Английский язык с С. Кингом "Верхом на пуле"
Шрифт:
vacation [vq'keIS(q)n], smoky ['smqukI], hole [hqul]
That was good; I'd lost what little taste for hitchhiking I'd ever had. My mother tried to quit smoking and for a little while she did. Then I came back from school for April vacation a day early, and the kitchen was just as smoky as it had ever been. She looked at me with eyes that were both ashamed and defiant. “I can't,” she said. “I'm sorry, Al — I know you want me to and I know I should, but there's such a hole in my life without it. Nothin fills it. The best I can do is wish I'd never started in the first place.”
Two weeks after I graduated from college (через две недели после того, как я закончил университет; to graduate — оканчиватьвысшееучебноезаведение), my ma had another stroke — just a little one (у моей мамы был еще один инсульт, совсем небольшой). She tried to quit smoking again when the doctor scolded her (она попыталась снова бросить курить, когда доктор
graduate ['grxdjuqt], convince [kqn'vIns], tough [tAf]
Two weeks after I graduated from college, my ma had another stroke just a little one. She tried to quit smoking again when the doctor scolded her, then put on fifty pounds and went back to the tobacco. “As a dog returneth to its vomit,” the Bible says; I've always liked that one. I got a pretty good job in Portland on my first try lucky, I guess, and started the work of convincing her to quit her own job. It was a tough sled at first.
I might have given up in disgust (я мог бы сдаться в раздражении; disgust — отвращение; недовольство, раздражение), but I had a certain memory that kept me digging away at her Yankee defenses (но у меня было определенное воспоминание, которое заставляло меня раздалбливать ее оборону янки; to dig away — прокапывать, разгребать/слойпочвыит. п./; /at smth./ корпеть, трудиться/надчем-либо/; Yankee defenses — первоначальнооборонаилиукрепленияармиисеверянвовремяГражданскойвойны).
“You ought to be saving for your own life (ты должен копить на собственную жизнь; to save — спасать; охранять; экономить, откладывать), not taking care of me (не заботься обо мне),” she said. “You'll want to get married someday, Al (однажды ты захочешь жениться, Эл), and what you spend on me you won't have for that (и то, что ты потратишь на меня, ты не будешь иметь для этого = для своей семьи). For your real life (для твоей настоящей жизни).”
“You're my real life (ты моя настоящая жизнь),” I said, and kissed her (и поцеловал ее). “You can like it or lump it, but that's just the way it is (нравится тебе это или нет, но это именно так; to like it or lump it — миритьсясчем-то, нравитсяэтоилинет).”
disgust [dIs'gAst], certain ['sWtn], married ['mxrId]
I might have given up in disgust, but I had a certain memory that kept me digging away at her Yankee defenses.
“You ought to be saving for your own life, not taking care of me,” she said. “You'll want to get married someday, Al, and what you spend on me you won't have for that. For your real life.”
“You're my real life,” I said, and kissed her. “You can like it or lump it, but that's just the way it is.”
And finally she threw in the towel (наконец, она сдалась; to throw in the towel — сдаваться /первоначал. боксерский жаргон — бросить полотенце на ринг рядом с секундантом в знак признания поражения/). We had some pretty good years after that — seven of them in all (у нас было несколько счастливых лет после этого, всего их было семь). I didn't live with her (я не жил с ней), but I visited her almost every day (но навещал ее почти каждый день). We played a lot of gin rummy and watched a lot of movies on the video recorder I bought her (мы много играли в кункен и смотрели много фильмов на видеомагнитофоне, который я купил ей; gin rummy — кункен, карточнаяигра, целькоторой— избавитьсяоткарт, выложивихсоответствующимобразомнаигровомстоле). Had a bucketload of laughs, as she liked to say (у нас было целое ведро смеха, как она любила говорить; bucket — ведро; bucketload — количество/чего-либо/, помещающеесявведро). I don't know if I owe those years to George Staub or not (я не знаю, обязан ли я всеми этими годами Джорджу Стаубу или нет; to owe — бытьдолжным; бытьобязанным), but they were good years (но это были хорошие годы). And my memory of the night I met Staub never faded and grew dreamlike (и
воспоминание о ночи, когда я встретил Стауба, не поблекло и не стало похожим на сон), as I always expected it would (чего я постоянно ожидал); every incident, from the old man telling me to wish on the harvest moon (каждый эпизод, от старика, предлагающего мне загадать желание на полную луну) to the fingers fumbling at my shirt as Staub passed his button on to me remained perfectly clear (до пальцев, теребящих мою рубашку, когда Стауб прикалывал: «передавал» мне свой значок, остался /в моей памяти/ совершенно ярким и четким; to pass on — переходить; передаватьдальше). And there came a day when I could no longer find that button (и настал день, когда я больше не мог найти этого значка). I knew I'd had it when I moved into my little apartment in Falmouth (я знал, что он был у меня, когда я переезжал в свою маленькую квартиру в Фалмуте) — I kept it in the top drawer of my bedside table (я держал его в верхнем ящике моего прикроватного столика), along with a couple of combs (вместе с парой расчесок), my two sets of cuff links (двумя моими наборами запонок; cuff — манжета; обшлаг; link — звено/цепи/; связь; соединение), and an old political button that said bill clinton, the safe sax president (и старый политический значок, гласящий: “Билл Клинтон, президент за безопасный сакс”; sax = saxophone) — but then it came up missing (но потом он вдруг исчез; to come up — идтивверх, подниматься; оказываться; missing — недостающий, отсутствующий; пропавший; to miss — промахнуться, промазать; обнаружитьотсутствиеилипропажу; недоставать; пропадать). And when the telephone rang a day or two later (и когда телефон зазвонил день или два спустя), I knew why Mrs. McCurdy was crying (я знал, почему миссис МакКурди плачет). It was the bad news I'd never quite stopped expecting (это была плохая новость, которую я никогда не переставал ожидать); fun is fun and done is done (что весело, то весело, а что кончено, то кончено).owe [qu], harvest ['hRvIst], drawer ['drLq]
And finally she threw in the towel. We had some pretty good years after that seven of them in all. I didn't live with her, but I visited her almost every day. We played a lot of gin rummy and watched a lot of movies on the video recorder I bought her. Had a bucketload of laughs, as she liked to say. I don't know if I owe those years to George Staub or not, but they were good years. And my memory of the night I met Staub never faded and grew dreamlike, as I always expected it would; every incident, from the old man telling me to wish on the harvest moon to the fingers fumbling at my shirt as Staub passed his button on to me remained perfectly clear. And there came a day when I could no longer find that button. I knew I'd had it when I moved into my little apartment in Falmouth I kept it in the top drawer of my bedside table, along with a couple of combs, my two sets of cuff links, and an old political button that said bill clinton, the safe sax president but then it came up missing. And when the telephone rang a day or two later, I knew why Mrs. McCurdy was crying. It was the bad news I'd never quite stopped expecting; fun is fun and done is done.
When the funeral was over (когда похороны окончились), and the wake and the seemingly endless line of mourners had finally come to its end (и поминки, и кажущаяся бесконечной череда присутствующих наконец подошла к концу; wake — бодрствование; поминки; mourner — присутствующийнапохоронах; to mourn — скорбеть, оплакивать), I went back to the little house in Harlow where my mother had spent her final few years (я вернулся в маленький домик в Харлоу, где мама провела свои последние несколько лет), smoking and eating powdered doughnuts (куря и поедая посыпанные сахарной пудрой пончики; powder — порошок; пудра; dough — тесто; nut — орех). It had been Jean and Alan Parker against the world (/раньше/ были /только/ Джин и Алан Паркер /одни/ против целого мира); now it was just me (теперь остался только я).
I went through her personal effects (я просмотрел ее личные вещи; personal effects — личныевещи, имущество), putting aside the few papers that would have to be dealt with later (отложив в сторону несколько бумаг, с которыми нужно разобраться позднее; to deal with — иметьделосчем-либо), boxing up the things I'd want to keep on one side of the room and the things I'd want to give away to the Goodwill on the other (разложив по коробкам вещи, которые я хотел бы сохранить на одной стороне комнаты, и вещи, которые собирался отдать /организации/ Доброй Воли — на другой; to box up — кластьвкоробки, запаковывать).
mourner ['mLnq], powder ['paudq], doughnut ['dqVnAt]
When the funeral was over, and the wake, and the seemingly endless line of mourners had finally come to its end, I went back to the little house in Harlow where my mother had spent her final few years, smoking and eating powdered doughnuts. It had been Jean and Alan Parker against the world; now it was just me.
I went through her personal effects, putting aside the few papers that would have to be dealt with later, boxing up the things I'd want to keep on one side of the room and the things I'd want to give away to the Goodwill on the other.