现代大学英语精读第二版（第二册）学习笔记（原文及全文翻译）——2A - Say Yes（说“是”）
Unit 2A - Say Yes
Say Yes
Tobias Wolff
They were doing the dishes, his wife washing while he dried. Unlike most men he knew, he really pitched in on the housework. A few months earlier he'd overheard a friend of his wife's congratulating her on having such a considerate husband.
They talked about different things and somehow got onto the subject of whether white people should marry black people. He said that all things considered, he thought it was a bad idea.
"Why?" she asked.
Sometimes his wife got this look where she pinched her brows together and bit her lower lip. When he saw her like this he knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he never did. Actually it made him talk more. She had that look now.
"Why?" she asked again, and stood there with her hand inside a bowl, just holding it above the water.
"Listen," he said, "I went to school with blacks, and I've worked with blacks and we've always gotten along just fine. I don't need you coming along now and implying that I'm a racist."
"I didn't imply anything," she said, "I just don't see what's wrong with a white person marrying a black person, that's all."
"They don't come from the same culture. Why, they even have their own language. That's okay with me. I like hearing them talk."
"But you wouldn't like to marry a black person, is that it?" she asked.
"But that's different. A person from their culture and a person of our culture could never really know each other."
"Like you know me?" his wife asked.
"Yes. Like I know you."
"But if they love each other," she said.
Oh boy, he thought. He said, "Don't take my word for it. Look at the statistics. Most of those marriages break up."
"Statistics." She was piling dishes on the draining-board at a terrific rate. Many of them were still greasy. "All right," she said, "what about foreigners? I suppose you think the same thing about two foreigners getting married."
"Yes," he said, "as a matter of fact I do. How can you understand someone who comes from a completely different background?"
"Different," said his wife. "Not the same, like us."
"Yes, different," he snapped, angry with her for resorting to this trick of repeating his words so that they sounded hypocritical. "These are dirty," he said, and threw all the silverware back into the sink.
She stared down at it, her lips pressed tight together, then plunged her hands under the surface. "Oh!" she cried, and jumped back. She took her right hand by the wrist and held it up. Her thumb was bleeding.
"Don't move," he said. "Stay right there." He ran upstairs to the bathroom and rummaged in the medicine chest for alcohol, cotton, and a Band-Aid. When he came back down she was leaning against the refrigerator with her eyes closed, still holding her hand. He took her hand and dabbed at her thumb with the cotton. The bleeding had stopped. He squeezed it to see how deep the wound was.
"It's shallow," he said. "Tomorrow you won't even know it's there." He hoped that she appreciated how quickly he had come to her aid. He'd acted out of concern for her, he thought that it would be a nice gesture on her part not to start up that conversation again, as he was tired of it.
"I'll finish up here," he said. "You go and relax."
"That's okay," she said. "I'll dry."
He began to wash the silverware again.
"So," she said, "you wouldn't have married me if I'd been black."
"For Christ's sake, Ann!"
"Well, that's what you said, didn't you?"
"No, I did not. The whole question is ridiculous. If you had been black we probably wouldn't even have met. The only black girl I ever knew was my partner in the debating club."
"But if we had met, and I'd been black?"
"Then you probably would have been going out with a black guy." He picked up the rinsing nozzle and sprayed the silverware.
"Let's say I am black and unattached," she said, "and we meet and fall in love."
He glanced over at her. She was watching him and her eyes were bright. "Look," he said, taking a reasonable tone, "this is stupid. If you were black you wouldn't be you." As he said this he realized it was absolutely true. There was no possible way of arguing with the fact that she would not be herself if she were black.
"I know," she said, "but let's just say."
He took a deep breath. He had won the argument but he still felt cornered. "Say what?" he asked.
"That I'm black, but still me, and we fall in love. Will you marry me?"
He thought about it.
"Well?" she said. Her eyes were even brighter. "Will you marry me?"
"I'm thinking," he said.
"You won't, I can tell."
"Let's not move too fast on this," he said. "There are lots of things to consider. We don't want to do something we would regret for the rest of our lives."
"No more considering. Yes or no?"
"Since you put it that way—"
"Yes or no."
"Jesus, Ann. All right, No."
She said, "Thank you," and walked from the kitchen into the living room. A moment later he heard her turning the pages of a magazine. He knew that she was too angry to be actually reading it, but she didn't snap through the pages the way he would have done. She turned them slowly, as if she were studying every word. She was demonstrating her indifference to him, and it had the effect he knew she wanted it to have. It hurt him.
He had no choice but to demonstrate his indifference to her. Quietly, thoroughly, he washed the rest of the dishes. Then he dried them and put them away. He wiped the counters and the stove.
While he was at it, he decided, he might as well mop the floor. When he was done the kitchen looked new, the way it looked when they were first shown the house.
He picked up the garbage pail and went outside. The night was clear and he could see a few stars to the west, where the lights of the town didn't blur them out. On El Camino the traffic was steady and light, peaceful as a river. He felt ashamed that he had let his wife get him into a fight. In another thirty years or so they would both be dead. What would all that stuff matter then? He thought of the years they had spent together, and how close they were, and how well they knew each other, and his throat tightened so that he could hardly breathe.
The house was dark when he came back inside. She was in the bathroom. He stood outside the door and called her name. "Ann, I'm really sorry," he said. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."
"How?" she said.
He knew that he had to come up with the right answer. He leaned against the door. "I'll marry you," he whispered.
"We'll see," she said. "Go on to bed. I'll be out in a minute."
He undressed and got under the covers. Finally he heard the bathroom door open and close.
"Turn off the light," she said from the hallway.
"What?"
"Turn off the light."
He reached over and pulled the chain on the bedside lamp. The room went dark. "All right," he said. He lay there, but nothing happened. "All right," he said again. Then he heard a movement across the room. He sat up, but he couldn't see a thing. The room was silent. His heart pounded the way it had on their first night together, the way it still did when he woke at a noise in the darkness and waited to hear again—the sound of someone moving through the house, a stranger.
参考译文——说“是”
说“是”
托拜厄斯·沃尔夫
他们在一起洗盘子，妻子洗，他擦干。与他认识的大多数男人不同，他确实主动地帮助做家务。几个月前，他无意间听到他妻子的一个朋友祝贺她有这样一个体贴的丈夫。
他们闲聊着各种各样的话题，不知不觉地就谈到了白人是否应该和黑人结婚这一话题。他说，综合各方面考虑，这不是一个好主意。
“为什么？”她问。
有时他妻子会做出这样的表情：紧锁双眉，咬住下唇。当他看到妻子这种表情的时候，他知道他应该闭嘴了，但他从来都做不到；相反他说得更多了，现在她就是那种表情。
她站在那儿，一只手拿着碗，还没放进水里，又问道：“为什么？”
“听着，”他说，“我和黑人一起上学，一起工作，我们一直都相处得很好，我不需要你现在来暗示我是一个种族主义者。”
“我没有暗示什么，”她说，“我只是不理解白人和黑人结婚有什么不对，仅此而已。”
“他们文化不同，甚至语言也不同。但这对我来说无所谓，我喜欢听他们说话。”
“但是你不愿意与一个黑人结婚，是不是？”她问。
“但结婚就不同了，有着黑人文化背景的人和有我们文化背景的人是永远不可能真正了解对方的。”
“就像你了解我那样，对吗？”他的妻子问。
“是的，就像我了解你一样。”
“但是如果他们彼此相爱呢？”她说。
哦，天啊，他感到无可奈何。他说：“你可以不信我的话。看看数据吧，那样的婚姻大多数都不能长久。”
“数据。”她以极快的速度将盘子摞在滴水板上，许多盘子上还有油渍。“好吧，”她说，“如果是外国人呢？我猜你对于两个来自不同国家的人结婚也有相同的看法吧。”
“你猜对了，”他说，“我就是这么看的。你怎么能理解一个有着完全不同背景的人呢？”
“背景不同，”他妻子说，“不像我们，来自相同的背景？”
“是的，背景不同，”他厉声说。她采用这样的方式重复他说的话，使他的话听起来非常虚伪，他对此感到非常生气。“这些还没洗干净，”他说着，把所有的银制餐具都扔回水池里。
她低头看着水槽，双唇紧闭，然后把双手伸进水里，“啊！”她尖叫起来，向后跳了一下。她抓住右手腕并把它举了起来，大拇指在流血。
“别动，”他说，“就待在那儿。”他跑到浴室，在药柜里翻找酒精、药棉和邦迪创可贴。他从楼上下来的时候，她正闭着眼倚在冰箱上，仍然举着那只受伤的右手。他拉过她的手，用药棉轻轻蘸了蘸大拇指受伤的地方。已经不流血了。他挤了挤伤口，看看它有多深。
“伤口很浅，”他说，“明天你甚至都看不到伤口在哪儿了。”他希望她会感激他这么快就来帮她处理好了伤口。他这么做是出于对她的关心，他想对于她来说这是个很好的暗示，让她别再继续刚才的话题，因为他不想再说什么了。
“我会把剩下的洗完，收拾利索，”他说，“你去休息吧！”
“不碍事，”她说，“我来擦干。”
他开始重洗这些餐具。
“这么说，”她说，“如果我是黑人，你就不会娶我了。”
“看在上帝的份儿上，别再说了，安！”
“你刚才就是这样说的，对吧？”
“不，我没说。这个问题太可笑了。如果你是黑人，我们几乎不可能相遇。我认识的黑人女孩只有一个，她是我在辩论俱乐部中的搭档。”
“但假如我是黑人，我们又相遇了呢？”
“那你很可能已经在跟一个黑人小伙子谈恋爱了。”他拿起喷头冲洗餐具。
“假如说我是黑人，而且单身，”她说，“我们相遇并且相爱了。”
他看了妻子一眼，她正看着他，双眼亮晶晶的。“你看，”他以一种理智的语调说，“这很愚蠢。如果你是黑人，你就不是你了。”当他说这句话的时候，他觉得这绝对正确。如果她是黑人，她就不是她自己了。这是一个事实，事实胜于雄辩。
“我知道，”她说，“但是我们只是假设。”
他深吸了一口气，他已经赢得了这场争辩，但是他仍然觉得被逼得无法脱身。“假设什么？”他问。
“假设我是黑人，但我还是我，而且我们相爱了。你会娶我吗？”
他想了想。
“说呀？”她说，她的眼睛更亮了，“你会娶我吗？”
“我正想着呢，”他说。
“我能看出来你不会的。”
“不要这么快下结论，”他说，“有许多情况需要考虑。谁也不想做会让自己抱憾终生的事。”
“别再考虑了。会还是不会？”
“你要这么说的话……”
“会还是不会？”
“天哪，安，好吧，不会。”
她说了句“谢谢”，然后离开厨房进了客厅。过了一会儿，他听见她翻杂志的声音。他知道她太生气了，根本看不进杂志，但她不像他生气时那样把杂志翻得哗哗响。她慢慢地翻动书页，好像在研读里面的每一个字。她在表示对他的冷漠。他知道这起到了她想要的效果。这伤害了他。
他别无选择，只好也对她表现出满不在乎的样子。他一声不响地洗完了剩下的盘子，然后把它们擦干放好。他还擦了擦台面和灶台。
擦洗的时候，他决定不如把地也拖一拖。所有活都干完了，厨房里焕然一新，看起来和当初他们来看房子时一样。
他拿起垃圾桶走了出去。夜空清朗，他可以看到西边的天空有几颗星星在闪烁，城市的灯火并没有掩盖它们的光芒。在埃尔卡米诺大街上，车辆不多，宁静得像一条河流。他觉得很羞愧，他居然和妻子吵了一架。再过30来年，他们可能都不在人世了。那这些问题还有什么重要的呢？他想起了他们共同走过的日子，想起了那时的他们是多么亲密，多么了解对方啊！想到这儿，他感到喉咙发紧，几乎不能呼吸了。
当他回来时，家里一片漆黑。妻子在浴室里。他站在门口，叫了她的名字。“安，真对不起，”他说，“我会弥补我的过错。我保证。”
“怎么弥补？”她说。
他知道他必须作出正确的回答。他倚在门上，低声对她说：“我会娶你。”
“再说吧，”她回答，“你去睡吧，我一会儿就出来。”
他脱了衣服，钻进被窝里。终于，他听见浴室门开了又关的声音。
“关灯，”门厅传来她的声音。
“什么？”
“关灯。”
他伸手拉了一下床边的灯绳，房间里伸手不见五指。“好了，”他说，他躺在那儿，但什么也没发生。“好了，”他又说了一遍。然后他听到穿过房间的脚步声。他坐了起来，但什么都看不见。房间里一片寂静。他的心怦怦直跳，那种心跳的感觉如同他们一起度过的第一个夜晚一样，又如同他曾经在黑夜中被声响惊醒，等着再次听到它一样——有人在房间走动的声音，一个陌生人的声音。
Key Words:
imply [im'plai]
vt. 暗示，意指，含有 ... 的意义
bowl [bəul]
n. 碗，碗状物，季后赛，圆形露天剧场
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]
vt. 理解，懂，听说，获悉，将 ... 理解为，认为<
wrist [rist]
n. 手腕，护腕
bleeding ['bli:diŋ]
n. 出血；渗色 adj. 流血的；同情的 v. 出血；
thumb [θʌm]
n. 拇指
v. 翻阅，示意要求搭车
hypocritical [.hipə'kritikəl]
adj. 伪善的
sink [siŋk]
n. 接收端，沟渠，污水槽，散热器
shallow ['ʃæləu]
adj. 浅的，薄的
n. 浅滩，浅处
gesture ['dʒestʃə]
n. 手势，姿态
v. 作手势表达
ridiculous [ri'dikjuləs]
adj. 荒谬的，可笑的
thumb [θʌm]
n. 拇指
v. 翻阅，示意要求搭车
appreciated [ə'pri:ʃieit]
vt. 欣赏；感激；领会；鉴别 vi. 增值；涨价
partner ['pɑ:tnə]
n. 搭档，伙伴，合伙人
v. 同 ... 合
alcohol ['ælkəhɔl]
n. 酒精，乙醇，酒
refrigerator [ri'fridʒə.reitə]
n. 冰箱
conversation [.kɔnvə'seiʃən]
n. 会话，谈话
bleeding ['bli:diŋ]
n. 出血；渗色 adj. 流血的；同情的 v. 出血；
indifference [in'difərəns]
n. 不重视，无兴趣，漠不关心
absolutely ['æbsəlu:tli]
adv. 绝对地，完全地;独立地
kitchen ['kitʃin]
n. 厨房，(全套)炊具，灶间
tone [təun]
n. 音调，语气，品质，调子，色调
vt. 使
reasonable ['ri:znəbl]
adj. 合理的，适度的，通情达理的
blur [blə:]
v. 使 ... 模糊，弄脏
n. 污点，模糊
steady ['stedi]
adj. 稳定的，稳固的，坚定的
v. 使稳固
kitchen ['kitʃin]
n. 厨房，(全套)炊具，灶间
indifference [in'difərəns]
n. 不重视，无兴趣，漠不关心
stove [stəuv]
n. 炉子，火炉窑;烘房；【主英】温室
demonstrate ['demənstreit]
vt. 示范，演示，证明
vi. 示威
peaceful ['pi:sfəl]
adj. 安宁的，和平的
movement ['mu:vmənt]
n. 活动，运动，移动，[音]乐章
hallway ['hɔ:lwei]
n. 门厅；玄关；走廊
参考资料：