全新版大学英语综合教程第四册学习笔记（原文及全文翻译）——5A - A Friend in Need（患难之交）_a friend in need原文及翻译

Unit 5A - A Friend in Need

Some people seem easy to understand: their character appears obvious on first meeting. Appearances, however, can be deceptive.

A Friend in Need

Somerset Maugham

For thirty years now I have been studying my fellowmen. I do not know very much about them. I shrug my shoulders when people tell me that their first impressions of a person are always right. I think they must have small insight or great vanity. For my own part I find that the longer I know people the more they puzzle me.

These reflections have occurred to me because I read in this morning's paper that Edward Hyde Burton had died at Kobe. He was a merchant and he had been in business in Japan for many years. I knew him very little, but he interested me because once he gave me a great surprise. Unless I had heard the story from his own lips, I should never have believed that he was capable of such an action. It was more startling because both in appearance and manner he suggested a very definite type. Here if ever was a man all of a piece. He was a tiny little fellow, not much more than five feet four in height, and very slender, with white hair, a red face much wrinkled, and blue eyes. I suppose he was about sixty when I knew him. He was always neatly and quietly dressed in accordance with his age and station.

Though his offices were in Kobe, Burton often came down to Yokohama. I happened on one occasion to be spending a few days there, waiting for a ship, and I was introduced to him at the British Club. We played bridge together. He played a good game and a generous one. He did not talk very much, either then or later when we were having drinks, but what he said was sensible. He had a quiet, dry humor. He seemed to be popular at the club and afterwards, when he had gone, they described him as one of the best. It happened that we were both staying at the Grand Hotel and next day he asked me to dine with him. I met his wife, fat, elderly, and smiling, and his two daughters. It was evidently a united and affectionate family. I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. There was something very pleasing in his mild blue eyes. His voice was gentle; you could not imagine that he could possibly raise it in anger; his smile was benign. Here was a man who attracted you because you felt in him a real love for his fellows. At the same time he liked his game of cards and his cocktail, he could tell with point a good and spicy story, and in his youth he had been something of an athlete. He was a rich man and he had made every penny himself. I suppose one thing that made you like him was that he was so small and frail; he aroused your instincts of protection. You felt that he could not bear to hurt a fly.

One afternoon I was sitting in the lounge of the Grand Hotel when Burton came in and seated himself in the chair next to mine.

"What do you say to a little drink?"

He clapped his hands for a boy and ordered two gin fizzes. As the boy brought them a man passed along the street outside and seeing me waved his hand.

"Do you know Turner?" said Burton as I nodded a greeting.

"I've met him at the club. I'm told he's a remittance man."

"Yes, I believe he is. We have a good many here."

"He plays bridge well."

"They generally do. There was a fellow here last year, oddly enough a namesake of mine, who was the best bridge player I ever met. I suppose you never came across him in London. Lenny Burton he called himself. I believe he'd belonged to some very good clubs."

"No, I don't believe I remember the name."

"He was quite a remarkable player. He seemed to have an instinct about the cards. It was uncanny. I used to play with him a lot. He was in Kobe for some time."

Burton sipped his gin fizz.

"It's rather a funny story,' he said. 'He wasn't a bad chap. I liked him. He was always well-dressed and smart-looking. He was handsome in a way with curly hair and pink-and-white cheeks. Women thought a lot of him. There was no harm in him, you know, he was only wild. Of course he drank too much. Those sort of fellows always do. A bit of money used to come on for him once a quarter and he made a bit more by card-playing. He won a good deal of mine, I know that."

Burton gave a kindly chuckle. I knew from my own experience that he could lose money at bridge with a good grace. He stroked his shaven chin with his thin hand; the veins stood out on it and it was almost transparent.

"I suppose that is why he came to me when he went broke, that and the fact that he was a namesake of mine. He came to see me in my office one day and asked me for a job. I was rather surprised. He told me that there was no more money coming from home and he wanted to work. I asked him how old he was.

"'Thirty-five,' he said.

"'And what have you been doing hitherto?' I asked him.

"'Well, nothing very much,' he said.

I couldn't help laughing.

"'I'm afraid I can't do anything for you just yet,' I said. 'Come back and see me in another thirty-five years, and I'll see what I can do.'

"He didn't move. He went rather pale. He hesitated for a moment and then he told me that he had had bad luck at cards for some time. He hadn't been willing to stick to bridge, he'd been playing poker, and he'd got trimmed. He hadn't a penny. He'd pawned everything he had. He couldn't pay his hotel bill and they wouldn't give him any more credit. He was down and out. If he couldn't get something to do he'd have to commit suicide.

"I looked at him for a bit. I could see now that he was all to pieces. He'd been drinking more than usual and he looked fifty. The girls wouldn't have thought so much of him if they'd seen him then.

"'Well isn't there anything you can do except play cards?' I asked him.

"'I can swim,' he said.

"'Swim!'

"I could hardly believe my ears; it seemed such an insane answer to give.

"'I swam for my university.'

"I got some glimmering of what he was driving at. I've known too many men who were little tin gods at their university to be impressed by it.

"'I was a pretty good swimmer myself when I was a young man,' I said.

"Suddenly I had an idea."

Pausing in his story, Burton turned to me.

"Do you know Kobe?" he asked.

"No," I said, "I passed through it once, but I only spent a night there."

"Then you don't know the Shioya Club. When I was a young man I swam from there round the beacon and landed at the creek of Tarumi. It's over three miles and it's rather difficult on account of the currents round the beacon. Well, I told my young namesake about it and I said to him that if he'd do it I'd give him a job.

"I could see he was rather taken aback.

"'You say you're a swimmer,' I said.

"'I'm not in very good condition,' he answered.

"I didn't say anything. I shrugged my shoulders. He looked at me for a moment and then he nodded.

"'All right,' he said. 'When do you want me to do it?'

"I looked at my watch. It was just after ten.

"'The swim shouldn't take you much over an hour and a quarter. I'll drive round to the creek at half past twelve and meet you. I'll take you back to the club to dress and then we'll have lunch together.'

"'Done,' he said.

"We shook hands. I wished him good luck and he left me. I had a lot of work to do that morning and I only just managed to get to the creek at Tarumi at half past twelve. But I needn't have hurried; he never turned up."

"Did he funk it at the last moment?" I asked.

"No, he didn't funk it. He started all right. But of course he'd ruined his constitution by drink and dissipation. The currents round the beacon were more than he could manage. We didn't get the body for about three days."

I didn't say anything for a moment or two. I was a trifle shocked. Then I asked Burton a question.

"When you made him that offer of a job, did you know he'd be drowned?"

He gave a little mild chuckle and he looked at me with those kind and candid blue eyes of his. He rubbed his chin with his hand.

"Well, I hadn't got a vacancy in my office at the moment."

参考译文——患难之交

有些人似乎容易了解：他们的个性在初次交往时就表露无遗。然而，外表可能具有欺骗性。

患难之交

萨默塞特·毛姆

三十年来，我一直研究我的人类同胞，但至今了解不多。每当有人跟我说他对一个人的第一次印象向来不错的时候，我就耸耸肩。我想这种人不是无知，就是自大。拿我自己来说，我发现，认识一个人的时间越长，我就越感到困惑。

我产生这些想法，是因为我在今天早上的报纸上看到爱德华·海德·伯顿在神户去世的消息。他是个商人，在日本经商多年。我跟他并不熟，但是对他挺有兴趣，因为有一次他让我大吃一惊。要不是听他亲口讲述这个故事，我根本不会相信他能做出这种事来。这件事之所以特别令人惊讶，是因为无论是外表还是风度，他都让人想到一种非常明确的类型。要说真有表里如一的人的话，那就是此公了。他个子很小，身高不过英尺英寸，身材纤细，白头发、蓝眼睛，红红的脸上布满皱纹。我估计自己认识他时，他大约有60岁光景。他向来衣着整洁素雅，合乎他的年龄和身份。

伯顿的办事处设在神户，但他常常到横滨来。有一次，我正好因为等船，要在那里呆几天，在英国俱乐部经人介绍与他相识。我们在一起玩桥牌。他打得不错，牌风也好。无论在玩牌的时候，还是在后来一起喝酒的时候，他的话都不多，但说的话却都合情合理。他挺幽默，但并不咋呼。他在俱乐部里似乎人缘不错，后来，在他走了以后，人家都说他是个顶呱呱的人。事有凑巧，我们俩都住在格兰德大酒店。第二天他请我吃饭。我见到了他的太太——一位肥肥胖胖、满面笑容的半老妇人——和他的两个女儿。这显然是和睦恩爱的一家人。我想，伯顿当时给我印象最深的主要还是他这个人和善。他那双温和的蓝眼睛有种令人愉快的神情。他说话的声音轻柔；你无法想象他会提高嗓门大发雷霆；他的笑容和蔼可亲。这个人吸引你，是因为你从他身上感到他对别人的真正的爱。同时他也喜欢玩牌，喝鸡尾酒，他能绘声绘色地讲个来劲儿的段子什么的，他年轻时多少还是个运动员呢。他是个阔佬，但他的每一个便士都是自己挣来的。我想，人们喜欢他还有一个原因，那就是他非常瘦小、脆弱，容易引起人们的恻隐之心。你觉得他甚至连只蚂蚁都不忍伤害。

一天下午，我正坐在格兰德大酒店的大堂里，伯顿走了进来，在我旁边的椅子里坐下。

“喝一点，怎么样？”

他拍了拍手招呼侍者过来，要了两杯杜松子汽酒。侍者端来酒的时候，有个人从外面街上走过，见到我招了下手。

“你认识特纳吗？”在我点头致意的时候，伯顿问道。

“我是在俱乐部里认识他的。听说他是个靠国内寄钱过日子的人。”

“是呀，我想是的。在这儿这种人可不少。”

“他桥牌打得不错。”

“这种人一般都玩得不错。去年这里有一个人，凑巧还和我同姓，我从来没有遇到过一个桥牌打得那么好的高手。我想你在伦敦没有碰见过他。他说他叫伦尼·伯顿。我相信，他加入过一些相当高级的俱乐部呢。”

“嗯，我实在不记得这个名字。”

“他称得上是桥牌高手。好像对牌有一种本能似的，简直神了。我那会儿常和他一起玩牌。他在神户住了一段时间。”

伯顿抿了一口杜松子汽酒。

“说来也是件有趣的事，”他说。“他人不坏。我挺喜欢他。他总是衣冠楚楚，样子挺帅。长得也算英俊，蜷曲的头发，两颊白里透红。女人都对他着迷。你知道，他没有什么害人之处，就是野了点。自然，他酒喝得太凶了。这种人总是这样。他每个季度收到一小笔钱，靠打牌再赚一点。他赢了我不少钱，这我可知道。”

伯顿和善地咯咯一笑。我的处世经验告诉我，他打桥牌输起钱来时一定是大大方方的。他用瘦小的手摸了摸剃得光光的下巴；手上青筋鼓起，格外清晰。

“大概就是因为这个，当他落得一文不名的时候，就来找我了，再说他和我同姓。有一天，他到我办事处来见我，要我给他个差使。当时我颇为惊讶。他告诉我说家里不再给他寄钱了，他要干活儿了。我问他多大年纪。

“‘35，'他说。

“‘你一直都干什么来着？'我问道。

“‘嗯，没怎么干过事。'他说。

“我禁不住笑了。

“‘眼下恐怕不能帮你忙了，'我说。‘你再过35年来找我，到时候我再看看能帮些什么忙。'

“他没有动弹，脸色变得相当苍白。他犹豫了一会儿，然后对我说，这一阵子他牌运一直不好。原来他不甘心老打桥牌，便赌起扑克来，结果输了个精光。他一个子儿也没有，所有的东西都拿去当了。他连酒店的账都付不出，人家也不肯再赊账给他。他已经山穷水尽。要是找不到点事干，他只好自杀。

“我瞧了他一会儿。我能看出他已经完全垮了。这一阵子他酒喝得比以前更凶，看上去足有50岁。姑娘们当时要是瞧见他，准不会对他那么着迷了。

“‘嗯，你除了打牌以外，难道什么也不会干吗？'我问他。

“‘我会游泳，'他说。

“‘游泳！'

“我几乎以为自己听错了呢；这种回答听起来简直是牛头不对马嘴。

“‘我读大学时曾经代表学校参加游泳比赛。'

“我听出了一点他话里的意思。上大学时自以为了不起的人我见得多了，我才不吃这套呢。

“‘本人年轻时也是个游泳好手，'我说。

“突然，我有了个想法。”

伯顿停了下来，看着我。

“你对神户熟悉吗？”他问。

“不熟悉，”我说，“从前有一次路过那里，只呆了一个晚上。”

“那么，你不会知道盐谷俱乐部吧。我年轻的时候，曾经从那里出发，游过灯塔直到垂水小溪上岸。一共3英里多路，灯塔一带有激流，游起来挺费劲。于是，我把这事告诉了那位与我同姓的年轻人，并对他说，要是他能游过去，我就给他一个差使。

“我看得出，他吓了一跳。

“‘你不是说你是游泳好手吗？'我说。

“‘我现在身体状况不太好，'他回答说。

“我什么也没说，只是耸了耸肩。他望了我一会儿，然后点了点头。

“‘好吧，'他说了，‘你要我什么时候游呢？'

“我看了看表。刚过十点。

“‘你游这段距离大概要花一个钟头零一刻多一些。我到点半开车到小溪那里去接你，带你到俱乐部换衣服，然后一起吃午饭。'

“‘就这样吧，'他说。

“我们握了握手。我祝他好运，他就走了。那天上午我有好些事要办，到12点半总算勉强赶到了垂水小溪。其实我根本用不着这么赶，他压根儿就没露面。”

“他临阵脱逃了？”我问。

“没有，他没有临阵脱逃。他确实出发了。当然喽，他喝酒作乐早把身体搞垮了。灯塔周围的激流他对付不了。大约有三天，我们都没找到尸体。”

我好一会儿什么话也没说。我感到有些震惊。然后我问了伯顿一个问题。

“你提出给他差使的时候，是不是知道他准会淹死？”

他轻轻地咯咯一笑，用那双和善又坦率的蓝眼睛望着我。他用手摩挲着下巴。

“哦，那时我的办事处可没有空缺呀。”

参考资料：

1. 全新版大学英语综合教程第四册 Unit5:患难之交_大学教材听力 - 可可英语