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“一分五十九秒零四，”安德鲁说道，“真的吗？”
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一个裁判向他们走了过来。
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其他人走了过来。他们说的都一样。
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“你不早冲刺，到底是什么原因？”
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“我不知道有没有冲刺的能力。”安德鲁解释道。
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布鲁斯特加入了这群人。
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“嗯，这是我最后一次参加半英里比赛。”他说道，“我这辈子从来都没有被迫跑得这么快过。”
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可是，显而易见，他很高兴。他在雷德布鲁克后面到达终点，距离雷德布鲁克大约十码，所以成绩大约是二分二秒或者二分三秒。
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此时，安德鲁完完全全地开心起来。身心特别愉快和放松，心满意足地观看其他比赛。他交了不少新朋友。然后，他走进更衣室，泡在蒸汽浴里，抽着烟，跟隔间的布鲁斯特大声说着话。生活真是美好。
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他再次来到运动场上，跟见到的每个人聊天，一次又一次地讨论他参加的这场比赛；他喝了三四杯啤酒，还奢侈地花了几先令。他惊讶地看到，雷德布鲁克又在四分之一英里比赛中出现了，成绩是五十一秒零二，以微弱优势夺取了另一个累人的比赛的第一名。安德鲁第一个过去拍了拍他的后背。
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“了不起的成绩。”他说道，“我纳闷你跑完半英里以后怎么还能取得这么好的成绩！”
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“哦，这个，”雷德布鲁克答道，“这场比赛让我放松了。你为什么不参加，懒鬼？”
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在坐公共汽车回家的路上，安德鲁靠在椅背上一口又一口使劲儿抽着烟斗。他第一次独自把比赛的过程在脑子里过了一遍。嗯，他跑赢了。此刻，他觉得世界上的任何事都不在话下。
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说到底，赛跑是人们常做的事情。足球等其他比赛来了又去了。一个优秀的赛跑手是超越时代的，几百年，几千年以后，还会有他这样的赛跑手。而他，安德鲁，是一个优秀的赛跑手，一个高级赛跑手。一分五十九秒，太棒啦！
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因为疲劳和兴奋，又喝了点啤酒，他的头有点晕眩。他靠在椅背上，轻叹了一声，感觉像是这个星球上最幸福的人。
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（张白桦 译）
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西南联大英文课（英汉双语版） [:1705033854]
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33 THE LONG SHADOW
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By John Hampson
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THE LONG SHADOW, by John Hampson, in Michael Roberts’ New Country , pp. 97-100.
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John Hampson, whose real name is John Hampson Simpson, is another of the new generation of writers. He has written several books, of which Saturday Night at the Greyhound （1931）is his first.
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What can I do? she wondered. Slow tears kept welling in her eyes, then rolling gently down her cheeks, gathering into large drops at her chin before they fell unheeded to her lap as the child’s voice went on:
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“… didn’t know! It was dreadful. We never were real friends, but because she lived near us, we often walked home together. It seemed such a silly thing to quarrel over. I didn’t break the point of her pencil on purpose, but she said that I did. We said horrid things, both of us. At last I told her, ‘I shan’t walk with you any more.’ ‘Who wants you to, anyway? ‘ she said, ‘besides, my brother isn’t a thief.’ I was furious and shouted at her, ‘You liar, ‘ then she laughed, shrugging her shoulders, saying, ‘Ask anybody! They’ll tell you. Anybody! Ask your mother! ‘ Sylvia is horrid, I couldn’t ever speak to her again. I started to cry and ran away from her as fast as I could. She called after me, ‘Prison! Prison; they put him in prison! ‘
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“When I got home I crept upstairs to bathe my eyes, they were so red. I could not believe that what she said was true. Mother, how dreadful! Don’t cry, dear. Don’t cry! Don’t! That’s why I couldn’t eat. I did try but when the food was in my mouth, it choked me. I kept looking at Tom. I did not want to, but I kept looking at him. Things came back to me then; I remembered the time he went away, and how you were sad, and wouldn’t talk about him. Then Florrie left and you did not have a maid for ever such a long time.
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