To Have and Have Not

　　It had been boring hanging about the hotel all afternoon. The road crew were playing a game with dollar notes. Folding them into small planes to see whose would fly the furthest.1 Having nothing better to do，I joined in and won five，and then took the opportunity to escape with my profit. Despite the evil-looking clouds，I had to get out for a while.

　　I headed for a shop on the other side of the street. Unlike the others，it didn't have a sign shouting its name and business，and instead of the usual impersonal modern lighting，there was an appealing glow inside. Strangely nothing was displayed in the window. Not put off by this，I went inside.

　　It took my breath away. I didn't know where to look, where to start. On one wall there hung three hand-stitched American quilts that were in such wonderful condition they might have been newly-made. I came across tin toys and antique furniture, and on the wall in front of me, a 1957 Stratocaster guitar , also in excellent condition. A card pushed between the strings said $50. I ran my hand along a long shelf of records, reading their titles. And there was more...

　　“Can I help you?” She startled me. I hadn't even seen the woman behind the counter come in. The way she looked at me, so directly and with such power. It was a look of such intensity that for a moment I felt as if I were wrapped in some kind of magnetic or electrical field. I found it hard to take and almost turned away. But though it was uncomfortable. I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger, nor strange, to her.

　　Besides amusement her expression showed sympathy. It was impossible to tell her age;she reminded me faintly of my grandmother because, although her eyes were friendly, I could see that she was not a woman to fall out with. I spoke at last. 'I was just looking really,' I said, though secretly wondering how much of the stuff I could cram into the bus.

　　The woman turned away and went at once towards a back room, indicating that I should follow her. But it in no way lived up to the first room. The light made me feel peculiar, too. It came from an oil lamp that was hung from the centre of the ceiling and created huge shadows over everything. There were no rare electric guitars, no old necklaces, no hand-painted boxes with delicate flowers. It was also obvious that it must have taken years, decades, to collect so much rubbish, so many old documents arid papers.

　　I noticed some old books, whose gold lettering had faded, making their titles impossible to read. 'They look interesting,' I said, with some hesitation. 'To be able to understand that kind of writing you must first have had a similar experience,' she said clearly. She noted the confused look on my face, but didn't add anything.

　　She reached up for a small book which she handed to me. 'This is the best book I can give you at the moment,' she laughed. “If you use it.” I opened the book to find it full. or rather empty, with blank white pages, but paid her the few dollars she asked for it, becoming embarrassed when I realised the notes were still folded into little paper planes. I put the book in my pocket, thanked her and left.

　　詞匯：

　　impersonal  adj. 客觀的;非個人的;沒有人情味的;[語] 非人稱的 n.[語]非人稱動詞;不具人格的事物

　　antique   adj. 古老的，年代久遠的 n. 古董，古玩

　　startle   vt. vi. 使嚇一跳，使驚奇 n.驚愕，驚恐

　　arid  adj. 干旱的，枯萎的。毫無生氣的

　　magnetic adj. 有吸引力的，磁極的

　　注釋：

　　1. The road crew were playing a game with dollar notes. Folding them into small planes to see whose would for the furthest.

　　巡回樂團道具管理組的成員在用美元玩兒游戲，把紙幣折成紙飛機的形狀然后看誰飛得最遠。

　　2. I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger , nor strange, to her. 我還是覺得那種被直視的感覺很美妙，那種感覺是我既不是陌生人而且對她來說并不陌生。

　　3. The light made me feel peculiar, too. It came from an oil lamp that was hung the centre of the ceiling and created huge shadows over everything.

　　房間的燈光也讓我感覺和特別，燈光來自天花板上的油燈，使一切都籠罩在巨大的陰影之下。

　　練習(xí)：

　　1.Why did the writer want to leave the hotel?

　　A.To enjoy the good weather.

　　B.To have a change of scene.

　　C.To spend all his winnings.

　　D.To get away from the crew.

　　2.What attracted the writer to the shop?

　　A.The lack of a sign or name.

　　B.The fact that it was nearby.

　　C.The empty window display.

　　D.The light coming from inside.

　　3.The writer found the stock in the front of the shop__________.

　　A.of top quality

　　B.of good value

　　C.difficult to get at

　　D.badly displayed

　　4. What was unusual about the way the woman looked at him?

　　A.It made him feel self-conscious.

　　B.She was happy to stare at him.

　　C.She seemed to know him well.

　　D.It made him want to look away.

　　5.The writer disliked the back room because__________.

　　A.there was hardly anything in it

　　B.she had ordered him to go there

　　C.he saw nothing he really liked

　　D.it was too dark to look around

　　答案與題解：

　　1. B 本題的問題是：為什么作者想要離開賓館?由本文第一段第一句可以得出答案。在賓館是十分無聊的，最后一句也寫出作者不顧天氣不好而想要出去走走，A，C選項錯誤，D選項未提及。

　　2. D 本題的問題是：是什么吸引作者到那個商店?由第二段中間“there was an appealing glow inside.” 可以得出答案。A，C選項不切題。D選項未提及。

　　3. A 本題的問題是：作者發(fā)現(xiàn)在小店前面存放的物品是怎樣的?從第三段對于物品的詳細描述可以得出答案。“ On one wall there hung three hand-stitched American quilts that were in such wonderful condition they might have been newly-made. I came across tin toys and antique furniture, and on the wall in front of me, a 1957 Stratocaster guitar , also in excellent condition.”

　　4. C 本題的問題是：那個女人看他的方式有什么不同?由第四段最后一句“I was fascinated by the experience of her looking straight into me, and by the feeling that I was neither a stranger, nor strange, to her.”有一種似曾相識的感覺。

　　5.C 本體的問題是：作者不喜歡后屋的原因?從文中的第六段和第七段可以得出結(jié)論，他認為沒有什么他真正喜歡的東西。“It was also obvious that it must have taken years, decades, to collect so much rubbish, so many old documents arid papers.”“I noticed some old books, whose gold lettering had faded, making their titles impossible to read. 'They look interesting,' I said, with some hesitation.”