advantages for special applications. 其它两种接法对特殊应用具有突出的优点。 来自辞典例句
25 pliable ZBCyx     
adj.易受影响的;易弯的;柔顺的,易驾驭的
参考例句:
  • Willow twigs are pliable.柳条很软。
  • The finely twined baskets are made with young,pliable spruce roots.这些编织精美的篮子是用柔韧的云杉嫩树根编成的。
26 radiator nTHxu     
n.暖气片,散热器
参考例句:
  • The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
  • Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。
27 radiators 3b2bec7153ad581082a64cd93346b77f     
n.(暖气设备的)散热器( radiator的名词复数 );汽车引擎的冷却器,散热器
参考例句:
  • You can preset the radiators to come on when you need them to. 你可以预先调好暖气,使它在你需要的时候启动。
  • Stars are radiators of vast power. 恒星是强大的发光体。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
28 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的,不安的
参考例句:
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
29 tremor Tghy5     
n.震动,颤动,战栗,兴奋,地震
参考例句:
  • There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
  • A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。
30 disquiet rtbxJ     
n.担心,焦虑
参考例句:
  • The disquiet will boil over in the long run.这种不安情绪终有一天会爆发的。
  • Her disquiet made us uneasy too.她的忧虑使我们也很不安。
31 vibrant CL5zc     
adj.震颤的,响亮的,充满活力的,精力充沛的,(色彩)鲜明的
参考例句:
  • He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
  • She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。
32 ripple isLyh     
n.涟波,涟漪,波纹,粗钢梳;vt.使...起涟漪,使起波纹; vi.呈波浪状,起伏前进
参考例句:
  • The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
  • The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来,碎在沙滩上。
33 reverberation b6cfd8194950d18bb25a9f92b5e30b53     
反响; 回响; 反射; 反射物
参考例句:
  • It was green as an emerald, and the reverberation was stunning. 它就象翠玉一样碧绿,回响震耳欲聋。
  • Just before dawn he was assisted in waking by the abnormal reverberation of familiar music. 在天将破晓的时候,他被一阵熟悉的,然而却又是反常的回声惊醒了。
34 softening f4d358268f6bd0b278eabb29f2ee5845     
变软,软化
参考例句:
  • Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家(1-26) - 家(1-26)
  • He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的,已经成了个软心肠的人了。
35 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
36 brutal bSFyb     
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的
参考例句:
  • She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
  • They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼,骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
37 chimp WXGza     
n.黑猩猩
参考例句:
  • In fact,the color of gorilla and chimp are light-color.其实大猩猩和黑猩猩的肤色是较为浅的。
  • The chimp is the champ.猩猩是冠军。
38 fluctuations 5ffd9bfff797526ec241b97cfb872d61     
波动,涨落,起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
  • There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。
39 temperament 7INzf     
n.气质,性格,性情
参考例句:
  • The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
  • Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
40 dismal wtwxa     
adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
参考例句:
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
41 detonations a699e232f641de0091f9a76d442446b6     
n.爆炸 (声)( detonation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The overpressure of both point-blank fuel-rod cannon detonations threw Kelly, Will, and Lucy into the air. 过压的两颗平射燃料棒炮弹的爆炸把凯丽,威尔和露西抛到空中。 来自互联网
  • Outside the chamber there were four gut-jarring detonations-the LOTUS antitank mines Kelly had set up. 房间外面响起四声震撼内脏的爆炸——凯丽装在那里的莲花反坦克雷爆炸了。 来自互联网
42 tug 5KBzo     
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
参考例句:
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
43 vaulted MfjzTA     
adj.拱状的
参考例句:
  • She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
  • The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533