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I was quite done in. The keeper took me to his room, and I tidied myself up a bit. He gave me some more "white" coffee, and it seemed to do me good. When I went out, the sun was up and the sky mottled red above the hills between Marengo and the sea. A morning breeze was blowing and it had a pleasant salty tang. There was the promise of a very fine day. I hadn't been in the country for ages, and I caught myself thinking what an agreeable walk I could have had, if it hadn't been for Mother.
我真的很累了。门卫把我带到他房间，我洗了把脸。他又给我倒了些 “白咖啡” ，喝完之后我似乎感觉好多了。我出去时，太阳已经升起，马伦戈市区和大海之间的山岭上空呈现出斑驳的红色。阵阵晨风吹来，带着一股宜人的咸味。看来今天的天气不错。我好久都没有到乡下来了，我不由得想，若不是因为母亲的事情，这该是一次多么愉快的散步啊。
As it was, I waited in the courtyard, under a plane tree. I sniffed the smells of the cool earth and found I wasn't sleepy any more. Then I thought of the other fellows in the office. At this hour they'd be getting up, preparing to go to work; for me this was always the worst hour of the day. I went on thinking, like this, for ten minutes or so; then the sound of a bell inside the building attracted my attention. I could see movements behind the windows; then all was calm again. The sun had risen a little higher and was beginning to warm my feet. The keeper came across the yard and said the warden wished to see me. I went to his office and he got me to sign some document. I noticed that he was in black, with pin-stripe trousers. He picked up the telephone receiver and looked at me.
我在院子里一棵法国梧桐树下等着。我闻着清新的泥土味儿，就再也不瞌睡了。然后，我想到了办公室的同事们。此时，他们该起床上班了，对我来说，这是一天里最糟糕的时候。我又这样胡思乱想了十多分钟，这时，房子里的一阵铃声吸引了我的注意。我看到窗户后面有人在走动，随后一切又归于平静。太阳升高了一些，我的脚开始被阳光晒得暖暖的。门卫穿过院子，说院长要见我。我去了他办公室，他让我在文件上签字。我注意到他穿着黑上衣和细条纹的裤子。院长拿起电话，看着我，问道：
"The undertaker's men arrived some moments ago, and they will be going to the mortuary to screw down the coffin. Shall I tell them to wait, for you to have a last glimpse of your mother? "
“殡仪馆的人刚才到了，他们会去太平间拧紧棺材盖的螺丝。你想最后再看看你母亲吗？我让他们等等？”
"No, " I said.
“不必了。” 我说。
He spoke into the receiver, lowering his voice. "That's all right, Figeac. Tell the men to go there now. "
他对着电话低声说道： “好吧，菲雅克。告诉他们现在就可以去了。”
He then informed me that he was going to attend the funeral, and I thanked him. Sitting down behind his desk, he crossed his short legs and leaned back. Besides the nurse on duty, he told me, he and I would be the only mourners at the funeral. It was a rule of the Home that inmates shouldn't attend funerals, though there was no objection to letting some of them sit up beside the coffin, the night before.
然后，他说他也要去参加葬礼，我向他道了谢。他在办公桌后面坐下来，叠起两条小短腿，靠在椅子上。他告诉我，除了值班护士，只有我和他去送葬。养老院规定院里的老人们不许去送葬，但可以在送葬前一天守灵。
"It's for their own sakes, " he explained, "to spare their feelings. But in this particular instance I've given permission to an old friend of your mother to come with us. His name is Thomas Perez. " The warden smiled. "It's a rather touching little story in its way. He and your mother had become almost inseparable. The other old people used to tease Perez about having a fiancee. 'When are you going to marry her? 't hey'd ask. He'd turn it with a laugh. It was a standing joke, in fact. So, as you can guess, he feels very badly about your mother's death. I thought I couldn't decently refuse him permission to attend the funeral. But, on our medical officer's advice, I forbade him to sit up beside the body last night. "
“这也是为他们着想，” 他解释道， “免得他们难过。不过，这次我破例允许你母亲的一个老朋友参加。他叫托马·佩雷。” 说到这里，院长笑了笑。 “这真是个相当感人的小插曲。他和你母亲几乎形影不离。大家都打趣说你母亲是佩雷的未婚妻。 ‘你什么时候娶她啊？’ 他们总这样问他。他只是笑笑。事实上这只是个玩笑而已。所以可想而知，对于你母亲的死，他非常难过。我想应该允许他参加葬礼。但根据医生的建议，昨晚我没有让他守灵。”
For some time we sat there without speaking. Then the warden got up and went to the window. Presently he said:
我们沉默了许久。之后，院长起身走到了窗前。过了一会儿，他说：
"Ah, there's the padre from Marengo. He's a bit ahead of time. "
“啊，马伦戈的神父来了。他倒是来得早。”
He warned me that it would take us a good three quarters of an hour, walking to the church, which was in the village. Then we went downstairs.
院长说教堂在村子里，至少要三刻钟才能走到那里。然后，我们下了楼。
The priest was waiting just outside the mortuary door. With him were two acolytes, one of whom had a censer. The priest was stooping over him, adjusting the length of the silver chain on which it hung. When he saw us he straightened up and said a few words to me, addressing me as, "My son. " Then he led the way into the mortuary.
神父已经在太平间门外等着了。他还带了两个助手，其中一个拿着香炉。神父俯下身，调整香炉上银链的长短。他看到我们过来，直起腰，对我说了几句话，并叫我 “孩子” 。接着，他带我们进了太平间。
I noticed at once that four men in black were standing behind the coffin and the screws in the lid had now been driven home. At the same moment I heard the warden remark that the hearse had arrived, and the priest starting his prayers. Then everybody made a move. Holding a strip of black cloth, the four men approached the coffin, while the priest, the boys, and myself filed out. A lady I hadn't seen before was standing by the door. "This is Monsieur Meursault, " the warden said to her. I didn't catch her name, but I gathered she was a nursing sister attached to the Home. When I was introduced, she bowed, without the trace of a smile on her long, gaunt face. We stood aside from the doorway to let the coffin by; then, following the bearers down a corridor, we came to the front entrance, where a hearse was waiting. Oblong, glossy, varnished black all over, it vaguely reminded me of the pen trays in the office.
我一眼就看到有四个穿黑色衣服的人站在棺材后面，棺盖上的螺丝现在已经拧好了。这时，院长说灵车已经到了，神父也开始祈祷了。随后大家都开始行动了。那四个人握着一方黑布走向棺材，神父、两个助手，还有我都出去了。有位女士站在门口，我以前没有见过。 “这是默尔索先生。” 院长介绍说。我没有听清她的名字，不过我猜她是养老院里的护士。院长介绍了我，她欠身点头，憔悴、瘦长的脸上没有一丝笑容。我们在门外站成一排，让棺材过去，接着跟着抬棺的人走过走廊。到达前门，灵车已经在那里等着了。灵车是长方形的，周身是发亮的黑漆，让我想起了办公室的那些钢笔盒。
Beside the hearse stood a quaintly dressed little-man, whose duty it was, I understood, to supervise the funeral, as a sort of master of ceremonies. Near him, looking constrained, almost bashful, was old M. Perez, my mother's special friend. He wore a soft felt hat with a pudding-basin crown and a very wide brim-he whisked it off the moment the coffin emerged from the doorway-trousers that concertina'd on his shoes, a black tie much too small for his high white double collar. Under a bulbous, pimply nose, his lips were trembling. But what caught my attention most was his ears; pendulous, scarlet ears that showed up like blobs of sealing wax on the pallor of his cheeks and were framed in wisps of silky white hair.
灵车旁站着一个穿着古怪的小个子男人，我想他应该是司仪，负责葬礼的顺利进行。在他身旁有个老头，看起来很拘谨，几乎羞红了脸。他就是老M. 佩雷，我母亲的一位特别的朋友。他头戴一顶软毡帽，圆顶宽檐--棺材经过门口时他摘下了帽子--裤腿的风琴褶垂到脚面上，白衬衫领子很高，显得黑领带太短了。他鼻子圆圆的，长满了粉刺，嘴唇不停地颤抖。但给我印象最深的是他的耳朵，他绯红的耳朵耷拉着，像两块封蜡嵌在几缕银发里，映衬着他苍白的脸颊。
The undertaker's factotum shepherded us to our places, with the priest in front of the hearse, and the four men in black on each side of it. The warden and myself came next, and, bringing up the rear, old Perez and the nurse.
司仪作了安排，神父走在灵车前面，四个抬棺材的人走在灵车两边。后面就是我和院长，再后面是老佩雷和护士。
The sky was already a blaze of light, and the air stoking up rapidly. I felt the first waves of heat lapping my back, and my dark suit made things worse. I couldn't imagine why we waited so long for getting under way. Old Perez, who had put on his hat, took it off again. I had turned slightly in his direction and was looking at him when the warden started telling me more about him. I remember his saying that old Perez and my mother used often to have a longish stroll together in the cool of the evening; sometimes they went as far as the village, accompanied by a nurse, of course.
阳光灿烂，天气很快热了起来。我背上热浪滚滚，加上又穿了件黑衣服，热得不得了。我不知道为什么要等这么久才能上路。老佩雷戴上了帽子，但现在又摘了下来。院长跟我谈起他，我轻轻转过头，望着老佩雷。院长说，我母亲和佩雷以前经常在凉爽的傍晚散步，有时会一直走到村子那边。当然了，他们有护士陪着的。
I looked at the countryside, at the long lines of cypresses sloping up toward the skyline and the hills, the hot red soil dappled with vivid green, and here and there a lonely house sharply outlined against the light-and I could understand Mother's feelings. Evenings in these parts must be a sort of mournful solace. Now, in the full glare of the morning sun, with everything shimmering in the heat haze, there was something inhuman, discouraging, about this landscape.
我望着田野，一排排柏树通向山岭，通向天边，灼热的红土上点缀着鲜艳的绿色，一座座孤零零的房子在阳光下显现出清晰的轮廓--我能够理解母亲的感受。这里的夜晚一定能带给人一丝略带伤感的慰藉。现在，上午的太阳火辣辣的，一切都亮得刺眼，这片景象显得有些冷酷无情，令人心灰意冷。
At last we made a move. Only then I noticed that Perez had a slight limp. The old chap steadily lost ground as the hearse gained speed. One of the men beside it, too, fell back and drew level with me. I was surprised to see how quickly the sun was climbing up the sky, and just then it struck me that for quite a while the air had been throbbing with the hum of insects and the rustle of grass warming up. Sweat was running down my face. As I had no hat I tried to fan myself with my handkerchief.
我们终于上路了。这时我才发现老佩雷有点儿跛脚。随着灵车加速，老头有些跟不上了。车子旁边的一个人也跟不上了，和我并排走着。真是奇怪，太阳怎么上升得这么快，这时我才发现空气中充斥着田野中虫子的嗡嗡声和青草的悉索声，已经有好一会儿了。我脸上开始流汗。因为没戴帽子，我只能用手帕扇风。
The undertaker's man turned to me and said something that I didn't catch. At that same time he wiped the crown of his head with a handkerchief that he held in his left hand, while with his right he tilted up his hat. I asked him what he'd said. He pointed upward.
殡仪馆的一个伙计转过头跟我说话，我没有听清。这时，他用右手把帽子一边抬起，左手拿手帕擦了擦头顶的汗。我问他说了什么。他指了指天空。
"Sun's pretty bad today, ain't it? "
“今天的太阳够大的啊！”
"Yes, " I said.
“是啊。” 我说。
After a while he asked: "Is it your mother we're burying? "
过了一会儿，他问我： “是你母亲要下葬吗？”
"Yes, " I said again.
“是的。” 我答道。
"What was her age? "
“她多大年纪？”
"Well, she was getting on. " As a matter of fact, I didn't know exactly how old she was.
“唔，她年纪不小了。” 实际上，我真不知道她究竟多少岁。
After that he kept silent. Looking back, I saw Perez limping along some fifty yards behind. He was swinging his big felt hat at arm's length, trying to make the pace. I also had a look at the warden. He was walking with carefully measured steps, economizing every gesture. Beads of perspiration glistened on his forehead, but he didn't wipe them off.
之后，他就沉默了。我回头看了看，老佩雷跛着脚走在后面，已经落下约有五十码远。他急着往前赶，伸长胳膊摇晃着他的大毡帽。我也看了看院长。他正认真地、从容不迫地走着，没有一个多余的动作。汗珠在他额头上闪烁，但他没擦。
I had an impression that our little procession was moving slightly faster. Wherever I looked I saw the same sun-drenched countryside, and the sky was so dazzling that I dared not raise my eyes. Presently we struck a patch of freshly tarred road. A shimmer of heat played over it and one's feet squelched at each step, leaving bright black gashes. In front, the coachman's glossy black hat looked like a lump of the same sticky substance, poised above the hearse. It gave one a queer, dreamlike impression, that blue-white glare overhead and all this blackness round one: the sleek black of the hearse, the dull black of the men's clothes, and the silvery-black gashes in the road. And then there were the smells, smells of hot leather and horse dung from the hearse, veined with whiffs of incense smoke. What with these and the hangover from a poor night's sleep, I found my eyes and thoughts growing blurred.
我感觉我们的小队伍稍稍加快了步伐。视线所及之处全是阳光普照的乡野，光线太刺眼，我都不敢抬头。一会儿，我们走到一段刚铺了沥青的公路上。太阳烤得地面发烫，脚踩上去嘎吱作响，留下清晰的黑印子。前面车夫的帽子黝黑发亮，看上去就像一块黏黏的沥青，竖在灵车顶上。这一切给人一种奇怪的、梦一般的错觉，头顶是蓝白色的强光，周围尽是黑色：灵车是油亮的黑色，人们穿的衣服是单调的黑色，还有柏油路上闪着银光的黑印子。还有各种气味，热皮革味、灵车的马粪味和香炉的缕缕轻烟杂糅在一起。昨晚一夜都没怎么睡，再加上这些，我睡眼惺忪、神志不清。
I looked back again. Perez seemed very far away now, almost hidden by the heat haze; then, abruptly, he disappeared altogether. After puzzling over it for a bit, I guessed that he had turned off the road into the fields. Then I noticed that there was a bend of the road a little way ahead. Obviously Perez, who knew the district well, had taken a short cut, so as to catch up with us. He rejoined us soon after we were round the bend; then began to lose ground again. He took another short cut and met us again farther on; in fact, this happened several times during the next half-hour. But soon I lost interest in his movements; my temples were throbbing and I could hardly drag myself along.
我又回头看了看。老佩雷已经落得很远了，几乎被朦胧的热气遮挡住，后来，他突然一下子不见了。我疑惑了一会儿，猜想他可能已经从公路拐进田里了。然后，我发现路在前面不远处转了个弯。显然，佩雷对这里的路相当熟悉，他抄近路，想追上我们。我们刚过转弯处，他就追上了我们，可不一会儿又落下了。他又抄近路追上了我们，没多久又落下了。事实上，在接下来的半小时内，同样的情况反复了好几次。但我很快不再注意他的举动了。我太阳穴跳得厉害，几乎挪不动步子。
After that everything went with a rush; and also with such precision and matter-of-factness that I remember hardly any details. Except that when we were on the outskirts of the village the nurse said something to me. Her voice took me by surprise; it didn't match her face at all; it was musical and slightly tremulous. What she said was: "If you go too slowly there's the risk of a heatstroke. But, if you go too fast, you perspire, and the cold air in the church gives you a chill. " I saw her point; either way one was in for it.
这之后，一切都进行得匆忙而准确，一切都是按规矩来，我几乎不记得任何细节了。我只记得，在村口，护士跟我说了些话。她的声音令我感到意外，因为那声音和她的面孔一点儿也不协调，很悦耳，还有些颤抖。她说的是： “如果走得太慢，就有可能中暑。但走得太快又会出汗，教堂里的凉气会让你觉得冷。” 我明白她的意思，任何一种方式都免不了要遭罪。
Some other memories of the funeral have stuck in my mind. The old boy's face, for instance, when he caught up with us for the last time, just outside the village. His eyes were streaming with tears, of exhaustion or distress, or both together. But because of the wrinkles they couldn't flow down. They spread out, crisscrossed, and formed a smooth gloss on the old, worn face.
送葬那天的事，还有一些我也记得。比如说，老佩雷在村口终于追上我们时的那张脸。他泪如泉涌，不知是因为悲伤还是疲惫，抑或是两者都有。但是由于皱纹的关系，泪水没有流下来。泪水在脸颊散开又交叉，为那张苍老疲倦的脸平添了一丝亮光。
And I can remember the look of the church, the villagers in the street, the red geraniums on the graves, Perez's fainting fit-he crumpled up like a rag doll-the tawny-red earth pattering on Mother's coffin, the bits of white roots mixed up with it; then more people, voices, the wait outside a cafe for the bus, the rumble of the engine, and my little thrill of pleasure when we entered the first brightly lit streets of Algiers, and I pictured myself going straight to bed and sleeping twelve hours at a stretch.
我还记得村里教堂的样子，路上的村民，坟墓上红色的天竺葵。佩雷昏了过去--就像散架的木偶--红褐色的土撒在母亲的棺材上，土里还夹杂着白色的树根。我还记得人很多、很吵；记得我在一个咖啡馆外等车，上车后汽车马达轰鸣。车子一拐进阿尔及尔灯火通明的大街，我心中就突然升起小小的喜悦，盼望着直接上床，一口气睡上十二个小时。
Chapter II
第二章
On waking I understood why my employer had looked rather cross when I asked for my two days off; it's a Saturday today. I hadn't thought of this at the time; it only struck me when I was getting out of bed. Obviously he had seen that it would mean my getting four days' holiday straight off, and one couldn't expect him to like that. Still, for one thing, it wasn't my fault if Mother was buried yesterday and not today; and then, again, I'd have had my Saturday and Sunday off in any case. But naturally this didn't prevent me from seeing my employer's point.
醒来时，我明白了当时我要请两天假，老板为何那么不高兴了，因为今天是星期六。当时我并没有想到这点，起床的时候我才发觉。老板当然想到了，这就意味着我有四天的假期，他自然是不乐意了。不过，一方面，安葬母亲是在昨天而非今天，这并不是我的错；另一方面，无论如何星期六和星期天都是属于我的。但是，当然了，我还是理解了老板的心情。
Getting up was an effort, as I'd been really exhausted by the previous day's experiences. While shaving, I wondered how to spend the morning, and decided that a swim would do me good. So I caught the streetcar that goes down to the harbor.
昨天确实够折腾的，我实在是不想起床。刮脸的时候，我在想上午要干什么，最后我决定去游个泳，应该对我有好处。于是我乘电车去了海滨。
It was quite like old times; a lot of young people were in the swimming pool, amongst them Marie Cardona, who used to be a typist at the office. I was rather keen on her in those days, and I fancy she liked me, too. But she was with us so short a time that nothing came of it.
像往常一样，游泳池里有很多年轻人。玛丽·卡多娜也在，她曾在我们办公室当打字员。那时我非常喜欢她，我幻想着她也是喜欢我的。但她没在我们那里呆多长时间，什么也没发生。
While I was helping her to climb on to a raft, I let my hand stray over her breasts. Then she lay flat on the raft, while I trod water. After a moment she turned and looked at me. Her hair was over her eyes and she was laughing. I clambered up on to the raft, beside her. The air was pleasantly warm, and, half jokingly, I let my head sink back upon her lap. She didn't seem to mind, so I let it stay there. I had the sky full in my eyes, all blue and gold, and I could feel Marie's stomach rising and falling gently under my head. We must have stayed a good half-hour on the raft, both of us half asleep. When the sun got too hot she dived off and I followed. I caught up with her, put my arm round her waist, and we swam side by side. She was still laughing.
我扶她爬上皮筏时，一只手轻轻滑过她的乳房。她平躺在皮筏上，我在踩水。过了一会儿，她转过身来看了看我。玛丽的头发遮住了眼睛，她在笑。我也爬上了皮筏，挨着她。天气暖和而舒适，我半开玩笑地把头枕在她肚子上。她好像并不介意，所以我就这样呆着了。我眼前是整片天空，蓝蓝的，泛着金色，我能感觉到玛丽的肚子在我的脑袋下面轻轻起伏。我们在皮筏上半睡半醒地呆了足足有半小时。后来阳光太热了，她下了水，我也下了水。我追上她，抱着她的腰，和她并排游起来。她还在笑。
While we were drying ourselves on the edge of the swimming pool she said: "I 'm browner than you. " I asked her if she'd come to the movies with me that evening. She laughed again and said, Yes, if I'd take her to the comedy everybody was talking about, the one with Fernandel in it.
我们坐在游泳池边晾干身体时，她说： “我晒得比你还黑。” 我问她晚上想不想和我一起去看电影。她又笑了，说： “可以啊。” 她想看人们都在谈论的那部喜剧，有费南代尔的那部片子。
When we had dressed, she stared at my black tie and asked if I was in mourning. I explained that my mother had died. "When? " she asked, and I said, "Yesterday. " She made no remark, though I thought she shrank away a little. I was just going to explain to her that it wasn't my fault, but I checked myself, as I remembered having said the same thing to my employer, and realizing then it sounded rather foolish. Still, foolish or not, somehow one can't help feeling a bit guilty, I suppose.
穿好衣服后，她看到了我的黑领结，问我是不是在戴孝。我说我母亲去世了。 “什么时候？” 她问。我回答说： “昨天。” 她没说什么，但我觉得她确实吓得后退了一步。我正想跟她解释说这不是我的错，但我忍住了，因为我跟老板也说过同样的话，后来意识到这样做很傻。但不管傻不傻，我想人在这种情况下总会觉得有些愧疚的。
Anyhow, by evening Marie had forgotten all about it. The film was funny in parts, but some of it was downright stupid. She pressed her leg against mine while we were in the picture house, and I was fondling her breast. Toward the end of the show I kissed her, but rather clumsily. Afterward she came back with me to my place.
不管怎样，到了晚上，玛丽就把这些都忘记了。电影有些地方很滑稽，有的地方极其愚蠢。在电影院的时候，她把腿紧挨着我的腿，我抚弄着她的乳房。电影快结束的时候，我吻了她，但动作笨拙。后来，她跟我去了我住的地方。
When I woke up, Marie had gone. She'd told me her aunt expected her first thing in the morning. I remembered it was a Sunday, and that put me off; I've never cared for Sundays. So I turned my head and lazily sniffed the smell of brine that Marie's head had left on the pillow. I slept until ten. After that I stayed in bed until noon, smoking cigarettes. I decided not to lunch at Celeste's restaurant as I usually did; they'd be sure to pester me with questions, and I dislike being questioned. So I fried some eggs and ate them off the pan. I did without bread as there wasn't any left, and I couldn't be bothered going down to buy it.
我醒来时，玛丽已经走了。她说她婶婶让她一大早就过去。我记得那天是星期天，真是烦人，我从不喜欢星期天。于是我转过头来，懒懒地闻着枕头上玛丽头发上留下的海水的咸味。我一直睡到十点钟。之后我躺在床上抽烟，直到中午。我平时都是在塞莱斯特的饭馆吃午饭的，但那天我决定不去了；他们肯定会缠着我问个不停，我不喜欢人家质问我。所以我煎了几个鸡蛋，没铲出锅就吃了。没有面包了，我也懒得下去买，所以就没吃。
After lunch I felt at loose ends and roamed about the little flat. It suited us well enough when Mother was with me, but now that I was by myself it was too large and I'd moved the dining table into my bedroom. That was now the only room I used; it had all the furniture I needed: a brass bedstead, a dressing table, some cane chairs whose seats had more or less caved in, a wardrobe with a tarnished mirror. The rest of the flat was never used, so I didn't trouble to look after it.
吃过饭，我觉得无所适从，就在这间狭小的公寓里来回踱步。这房子我和母亲住刚好合适，可后来只剩我一人了，房子显得太大了，我就把饭桌搬进了卧室。现在我只用这一间屋子，我需要的家具都在这里：一张黄铜架子的床，一个梳妆台，几把座垫下陷的藤椅，一个衣柜，上面有一面生锈的镜子。公寓的其他部分我从来没用过，也就懒得管。
A bit later, for want of anything better to do, I picked up an old newspaper that was lying on the floor and read it. There was an advertisement of Kruschen Salts and I cut it out and pasted in into an album where I keep things that amuse me in the papers. Then I washed my hands and, as a last resource, went out on to the balcony.
后来，也没什么事干，我就捡起地上的一张旧报纸，读了起来。报上有一则克鲁申盐业公司的广告，我把它剪了下来，贴在一个册子里，这里面收集了一些我从报纸上剪下来的有趣的东西。然后，我洗了洗手，最后，由于实在无事可做，我去了阳台。
My bedroom overlooks the main street of our district. Though it was a fine afternoon, the paving blocks were black and glistening. What few people were about seemed in an absurd hurry. First of all there came a family, going for their Sunday-afternoon walk; two small boys in sailor suits, with short trousers hardly down to their knees, and looking rather uneasy in their Sunday best; then a little girl with a big pink bow and black patent-leather shoes. Behind them was their mother, an enormously fat woman in a brown silk dress, and their father, a dapper little man, whom I knew by sight. He had a straw hat, a walking stick, and a butterfly tie. Seeing him beside his wife, I understood why people said he came of a good family and had married beneath him.
从我的卧室可以俯瞰这一区的主街。尽管下午天气很好，但路面黑乎乎的，闪闪发光。少有的几个行人都行色匆匆，看上去有些可笑。先是看见一家人，他们是在星期天的下午出来散步的，两个小男孩穿着海军服，短裤刚到膝盖，穿着这身盛装，他们显得很不自在，还有个小女孩，头上扎一只粉红色的大蝴蝶结，脚蹬一双黑色漆皮鞋。他们的母亲跟在后面，是个很肥硕的女人，身穿一件褐色的丝绸连衣裙，他们的父亲个子不高，但很精悍，我见他很面熟。他头戴一顶草帽，手持一根手杖，扎着蝴蝶领结。看到他和他老婆，我就明白了为什么人们说他家世不错，却娶了一个门不当户不对的老婆。
Next came a group of young fellows, the local "bloods, " with sleek oiled hair, red ties, coats cut very tight at the waist, braided pockets, and square-toed shoes. I guessed they were going to one of the big theaters in the center of the town. That was why they had started out so early and were hurrying to the streetcar stop, laughing and talking at the top of their voices.
过了一会儿，又来了一群当地的小混混，所谓的 “浪子” 。他们头发油光锃亮，系着红领带，上衣腰身收得很紧，口袋镶着饰边，穿着方头皮鞋。我猜他们是要去市中心的一家大电影院看电影。所以他们很早动身，高声说笑着，匆匆忙忙地去赶电车。
After they had passed, the street gradually emptied. By this time all the matinees must have begun. Only a few shopkeepers and cats remained about. Above the sycamores bordering the road the sky was cloudless, but the light was soft. The tobacconist on the other side of the street brought a chair out on to the pavement in front of his door and sat astride it, resting his arms on the back. The streetcars which a few minutes before had been crowded were now almost empty. In the little cafe, Chez Pierrot, beside the tobacconist's, the waiter was sweeping up the sawdust in the empty restaurant. A typical Sunday afternoon....
他们走后，街上渐渐没什么行人了。这时，日场电影一定都开始了。街上只剩下一些店主，还有几只猫。路边的悬铃木上方是万里无云的天空，但阳光却很柔和。街对面卖香烟的搬了一把椅子放在门前的人行道上，双腿骑在上面，两只胳膊搭在椅背上。几分钟前还挤得水泄不通的电车，现在几乎都空了。在卖香烟的隔壁，有个叫 “皮埃罗” 的小咖啡馆，这会儿没有顾客，服务生正在打扫地上的木屑。星期天就是这个样子。……
I turned my chair round and seated myself like the tobacconist, as it was more comfortable that way. After smoking a couple of cigarettes I went back to the room, got a tablet of chocolate, and returned to the window to eat it. Soon after, the sky clouded over, and I thought a summer storm was coming. However, the clouds gradually lifted. All the same, they had left in the street a sort of threat of rain, which made it darker. I stayed watching the sky for quite a while.
我也把椅子转过来，像卖香烟的那样骑在上面，因为这样要更舒服一些。抽了几支烟后，我进房间拿了块巧克力，又回到窗前吃起来。很快，天就阴了，我想暴雨就要来了。可是，乌云渐渐又散去了。但由于刚才的乌云，街上笼罩着一种暴雨般的阴霾，显得更暗了。我朝着天空望了很久。
At five there was a loud clanging of streetcars. They were coming from the stadium in our suburb where there had been a football match. Even the back platforms were crowded and people were standing on the steps. Then another streetcar brought back the teams. I knew they were the players by the little suitcase each man carried. They were bawling out their team song, "Keep the ball rolling, boys. " One of them looked up at me and shouted, "We licked them! " I waved my hand and called back, "Good work! " From now on there was a steady stream of private cars.
五点钟的时候，轰隆隆的电车开过来了。车里挤满了从郊区体育馆看完足球赛回来的人们。甚至连后门台阶上也挤满了人。后面一辆电车上是球队。我从他们每人提的小箱子认出他们是球员。他们正扯着嗓子唱他们的队歌： “向前冲啊，伙计们！” 其中一个抬头看到了我，对我大喊一声： “我们赢啦！” 我挥了挥手，回他一句： “好样的！” 从这时起，街上的私家车多了起来。
The sky had changed again; a reddish glow was spreading up beyond the housetops. As dusk set in, the street grew more crowded. People were returning from their walks, and I noticed the dapper little man with the fat wife amongst the passers-by. Children were whimpering and trailing wearily after their parents. After some minutes the local picture houses disgorged their audiences. I noticed that the young fellows coming from them were taking longer strides and gesturing more vigorously than at ordinary times; doubtless the picture they'd been seeing was of the wild-West variety. Those who had been to the picture houses in the middle of the town came a little later, and looked more sedate, though a few were still laughing. On the whole, however, they seemed languid and exhausted. Some of them remained loitering in the street under my window. A group of girls came by, walking arm in arm. The young men under my window swerved so as to brush against them, and shouted humorous remarks, which made the girls turn their heads and giggle. I recognized them as girls from my part of the town, and two or three of them, whom I knew, looked up and waved to me.
天色又暗了下来，屋顶上方的天空被染成了红色。黄昏时刻，街上变得更拥挤了。散步的人也往家里赶了，在人群中我又注意到了那个精悍的小个子男人和他胖胖的妻子。孩子们哭闹着，疲倦不堪地跟在父母身后。没过多久，大批的观众都从本区的电影院涌出来了。我注意到那些年轻人出来的时候个个都大步流星、手舞足蹈，比平时活跃得多。他们看的肯定是部西部片。去市中心电影院的人回来得稍晚，他们显得更安静些，但还是有一些人说笑着。然而，总的来说，他们看起来还是无精打采、疲倦不堪。有些人在我窗户下的街道上闲逛。一群互相挽着胳膊的女孩走了过来。窗下的小伙子们马上掉转身，以便同她们擦身而过，他们大声讲着笑话，逗得女孩子们回过头来咯咯笑。我认出有几个女孩跟我是一个地方的，其中两三个我认识的还抬头冲我挥了挥手。
Just then the street lamps came on, all together, and they made the stars that were beginning to glimmer in the night sky paler still. I felt my eyes getting tired, what with the lights and all the movement I'd been watching in the street. There were little pools of brightness under the lamps, and now and then a streetcar passed, lighting up a girl's hair, or a smile, or a silver bangle.
这时，所有路灯同时亮了起来，夜空中刚刚出现的闪闪繁星因此而黯然失色了。盯着街上闪烁的霓虹和过往的行人看了这么久，我感到眼睛累了。路灯下形成了一个个小小的光圈，不时经过的电车灯光会照亮某个女孩的头发、笑脸或是银手镯。