读者文摘:读书人的爱情(2)

In the end, we sat on the floor among the poetry, and I read him some.

最后，我们坐在地板上沉浸在诗歌之中，我给他读了一些。

He listened, his head tilted¹ down, asking, “What is it you like about that one?”

他听着，低下了头，问我，“你喜欢这首诗的什么？”

That spring, as we picnicked outside, I said, “If I tell you something, will you not judge me?”

那年春天，我们去外面野餐，我说，“我告诉你一件事，你不要评判我好吗？”

David paused from listing the titles he planned to read over the summer and raised his eyebrows².

大卫正在整理这个夏天打算读的书的清单，他停了下来，扬起眉毛。

“I’ve only read one book this year,” I said. “But it’s June,” he said. “I know.”

我说，“我今年只读了一本书。”他说，“但是现在才六月。”“我知道。”

“But you like books,” he said. “You like bookstores. You like libraries.”

他说，“但是你喜欢书。你喜欢书店。你喜欢图书馆。”

“Is it a deal breaker?” “No, but still. Read a book!”

“这会破坏我们的关系吗？”“不会，但是还是要读书！”

I was painfully aware of the glaring hypocrisy³ in my life.

我痛苦地意识到我生活中明显的虚伪。

I defended the virtues⁴ of bookstores in the age of online retailing⁵ and bought books whenever I got the chance, but I hardly read them.

在这个网上零售的时代，我为书店的优点辩护，一有机会就去买书，但我很少去读。

They sat on every surface until my house appeared to wear books the way one wears clothes. They piled up on chairs and draped across sofa arms.

他们被放在每一个表面上，直到我的房子看起来像穿衣服一样穿着书。他们堆在椅子上，搭在沙发扶手上。

The Japanese language has a word for this: tsundoku. The act of acquiring books that go unread.

日语中对此有一个词：tsundoku。买书籍但是不读的行为。

Each of my bookshelves holds two rows of books, an inner and an outer.

我的每个书架上都有两排书，一排在里面，一排在外面。

Surrounding the bookshelf are stacks containing different categories of books: Books I Have Read.

书架的周围是不同类别的书：我读过的书。

Books I Want to Read. Books I Started but Did Not Finish Because I Did Not Like Them.

我想读的书。我开始读的，但是没有读完的书，因为我不喜欢它们。

Books I Started and Loved but Could Not Justify⁶ Reading Given Their Graphic⁷ Sexual or Violent Content.

我开始读的，很喜欢的书，但鉴于其生动的色情或暴力内容，无法证明阅读的合理性。

The next time I visited a dollar bookstore, I bought five titles for myself and two for David.

第二次去一元书店时，我给自己买了五本，给大卫买了两本。

His charge to “read a book” echoed in my head. One afternoon, I picked up one I’d bought solely⁸ for its poetic⁹ title.

他的“读一本书”的要求在我脑海中回荡。一天下午，我拿起一本仅仅因其诗意标题而买的书。

1 tilted   

v. 倾斜的

参考例句：

• Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。

2 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

3 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

4 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

5 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

7 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

8 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

9 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。