诸事不顺的日子，天气一直都是心情最好的衬托，下雨了，大家各自怀揣着不一样的心境。尽管狂欢节仍在继续。

上一章结束时，Romero的出场惊艳全场，娴熟流畅的斗牛表演，也深深吸引了Brett。搭讪，从来不是问题。一个是迷倒众人的俏佳人，一个是血气方刚的美少年，电光火石，也就顺理成章。而这自然也是后来各种矛盾激化的源头。

Jake依然保持他隐忍的习惯，甚至带着Brett去撮合与Romero的新恋情。似乎对此已经麻木，“南有乔木，不可休思。汉有游女，不可求思”，也就不过如此。Cohn不一样，不管别人怎样冷眼相待，依然毫不掩饰地表达着对Brett的追求，甚至第一次在非拳击比赛的场合大打出手。在他心里，Brett是爱着他的，他以为曾经一起度过快乐时光就意味着天长地久，他无法接受Brett不过是逢场作戏的事实，也终于在与Romero最后的较量中败下阵来，悄然远去。在Cohn心里，应该还是有对古老的“忠贞不渝”的爱情观的执念。经历过前两次的婚姻或者准婚姻，在他终于可以以自己的意愿去追求真挚的爱情的尝试中，一败涂地。他的遁去，也算是虚妄的理想主义的破灭吧。

Mike是个醉鬼，很多不堪的话从他口中说出，却道出了大家心知肚明的事实。他举债酗酒，对未婚妻的举动也是放任自流，又何尝不是一种对现实的逃避。

Romero则树立了一个“打不垮”的斗争的形象，在与Cohn的打斗中，尽管不是拳击手的对手，但不妨碍他站起来一次次与之搏斗，也算是符合“硬汉”的形象。这一点他就与Jake不同，被打的Jake，只是默默承受，也不让人跟着，像一个精疲力尽的运动员，一个人看看似乎熟悉实则陌生的城市，他漠然，不过是希望洗个热水澡让事情过去。所以Romero也算是迷惘中闪现的斗志吧。

Romero的斗争

It seems the bull-fighter chap was sitting on the floor. He was waiting to get strength enough to get up and hit Cohn again.

Jake的低迷

It was all different. I felt as I felt once coming home from an out-of-town football game. I was carrying a suitcase with my football things in it, and I walked up the street from the station in the town I had lived in all my life and it was all new. They were raking the lawns and burning leaves in the road, and I stopped for a long time and watched. It was all strange. Then I went on, and my feet seemed to be a long way off, and everything seemed to come from a long way off, and I could hear my feet walking a great distance away. I had been kicked in the head early in the game. It was like that crossing the square. It was like that going up the stairs in the hotel. Going up the stairs took a long time, and I had the feeling that I was carrying my suitcase.

文中还有一句描述印象比较深，错综复杂的爱恨纠缠跃然纸上，让人不禁唏嘘。

His ear was cut by popular acclamation and given to Pedro Romero, who, in turn, gave it to Brett, who wrapped it in a handkerchief belonging to myself.

学点英语

1. In between the steady drizzle the rain came down and drove every one under the arcades and made pools of water in the square. （下雨的描写）

2. pipe down 安静下来

ED: to stop talking or making a noise, and become calmer and less excited 停止讲话（吵闹）; 安静下来:

e.g. Everybody pipe down. There's no need to shout. 大家都请安静下来，没有必要嚷嚷。

3. tell fortune(s) 算命

4. loaded （枪）子弹上膛的

e.g. It's dangerous to leave a loaded gun lying around.

5. collar 抓住，逮捕 （联想“衣领”这个意思，还是蛮形象的）

ED: to catch someone and hold them so that they cannot escape

原文：The two policemen tore out, collared him, one hit him with a club.

e.g. The police collared him less than twenty minutes after the robbery. 抢劫发生后，警方不到二十分钟就抓到了他。

Lina

2017.3.12