2.After Twenty Years(1352)

Passage Two

O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter, was a famous American writer of short stories. He was known for his stories with surprising endings. He wrote many of his stories while in prison for a crime. After moving to New York in 1902, he wrote about 300 stories. The text comes from a book called "The Four Million and Other Stories," published in 1963.

欧·亨利原名威廉·西德尼·波特，是美国著名的短篇小说作家。他以结局出人意料的故事而闻名。他的许多故事都是在服刑期间写的。1902年搬到纽约后，他写了大约300篇小说。这段文字出自1963年出版的《四百万和其他故事》一书。

After Twenty Years

O.Henry

【1】The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was normal and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely ten o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had almost emptied the streets. Trying doors as he went, swinging his club with many clever movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye down the peaceful street, the officer, with his strongly built form and slight air of superiority, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace.

【2】The area was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter, but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since closed. Halfway down a certain block, the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him, the man spoke up quickly.

【3】“It's all right, officer," he said, confidently, “I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all right. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands—Big Joe Brady's Restaurant.”

【4】“Until five years ago," said the policeman, “It was torn down then.”

The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his eyebrow. His tiepin was a large diamond, oddly set.

【5】“Twenty years ago tonight," said the man, “I dined here at 'Big Joe’ Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best friend, and the finest man in the world. He and I were brought up here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of New York, he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our fate worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.”

【6】“It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. “Rather a long time between meetings, though. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?”

“Well, yes, for a time we wrote," said the other. “But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big place, and I kept running around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the truest, best friend in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it's worth it if my old partner turns up.”

【7】The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.

“Three minutes to ten," he announced. “It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the restaurant door.”

“Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman.

【8】“You're right! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of slow man, though, good fellow as he was. I've had to compete with some of the sharpest brains going to get my money. A man gets stuck in New York, it takes the West to make a man really keen.”

【9】The policeman swung his club and took a step or two.

“I’ll be on my way, hope your friend comes around all right. Are you going to leave immediately?”

“I should say not!” said the other. “I’ll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he’ll be here by that time. So long, officer.”

“Good night, sir," said the policeman, passing on along his beat.

【10】There was now a fine, cold rain falling, and the wind had risen to a steady blow. The few foot passengers in that quarter hurried dismally and silently along with coat collars turned high and pocketed hands. And in the door of the hardware store the man who had come a thousand miles to fill an appointment, with the friend of his youth, smoked his cigar and waited.

【11】About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears, hurried from the opposite side of the street. He went directly to the waiting man.

“Is that you, Bob?” he asked, doubtfully.

“Is that you, Jimmy Wells?” cried the man in the door.

“Bless my heart!" exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other's hands with his own.

【12】“It's Bob, sure as fate. I was certain I'd find you here if you were still in existence. Well, well, well—twenty years is a long time. The old restaurant's gone, Bob. I wish it had lasted, so we could have had another dinner there. How has the West treated you, old man?”

“It has given me everything I asked it for. You've changed a lot, Jimmy. I never thought you would get so tall.”

“Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty.”

“Doing well in New York, Jimmy?”

“Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we’ll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times.”

【13】The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West, full of pride at his success, was beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, hidden in the overcoat, listened with interest.

【14】At the corner stood a drugstore brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this brightness each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.

The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.

“You're not Jimmy Wells,” he said sharply. “Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change the size of a man's nose.”

【15】“It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one," said the tall man. “You've been under arrest for ten minutes, 'Silky’ Bob, Chicago thinks you may come over our way and telegraphs us she wants to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That's sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here's a note I was asked to hand to you. You may read it here at the window. It's from Policeman Wells.”

【16】The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed to him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was short.

【17】Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar, I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.

第二课

二十年后

【1】执勤的警察在大街上令人印象深刻。令人印象深刻是正常的，不是为了作秀，因为旁观者很少。当时还不到晚上十点钟，寒冷的风带着雨的味道，几乎把街上的人都吹空了。这位警官一边走一边试门，灵巧地挥动着他的棍棒，不时回头向平静的街道上投去警惕的目光，他身材魁梧，略带一种高高在上的神气，给人一种维护和平的美好印象。

【2】这个地区早睡早起。偶尔你会看到雪茄店的灯光，或者通宵营业的午餐柜台的灯光，但大多数的门都属于早已关门的商业场所。走到某个街区的半路上，警察突然放慢了脚步。在一家昏暗的五金店门口，一个男人倚着身子，嘴里叼着一支未点燃的雪茄。当警察向他走来时，那人迅速地说了出来。

【3】“没关系，警官，”他自信地说，“我只是在等一个朋友。这是20年前的约定。听起来有点好笑，不是吗?如果你想确认一下，我会解释的。大约在那很久以前，这家店所在的地方曾经有一家餐馆，大乔·布雷迪餐馆。”

【4】“直到五年前，”警察说，“它才被拆除。”

站在门口的人划了根火柴，点燃了雪茄。灯光照出一张苍白的方下巴脸，一双锐利的眼睛，眉毛附近有一道小小的白色伤疤。他的领带夹是一颗大钻石，镶嵌得很奇怪。

【5】“二十年前的今晚，”那人说，“我和吉米·威尔斯，我最好的朋友，也是世界上最好的人，在‘大乔’布雷迪餐厅共进晚餐。他和我在纽约长大，就像两个兄弟一样。我18岁，吉米20岁。第二天早晨，我就要动身到西部去发财了。你不可能把吉米从纽约拖出来，他以为那是世界上唯一的地方。嗯，那天晚上我们约定，无论我们的条件如何，无论我们要从多远的地方来，二十年后的那个日期和时间，我们都会在这里再见面。我们盘算着，二十年后，不管将来如何，我们每个人的命运都该有个结果，我们的财富也该有个结果。”

【6】“听起来很有趣，”警察说。“不过，两次会面之间的时间间隔相当长。你离开后没有收到你朋友的信吗?”

“嗯，是的，有一段时间我们写信，”另一个人说。“但一两年之后，我们就失去了联系。你看，西部是一个相当大的地方，我一直在那里跑来跑去，相当活跃。但我知道，如果吉米还活着，他会在这里和我见面的，因为他一直是世界上最真诚、最好的朋友。他永远不会忘记的。今晚我千里迢迢来到这扇门前，如果我的老搭档出现了，这一切都是值得的。”

【7】等待的人拿出一块漂亮的手表，表盖上镶着小钻石。

“差三分钟十点。”他宣布。“我们在饭店门口分手的时候，正好是十点钟。”

“你在西部干得不错，是吗?”警察问。

【8】“你说得对!我希望吉米做得有你一半好。虽然他是个好人，但他是个迟钝的人。我不得不和一些想要得到我的钱的最聪明的人竞争。一个人被困在纽约，只有到西部才能让他真正热衷起来。”

【9】警察挥动棍棒，走了一两步。

“我这就走，希望你的朋友能平安归来。你要马上走吗?”

“我不这么认为!”另一个说。“我至少给他半个小时的时间。如果吉米还活着，到那时他就会到了。再见，警官。”

“晚安，先生。”警察说着，沿着他巡逻的地方走去。

【10】这时下着一场寒冷的细雨，风也刮得更大了。那一带的几个步行的旅客，耷拉着衣领，两手插在口袋里，闷闷不乐地默默地走着。在五金店的门口，那个从千里之外赶来与年轻时的朋友赴约的人抽着雪茄，等待着。

【11】他等了大约二十分钟，然后一个穿着长大衣的高个子男人从街对面匆匆走来，他的衣领卷到了耳朵。他径直走向等候的人。

“是你吗，鲍勃?”他疑惑地问。

“是你吗，吉米·威尔斯?”门口的人喊道。

“上帝保佑!”新来的人喊道，用自己的手抓住了对方的手。

【12】“肯定是鲍勃。如果你还活着，我肯定能在这里找到你。好吧，好吧，好吧，二十年是很长的一段时间。老餐馆没了，鲍勃。我希望它能持续下去，这样我们就可以在那里再吃一顿饭了。老头子，西部对你怎么样?”

“它给了我所要求的一切。你变了很多，吉米。我从没想过你会长这么高。”

“哦，我二十岁以后长了一点。”

“在纽约过得好吗，吉米?”

“一般，我在一个市政部门工作。来吧，鲍勃;我们到一个我知道的地方去转转，好好聊聊过去的时光。”

【13】那两个人手挽着手沿着街道往前走。这个来自西部的人，对自己的成功充满自豪，开始概述自己的职业生涯。另一个躲在大衣里，饶有兴趣地听着。

【14】街角有一家药店，灯火通明。当他们来到这一片明亮的地方时，两人都同时转过身来注视着对方的脸。

那个从西部来的人突然停了下来，松开了手臂。

“你不是吉米·威尔斯，”他严厉地说。“二十年是很长一段时间，但还不足以改变一个人鼻子的大小。”

【15】“它有时会把一个好人变成一个坏人，”高个男人说。“你已经被捕十分钟了，‘丝滑的’鲍勃，芝加哥认为你可能会从我们这边过来，给我们发电报，说她想和你谈谈。你在悄悄地走，是吗?这是明智的。在我们去警局之前，有人让我给你递上一张纸条。你可以在窗口这儿看。是威尔斯警察寄来的。”

【16】来自西部的人打开递给他的那张小纸条。当他开始读的时候，他的手是稳定的，但当他读完的时候，它有点颤抖。字条很短。

【17】鲍勃:我准时到了约定的地点。当你划火柴点燃雪茄时，我看到那是芝加哥通缉的那个人的脸。不知怎么的，我自己做不来，所以我找了个便衣来做这件事。