The man with the Scar By William Somerset Maugham It was on account of the scar that I first noticed him, for it ran, broad and red, in a great rescent from his temple to his chin. It must have been due to a formidable 2 wound and I wondered whether this had been caused by a sabre or by a fragment of shell. It was unexpected on that round fat and good-humoured face. He had small and undistinguished features, and his expression was artless. His face went oddly with his corpulent body. He was a powerful man of more than common height. I never saw him in anything but a very shabby grey suit, a khaki shirt and a bal Palace Hotel at Guatemala City every day at cocktail time and strolling leisurely round the bar offered lottery tickets for sale. If this was the way he made his living it must have been a poor one, for I never saw anyone buy, but now and then I saw him offered a drink. He never refused it. He threaded his way among the tables' with a sort of rolling walk as though he were accustomed to traverse long distances on foot, paused at each table, with a little smile mentioned the numbers he had for sale and then, when no notice was taken of him, with the same smile passed on. I think he was for the most part a trifle the worse for liquor& I was standing at the bar one evening, my foot on the rail, with an acquaintance -they make a very good dry martini at the Palace Hotel in Guatemala City- when the man with the scar came up. I shook my head as for the twentieth time since my arrival he held out for inspection his lottery tickets. But my companion nodded affably Que tall, general? How is I Not so bad. Business is none too good, but it might be wors What will you have, general? He tossed it down and put the glass back on the bar. He nodded to my acquaintance. " Gracias Hasta luego Then he turned away and offered tickets to the men who were standing next to us Who is your friend?I asked. Thats a terrific scar on his face It doesnt add to his beauty, does it? He's an exile from Nicaragua. Hes a ruffian of course and a bandit, but not a bad fellow. 13 I give him a few pesos 4now and then He was a It ran,. broad and red, in a great crescent from his temple to his chin:那又宽又泛红的疤从他太阳穴一直延伸 到下巴,像是长长的新月 2 formidable:可怕的。 3 saber:军 corpulent:肥胖的 s battered sombrero:破旧的宽边帽 6 Guatemala City:危地马拉市(危地马拉共和国首都) 7 He threaded his way among the tables:他在桌子之间穿行 the worse for liquor:带有醉意,喝酌 affably:和气地。 0 Que tal:(西班牙语)怎么样? Gracias. Hasta luego.(西班牙语)谢谢。再见。 13He' s a ruffian of course and a bandit, but not a bad fellow不用说,他是个流氓加强盗,但也不是个恶徒。 pesos:比索(拉丁美洲一些国家的货币单位)
The Man With The Scar By William Somerset Maugham It was on account of the scar that I first noticed him, for it ran, broad and red, in a great crescent from his temple to his chin1 . It must have been due to a formidable2 wound and I wondered whether this had been caused by a sabre3 or by a fragment of shell. It was unexpected on that round, fat and good-humoured face. He had small and undistinguished features, and his expression was artless. His face went oddly with his corpulent4 body. He was a powerful man of more than common height. I never saw him in anything but a very shabby grey suit, a khaki shirt and a battered sombrero5 . He was far from clean. He used to come into the Palace Hotel at Guatemala City6 every day at cocktail time and strolling leisurely round the bar offered lottery tickets for sale. If this was the way he made his living it must have been a poor one, for I never saw anyone buy, but now and then I saw him offered a drink. He never refused it. He threaded his way among the tables7 with a sort of rolling walk as though he were accustomed to traverse long distances on foot, paused at each table, with a little smile mentioned the numbers he had for sale and then, when no notice was taken of him, with the same smile passed on. I think he was for the most part a trifle the worse for liquor8 . I was standing at the bar one evening, my foot on the rail, with an acquaintance – they make a very good dry martini at the Palace Hotel in Guatemala City - when the man with the scar came up. I shook my head as for the twentieth time since my arrival he held out for inspection his lottery tickets. But my companion nodded affably9 . ‘Qué tal10, general? How is life?’ ‘Not so bad. Business is none too good, but it might be worse.’ ‘What will you have, general?’ ‘A brandy.’ He tossed it down and put the glass back on the bar. He nodded to my acquaintance. ‘Gracias. Hasta Luego.11 ’ Then he turned away and offered tickets to the men who were standing next to us. ‘Who is your friend?’ I asked. ‘That’s a terrific scar on his face.’ ‘It doesn’t add to his beauty, does it? He’s an exile from Nicaragua12. He’s a ruffian of course and a bandit, but not a bad fellow.13 I give him a few pesos 14now and then. He was a 1 it ran, broad and red, in a great crescent from his temple to his chin：那又宽又泛红的疤从他太阳穴一直延伸 到下巴，像是长长的新月。 2 formidable：可怕的。 3 saber：军刀。 4 corpulent：肥胖的。 5 battered sombrero：破旧的宽边帽。 6 Guatemala City：危地马拉市（危地马拉共和国首都）。 7 He threaded his way among the tables：他在桌子之间穿行。 8 the worse for liquor：带有醉意，喝醉。 9 affably：和气地。 10 Qué tal：（西班牙语）怎么样？ 11 Gracias. Hasta Luego.（西班牙语）谢谢。再见。 12 Nicaragua：尼加拉瓜（和危地马拉同属中美洲国家）。 13 He’s a ruffian of course and a bandit, but not a bad fellow.不用说，他是个流氓加强盗，但也不是个恶徒。 14 pesos：比索（拉丁美洲一些国家的货币单位）
evolutionary general and if his ammunition hadn,'t given out he'd have upset the government and be minister of war now instead of selling lottery tickets in Guatemala. They captured him along with his staff, such as it was, and tried him by court-martial. Such things are rather summary in those countries, you know, and he was sentenced to be shot at dawn I guess he knew what was coming to him when he was caught. He spent the night in gaol 8 and he and the others, there were five of them altogether, passed the time playing poker. They used matches for chips. He told me he d never had such a run of bad luck in his life When day broke and the soldiers came into the cell to fetch them for execution he had lost more matches than a reasonable man could use in a life time They were led into the patio of the gaol and placed against a wall, the five of them side by side, with the firing party20 facing them. There was a pause and our friend asked the officer in charge of them what the devil they were keeping him waiting for. The officer said that the general commanding the government troops wished to attend the execution and they awaited his arrival Then I have time to smoke another cigarette, said our friend."He was al ways unpunctual.” But he had barely lit it when the general it was San Ignacio, by the way: I dont know whether you ever met him -followed by his A D. C. came into the patio. The usual formalities were performed and San Ignacio asked the condemned men whether there was anything they wished before the execution took place. Four of the five shook their heads, but our friend spoke oodbye to ife.” Bueno2, "said the general, "I have no objection to that. Where is she? She is waiting at the priso n doo Then it will not cause a delay of more than five minutes “ Have him placed on one side.” Two soldiers advanced and between them the condemned rebel walked to the spot indicated The officer in command of the firing squad on a nod from the general gave an order, there was a movements that were almost grotesques, as thors ely, not together, but one after the other,with ragged report, and the four men fell. They fell stran gh they were puppets in a toy theatre. The officer went up to them and into one who was still alive emptied two chambers of his revolver. Ou friend finished his cigarette and threw away the stub There was a little stir at the gateway. A woman came into the patio, with quick steps, and then, her hand on her heart, stopped suddenly. She gave a cry and with outstretched arms ran forward if his ammunition hadn' t given out:要不是弹药告竭。 6 tried him by court- martial:他在军事法庭受审。 1 Such things are rather summary in those countries:这种事情在那些国家都处理得很快。 3gaol:=jail监狱 They used matches for chips他们拿火柴当筹码。 20 firing party:(对军事法庭判处死刑的犯人执行枪决的) 2 A D. C. assistant division commander副师长。 2 Bueno:(西班牙语)好。 23 Senor:(西班牙语)先生 24 firing squad:执行死刑的射击队 23 grotesque:奇异的 26 The officer went up to them and into one who was still alive emptied two chambers of his revolver.军官走近他 们,拿出左轮手枪对着一个还活着的犯人连开两枪
revolutionary general and if his ammunition hadn’t given out15 he’d have upset the government and be minister of war now instead of selling lottery tickets in Guatemala. They captured him, along with his staff, such as it was, and tried him by court-martial16. Such things are rather summary in those countries17, you know, and he was sentenced to be shot at dawn. I guess he knew what was coming to him when he was caught. He spent the night in gaol18 and he and the others, there were five of them altogether, passed the time playing poker. They used matches for chips.19 He told me he’d never had such a run of bad luck in his life. When day broke and the soldiers came into the cell to fetch them for execution he had lost more matches than a reasonable man could use in a life time. They were led into the patio of the gaol and placed against a wall, the five of them side by side, with the firing party20 facing them. There was a pause and our friend asked the officer in charge of them what the devil they were keeping him waiting for. The officer said that the general commanding the government troops wished to attend the execution and they awaited his arrival. “Then I have time to smoke another cigarette,” said our friend. “He was always unpunctual.” But he had barely lit it when the general – it was San Ignacio, by the way: I don’t know whether you ever met him – followed by his A.D.C.21 came into the patio. The usual formalities were performed and San Ignacio asked the condemned men whether there was anything they wished before the execution took place. Four of the five shook their heads, but our friend spoke. “Yes, I should like to say goodbye to my wife.” “Bueno22,” said the general, “I have no objection to that. Where is she?” “She is waiting at the prison door.” “Then it will not cause a delay of more than five minutes.” “Hardly that, Señor23 General.” “Have him placed on one side.” Two soldiers advanced and between them the condemned rebel walked to the spot indicated. The officer in command of the firing squad24 on a nod from the general gave an order, there was a ragged report, and the four men fell. They fell strangely, not together, but one after the other, with movements that were almost grotesque25, as though they were puppets in a toy theatre. The officer went up to them and into one who was still alive emptied two chambers of his revolver.26 Our friend finished his cigarette and threw away the stub. There was a little stir at the gateway. A woman came into the patio, with quick steps, and then, her hand on her heart, stopped suddenly. She gave a cry and with outstretched arms ran forward. 15 if his ammunition hadn’t given out：要不是弹药告竭。 16 tried him by court-martial：他在军事法庭受审。 17 Such things are rather summary in those countries：这种事情在那些国家都处理得很快。 18 gaol：=jail 监狱。 19 They used matches for chips.他们拿火柴当筹码。 20 firing party：(对军事法庭判处死刑的犯人执行枪决的)行刑队。 21 A.D.C.：assistant division commander 副师长。 22 Bueno：（西班牙语）好。 23 Señor：（西班牙语）先生。 24 firing squad：执行死刑的射击队。 25 grotesque：奇异的。 26 The officer went up to them and into one who was still alive emptied two chambers of his revolver.军官走近他 们，拿出左轮手枪对着一个还活着的犯人连开两枪
“ Caramba2,” said the general She was in black, with a veil over her hair, and her face was dead white. She was hardly more than a girl, a slim creature, with little regular features and enormous eyes. But they were distraught with anguish. Her loveliness was such that as she ran, her mouth slightly open and gony of her face beautiful, a gasp of surprise was wrung from those indifferent soldiers looked at her 28 The rebel advanced a step or two to meet her. She flung herself into his arms and with hoarse29 cry of passion: alma de mi corazon o, soul of my heart, he pressed his lips to hers. And at the same moment he drew a knife from his ragged shirt -I havent a notion how he had managed to retain possession of it- and stabbed her in the neck. The blood spurted from the cut vein and dyed his shirt. Then he flung his arms round her and once more pressed his lips to hers It happened so quickly that many didnt know what had occurred, but from the others burst a cry of horror; they sprang forward and seized him. They loosened his grasp and the girl would have fallen if the A D.C. hadn't caught her. She was unconscious. They laid her on the ground and with dismay on their faces stood round watching her. The rebel knew where he was striking and it was impossible to staunch the blood. In a moment the A D. C. who had been kneeling by her side “She' s dead”" he whispered The rebel crossed himself Why did you do it? asked the general “ I loved her A sort of sigh passed through those men crowded together and they looked with strange faces at the murderer. The general stared at him for a while in silence It was a noble gesture, he said at last. "1 cannot execute this man. Take my car and have him led to the frontier. Senor, I offer you the homage which is due from one brave man to A murmur of approbation broke from those who listened. The A D.C. tapped the rebel on the shoulder. and between the two soldiers without a word he marched to the waiting car My friend stopped and for a time I was silent. I must explain that he was a guatemalan and attempts to tone down his rather high-flown language 2. To tell the truth I think it suits the story But how did he get the scar? 'I asked at length Oh, that was due to a bottle that burst when he was opening it. a bottle of ginger ale I never liked it. said I Caramba:(西班牙语)(表示惊讶、恐怖、愤怒等)唉呀!天哪!烦死人! Her loveliness was such that as she ran, her mouth slightly open and the agony of her face beautiful, a gasp of urprise was wrung from those indifferent soldiers who looked at her.她跑向他时是如此可人。她双唇微张,面 露痛苦,却看上去楚楚动人。冷漠的士兵看到她不经惊讶地抽了口 29 hoarse:嘶哑的 30 alma de mi corazon:西班牙语,即为后文 soul of my heart 3 Senor, I offer you the homage which is due from one brave man to another.我向你致以敬意,先生。是一位勇 士向另一位勇士的致意 32 tone down his rather high- -flown language:降低他语言夸张的程度 3 a bottle of ginger ale.一瓶姜汁汽水
“Caramba27,” said the general. She was in black, with a veil over her hair, and her face was dead white. She was hardly more than a girl, a slim creature, with little regular features and enormous eyes. But they were distraught with anguish. Her loveliness was such that as she ran, her mouth slightly open and the agony of her face beautiful, a gasp of surprise was wrung from those indifferent soldiers who looked at her.28 The rebel advanced a step or two to meet her. She flung herself into his arms and with a hoarse29 cry of passion: alma de mi corazón30, soul of my heart, he pressed his lips to hers. And at the same moment he drew a knife from his ragged shirt – I haven’t a notion how he had managed to retain possession of it – and stabbed her in the neck. The blood spurted from the cut vein and dyed his shirt. Then he flung his arms round her and once more pressed his lips to hers. It happened so quickly that many didn’t know what had occurred, but from the others burst a cry of horror; they sprang forward and seized him. They loosened his grasp and the girl would have fallen if the A.D.C. hadn’t caught her. She was unconscious. They laid her on the ground and with dismay on their faces stood round watching her. The rebel knew where he was striking and it was impossible to staunch the blood. In a moment the A.D.C. who had been kneeling by her side rose. “She’s dead,” he whispered. The rebel crossed himself. “Why did you do it?” asked the general. “I loved her.” A sort of sigh passed through those men crowded together and they looked with strange faces at the murderer. The general stared at him for a while in silence. “It was a noble gesture,” he said at last. “I cannot execute this man. Take my car and have him led to the frontier. Señor, I offer you the homage which is due from one brave man to another.31 ” A murmur of approbation broke from those who listened. The A.D.C. tapped the rebel on the shoulder, and between the two soldiers without a word he marched to the waiting car.’ My friend stopped and for a time I was silent. I must explain that he was a Guatemalan and spoke to me in Spanish. I have translated what he told me as well as I could, but I have made no attempts to tone down his rather high-flown language32. To tell the truth I think it suits the story. ‘But how did he get the scar?’ I asked at length. ‘Oh, that was due to a bottle that burst when he was opening it. A bottle of ginger ale. 33 ’ ‘I never liked it,’ said I. 27 Caramba：（西班牙语）(表示惊讶、恐怖、愤怒等)唉呀!天哪!烦死人! 28 Her loveliness was such that as she ran, her mouth slightly open and the agony of her face beautiful, a gasp of surprise was wrung from those indifferent soldiers who looked at her.她跑向他时是如此可人。她双唇微张，面 露痛苦，却看上去楚楚动人。冷漠的士兵看到她不经惊讶地抽了口气。 29 hoarse：嘶哑的。 30 alma de mi corazón：西班牙语，即为后文 soul of my heart。 31 Señor, I offer you the homage which is due from one brave man to another.我向你致以敬意，先生。是一位勇 士向另一位勇士的致意。 32 tone down his rather high-flown language：降低他语言夸张的程度。 33 A bottle of ginger ale.一瓶姜汁汽水
赏析 毛姆的这篇《脸上有疤的男人》讲述了一个悲剧性的故事。小说中主要人物共有三人, 分别是主人公我,我的朋友和一位脸上有疤的男人。故事在危地马拉展开。文中不时出现的 西班牙语为小说增添了浓郁的中美洲气息。 小说一开始便详细描述了脸上有疤的男子的外貌。除了脸上新月型的伤疤,他并没什 么格外惹人注意的特点。衣着邋遢的他在危地马拉的一家酒店以兜售彩票为生。 我猜想他脸上的疤是一段可怕的经历造成的。有次我偶然从友人口中了解到那人的过 去。谁曾想他曾是尼加拉瓜反政府革命军的上将,流亡至此 当年革命失败,他在军事法庭被判死刑。临刑,除了那位男子提出想和自己的妻子告 别外,其余四人都表示没有要求。随后另外四人先于他被枪决。于是文章展现残忍无情的一 幕,在战争中的人犹如宠物一般任人摆布。扼杀生命如此轻而易举。 接着他美丽动人的妻子被放进行刑场,悲伤地跑向爱人紧紧相拥。谁知他一边吻着妻 子一边用随身藏着的小刀刺向她颈部。霎时,鲜血染红了他的衣衫,他的妻子则如他所愿地 长眠了。他告诉将军,因为爱情他杀了妻子。沉默之后,将军表示理解甚至向他致以敬意 批准他不用遭受死刑,并派车送他至边境 最后我问朋友,那人脸上的伤疤从何而来。他随意地说,只是开饮料时爆裂的玻璃瓶 划伤的。 这篇小说的节奏掌握地十分到位。脸上带疤者的外貌衣着描写,在桌子间穿梭的形态 临刑一晚同狱友玩牌的细节,处决前的过程等内容,作者着许多笔墨向读者呈现。相对于后 文突如其来刺杀的高潮和获准释放的结尾,之前的铺成节奏较慢。这样先慢后快的节奏,增 添了此文的戏剧效果,更吸引读者,令人回味。 脸上有疤者和将军共同认可的爱的表达方式也有很多讨论空间。因为爱她,所以在临 刑前杀死她。我认为这背后的原因是希望与她一起长眠,是不希望她以后成为别人的女人 因为爱她就不能接受现在和未来有第三者的出现,因为爱她就是想死也要在一起。这样的爱 是否过于自私呢?但另一方面,难道爱情不就是一种自私的感情吗?我们能有很多朋友,也 乐见自己的朋友有很多朋友。但是谁能接受自己的爱人有很多的爱人呢?本文中源于爱情的 过激行为也让读者对于爱情产生很多思考 最后,文章结尾的伤疤由来出乎意料,引人思考。平凡的彩票贩竟有段生死一线的经 历,引人联想的伤疤竟只因一个普通的意外。很多时候我们常靠主观臆断来判断周遭的人和 事,常常先入为主地定性。可现实是,人不可以貌相,海水不可以斗量,不去了解我们不可 能真正知道背后的真相
赏析 毛姆的这篇《脸上有疤的男人》讲述了一个悲剧性的故事。小说中主要人物共有三人， 分别是主人公我，我的朋友和一位脸上有疤的男人。故事在危地马拉展开。文中不时出现的 西班牙语为小说增添了浓郁的中美洲气息。 小说一开始便详细描述了脸上有疤的男子的外貌。除了脸上新月型的伤疤，他并没什 么格外惹人注意的特点。衣着邋遢的他在危地马拉的一家酒店以兜售彩票为生。 我猜想他脸上的疤是一段可怕的经历造成的。有次我偶然从友人口中了解到那人的过 去。谁曾想他曾是尼加拉瓜反政府革命军的上将，流亡至此。 当年革命失败，他在军事法庭被判死刑。临刑，除了那位男子提出想和自己的妻子告 别外，其余四人都表示没有要求。随后另外四人先于他被枪决。于是文章展现残忍无情的一 幕，在战争中的人犹如宠物一般任人摆布。扼杀生命如此轻而易举。 接着他美丽动人的妻子被放进行刑场，悲伤地跑向爱人紧紧相拥。谁知他一边吻着妻 子一边用随身藏着的小刀刺向她颈部。霎时，鲜血染红了他的衣衫，他的妻子则如他所愿地 长眠了。他告诉将军，因为爱情他杀了妻子。沉默之后，将军表示理解甚至向他致以敬意。 批准他不用遭受死刑，并派车送他至边境。 最后我问朋友，那人脸上的伤疤从何而来。他随意地说，只是开饮料时爆裂的玻璃瓶 划伤的。 这篇小说的节奏掌握地十分到位。脸上带疤者的外貌衣着描写，在桌子间穿梭的形态， 临刑一晚同狱友玩牌的细节，处决前的过程等内容，作者着许多笔墨向读者呈现。相对于后 文突如其来刺杀的高潮和获准释放的结尾，之前的铺成节奏较慢。这样先慢后快的节奏，增 添了此文的戏剧效果，更吸引读者，令人回味。 脸上有疤者和将军共同认可的爱的表达方式也有很多讨论空间。因为爱她，所以在临 刑前杀死她。我认为这背后的原因是希望与她一起长眠，是不希望她以后成为别人的女人。 因为爱她就不能接受现在和未来有第三者的出现，因为爱她就是想死也要在一起。这样的爱 是否过于自私呢？但另一方面，难道爱情不就是一种自私的感情吗？我们能有很多朋友，也 乐见自己的朋友有很多朋友。但是谁能接受自己的爱人有很多的爱人呢？本文中源于爱情的 过激行为也让读者对于爱情产生很多思考。 最后，文章结尾的伤疤由来出乎意料，引人思考。平凡的彩票贩竟有段生死一线的经 历，引人联想的伤疤竟只因一个普通的意外。很多时候我们常靠主观臆断来判断周遭的人和 事，常常先入为主地定性。可现实是，人不可以貌相，海水不可以斗量，不去了解我们不可 能真正知道背后的真相