由 英语数字智库 世界经典文学精选. 64
作者：O. Henry 欧·亨利
选自欧·亨利《The Cop and the Anthem》《警察与赞美诗》
英文原作，收录于短篇小说集《The Four Million》
《四百万》，1904年12月4日发表。
英文原文
Soapy’s desires for winter quarters were not extravagant.
He did not dream of yachts and Mediterranean cruises.
Three months on Blackwell’s Island was what he wanted.
Three months of assured board and bed and congenial company,
safe from Boreas and bluecoats,
seemed to Soapy the essence of things desirable.
For years the hospitable Blackwell’s had been his winter quarters.
Just as his more fortunate fellow New Yorkers
had bought their tickets to Palm Beach and the Riviera each winter,
so Soapy had made his humble arrangements for his annual hegira to the Island.
And now the time was come.
On the previous night three Sabbath newspapers,
distributed beneath his coat,
about his ankles and over his lap,
had not repelled the cold as he slept on his bench near the fountain in Union Square.
So the Island stood up big and immediate in Soapy’s mind.
There were many ways of doing this.
The pleasantest was to dine luxuriously at some expensive restaurant;
and then, after declaring insolvency,
be handed over quietly to a policeman.
A magistrate would do the rest.
Soapy left his bench and strolled out of the square.
He paused before a brilliant café.
At the door he met the eye of the head waiter.
Soapy’s trousers were frayed,
his jacket shabby.
One quick glance,
and the waiter’s hand pushed him silently and quickly outside.
Soapy turned off Broadway.
He resolved to try some simpler method.
At a corner he caught sight of a policeman standing before a large shop window.
Soapy picked up a stone and smashed the glass.
People came running,
and the policeman was foremost.
Soapy stood still,
his hands in his pockets,
and smiled at the sight of brass buttons.
“Where is the man that has done that?” asked the officer.
“Don’t you think I might have had something to do with it?” said Soapy,
with friendly irony.
The policeman refused to accept Soapy even as a clue.
Men who smash windows do not remain to parley with the law.
They take to their heels.
The policeman saw a man half way down the block running to catch a car.
With drawn club he joined in the pursuit.
Soapy, with disgust in his heart,
loafed along,
twice unsuccessful.
He tried to make a scene on the street,
shouting drunken nonsense.
But the policeman turned his back;
he took Soapy’s performance for a college celebration.
No arrest.
Then he saw a young woman standing before a shop window.
He tried to act as a vulgar, offensive gallant.
But the young woman walked away with him willingly.
Soapy fled.
At last Soapy came to an old church.
Through one window there streamed a soft light.
Sweet music came out to him,
an anthem falling in cadence.
The notes of the anthem held Soapy spellbound.
He had known the anthem long ago.
In those days his life had contained mother
and roses and friends and clean thoughts and collars.
The soft music and the old church moved him deeply.
A sudden and strong emotion seized his soul.
He looked at his wasted life.
The ignoble desires,
the dead hopes,
the ruined faculties,
the base motives made up his existence.
A miraculous change had come over him.
He would pull himself out of the mire.
He would make a man of himself again.
He would go to work tomorrow.
There was time.
He would find a job.
He would be somebody in the world.
Soapy felt a hand laid on his arm.
He looked quickly around into the broad face of a policeman.
“What are you doing here?” asked the officer.
“Nothing,” said Soapy.
“Then come along,” said the policeman.
“Three months on the Island,” said the magistrate,
next morning.
译文
索比想要一个过冬的住处，要求并不算奢侈。
他并不幻想游艇和地中海的旅行。
他想要的，只是布莱克威尔岛三个月的监禁生活。
三个月不愁食宿，还有意气相投的伙伴，
再也不用受北风和巡警的侵扰，
在索比看来，这就是最理想的归宿。
多年来，好客的布莱克威尔岛监狱一直是他的冬季寓所。
就像那些更幸运的纽约人，
每年冬天买好票去棕榈滩和里维埃拉度假一样，
索比也做好安排，每年到岛上避难。
而现在，时候到了。
前一晚，他躺在联合广场喷泉旁的长椅上，
身上、腿边、膝头垫了三份安息日报纸，
依旧抵挡不住刺骨寒风。
于是，去岛上过冬这件事，立刻占据了索比的思绪。
想进监狱，办法有很多。
最惬意的办法，是去一家高档餐厅大吃一顿；
然后宣称自己无力付账，
接着被警察平静带走。
剩下的事交给治安法官就行。
索比离开长椅，漫步走出广场。
他在一家灯火辉煌的餐馆门前停下。
门口领班一眼看向他。
索比裤子磨破，外套破旧。
只一眼，
服务员就默默地、迅速地把他推到门外。
索比离开百老汇大街。
他决定换个简单点的办法。
街角，一名警察守在大橱窗跟前。
索比捡起一块石头，砸碎玻璃。
路人纷纷跑来，警察冲在最前面。
索比静静站着，双手插兜，
看见警察制服上的铜扣，露出微笑。
“干这事的人去哪了？”警官问道。
“难道你不觉得这事可能就是我干的？”
索比带着戏谑的语气说道。
警察根本没把索比当成嫌疑人。
砸玻璃的人不会留下来跟警察周旋。
他们会立刻逃跑。
警察看见街中段有个人正赶车，拔起警棍追了上去。
索比满心沮丧，继续游荡，两次尝试全都失败。
他又在街上闹事，醉醺醺大喊胡话。
可警察转过身不予理会；
他把索比的闹剧当成大学生的庆祝活动。
没有逮捕。
之后他看见一名年轻女子站在橱窗边。
他故意举止轻浮、出言挑逗。
不料这名女子竟心甘情愿跟着他走。
索比只好脱身跑开。
最后，索比走到一座古老教堂旁。
一道柔和的光线从窗内流淌出来。
悠扬的乐声飘向他，是赞美诗，节奏舒缓。
赞美诗的旋律牢牢吸引住索比。
很久以前他就听过这首曲子。
那时他的生活里还有母亲、玫瑰、友人，思想纯净，衣着整洁。
柔和的乐曲与古老的教堂深深触动了他。
一股强烈的情感攫住他的灵魂。
他审视自己荒废的人生。
卑劣的欲望、破灭的希望、
衰退的能力、低级的动机，构成了他如今的生活。
他内心发生了奇妙的转变。
他要从泥潭里爬出来。
他要重新做人。
明天就去找工作。
一切还来得及。
他要找到一份工作。
在世上做一个堂堂正正的人。
一只手忽然搭在他胳膊上。
他猛地回头，看见警察那张宽大的脸。
“你在这儿干什么？”警官问。
“没干什么。”索比答道。
“那就跟我走一趟。”警察说。
第二天早上，治安法官宣判：“布莱克威尔岛监禁三个月。”
🔍长难句赏析与拆解
原句：
For years the hospitable Blackwell’s had been his winter quarters.
Just as his more fortunate fellow New Yorkers
had bought their tickets to Palm Beach and the Riviera each winter,
so Soapy had made his humble arrangements for his annual hegira to the Island.
句式解读：
本句核心结构：
Just as…, so… 正如……，所以……，用来类比。
hospitable 拟人修辞修饰监狱；
fellow New Yorkers 同为纽约市民；
for years 为时间状语，使用过去完成时，强调动作在过去持续很久。
句子主干：
Blackwell’s prison had long been his winter home.
Just as rich New Yorkers went on winter trips,
Soapy planned to go to the Island every year.
文学赏析：
开篇用幽默的对比手法，把富人冬季度假，
和索比每年主动去监狱过冬放在一起对照。
作者将监狱拟人化，写它“好客”，黑色幽默立刻显现。
富人奔赴海滨胜地享受假期，索比奔赴监狱躲避寒冬。
平淡的句式之下藏着讽刺，交代人物生存困境，
为后文索比想方设法犯罪入狱埋下全部伏笔，
是欧亨利标志性的幽默叙事开篇。
写作迁移点拨：
适合对比类段落、讽刺描写、处境对比，
可用于命运、贫富差异、生存选择类作文。
仿写：
For years the quiet library had been his shelter.
Just as his wealthier classmates
had booked tickets for mountain trips every vacation,
so he had made his simple plans for his daily retreat to the reading room.
原句：
The soft music and the old church moved him deeply.
A sudden and strong emotion seized his soul.
He looked at his wasted life.
The ignoble desires,
the dead hopes,
the ruined faculties,
the base motives made up his existence.
句式解读：
多个短句连用，排比结构 the ignoble desires, the dead hopes,
the ruined faculties, the base motives，四个名词短语并列作主语。
seized his soul 拟人手法；wasted life 荒废的人生。
一连串名词短语，层层罗列，简洁有力，写出索比内心的自我反省。
句子主干：
He was deeply touched by the music and church.
A strong feeling came over him.
He saw his wasted life,
filled with bad desires, lost hopes, broken abilities and low motives.
文学赏析：
这是全文转折点，索比在赞美诗的感召下幡然醒悟。
排比短句一气呵成，把他过往浑浑噩噩的人生一层层剖开。
没有冗长议论，依靠名词排比带来冲击力，写出内心的震撼。
前面一直是滑稽搞笑的犯罪尝试，
此处文风陡然沉静，情绪转折鲜明，为结尾反转做好铺垫。
写作迁移点拨：
适用于人物内心反思、自省、人生抉择、浪子回头主题，适合作文升华段落。
仿写：
The warm words and gentle scene touched him greatly.
A sudden quiet feeling took hold of his heart.
He thought about his wasted youth.
The empty dreams,
the missed chances,
the faded courage,
the lazy habits shaped his past days.
📝全篇句式特点
本文选自欧·亨利短篇小说名篇《警察与赞美诗》，是经典讽刺短篇小说。
文章以黑色幽默贯穿全文，语言诙谐轻松，
多用比喻、拟人、排比；长短句交错，叙事节奏灵活。
故事脉络清晰：流浪汉索比寒冬无家可归，
一心想故意犯罪入狱，在岛上安稳过冬。
他接连尝试各种办法惹祸：
餐馆骗吃、砸橱窗、街头闹事、调戏妇女，
可每一次都阴差阳错无法被捕。
当他路过教堂，赞美诗唤醒良知，
下定决心改过自新、重新生活。
就在他决心向善的一刻，
警察却上前逮捕了他，法官判处他三个月监禁。
核心词汇
1. extravagant
/ɪkˈstrævəɡənt/
奢侈的，过分的
形容词 (adj.)
2. congenial
/kənˈdʒiːniəl/
意气相投的，宜人的
形容词 (adj.)
3. repel
/rɪˈpel/
抵御，击退
动词 (v.)
4. insolvency
/ɪnˈsɒlvənsi/
无力偿还，破产
名词 (n.)
5. frayed
/freɪd/
磨损的
形容词 (adj.)
6. parley
/ˈpɑːli/
谈判，交谈
动词 (v.)
7. anthem
/ˈænθəm/
赞美诗，圣歌
名词 (n.)
8. cadence
/ˈkeɪdns/
韵律，节奏
名词 (n.)
9. ignoble
/ɪɡˈnəʊbl/
卑劣的，不光彩的
形容词 (adj.)
10. faculty
/ˈfæklti/
能力，才能
名词 (n.)
11. base
/beɪs/
低级的，卑劣的
形容词 (adj.)
12. mire
/ˈmaɪə(r)/
泥潭，困境
名词 (n.)
💡主旨品读
《警察与赞美诗》是欧·亨利极具代表性的短篇讽刺小说。
主人公索比是无家可归的底层流浪汉，冬天饥寒交迫，
监狱对他而言反而是能提供温饱的庇护所。
他费尽心机想要犯罪入狱，
命运却一次次捉弄他，所有犯罪尝试全都落空。
教堂的赞美诗唤醒他内心的良知，
他打算告别堕落，靠劳动重新做人。
可就在向善的瞬间，
毫无理由的抓捕，让他被投入监狱。
小说充满强烈讽刺：
想要入狱时求而不得；决心向善之时，牢狱却突如其来。
警察代表的法律秩序，在此处显得荒诞。
作者借此揭露底层小人物生存的无奈，
讽刺社会现实的不公与荒诞。
故事结尾是典型欧亨利式反转，意料之外，情理之中。
适合用于理想与现实、命运无常、善恶抉择、社会讽刺、
人性救赎等作文主题；情节生动，
幽默之中藏着悲凉，很适合摘抄赏析，写作引用。
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