"Anything. Anything descriptive. A room. Or a house. Or something you once lived in or something - you know. Just as long as it's descriptive as hell... Just don't do it too good, is all," he said. "That sonuvabitch Hartzell thinks you're a hot-shot in English, and he knows you're my roommate. So I mean don't stick all the commas and stuff in the right places.That's something else that gives me a royal pain. I mean if you're good at writing compositions and somebody starts talking about commas. Stradlater was always doing that. He wanted you to think that the only reason he was lousy at writing compositions was because he stuck all the commas in the wrong place.

"Anything. Anything descriptive. A room. Or a house. Or something you once lived in or something - you know. Just as long as it's descriptive as hell... Just don't do it too good, is all," he said. "That sonuvabitch Hartzell thinks you're a hot-shot in English, and he knows you're my roommate. So I mean don't stick all the commas and stuff in the right places.That's something else that gives me a royal pain. I mean if you're good at writing compositions and somebody starts talking about commas. Stradlater was always doing that. He wanted you to think that the only reason he was lousy at writing compositions was because he stuck all the commas in the wrong place.

　　嗯，我就这样沿着五马路一直往前走，没打领带什么的。接着突然间，一件非常可怕的事发生了。每次我要穿过一条街，我的脚才跨下混帐的街沿 石，我的心里马上有一种感觉，好象我永远到不了街对面。我觉得自己会永远往下走、走、走，谁也再见不到我了。嘿，我真是吓坏了。你简直没法想象。我又浑身 冒起汗来——我的衬衫和内衣都整个儿湿透了。接着我想出了一个主意。每次我要穿过一条街，我就假装跟我的弟弟艾里说话。我这样跟他说：“艾里，别让我失 踪。艾里，别让我失踪。艾里，别让我失踪。劳驾啦，艾里。”等到我走到街对面，发现自己并没失踪，我就向他道谢。

　　问题是，我实在想不起有什么房间、屋子或者其他什么东西可以照斯特拉德莱塔说的那样加以描写。至少我自己对描写房屋之类的东西不太感兴趣。因此我索性描写起我弟弟艾里的垒球手套来。

　　这题目例极容易描写。的确容易。我弟弟是个用左手接球的外野手，所以那是只左手手套。描写这题目的动人之处在于手套的指头上、指缝里到处写着诗。用绿 墨水写成。他写这些诗的目的，是呆在野上遇到没人攻球的时候可供阅读。他已经死了，是一九四六年七月十八日我们在缅因的时候患白血球病死的。你准会喜欢 他。他比我小两岁，可比我聪明五十倍。他实在聪明过人。他的老师们老是写信给我母亲，告诉她班上有他那么个学生他们有多高兴。而他们也决不是随便说说的。 他们说的确是心里话。他不仅是全家最聪明的孩子，而且在许多方面还是最讨人喜欢的孩子。他从来不跟人发脾气。

　　老菲芘有好一会儿没吭声。后来她开口了，可她只说了句：“爸爸会要你的命。”

　　“他要我的命就让他要好了，我才他妈的不在乎呢，”我说着，就从床上起来，因为我想打个电话给我的老师安多里尼先生，他是我在爱尔克敦.希尔 斯时候的英文教师，现在已经离开了爱尔克敦．希尔斯，住在纽约，在纽约大学教英文。“我要去打个电话，”我对菲芘说，“马上就回来。你可别睡着。”我不愿 意她在我去客厅的时候睡着。

　　他们还有他妈的那种混帐的秘密团体，我自己也是胆子太小，不敢不加入。有个王八样的讨人厌的家伙，名叫罗伯特.阿克莱的，很想加入。他一直想加入，可他们不让。只是因为他象个王八，讨人厌。

　　我甚至都不想谈它。那真是个糟糕透顶的学校。你相信我的话好了。”

　　“教职员里虽有那么一两个好教师，可连他们也都是假模假式的伪君子，”我说。“就拿那个老家伙斯宾塞先生说吧。他太大者请你喝热巧克力什么的，他们为 人的确挺不错。可他上历史课的时候，只要校长老绥摩进来在教室后面一坐下，你再瞧瞧他的那副模样儿。老绥摩总是在上课的时候进来，在教室后面坐那么半个小 时左右。他大概算是微行察访什么的。过了一会儿，他就会坐在那儿打断者斯宾塞的话，说一些粗俗的笑话。老斯宾塞简直连命都不要了，马上露出满面笑容，吃吃 地笑个不停，就好象绥摩是个混帐王子什么的。”