諸事不順的日子，天氣一直都是心情最好的襯托，下雨了，大家各自懷揣著不一樣的心境。盡管狂歡節仍在繼續。

上一章結束時，Romero的出場驚艷全場，嫻熟流暢的斗牛表演，也深深吸引了Brett。搭訕，從來不是問題。一個是迷倒眾人的俏佳人，一個是血氣方剛的美少年，電光火石，也就順理成章。而這自然也是后來各種矛盾激化的源頭。

Jake依然保持他隱忍的習慣，甚至帶著Brett去撮合與Romero的新戀情。似乎對此已經麻木，“南有喬木，不可休思。漢有游女，不可求思”，也就不過如此。Cohn不一樣，不管別人怎樣冷眼相待，依然毫不掩飾地表達著對Brett的追求，甚至第一次在非拳擊比賽的場合大打出手。在他心里，Brett是愛著他的，他以為曾經一起度過快樂時光就意味著天長地久，他無法接受Brett不過是逢場作戲的事實，也終于在與Romero最后的較量中敗下陣來，悄然遠去。在Cohn心里，應該還是有對古老的“忠貞不渝”的愛情觀的執念。經歷過前兩次的婚姻或者準婚姻，在他終于可以以自己的意愿去追求真摯的愛情的嘗試中，一敗涂地。他的遁去，也算是虛妄的理想主義的破滅吧。

Mike是個醉鬼，很多不堪的話從他口中說出，卻道出了大家心知肚明的事實。他舉債酗酒，對未婚妻的舉動也是放任自流，又何嘗不是一種對現實的逃避。

Romero則樹立了一個“打不垮”的斗爭的形象，在與Cohn的打斗中，盡管不是拳擊手的對手，但不妨礙他站起來一次次與之搏斗，也算是符合“硬漢”的形象。這一點他就與Jake不同，被打的Jake，只是默默承受，也不讓人跟著，像一個精疲力盡的運動員，一個人看看似乎熟悉實則陌生的城市，他漠然，不過是希望洗個熱水澡讓事情過去。所以Romero也算是迷惘中閃現的斗志吧。

Romero的斗爭

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.

文中還有一句描述印象比較深，錯綜復雜的愛恨糾纏躍然紙上，讓人不禁唏噓。

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.

學點英語

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. （下雨的描寫）

2. pipe down 安靜下來

ED: to stop talking or making a noise, and become calmer and less excited 停止講話（吵鬧）; 安靜下來:

e.g. Everybody pipe down. There's no need to shout. 大家都請安靜下來，沒有必要嚷嚷。

3. tell fortune(s) 算命

4. loaded （槍）子彈上膛的

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

5. collar 抓住，逮捕 （聯想“衣領”這個意思，還是蠻形象的）

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. 搶劫發生后，警方不到二十分鐘就抓到了他。

Lina

2017.3.12