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darling, it's Behrman's masterpiece -- he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell.\ “我跟你说件事，小白鼠，”她说。“贝尔曼先生今天在医院里得肺炎去世了。他得病才两天。发病那天上午人家在楼下他的房间里发现他疼得利害。他的鞋子衣服都湿透了，冰冷冰冷的。他们想不出那么糟糕的天气他夜里会去哪儿。后来他们发现了一个灯笼，还亮着，还有一个梯子被拖了出来，另外还有些散落的画笔，一个调色板，和着黄绿两种颜色，――看看窗外，宝贝儿，看看墙上那最后一片常青藤叶子。它在刮风的时候一动也不动，你没有觉得奇怪吗？啊，亲爱的，那是贝尔曼的杰作――最后一片叶子掉落的那天夜里他画上了这片叶子。”
He did not trust the woman to trust him. And he did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not
want to be mistrusted now.
他不敢相信这个女人居然会信任自己。他也不认为这个女人就不信任自己。不过",现在他不想失去
别人对自己的信任。
Unit7 Text A Life of a Salesman一个推销员的生活
小汤姆 ? 霍尔曼
Making a living as a door-to-door salesman demands a thick skin, both to protect against the weather and
against constantly having the door shut in your face. Bill Porter puts up with all this and much, much more.
干挨家挨户上门推销这一营生得脸皮厚这是因为干这一行不仅要经受风吹日晒还要承受一次又
一次的闭门羹。比尔 ? 波特忍受着这一切以及别的种种折磨。
Life of a Salesman Tom Hallman Jr.
1 The alarm rings. It's 5:45. He could linger under the covers, listening to the radio and a weatherman who
predicts rain. People would understand. He knows that.
闹钟响了。是清晨5",45。他可以在被子里再躺一会儿听听无线电广播。天气预报员预报有雨。
人们会理解的。这点他清楚。
2 A surgeon's scar cuts across his lower back. The fingers on his right hand are so twisted that he can't tie his
shoes. Some days, he feels like surrendering. But his dead mother's challenge echoes in his soul. So, too, do the
voices of those who believed him stupid, incapable of living independently. All his life he's struggled to prove
them wrong. He will not quit. 3 And so Bill Porter rises. 他的下背有一道手术疤痕。他右手的手指严重扭曲连鞋带都没法系。有时",他真想放弃不干了。
可在他内心深处",一直回响着已故老母的激励, 还有那些说他蠢说他不能独立生活的人
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的声音。他一生
都在拚命去证明他们错了。他决不能放弃不干。 于是比尔?波特起身了。
4 He takes the first unsteady steps on a journey to Portland's streets, the battlefield where he fights alone for
his independence and dignity. He's a door-to-door salesman. Sixty-three years old. And his enemies -- a crippled
body that betrays him and a changing world that no longer needs him -- are gaining on him.
他摇摇晃晃迈出了去波特兰大街的头几步波特兰大街是他为独立与尊严而孤身搏杀的战场。他是
个挨家挨户上门推销的推销员",今年63 岁。他的敌人――辜负他的残疾的身体和一个不再需要他的变化
着的世界――正一步一步把他逼向绝境。
5 With trembling hands he assembles his weapons: dark slacks, blue shirt and matching jacket, brown tie, tan
raincoat and hat. Image, he believes, is everything.
他用颤抖的双手收拾行装深色宽松裤",蓝衬衣和与之相配的茄克衫褐色领带",土褐色雨衣和帽
子。在他看来形象就是一切。
6 He stops in the entryway, picks up his briefcase and steps outside. A fall wind has kicked up. The
weatherman was right. He pulls his raincoat tighter.
7 He tilts his hat just so. 他在门口停了一下提起公文包走了出去。秋风骤起冷飕飕的。天
气预报员说得没错。他将雨衣裹裹紧。 他把帽子往一侧微微一斜。
8 On the 7:45 bus that stops across the street, he leaves his briefcase next to the driver and finds a seat in the
middle of a pack of bored teenagers.
9 He leans forward, stares toward the driver, sits back, then repeats the process. His nervousness makes him
laugh uncontrollably. The teenagers stare at him. They don't realize Porter's afraid someone will steal his briefcase,
with the glasses, brochures, order forms and clip-on tie that he needs to survive.
在街对面停靠的7",45 那班公共汽车上他把公文包放在司机身旁在一群没精打采的十几岁的孩
子当中找了个位子坐下。
他身子往前一倾",盯着司机那儿望然后靠着椅背坐下接着他又反复这个过程。他心情紧张",控
制不住自己而笑出声来。那些孩子望着他。他们不明白波特是担心有人偷他的包包里有他生存不可缺
少的眼镜",宣传小册子定单",以及可用别针别上的领带。 10 Porter senses the stares. He looks at the floor.
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11 His face reveals nothing. In his heart, though, he knows he should have been like these kids, like everyone
on this bus. He's not angry. But he knows. His mother explained how the delivery had been difficult, how the
doctor had used an instrument that crushed a section of his brain and caused cerebral palsy, a disorder of the
nervous system that affects his speech, hands and walk. 波特意识到了小孩子在盯着他看。他把目光转向车厢地板。 他脸上没有流露出任何神情。但在他心里他知道自己本该和这些孩子一样",和车上其他所有人一
样。他并不生气。但他心里明白。他母亲解释说生他时难产",医生使用了某种器械损坏了他大脑的一部
分导致了大脑性麻痹一种影响他说话",手部活动以及行走的神经系统的紊乱。 12 Porter came to Portland when he was 13 after his father, a salesman, was transferred here. He attended a
school for the disabled and then Lincoln High School, where he was placed in a class for slow kids.
13 But he wasn't slow.
波特13 岁那年随着当推销员的父亲工作调动来到波特兰。他上了一个残疾人学校后来就读林肯高级中
学在那儿他被编入慢班。 但他并不笨。
14 His mind was trapped in a body that didn't work. Speaking was difficult and took time. People were
impatient and didn't listen. He felt different -- was different -- from the kids who rushed about in the halls and
planned dances he would never attend.
他由于身体不能正常运行而使脑子不能充分发挥其功能。他说话困难",而且慢。别人不耐烦",不听 他说。他觉得自己不同于――事实上也确实不同于――那些在过道里东奔西跑的孩子那些孩子安排的舞
会他永远也不可能参加。
15 What could his future be? Porter wanted to do something and his mother was certain that he could rise
above his limitations. With her encouragement, he applied for a job with the Fuller Brush Co. only to be turned
down. He couldn't carry a product briefcase or walk a route, they said.
他将来会是个什么样子呢波特想做些事母亲也相信他能冲破身体的局限。在她的鼓励之下他
向福勒牙刷公司申请一份工作结果却遭到拒绝。他不能提样品包也不能跑一条推销线路",他们说。
16 Porter knew he wanted to be a salesman. He began reading help wanted ads in the newspaper. When he
saw one for Watkins, a company that sold household products door-to-door, his
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mother set up a meeting with a
representative. The man said no, but Porter wouldn't listen. He just wanted a chance. The man gave in and offered
Porter a section of the city that no salesman wanted. 波特知道自己想当推销员。他开始阅读报纸上的招聘广告。他看到沃特金斯一家上门推销家用物
品的公司要人他母亲就跟其代理人安排会面。那人说不行可波特不予理会。他就是需要一个机会。那
人让步了把城里一个其他推销员都不要的区域派给了他。
17 It took Porter four false starts before he found the courage to ring the first doorbell. The man who
answered told him to go away, a pattern repeated throughout the day. 波特一开始四次都没敢敲门",第五次才鼓起勇气按了第一户人家的门铃。开门的那人让他走开这
种情形持续了一整天。
18 That night Porter read through company literature and discovered the products were guaranteed. He would
sell that pledge. He just needed people to listen.
19 If a customer turned him down, Porter kept coming back until they heard him. And he sold.
当晚波特仔细阅读了公司的宣传资料发现产品都是保用的。他要把保用作为卖点。只要别人肯
听他说话就成。
要是客户回绝波特拒绝倾听他的介绍",他就一再上门。就这样他将产品卖了出去。 20 For several years he was Watkins' top retail salesman. Now he is the only one of the company's 44,000
salespeople who sells door-to-door.
21 The bus stops in the Transit Mall, and Porter gets off. 他连着几年都是沃特金斯公司的最佳零售推销员。如今他是该公司44000 名推销员中惟一一个上门 推销的人。
公共汽车在公交中转购物中心站停下波特下了车。
22 His body is not made for walking. Each step strains his joints. Headaches are constant visitors. His right
arm is nearly useless. He can't fully control the limb. His body tilts at the waist; he seems to be heading into a
strong, steady wind that keeps him off balance. At times, he looks like a toddler taking his first steps.
23 He walks 10 miles a day.
他的身体不适合行走。每走一步关节都疼。头疼也是习以为常的事。他的右臂几乎没用。他不能完
全控制这只手臂。他的身体从腰部开始前倾",看上去就像是顶着一股强劲的吹个不停的风迈步向前风似
乎要把他刮倒。有时他看上去就像是个刚刚学步的孩童。