Unit 2B - Arrangement in Black and White

Arrangement in Black and White

Dorothy Parker

The woman with the pink velvet poppies twined round the gold of her hair crossed the crowded room and clutched the lean arm of her host.

"Now I got you!" she said. "Now you can't get away!"

"Why, hello," said her host. "Well. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said. "Just simply fine. Listen. I want you to do me the most terrible favor. Will YOU? Will you please?"

"What is it?" said her host.

"Listen," she said. "I want to meet Walter Williams. Honestly, I'm just simply crazy about that man. Oh, when he sings! When he sings those spirituals! Well, I said to Burton, 'It's a good thing for you Walter Williams is colored,' I said, 'or you'd have lots of reason to be jealous.' I'd really love to meet him. I'd like to tell him I've heard him sing. Will you be an angel and introduce me to him?"

"Why, certainly," said her host. "I thought you'd met him. The party's for him. Where is he, anyway?"

"He's over there by the bookcase," she said. "Let's wait till those people get through talking to him. Well, I think you're simply marvelous, giving this perfectly marvelous party for him, and having him meet all these white people, and all. Isn't he terribly grateful?"

"I hope not," said her host.

"I think it's really terribly nice," she said. "I do. I don't see why on earth it isn't perfectly all right to meet colored people. I haven't any feeling at all about it—not one single bit. Burton—oh, he's just the other way. Well, you know, he comes from Virginia, and you know how they are."

"Did he come tonight?" said her host.

"No, he couldn't," she said. "I'm a regular grass widow tonight. I told him when I left, 'There's no telling what I'll do,' I said. He was just so tired out, he couldn't move. Isn't it a shame?"

"Ah," said her host.

"Wait till I tell him I met Walter Williams!" she said. "He'll just about die. Oh, we have more arguments about colored people. I talk to him like I don't know what, I get so excited. 'Oh, don't be so silly,' I say. But I must say for Burton, he's a lot more broader-minded than lots of these Southerners. He's really awfully fond of colored people. Well, he says himself, he wouldn't have white servants. And you know, he has this old colored nurse, this regular old nigger mammy, and he just simply loves her. Why, every time he goes home, he goes out in the kitchen to see her. He does, really, to this day. All he says is, he says he hasn't got a word to say against colored people as long as they keep their place. He's always doing things for them—giving them clothes and I don't know what all. The only thing he says, he says he wouldn't sit down at the table with one for a million dollars. 'Oh,' I say to him, 'you make me sick, talking like that.' I'm just terrible to him. Aren't I terrible?"

"Oh, no, no, no," said her host. "No, no."

"I am," she said. "I know I am. Poor Burton! Now, me, I don't feel that way at all. I haven't the slightest feeling about colored people. Why, I'm just crazy about some of them. They're just like children—just as easygoing, and always singing and laughing and everything. Aren't they the happiest things you ever saw in your life? Honestly, it makes me laugh just to hear them. Oh, I like them. I really do. Well, now, listen, I have this colored laundress, I've had her for years, and I'm devoted to her. She's a real character. And I want to tell you, I think of her as my friend. That's the way I think of her. As I say to Burton, 'Well, for Heaven's sakes, we're all human being!' Aren't we?"

"Yes," said her host. "Yes, indeed."

"Now this Walter Williams." she said. "I think a man like that's a real artist. I do. I think he deserves an awful lot of credit. Goodness, I'm so crazy about music or anything, I don't care what color he is. I honestly think if a person's an artist, nobody ought to have any feeling at all about meeting them. That's absolutely what I say to Burton. Don't you think I'm right?"

"Yes," said her host. "Oh, Yes."

"That's the way I feel," she said. "I just can't understand people being narrow-minded. Why, I absolutely think it's a privilege to meet a man like Walter Williams. Yes, I do. I haven't any feeling at all. Well, my goodness, the good Lord made him, just the same as He did any of us. Didn't He?"

"Surely," said her host. "Yes, indeed."

"That's what I say," she said. "Oh, I get so furious when people are narrow-minded about colored people. It's just all I can do not to say something. Of course, I do admit when you get a bad colored man, they're simply terrible. But as I say to Burton, there are some bad white people, too, in this world. Aren't there?"

"I guess there are," said her host.

"Why, I'd really be glad to have a man like Walter Williams come to my house and sing for us some time!" she said. "Of course, I couldn't ask him on account of Burton, but I wouldn't have any feeling about it at all. Oh. Can't he sing! Isn't it marvelous, the way they all have music in them? It just seems to be right in them. Come on, let's go on over and talk to him. Listen, what shall I do when I'm introduced? Ought I to shake hands? Or what?"

"Why, do whatever you want," said her host.

"I guess maybe I'd better," she said. "I wouldn't for the world have him think I had any feeling. I think I'd better shake hands, just the way I would with anybody else. That's just exactly what I'll do."

They reached the tall young Negro, standing by the bookcase. The host performed introductions; the Negro bowed.

"How do you do?" he said.

The woman with the pink velvet poppies extended her hand at the length of her arm and held it so for all the world to see, until the Negro took it, shook it, and gave it back to her.

"Oh, how do you do, Mr. Williams," she said. "Well, how do you do. I've just been saying, I've enjoyed your singing so awfully much. I've been to your concerts, and we have you on the phonograph and everything. Oh, I just enjoy it!"

She spoke with great distinctness, moving her lips meticulously, as if talking with the deaf.

"I'm so glad," he said.

"I'm just simply crazy about that 'Water Boy' thing you sing," she said. "Honestly, I can't get it out of my head. I drive my husband nearly crazy, the way I go around humming it all the time. Oh, he looks just as black as the ace of—Well. Tell me, where on earth do you ever get all those songs of yours? How do you ever get hold of them?"

"Why," he said, "there are so many different things."

"I should think you'd love singing them," she said. "It must be more fun. All those darling old spirituals—oh, I just love them! Well, what are you doing now? Are you still keeping up your singing? Why don't you have another concert, some time?"

"I'm having one the sixteenth of this month," he said.

"Well, I'll be there," she said. "I'll be there, if I possibly can. You can count on me. Goodness, here comes a whole raft of people to talk to you. You're just a regular guest of honor! Oh. Who's that girl in white? I've seen her some place."

"That's Katherine Burke," said her host.

"Good Heavens," she said, "is that Katherine Burke? Why, she looks entirely different off the stage. I thought she was much better-looking. I had no idea she was so terribly dark. Why, she looks almost like—Oh, I think she's a wonderful actress! Don't you think she's a wonderful actress, Mr. Williams? Oh, I think she's marvelous. Don't you?"

"Yes, I do," he said.

"Oh, I do, too," she said. "Just wonderful. Well, goodness, we must give someone else a chance to talk to the guest of honor. Now, don't forget, Mr. Williams, I'm going to be at that concert if I possibly can. I'll be there applauding like everything. And if I can't come, I'm going to tell everybody I know to go, anyway. Don't you forget!"

"I won't," he said, "Thank you so much."

The host took her arm and piloted her into the next room.

"Oh, my dear." she said. "I nearly died! Honestly I give you my word, I nearly passed away. Did you hear that terrible break I made? I was just going to say Katherine Burke looked almost like a nigger. I just caught myself in time. Oh, do you think he noticed?

"I don't believe so," said her host.

"Well, thank goodness," she said, "because I wouldn't have embarrassed him for anything. Why, he's awfully nice. Just as nice as he can be. Nice manners, and everything. You know, so many colored people, you give them an inch, and they walk all over you. But he doesn't try any of that. Well, he's got more sense, I suppose. He's really nice. Don't you think so?"

"Yes," said her host.

"I liked him," she said. "I haven't any feeling at all because he's a colored man. I felt just as natural as I would with anybody. Talked to him as naturally, and everything. But honestly, I could hardly keep a straight face. I kept thinking of Burton. Oh, wait till I tell Burton I called him 'Mister'!"

参考译文——安排黑人与白人的会面

安排黑人与白人的会面

多萝西·帕克

那个金发上束着天鹅绒质地粉红罂粟花的妇女穿过拥挤的房间，一把抓住了主人精瘦的胳膊。

她说：“这下我可抓到你了！你跑不了啦！”

“嗨，你好！”主人说道，“嗯，你还好吧？”

她回答：“噢，我挺好，好极了。听着，我想让你帮我一个大忙。行吗？你愿意吗？”

主人问：“是什么事？”

“你看，”她说，“我想见一下沃尔特·威廉斯。说实在的，我对他太着迷了。哦，当他唱歌的时候！当他唱那些灵歌的时候！嗯，我曾对伯顿说：‘沃尔特·威廉斯是黑人，这对你来说是一件好事。否则你会有许多理由去嫉妒他。’我真的很想见见他。我要告诉他我听过他的歌。你能做个大好人把我引见给他吗？”

“哦，当然了，”主人回答道，“我还以为你已经见过他了。这个晚会就是为他举办的。可是，他现在到哪儿去了？”

“他在那边的书架旁，”她说，“我们等他和那些人说完了再过去吧。嗯，我觉得你真是太了不起了，为他举办了这么精彩的晚会，让他和这些白人见面，这些全部棒极了。他是不是对你感激之至？”

主人说：“我希望他不会。”

“我想这真是太棒了，”她说，“我真是这样想的。我不明白与黑人见面究竟有什么不妥？对此我没有丝毫反感——一丁点儿也没有。伯顿——哦，就恰好相反。唉，你知道，他来自弗吉尼亚。你知道那里的人很反感黑人的。”

“今晚他来了吗？”主人问道。

“没有，他来不了，”她说，“我今晚没有丈夫陪。出家门的时候我对他说：‘很难说我会做出什么事。’他可累坏了，动都不能动了。这难道不遗憾吗？”

“是啊，”主人说道。

“等着吧，等到我告诉他我见过了沃尔特·威廉斯！”她说，“伯顿非气死不可。噢，我俩常常争论有色人种的问题。我像没主意一样和他谈话，这样使我很兴奋。我对他说：‘哦，别那么傻。’但是我必须为伯顿说几句，他比许多南方人可开明多了。他真的特别喜欢有色人种。对了，他还说他不会雇白人作佣人。而且你知道，他有一个上了年纪的黑人保姆，那种最常见的专职黑人保姆，并且他很喜欢她。每次回到家，他总是到厨房去看她。真的，直到今天他还这样做。他说，只要黑人知道他们自己的身份而安分守己，他是不会为难他们的。他也经常为他们做一些事情——给他们衣服啦，以及其他我不十分清楚的事情。他唯一说过的对黑人不敬的话是，他说即使给他一百万美元，他也不去和一个黑人同坐一桌。我对他说：‘噢，你那样说真让我感到厌恶。’我对他很不好，我很差劲是不是？”

“哦，不，不，不，”主人说，“不，不。”

“我很差劲，”她说道，“我知道我很差劲。可怜的伯顿！现在，我一点儿也不那么认为了。我对黑人一点儿反感也没有了。嗯，我甚至对他们中的一部分人感到着迷。他们很像孩子——为人随和，总是唱啊，笑啊，等等。难道这些不是你生活中所见到的最令人开心的事吗？说实在的，只是听到他们的声音就能令我开怀大笑。哦，我喜欢他们。我真的喜欢他们。现在，听我说，我雇了一个黑人洗衣女工。我已经雇她很多年了，并且我以诚相待。她是一个很实在的人。我想跟你说，我把她当作我的朋友。我就是这样看待她的。正像我对伯顿所说的那样：‘唉，看在上帝的份上，我们都是人！’难道不是吗？”

“是的，”主人说道，“是的，的确如此。”

“这个沃尔特·威廉斯，”她说，“我认为像他那样的人是真正的艺术家。我真是这样认为的。我认为他应该拥有很多赞誉。天啊，我如此着迷于音乐以及与其相关的一切。我不在乎他是什么肤色。坦率地说，如果某个人是艺术家的话，任何人对于与他们见面这件事都不应有什么偏见。那正是我对伯顿说的话。你认为我说得对吗？”

“没错，”主人说，“哦，你说得对。”

“我就是那样想的，”她说，“我就是不明白人们的心胸为什么如此狭隘。我绝对认为去见一个像沃尔特·威廉斯这样的人是一种荣幸。是的，我是这样想的。我对他没有一点儿厌恶感。我的上帝，仁慈的造物主造就了他，就像造就了我们中的任何一个人那样。不是吗？”

“当然了，”主人答道，“是的，说得没错。”

“我想说的就是这些，”她说道，“哦，当人们对有色人种如此心存偏见之时，我就感到十分生气。而我所能做的就是什么也不说。当然了，我确实承认，当遇到一个不好的有色人种时，你会认为他们太糟糕了。但是，正如我对伯顿所说的，在这个世界上也有一些不好的白人。不是吗？”

“我猜是有一些这样的人，”主人说。

她说：“如果有那么一天，有像沃尔特·威廉斯这样的人到我家里来为我们演唱，我真的会感到非常荣幸！当然了，因为伯顿我不可能请他到我家去，但是，我不会对这件事情感到反感。哦，难道他不能为我们唱歌吗？他们身上天生有音乐细胞，真是不可思议啊。似乎这对于他们是再正常不过的。走，我们过去和他谈谈。对了，当你把我介绍给他时，我该做些什么呢？我该和他握手吗？还是用其他的问候方式？”

主人说道：“嗯，随你的心意。”

“我想我最好，”她说，“决不让他觉得我对黑人有任何厌恶。我想最好和他握手，就像我和任何人握手一样。对，我就这样做。”

他们一起来到站在书柜旁的那个高个黑人青年面前。主人作了介绍，黑人青年鞠躬致意。

他说：“你好。”

这个头戴天鹅绒质地粉红罂粟花的女人向前伸直了她的手臂，一动不动，像故意让全世界的人看到似的，直到那个黑人伸手接住她的手，握了握，并松开，她才把手缩回去。

“哦，你好，威廉斯先生，”她说，“你好。我刚才一直在说我特别喜欢听你唱歌。我去过你的演唱会，我有你的唱片和其他所有与你有关的东西。哦，我太喜欢它们了！”

她吐字很清晰，嘴唇小心翼翼地上下动着，像是在和聋子说话一样。

“我很高兴你能喜欢我的歌，”他说。

她说：“我很喜欢你唱的那首《送水工》。老实说，它一直在我的脑海里挥之不去。我时常哼唱那首歌，都快把我丈夫给弄疯了。哦，他阴沉着脸，就像扑克牌中黑桃A那么黑……哦，告诉我，究竟是什么使得你创作出这些歌的？你是怎样得到灵感的？”

他说：“嗯，是许多不同的事情促成的。”

她说：“我认为你喜欢唱那些歌。唱那些歌肯定更有乐趣。所有这些可爱的老灵歌——哦，我就是喜欢！那么，你现在在做什么呢？你还在坚持演唱吗？为什么不再举行一场音乐会呢？”

“本月的16号我将要举行一场音乐会，”他答道。

“啊，我一定去，”她说，“如果有可能的话，我一定去。我说话算数。天啊，一大群人向这边走来要和你说话了。你真是贵客啊！哦，那个穿白衣服的女孩是谁？我以前在什么地方见过她。”

“那是凯瑟琳·伯克，”主人说道。

“我的天啊！”她说，“那是凯瑟琳·伯克？哎呀，她和舞台上看起来完全不一样了。我原以为她本人要更漂亮呢。我不知道她原来这么黑。哦，她看起来简直像——哦，我认为她是一名出色的演员。威廉斯先生，难道你不认为她是一名出色的演员吗？哦，我认为她棒极了。你不这样认为吗？”

他说：“是的，我也这样认为。”

她说：“哦，我也是。她真是太棒了。嗯，天啊，我们必须得给其他人和你这位贵客说话的机会。现在，威廉斯先生，别忘了，如果有可能，我会去你的演唱会。我会跟别人一样给你鼓掌喝彩。如果我不能去，我也会告诉所有我认识的人去你的演唱会的。你可别忘了啊! ”

“不会的，”他说道，“非常感谢。”

主人挽着她的胳膊，把她领到另一个房间。

“噢，亲爱的，”她说，“我差点儿死了！说实话，我发誓，我刚才差点儿死了。你听见刚才我说话的停顿了吗？我当时差点要说出凯瑟琳·伯克看上去活像个黑鬼。幸好我及时收住了口。哦，你觉得他注意到了吗？”

“我认为他没有注意到，”主人说。

“嗯，谢天谢地，”她说，“因为我不想为任何事让他感到尴尬。哎，他太好了。已经好到不能再好了。有风度，什么都好。你知道，许多黑人都得寸进尺，而他一点儿也不。我觉得他很有内涵。他真不错。你不觉得吗？”

主人说：“是的。”

“我喜欢他，”她说，“我没有因为他是有色人种而有任何偏见。我觉得我对他和对其他人一样自然。自然地和他交谈什么的。但是，坦白说，我简直很难做到不露声色。我一直想到伯顿。哦，等着看吧，我要告诉伯顿我管沃尔特·威廉斯叫‘先生’了！”

Key Words:

grateful   ['greitfəl]

adj. 感激的，感谢的

haven     ['heivn]  

n. 港口，避难所，安息所 v. 安置 ... 于港中，

marvelous     ['mɑ:viləs]     

adj. 令人惊异的，了不起的，不平常的

bookcase       ['bukkeis]      

n. 书架，书柜

absolutely      ['æbsəlu:tli]   

adv. 绝对地，完全地;独立地

devoted  [di'vəutid]      

adj. 投入的，深爱的 v. 投入 vbl. 投入

credit      ['kredit]  

n. 信用，荣誉，贷款，学分，赞扬，赊欠，贷方

marvelous     ['mɑ:viləs]     

adj. 令人惊异的，了不起的，不平常的

haven     ['heivn]  

n. 港口，避难所，安息所 v. 安置 ... 于港中，

absolutely      ['æbsəlu:tli]   

adv. 绝对地，完全地;独立地

understand    [.ʌndə'stænd]

vt. 理解，懂，听说，获悉，将 ... 理解为，认为<

privilege ['privilidʒ]      

n. 特权，特别恩典，基本人权，荣幸

extended              [iks'tendid]    

adj. 延续的，广大的，扩大范围的 动词extend的

bookcase       ['bukkeis]      

n. 书架，书柜

spoke     [spəuk]  

v. 说，说话，演说

marvelous     ['mɑ:viləs]     

adj. 令人惊异的，了不起的，不平常的

raft  [rɑ:ft]     

n. 筏，救生艇，大量 v. 乘筏，制成筏

concert   ['kɔnsət] 

n. 音乐会，一致，和谐

embarrassed  [im'bærəst]   

adj. 尴尬的，局促不安的，拮据的

concert   ['kɔnsət] 

n. 音乐会，一致，和谐

参考资料：

1. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(1)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
2. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(2)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
3. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(3)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
4. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(4)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
5. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(5)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
6. http://www.kekenet.com/daxue/201701/48667shtml
7. 现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(7)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语

现代大学英语精读(第2版)第二册:U2B Arrangement in Black and White(8)_大学教材听力 - 可可英语