前幾天看了《利刃出鞘》（Knives Out），很喜歡，邊看還寫了份口語(yǔ)筆記：無(wú)劇透，聊聊《利刃出鞘》中的英文 。

《利刃出鞘》這種類型的電影一般叫 Whodunnit。看的時(shí)候心里想，007 演的偵探太像阿加莎婆婆筆下的 Hercule Poirot——看起來(lái)沒(méi)什么過(guò)人之處，實(shí)際上心思縝密，又紳士又專業(yè)。

之前看過(guò)阿加莎（Agatha Christie）的 Murder on the Orient Express（《東方列車謀殺案》），這兩天我又趁熱打鐵，一口氣讀完了她的另一本經(jīng)典之作 And Then There Were None（《無(wú)人生還》）。無(wú)劇透，這篇文章聊聊這兩本書中的語(yǔ)言。

1. Murder on the Orient Express（《東方列車謀殺案》）

在 Murder on the Orient Express 中，阿加莎塑造了來(lái)自不同國(guó)家、階級(jí)、年齡的人物。有高冷的英國(guó)家庭教師，話癆的意大利商人，大驚小怪的美國(guó)老太太，霸氣十足的俄羅斯公主......

描寫這些人物的時(shí)候阿加莎也花了些功夫。比如寫一個(gè)又老又丑的女人，她沒(méi)有直接寫她的年齡和五官，而是寫道：

At the small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction - it fascinated rather than repelled. She sat very upright. Round her neck was a collar of very large pearls which, improbable though it seemed, were real. Her hands were covered with rings. Her sable coat was pushed back on her shoulders. A very small and expensive black toque was hideously unbecoming to the yellow, toad-like face beneath it.

At the small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction - it fascinated rather than repelled. She sat very upright. Round her neck was a collar of very large pearls which, improbable though it seemed, were real. Her hands were covered with rings. Her sable coat was pushed back on her shoulders. A very small and expensive black toque was hideously unbecoming to the yellow, toad-like face beneath it.

這一段用了兩次 upright ，寫出了這個(gè)人物身份的高貴。“fascinated rather than repelled”調(diào)侃式地寫出了丑得獨(dú)特；通過(guò)特寫“round her neck was a collar...” “a very small and expensive black toque...” 同樣調(diào)侃了她的穿著和品味，一位老富婆的形象躍然紙上。

她也會(huì)通過(guò)對(duì)話來(lái)表現(xiàn)人物形象，借偵探之口調(diào)侃了下英國(guó)的紳士形象：

I like to see an angry Englishman," said Poirot. "They are very amusing. The more emotional they feel the less command they have of language.

I like to see an angry Englishman," said Poirot. "They are very amusing. The more emotional they feel the less command they have of language.

阿加莎小說(shuō)中的“一哥”是比利時(shí)偵探 Hercule Poirot，他個(gè)子不高，是名副其實(shí)的濃縮精華，沉穩(wěn)克制，還會(huì)多國(guó)語(yǔ)言。他和每一個(gè)人物對(duì)話，觀察他們的表情和表達(dá)方式，然后用紙筆和大腦一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)分析、演繹，查個(gè)水落石出。他說(shuō)他關(guān)注的是“pyschology”而不是什么指紋，因?yàn)樗钪O人性，和每個(gè)人對(duì)話的方式看起來(lái)漫不經(jīng)心，但其實(shí)都是精心設(shè)計(jì)過(guò)的。

But I know human nature, my friend, and I tell you that, suddenly confronted with the possibility of being tried for murder, the most innocent person will lose their head and do the most absurd things.

But I know human nature, my friend, and I tell you that, suddenly confronted with the possibility of being tried for murder, the most innocent person will lose their head and do the most absurd things.

If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it—often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.

If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it—often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect.

這個(gè)故事里每個(gè)人都有故事，每個(gè)人也都有嫌疑。通過(guò)對(duì)人物的塑造和拼湊故事，我們看到了邪惡和善良，也開(kāi)始思考正義和道德。如《利刃出鞘》中的一句話：真相固然重要，不過(guò)比它更重要的是知道真相后該做些什么。

2. And Then There Were None《無(wú)人生還》

有讀者留言說(shuō)《利刃出鞘》和《無(wú)人生還》有點(diǎn)像，我就找來(lái)立了個(gè) flag，一口氣讀完了這本我一直想讀但沒(méi)讀的書：

讀小說(shuō)主要是看人物和對(duì)話。《無(wú)人生還》中雖然有 10 個(gè)主要人物，但是讀起來(lái)不覺(jué)得亂，每個(gè)人的外貌性格特點(diǎn)都很清晰，這一點(diǎn)和《利刃出鞘》確實(shí)很像。

內(nèi)容就不劇透了，在這里聊聊語(yǔ)言，這樣你在自己閱讀的時(shí)候就順便還能學(xué)英語(yǔ)。先說(shuō)幾個(gè)實(shí)用的表達(dá)。

• But the house had certainly been built by a millionaire and was said to be absolutelythe last word in luxury.

But the house had certainly been built by a millionaire and was said to be absolutelythe last word in luxury.

XX is the last word in luxury 就是「極盡奢華」，XX is the last word in 就可以表示在某方面達(dá)到了極致。

• We’d better rope in Blore to help us. He’ll be a good man in a pinch.

rope in 的字面意思是用繩子拉過(guò)來(lái)，常用來(lái)表示「說(shuō)服...來(lái)幫忙」，書中緊接著就出現(xiàn)了 Blore was easily roped in。后面的 in a pinch 也很常見(jiàn)，書中也多次出現(xiàn)了同義說(shuō)法 in a tight place。

• Cat’s out of the bag, it seems.

Cat’s out of the bag, it seems.

Cat's out of the bag 我們?cè)?Modern Love 口語(yǔ)書中就學(xué)到過(guò)，在這里可以理解為「露餡了。后面還出現(xiàn)了一處類似的說(shuō)法：Then, last night, some unknown lunatic spills the beans.

再看幾個(gè)熟詞生義。

• And now Dr Armstrong had definitely arrived.

And now Dr Armstrong had definitely arrived.

我們很熟悉 arrive 是「到達(dá)」，不過(guò)在這里它表示「取得成功」。之前讀毛姆的《刀鋒》時(shí)就遇到了同款。

• I only mention it because it agrees withthe other evidence.

I only mention it because it agrees withthe other evidence.

agree with 一般表示「同意」，不過(guò)在這里的意思是「與...一致」。

• Roger’s face was working. Its colour was grayish green. His hands shook.

Roger’s face was working. Its colour was grayish green. His hands shook.

work 在這里的意思是「抽動(dòng)」「抽搐」：

• Breakfast was a curiousmeal. Every one was very polite.

Breakfast was a curiousmeal. Every one was very polite.

curious 在這里并不是「好奇的」，而是相當(dāng)于 strange/unusual。

• What we’re looking for is a madman. What priceMacarthur?

What we’re looking for is a madman. What priceMacarthur?

讀到 What price Macarthur 時(shí)我第一反應(yīng)是「這沒(méi)寫錯(cuò)吧」，然后又想「What price」可能是個(gè)固定說(shuō)法。果不其然：

What price Macarthur 就是「可能是 Macarthur 干的嗎？」

• I’m a domesticsort of man. I’ll give you a hand.

I’m a domesticsort of man. I’ll give you a hand.

想說(shuō)一個(gè)人「顧家」「樂(lè)于做家務(wù)」你會(huì)怎么說(shuō)呢？這時(shí)就可以用到這個(gè) domestic。在這個(gè)語(yǔ)境中，I'm a doemstic sort of man 就可以理解為「我平時(shí)也總做家務(wù)」。

• Mr Davis was quite fluenton the subject.

Mr Davis was quite fluenton the subject.

我們很熟悉 fluent 表示「流利」，不過(guò)在這里 fluent on the subject 可以理解為對(duì)這個(gè)話題很熟悉/了解。

最后再說(shuō)一個(gè)梗。書中有這樣一句：

Caesar’s wife 的字面意思是「凱撒的妻子」，據(jù)說(shuō)來(lái)自凱撒離婚后說(shuō)過(guò)的一句話：My wife ought not even to be under suspicion。為啥我跟她離婚呢？因?yàn)槲业呐吮粦岩刹恢摇Ｏ嚓P(guān)說(shuō)法還有 Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion/reproach。這句話現(xiàn)在在不同的語(yǔ)境中有不同的意思，在書中根據(jù)語(yǔ)境我認(rèn)為是想說(shuō)此事與我妻子沒(méi)關(guān)系。

好奇搜了下中文譯文會(huì)怎么翻譯，找到這樣一個(gè)版本：

譯者用了直譯加注釋但是沒(méi)有提到這個(gè)梗，只是說(shuō)凱撒的妻子以美麗著稱，我認(rèn)為這樣處理不妥。另外凱撒有過(guò)三位妻子 Cornelia，Calpurnis 和 Pompeia，譯者說(shuō)的克利奧巴特拉應(yīng)該是曾色誘凱撒的埃及艷后 Cleopatra，而不是他的妻子。這也提醒我們英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者們要警惕翻譯，要自己多動(dòng)手找答案。

好了，以上就是Murder on the Orient Express 和And Then There Were None 中的一些語(yǔ)言，希望對(duì)你的英文閱讀也有所啟發(fā)。

我一直建議剛英文原著的學(xué)習(xí)者可以從小說(shuō)讀起，娛樂(lè)消遣的同時(shí)學(xué)點(diǎn)英文。讀一讀不同題材的小說(shuō)，讀言情、科幻，也讀笑話、武俠。若是哭了笑了，恨了怒了，就說(shuō)明你讀懂了。如果最近「書荒」，又對(duì)《利刃出鞘》這樣的故事感興趣，讀上一本阿加莎的作品吧。