10　Death of a Salesman推销员之死

Willy Loman,a sixty-year-old traveling salesman,enters his home late at night with two large sample cases. His wife,Linda,hears him coming up the stairs to their bedroom.She seems worried that something has happened,that he has wrecked the car again,or that he's ill,but Willy assures her that he is fine,just tired.Sitting on the bed with her,he explains that he came home because he was having trouble staying on the road while he drove,and he is unsure of what caused his distraction.It could've been the coffee he had at a roadside diner or the way he opened the windshield of the car and the scenery and sunshine just washed over him.Whatever it was,it kept taking his mind of the road,and he'd veer onto the shoulder before he knew what was happening.He was so spooked that he drove ten miles an hour all the way home,and now he's tired and grumpy because he's going to miss his morning meeting in Portland,Rhode island.Linda urges him to talk to his boss about working in the New York area so that he doesn’t have to travel anymore,but he says to her，“They don’t need me in New York.I’m the New England man.I’m vital in New England.”After more discussion of all the reasons why he should be working in New York,Linda suggests again that he go speak with his boss,Howard Wagner,Willy finally agrees to do it,emphasizing that if Wagner’s father were still in charge of the company,Willy would have already had a New York job.Wagner doesn’t appreciate Willy the way his father did.

一位六十岁的旅行推销员威利·洛曼深夜拎着两个沉重的、装着样品的箱子回到家。他的妻子琳达听到他上楼梯，走到了他们的卧室。她似乎担心发生了什么事，担心他再次破坏了车子或是他生病了，但威利向她保证他没事，只是累了。他们一起坐在床上，威利向妻子解释说他回家是因为他在开车时遇到了麻烦，他不确定是什么让他分心。这可能是他在路边餐厅用过的咖啡，或者是他打开汽车挡风玻璃风景和阳光恰恰笼罩着他。不管原因是什么，他一直在考虑这条路，在他还没有弄清楚原因前，他已经把注意力转向肩膀。他非常惊讶自己回来时的车速是每小时十英里。一想到自己会错过开在罗德岛波特兰的晨间会议，他就感到疲倦又暴躁。琳达劝他与他的老板谈谈在纽约地区工作，以便他不必再旅行出差了，但他对她说：“纽约不需要我。我是新英格兰人。我对新英格兰地区至关重要。”针对他应该在纽约工作的所有理由进行更多的讨论之后，琳达再次建议他与他的老板霍华德·瓦格纳谈谈，最终，威利同意这么做，强调如果瓦格纳父亲仍然负责该公司，威利早就有了一份纽约的工作。瓦格纳并不像他父亲那样欣赏威利。

单词解析Word Analysis

wreck[rek]v.破坏，毁坏

例　The building had been wrecked by the explosion.

那座楼房被炸毁了。

veer[vɪə（r）]v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线

例　The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road.

公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。

spooked[spuːkt]adj.吓坏的

例　He was so spooked that he,too,began to believe that he heard strange clicks and noises on their telephones.

他太害怕了，以至于也开始相信自己听到了他们的电话发出奇怪的咔嗒声响。

grumpy[ˈgrʌmpi]adj.脾气坏的；性情粗暴的

例　Don’t be so grumpy and cynical about it.

不要为此这么生气，这么愤世嫉俗。

语法知识点Grammar Points

①She seems worried that something has happened,that he has wrecked the car again,or that he’s ill,but Willy assures her that he is fine,just tired.

此句中的前3个“that”都引导宾语从句，表并列。“but Willy assures her that”中的that也引导宾语从句。“assure that”保证。

例　He hastened to assure that the press would not be informed.

他急忙保证新闻界是不会知道的。

②Sitting on the bed with her,he explains that he came home because he was having trouble staying on the road while he drove,and he is unsure of what caused his distraction.

“Sitting on the bed with her”至于句首，现在分词作伴随状语。

例　Hearing a strange sound,he went out of the house.

他听到了奇怪的声音就出来了。

③After more discussion of all the reasons why he should be working in New York,Linda suggests again that he go speak with his boss,Howard Wagner,Willy finally agrees to do it,emphasizing that if Wagner’s father were still in charge of the company,Willy would have already had a New York job.

“why”引导原因状语从句，对reasons进行进一步解释说明。

例　There is no earthly reason why they should ever change.

他们完全没有必要做出改变。

“suggest”为“建议”之意时，后接that引导的宾语从句时，动词形式应为should do，其中should可省。

例　I suggest that we go out to eat.

我提议我们出去吃吧。

经典名句Famous Classics

1.Catch the hare before you cook him.

先捉兔子后下锅。

2.Character is the first and last word in the success circle.

人的品德是事业成功的决定条件。

3.You cannot whistle and drink at the same time.

你不能边吹口哨边喝茶。（人不能干两件截然相反的事。）

4.Children have the qualities of the parents.

有什么样的父母，就有什么样的孩子。

5.Pardon makes offenders.

姑息养奸。

6.Pain is gain.

痛苦即是收获。（痛苦中有教益。）

7.A bad conscience is a snake in one's heart.

做贼心虚。

8.One sows another reaps.

播种和收割的未必是同一个人。（享受者未必是应该享受的那个人。）

9.A beggar's scrip is never filled.

乞丐的口袋是填不满的。（乞丐无足时。）

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