評(píng)論
打印
Us and them, she thought. The ones who would do well, the ones who would crawl and sweat and barely pass. Two predetermined groups. Asafa, generous and wise, leaned over and said to Shadia: That boy Bryan is excellent."
我們和他們，她想，一群人的成績會(huì)很好，另一群人拼盡全力可能才會(huì)勉強(qiáng)通過，這兩組人的成績116已經(jīng)決定了，善良又聰明的阿薩法彎下身子，對莎迪雅說：“那個(gè)叫布萊恩的男孩特別優(yōu)秀。”
The one with the earring?
“那個(gè)戴耳環(huán)的？”
Asafa laughed. "The earring doesn't mean anything. He'll get the Distinction. He was an undergraduate here; got First Class Honours. That gives him an advantage. He knows all the lecturers, he knows the system.
阿薩法笑了，“戴耳環(huán)又能怎么樣，他會(huì)得到優(yōu)秀獎(jiǎng)。他在這里念的本科，得了一等獎(jiǎng)。他有優(yōu)勢，他認(rèn)識(shí)所有的老師，對學(xué)校的制度了如指掌。”
So the idea occurred to her of asking Bryan for the notes of his graduate year. If she strengthened her background in stochastic process and time series, she would be better able to cope with the new material they were bombarded with every day. She watched him to judge if he was approachable. He was devoid of manners. He mumbled and slouched and did not speak with respect to the lecturers. He spoke to them as if they were his equals. And he did silly things. When he wanted to throw a piece of paper in the bin, he squashed it into a ball and aimed it at the bin. If he missed, he muttered under his breath. She thought that he was immature. But he was the only one who was sailing through the course.
因此，她想到了向布萊恩借他本科畢業(yè)時(shí)的筆記。如果她能夠加強(qiáng)自己在隨機(jī)過程和時(shí)間序列這兩門課的背景知識(shí)，她應(yīng)該能更好地解決老師每天所提出的新材料。她觀察他，看他是否容易接近。他沒有禮貌。說話的時(shí)候含含糊糊，站著的時(shí)候懶懶散散，和老師說話時(shí)也毫無尊重可言。他和老師說話的時(shí)候，就好像老師是他的同齡人。他還做一些愚蠢的事情。當(dāng)他想要把紙扔到垃圾箱里時(shí)，他把紙擠壓成一個(gè)球，對準(zhǔn)垃圾箱。如果他沒投進(jìn)去他會(huì)輕聲地嘟囔。她認(rèn)為他很幼稚。但他又是班級(jí)里唯一一個(gè)能順利通過考試的人。
The glossy handbook for overseas students had explained about the "famous British reserve" and hinted that they should be grateful, things were worse further south, less "hospitable." In the cafeteria, drinking coffee with Asafa and the others, the picture of "hospitable Scotland" was something different. Badr, the Malaysian, blinked and whispered, "Yesterday our windows got smashed; my wife today is afraid to go out."
印刷漂亮的海外留學(xué)生手冊解釋了“人人皆知的英國人的拘謹(jǐn)矜持”，并暗示，留學(xué)生應(yīng)該感到慶幸，因?yàn)樵偻希ㄖ赣⒏裉m），情況更糟糕，那里還不如這里“熱情友好”。莎迪雅阿薩法還有其他幾個(gè)非洲留學(xué)生一起在咖啡廳喝咖啡聊天，和“熱情友好蘇格蘭”的圖片有些不同，巴德爾，一個(gè)馬來西亞人，眨著眼睛低聲說，“昨天我們家的窗戶被打碎了，我妻子今天都不敢出門。”
Thieves?" asked Shadia, her eyes wide.
“有賊？”莎迪雅睜大眼睛問。
Racists, said the Turkish girl.
“種族主義者，”一個(gè)土耳其女孩說。
In the cafeteria, Bryan never sat with them. They never sat with him. He sat alone, sometimes reading the local paper. When Shadia walked in front of him he didn't smile. "These people are strange… One day they greet, the next day they don't…"
在咖啡廳，布萊恩從不和他們坐在一起。他們也從不和他坐在一起，他獨(dú)自坐著，有的時(shí)候讀當(dāng)?shù)氐膱?bào)紙。當(dāng)莎迪雅經(jīng)過他面前的時(shí)候他沒有微笑。“這些人很奇怪……偶爾某一天打招呼，第二天就視而不見…………”
