一起来读《了不起的盖茨比》（5）

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原文：1-005

If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the "creative temperament"--it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. No--Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."

译文

如果说一个人的性格由成功的作态组合而成，是一个无法分割的系列，那么在他身上有着某种打动人心的特质，那是他对于生命承诺的高度敏感，仿佛他和两千里外记录着地震强度的某个复杂仪器有着关联。他这种敏捷的反应，与虽被赞誉为“创意气质”，实则软弱无力的敏感性一点儿关系都没有 － 那是某种对事物怀有希望的惊人天赋，一种我从未在他人身上看到过，今后也不太可能再看到的奋不顾身的浪漫。不，盖茨比终究是好样儿的；而正是那些来猎食他的人，那些在他梦碎后飘浮的污浊灰尘，一时竟让我对人类未竟的悲伤和短促的狂喜失去了兴趣。

解析

这几句话全是长句。理解长句的关键，在于抓住它的主干结构。