辽宁大学博士研究生教材
辽宁大学公共基础学院
Chapter III
At The Tailors (在裁缝店)
by J. B. Priestley
Priestley, born in 1894, went to London in 1922 where
he soon made a reputation as an essayist and critic.
He also wrote novels and plays.
At The Tailors
1. Between the chaos (乱杂扰攘) of Regent Street and the
opulent bustle (喧嚣繁忙 ) of New Bond Street is a little
region that is curiously hushed (出奇地宁静).
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It is made up of short streets that pretend to run
parallel (平行排列) to one another, but actually go off at
all angles (四通八达).
At a first glance these streets appear to be filled with
the offices of very old firms of family solicitors (家庭律师
事务所).
At The Tailors
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Many of their windows have severe wire screens (严实的
铁丝护栏).
The establishments there have a certain air of dignified
secrecy（建筑物带有几分高贵的神秘感）,
– not unlike（与…别无二致） that of servants of the old
school,
– those impassive butlers (冷冰冰的男管家的神情) who
appeared to know nothing, but really knew
everything.
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There is little evidence that anything is being
sold in this part of the world.
At The Tailors
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The electric-light bills must be very modest indeed,
– for there are no flashing signs to assault the eye (夺
目),
– no gaudily dressed windows to tempt the feet to
loiter (没有布置得花枝招展的橱窗引人驻足 ).
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Whatever the season, no sales are held there.
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You are not invited to stop a moment longer
than you may wish to do.
At The Tailors
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Now and then you catch sight of
– a roll of cloth,
– a pair of riding breeches, or, perhaps,
– a sober (素淡的) little drawing of a gentleman in
evening clothes,
and as you pass you can hear these things whispering
– “If you are a gentleman and wish to wear the
clothes that a gentleman should wear, kindly make
an appointment here and we will see what we can do
for you (我们将为您服务).”
At The Tailors
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Money, of course, is not mentioned, this being
impossible in all such gentlemanly transactions (绅士般
的交易中是不可能提到钱的).
For this is the region, Savile Row, Conduit Street,
Maddox Street, and the rest, of the tailors or—rather—
the tailors (可以说是最优秀的裁缝店的聚集之地).
Enter it wearing a cheap ready-made suit, and
immediately the poor thing begins to bag in some
places and shrivel up in others (这可怜的家伙便这儿
松松垮垮，那儿皱皱巴巴).
At The Tailors
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If you have the audacity (真有胆子) (as I once
had) actually to walk into one of these
establishments wearing a ready-made suit, you
will regret it.
Nothing is said, but a glance from one of the
higher officials here strips you and quietly deposits
your apparel in the dust-bin (让你脱下衣服，悄悄地
把它扔到垃圾箱里去).
2. The hush here is significant. It might be described
as old-world, and for a very good reason, too.
At The Tailors
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In a new world in which anything will do so long as it
arrives quickly and easily (讲究迅速和便捷的新世界里),
this region has fallen sadly behind the times.
It is still engaged in the old quest for perfection (它仍执
着于人们曾经对完美的寻求).
Behind these wire screens the search for the absolute
still goes on.
Tailoring here remains one of the arts (在这儿，裁缝始终
是一门艺术).
At The Tailors
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There are men in this quarter who could announce in all
sincerity (毫无矫饰地告诉人们) that trousers are beauty,
beauty trousers, and that is all we know and need to
know.
(裤即是美，美即是裤，这便是我们所知道也只需要知道的一切。)
For them the smallest seam they sew can give thoughts
that do often lie too deep for tears. (即使缝合的是最小的缝
隙也能引发令人欲哭无泪的思索。)
That they are artists and not tradesmen is proved by the
fact that, unlike tradesmen, they do not labour to please
their customers, but to please themselves.
(他们不像商人那样竭力取悦顾客，而是要取悦自己。)
The Original
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trousers are beauty，beauty trousers (裤即是美，美即是裤)…
This is apparently a parody of two lines from Keats’ (济慈)
poem Ode On a Grecian Urn：
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know．
(美即是真理，真理即是美，这便是你所知道也只需要知道的一切。)
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For them the smallest seam they sew (即使是最细小的针脚也
能引发令人欲哭无泪的思索)… This is a parody of two lines
from Wordsworth’s (华兹华斯) 0de On Intimations of
Immortality：
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears．
(即使是最平庸的花香吹拂也能引发我欲哭无泪的思索。)
At The Tailors
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A tailor who is a mere shopkeeper （仅仅就是一个开店的
裁缝的话）fits you until you are satisfied.
These artists （而那些艺术家们）go on fitting you until
they are satisfied, and that means they continue long
after you have lost all interest in the matter.
You stand there, a mere body or lay figure（仅仅是具僵尸
或衣服架子）, and they still go on delicately ripping out
sleeves and collars with their little penknives,
pinning and unpinning （而他们仍然优雅精细地
将领口和袖子用笔刀割开，用别针别了又拆，拆了又别）,
At The Tailors
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and making mysterious signs with chalk（拿画粉做一些看
不懂的记号）, and you have long ceased to understand
what all the bother is about（搞不懂费这些劲来干嘛）.
And even then they may tell you, quietly but firmly, that
they must have another fitting.
That they should do this to me is proof positive of their
disinterested passion for the art of tailoring
（证明了他们对裁缝艺术的热爱不带任何偏见）.
At The Tailors
3. I never walk into my own tailor’s without feeling
apologetic（不无歉意）.
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I know I am unworthy of their efforts. It is as if a man
without an ear for music（没有音乐细胞）should be
invited to spend an evening with the Lener Quartet（莱
纳四重奏乐队共度夜晚）.
I am the kind of man who can make any suit of clothes
look shabby and undistinguished（看起来就破破烂烂、毫不
起眼）after about a fortnight’s wear.
At The Tailors
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Perhaps the fact that I always carry about with me
two or three fairly large pipes, matches, about two
ounces of tobacco, a wallet, chequebook（支票簿）,
diary, fountain-pen, knife, odd keys, and loose
change, to say nothing of old letters,
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may have something to do with it.
I can never understand how a man can contrive（设法）
to look neat and spruce and do anything else（人何以在
保持衣冠楚楚的同时还能干别的事）.
At The Tailors
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Wearing clothes properly seems to me to be a fulltime job,
and as I happen to have a great many other, more
important or more amusing, things to do, I cheerfully
bag and sag and look as if I have slept in my suits（就
像睡觉没脱衣服一样）.
I can say this cheerfully here, but once I am inside
my tailor’s I immediately begin to feel apologetic（心
生愧疚 ）.
At The Tailors
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They do not say anything, but there is mournful reproach
（悲伤的责备的神情）in their eyes as they turn them upon
their ruined sonnets and sonatas（被糟蹋了的“十四行诗”
和“奏鸣曲”）.
One day I shall call upon them in evening clothes because
I fancy they are not so bad as the lounge suits （晚装）.
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But I do not know; they may see enormities （一大
堆毛病） where I see nothing; and so perhaps I had
better keep the fate of their masterpieces hidden
from them（不让他们看到自己大作的遭遇为妙 ）.
At The Tailors
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Possibly they whisper to one another, when they see
me slouching in（无精打采地）, looking like a man who
might buy his clothes through the post:
“He’s one of those gentlemen who’re a bit careless
during the day（是那种白天有点粗枝大叶的人）.
I shouldn’t wonder,” I hear them adding wistfully（渴
望）, anxious to convince themselves, “if he takes
trouble at night.”
At The Tailors
4. They have their revenge, though, when they get me
inside one of their horrible cubicles（小隔间）, for a
fitting.
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By the time I have been inside one of those places ten
minutes I have not a shred of（丝毫）self-respect left.
It is worse than being at the barber’s, and fully equal to
being at the dentist’s.
At The Tailors
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To stand like a dummy, to be simply a shape of
flesh and bone（像个模型一样傻站着，纯粹一副骨头架
子的样子）, is bad enough,
but what make it much worse are the mirrors and the
lighting.
These mirrors go glimmering away into infinity（镜中影象
绵延无穷无尽）. At each side is a greeny-gold tunnel（一条
条泛着绿光的金色隧道）.
I do not mind that, having only a slight distaste for (不喜
欢) tunnels and hardly any at all for infinity. But I do not
like all those images of myself.
At The Tailors
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Wherever I look, I see a man whose appearance does
not please me.
His head seems rather too big for his body, his body
rather too big for his legs （头大身小，身大腿小）.
In that merciless bright light, his face looks fattish and
somewhat sodden （毫不留情的亮光把脸照得胖乎乎的，还有
点呆头呆脑）.
There is something vaguely dirty（浑身脏兮兮的）
about him.
At The Tailors
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The clothes he is wearing, apart from the particular
garment he is trying on at the moment, look baggy,
wrinkled, and shabby（松松垮垮、皱皱巴巴、破破烂烂）.
He does not pay enough attention to his collar, his
boots.
His hair wants cutting, and another and closer shave
would do him good.
In full face（正脸）he does not inspire confidence.
At The Tailors
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His profile（侧面）, however, is simply ridiculous, and the
back view of him is really horrible（背影更是不堪入目）.
And a woman and several children are tied to a fellow
like that（居然还有女人和孩子要靠这样一个家伙生活）!
Incredible（难以想象）that a man can take such a face
and carcase about with him, and yet entertain a tolerably
good opinion of himself（竟然有人成天这副模样，而且还自我
感觉良好）!
At The Tailors
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As I think of these things, it is possible that I smile a little.
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That is what it feels like - smiling a little（我觉得是微微笑
了一笑）;
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but immediately twenty images in that cubicle break
into ghostly grins, produce wrinkles from nowhere,
show distorted acres of cheek and jowl.
（隔间里那20个面孔龇牙咧嘴地笑起来，一道道皱纹不知从哪儿
钻了出来，脸颊和下巴被扭曲得不成人形。）
And there is no looking away（不堪入目）.
At The Tailors
5. Meanwhile, the tailors themselves, so neat, so clean, so
deft（衣冠楚楚，技巧娴熟）, are busy with the pins and
the chalk.
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They are at home（得心应手）in these little halls of
mirrors, and so look well in them from every possible
angle of reflection.
They pretend a certain subservience（装得毕恭毕敬）,
but it is the idlest of pretences.
At The Tailors
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They know—and they know that I know—that I am but
a shadow of myself, a puppet （玩偶）in their hands.
Their opinions, such as they are（对也好错也罢）, seem
to be those of most moderate sensible men （似乎都出自
彬彬有礼、知书达礼的人之口）,
but even if they murmured that it was high time the
Spanish Inquisition was established in this island,
（该在英吉利岛上建立西班牙宗教裁判所了）
I should have to agree with them.
At The Tailors
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They are not all alike, these fitters, or cutters, or
whatever they are.
Thus my usual trouser man is quite different from my
usual coat man. He is smaller and livelier, more bustling
（四下忙活）, more given to cheerful gossip（说长道短）.
A long and intimate acquaintance with（亲密接触）
trousers has made him far more democratic and earthy
（粗俗）.
There are times when I feel I can almost hold my own
with him（跟他平起平坐）.
At The Tailors
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On the other hand, the coat man is quietly tremendous
（相当棒）.
– He has one of those tight （脸绷得紧紧的）, healthylooking, clean-shaven faces, like a brownish apple;
– and look something between a priest, a surgeon, and
a solicitor who occasionally rides to hounds.
（有几分牧师、外科医生和偶尔出去追踪调查的律师的特点）
– Everything about him is clear, polished, and speckless
（精心修饰、干净整洁）.
At The Tailors
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He regards me with about the same amount of interest
that I give to another man’s coat.
When he once condescended to tell（屈尊大驾，跟我讲起
） me about his boy (who is at a public school) I felt
immensely flattered（受宠若惊）and rushed to agree
with（赶紧表示同意）everything he said.
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For a few minutes I was really alive, almost sharing the
honours with my coat.
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But then he became serious again and took out a pin
somewhere and made another chalk-mark.
At The Tailors
6. I can understand the feelings of those people who are
compelled to live with great artists.
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I can also understand the inner meaning of the old
saying about nine tailors making a man（九个裁缝方抵一
汉）.
They have so little common humanity, these artists of
the pins and chalk（舞针弄线的艺术家们很难有普通人那样的
性情）,
that it must be difficult to wring out of nine of them folly
and friendliness enough to make an ordinary citizen （想
从九个裁缝身上榨出一个普通人身上的愚蠢和友善确实不易）.
At The Tailors
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But now that the dandies are all dead and gone（爱打扮
的公子哥儿们都已西去）, theirs must be a lonely world.
Will they accept these few words of tribute from a
pocket-stuffer, a rumpler and crumpler, a bagger?
（像我这样一个成天兜里鼓鼓囊囊，衣服皱皱巴巴、松松垮垮的
人，裁缝们会接受我的寥寥颂词吗？）
Notes
1．Regent Street，New Bond Street—Both are busy
streets in the fashionable West End of London．
2．Sales—Bargain sales at which goods are sold at
reduced prices．The word is often capitalized when
used in this sense．
3．Savile Row，Conduit Street，Maddox Street—These
streets are the region of the tailors who cater to the
wealthy and fashionable people in London.
4．the tailors—In italics the is emphasized and pronounced
【6i:】．It means “the very” or “the best of their kind”．
Notes
5．trousers are beauty，beauty trousers… This is
apparently a parody of two lines from Keats’ poem Ode
On a Grecian Urn：
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know．
6．For them the smallest seam they sew… This is a
parody of two lines from Wordsworth’s 0de On
Intimations of Immortality：
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears．
7．lay figure—An artist’s jointed wooden model of the
human body, on which drapery is arranged to get the
proper effect．
Notes
8．the Lener Quartet—A well-known Hungarian string
quartet, founded in 1920．
9．These mirrors go glimmering away into infinity—The
images reflected in the mirrors (opposite each other on
the walls of the cubicles) seem to be stretching in a
never-ending line．
10.the Spanish Inquisition—The tribunal established by the
Catholic Church in Spain in the 15th century for the
discovery and suppression of heresy and the
punishment of heretics. It was notorious for its cruel
and extreme practices．
Notes
11. who is at a public school—A public school in England is
in fact a very expensive private school for the children
of wealthy families．The coat marl whose son is at a
public school regards himself as a member of the
upper class and wants to be treated as such．
12. nine tailors make a man—This is an old expression of
contempt at the expense of tailors．It implies that a
tailor is so much more feeble than anyone else that it
would take nine of them to make a man of average
stature and strength