中英文本

54.The Topic of Conversation
54.话题
Josh knew he was coming up in the world!
乔希知道他很快就要飞黄腾达了！
He finally had a good enough job to ride the commuter train to work every day!
他终于找到了一份十分理想的工作，每天可以乘市郊往返列车上班了！
That train was only for rich people, and now he was among them.
那种车只有富人才坐得起，现在他也能坐了。
He was sure people would come up to him to have interesting conversations.
他相信人们会走上前来和他进行一些有意思的对话。
He was wrong.
他错了。
Everyone on the commuter train was bored stiff.
车上每个人都无聊得很。

And no one commented on how another looked.
没人评论别人的外表。
It was impossible to compare one person with another anyhow; they all wore the same clothing.
确实也是，人与人没法比较，大家穿得都一样。
When Josh tried to talk to one man about the weather, he reacted as if conversation was commensurate with a waste of time.
乔希试着和一个男人谈论天气，他的反应像是谈话等于浪费时间。
Josh's shoelace started to come undone, but then a hand touched his shoulder and someone said, "You have to come up with a more interesting topic. We don't want to talk about the weather anymore."
乔希的鞋带开始松了，这时有只手搭在他的肩上，有人说道：“你得想出一个更有意思的话题。我们已经对天气不感兴趣。”
Those words were comparable to a slap in the face for Josh, but he decided that, come what may, he would try to start an interesting conversation.
这番话对乔希来说好比是在脸上抽了一耳光，但他下定决心不管怎样要找一个更有意思的话题。
He told himself that he was committed to socializing with the upper class!
他告诉自己他是在与上层社会交往！
Each day, however, he came up against the same exasperating reaction.
但是，他每天都会碰到同样的令人恼怒的反应。
No topic he tried interested anyone on the train.
他试过的话题没能让车上任何人感兴趣。
He tried talking about football，local news, new cars, even good-looking women.
他尝试过谈论足球、地方新闻、新车，甚至漂亮女人。
One day he finally came upon the topic eveiyone was interested in.
一天他终于碰上了一个大家都感兴趣的话题。
Talking more to himself than to anyone else Josh said that he wished he could earn more money.
他与其说是在跟别人说话,不如说是在自言自语，他说希望自己能赚更多的钱。
Everyone turned.
大家都转过头来。
And as if they were just coming into existence they began to talk to Josh about their ideas on how to make more money.
他们都像刚刚才出现一样，开始和乔希讨论如何才能赚更多的钱。
That was the topic they were all interested in: money.
这才是他们都感兴趣的话题：钱！

重点讲解

1.come undone (鞋带等）松了,线缝等）开了
例句：Lace your boots firmly or the lace will come undone.
把你的靴子系紧，不然鞋带会松开。
2.come up 出现,开始；(为了繁谈等）走上 前来
例句：A beggar came up to us and ask for money.
一个乞丐走过来向我们要钱。
3.come up against 突然地(或意外地）碰到(困难、反对等）
例句：We came up against a great deal of resistance in dealing with the case.
我们在处理该案件时碰到了很多阻力。
4.come up in the world 发迹，兴盛，飞黄腾达
例句：The Whites have come up in the world.
怀特一家已飞黄腾达起来。
5.come up with (针对问题、挑战等）提出, 想出
例句：I came up with them as they were rounding the corner.
他们正在拐弯时，我赶上了他们。
6.come upon 碰上，偶然遇到
例句：I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
我实在告诉你们，这一切的罪，都要归到这世代了。