29 “Harburt……Hutchinson。”
30 “Get up there，Bill，”Mrs。Hutchinson said，and the people near her laughed。
31 “Jones。”
32 “They do say，”Mr。Adams said to Old Man Warner，who stood next to him，“that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery。”
33 Old Man Warner snorted。“Pack of crazy fools，”he said。“Listening to theyoung folks，nothing’s good enough for them。Next thing you know，they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves，nobody work any more，live that way for a while。Used to be a saying about‘Lottery in June，corn be heavy soon。’First thing you know，we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns。There’s always been a lottery，”he added petulantly。“Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody。”
評注：村民談論鄰村關於取消摸彩儀式的提議，但從反響來看，顯然讚成保留這一傳統的占主導地位。他們不願意變更傳統，反對任何形式的改革，認為這種儀式能夠給莊稼帶來好的收成。
sweater：n。毛線衫
stack：v。堆疊
crane：v。伸長脖子
sink：n。水槽
hush：n。安靜
disengage：v。脫離
chickweed：n。繁縷，一種鳥和雞喜歡吃的植物
acorn：n。橡樹果，橡子
petulantly：adv。脾氣壞地，使性子地34“Some places have already quit lotteries。”Mrs。Adams said。
35 “Nothing but trouble in that，”Old Man Warner said stoutly。“Pack of young fools。”
36 “Martin。”And Bobby Martin watched his father go forward。“Overdyke……Percy。”
37 “I wish they’d hurry，”Mrs。Dunbar said to her older son。“I wish they’dhurry。”
38 “They’re almost through，”her son said。
39 “You get ready to run tell Dad，”Mrs。Dunbar said。
40 Mr。Summers called his own name and then stepped forward precisely and selected a slip from the box。Then he called，“Warner。”
41 “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery，”Old Man Warner said as hewent through the crowd。“Seventy-seventh time。”
42 “Watson。”The tall boy came awkwardly through the crowd。Someone said，“Don’t be nervous，Jack，”and Mr。Summers said，“Take your time，son。”
43 “Zanini。”
44 After that，there was a long pause，a breathless pause，until Mr。Summers，holding his slip of paper in the air，said，“All right，fellows。”For a minute，no one moved，and then all the slips of paper were opened。Suddenly，all the women began to speak at once，saving。“Who is it？”，“Who’s got it？”，“Is it the Dunbars？”，“Is it the Watsons？”Then the voices began to say，“It’s Hutchinson。It’s Bill，”“Bill Hutchinson’s got it。”
45 “Go tell your father，”Mrs。Dunbar said to her older son。
46 People began to look around to see the Hutchinsons。Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet，staring down at the paper in his hand。Suddenly，Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr。Summers。“You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted。I saw you。It wasn’t fair！”
47 “Be a good sport，Tessie。”Mrs。Delacroix called，and Mrs。Graves said，“All of us took the same chance。”
評注：被抽到的家庭開始抱怨遊戲規則的不公，而這種一人一票又貌似是最公平的，大家機會均等。
48 “Shut up，Tessie，”Bill Hutchinson said。
49 “Well，everyone，”Mr。Summers said，“that was done pretty fast，and nowwe’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time。”He consulted his next list。“Bill，”he said，“you draw for the Hutchinson family。You got any other households in the Hutchinsons？”
50 “There’s Don and Eva，”Mrs。Hutchinson yelled。“Make them take their chance！”
51 “Daughters draw with their husbands’families，Tessie，”Mr。Summers said gently。“You know that as well as anyone else。”
52 “It wasn’t fair，”Tessie said。
53 “I guess not，Joe。”Bill Hutchinson said regretfully。“My daughter draws with her husband’s familythat’s only fair。And I’ve got no other family exceptthe kids。”
54 “Then，as far as drawing for families is concerned，it’s you，”Mr。Summers said in explanation，“and as far as drawing for households is concerned，that’syou，too。Right？”
55 “Right，”Bill Hutchinson said。
56 “How many kids，Bill？”Mr。Summers asked formally。
57 “Three，”Bill Hutchinson said。
58 “There’s Bill，Jr。，and Nancy，and little Dave。And Tessie and me。”
59 “All right，then，”Mr。Summers said。“Harry，you got their tickets back？”
60 Mr。Graves nodded and held up the slips of paper。“Put them in the box，then，”Mr。Summers directed。“Take Bill’s and put it in。”
評注：當Hutchinson家在摸彩中被選中後，這家五口人進入第二輪摸彩，在五人中產生最後的入選者。
61 “I think we ought to start over，”Mrs。Hutchinson said，as quietly as shecould。“I tell you it wasn’t fair。You didn’t give him time enough to choose。Everybody saw that。”
62 Mr。Graves had selected the five slips and put them in the box，and he dropped all the papers but those onto the ground，where the breeze caught them and lifted them off。
63 “Listen，everybody，”Mrs。Hutchinson was saying to the people around her。
64 “Ready，Bill？”Mr。Summers asked，and Bill Hutchinson，with one quick glance around at his wife and children，nodded。
65 “Remember，”Mr。Summers said，“take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one。Harry，you help little Dave。”Mr。Graves took the hand of the little boy，who came willingly with him up to the box。“Take a paper out of the box，Davy。”Mr。Summers said。Davy put his hand into the box and laughed。“Take just one paper。”Mr。Summers said。“Harry，you hold it for him。”Mr。Graves took the child’s hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly。
66 “Nancy next，”Mr。Summers said。Nancy was twelve，and her school friendsbreathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt，and took a slip daintily from the box。“Bill，Jr。，”Mr。Summers said，and Billy，his face red and his feetoverlarge，near knocked the box over as he got a paper out。“Tessie，”Mr。Summers said。She hesitated for a minute，looking around defiantly，and then set her lips and went up to the box。She snatched a paper out and held it behind her。
67 “Bill，”Mr。Summers said，and Bill Hutchinson reached into the box and felt around，bringing his hand out at last with the slip of paper in it。
68 The crowd was quiet。A girl whispered，“I hope it’s not Nancy，”and thesound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd。
69 “It’s not the way it used to be。”Old Man Warner said clearly。“Peopleain’t the way they used to be。”
70 “All right，”Mr。Summers said。“Open the papers。Harry，you open littleDave’s。”
71 Mr。Graves opened the slip of paper and there was a general sigh through thecrowd as he held it up and everyone could see that it was blank。Nancy and Bill，Jr。opened theirs at the same time，and both beamed and laughed，turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads。
評注：Hutchinson家的幾個孩子都沒抽到，他們顯得很高興。很快我們就能知道，這個儀式要產生的人選是要被村民用石頭砸死。這種原始的活人祭祀儀式竟然能存在於現代社會，而村民們竟然如此有條不紊地抽簽決定去殺死另一位同胞，甚至連子女在幸免後也非常高興（這意味著死亡就留給了父母），這讓讀者不可思議，也覺得十分殘忍變態。所以這個短篇發表之初，在美國引起了巨大的爭議。
stoutly：adv。剛強地，堅決地
a good sport：口語，堂堂正正的好人（特指具有公正、勇敢性格的人）
daintily：adv。優美地，難以取悅地
defiantly：adv。挑戰地，對抗地
beam：v。愉快地笑，眉開眼笑72“Tessie，”Mr。Summers said。There was a pause，and then Mr。Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson，and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it。It was blank。
73 “It’s Tessie，”Mr。Summers said，and his voice was hushed。“Show us her paper。Bill。”
74 Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out ofher hand。It had a black spot on it，the black spot Mr。Summers had made the nightbefore with the heavy pencil in the coal company office。Bill Hutchinson held it up，and there was a stir in the crowd。
評注：最後抽中的是Mrs。Hutchinson，而這張簽竟然是她丈夫從她手中搶出來的。這種冷血完全顛覆了我們的基本人倫觀。值得注意的是，Hutchinson在美國曆史上是一個著名的人物，當年清教殖民地有一位著名的女性宗教領袖Anne Hutchinson就同樣遭到了這種民主社區的迫害而被迫流亡。作者給最後的受難者起這個名字顯然是有曆史隱喻的。同樣，一些像Martin和Graves這樣的名字也有象征意義，前者詞源中有“猴子”之意，後者則是“墳墓”。
75 “All right，folks。”Mr。Summers said。“Let’s finish quickly。”
76 Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box，they still remembered to use stones。The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was readythere were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box。Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs。Dunbar。“Come on，”she said。“Hurryup。”
77 Mr。Dunbar had small stones in both hands，and she said，gasping for breath，“I can’t run at all。You’ll have to go ahead and I’ll catch up with you。”
78 The children had stones already。And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles。
評注：一旦替罪羔羊被選出，所有人都心安理得加入到虐殺同胞的隊伍中，甚至包括未成年人，包括受害者的子女。
79 Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now，and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her。“It isn’t fair，”shesaid。A stone hit her on the side of the head。Old Man Warner was saying，“Comeon，come on，everyone。”Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers，with Mrs。Graves beside him。
80 “It isn’t fair，it isn’t right，”Mrs。Hutchinson screamed，and then theywere upon her。
Comprehension Exercises
1.Why doesn’t the author reveal the nature of this ritual until veryend of this story？
2.What’s the metaphoric meaning of such a lottery in our modern society？
3.Some critics said this story was a criticism of the capitalist society。Do you agree or disagree with such an opinion？Why？
雪萊·約翰遜（1916—1965）：美國作家，以短篇小說《摸彩》而聞名於世。她生於舊金山，在一個富裕的家庭中長大，之後舉家遷往紐約。她1940年畢業於錫拉丘茲大學，在大學讀書期間即開始文學創作。約翰遜的丈夫是一位著名文學評論家。1965年，這位飽受各種精神疾病折磨的女作家在睡夢中突發心髒病去世。她獨特的寫作風格對美國後來的史蒂芬·金等恐怖小說作家產生了影響。
The Notorious Jumping
Frog of the Calaveras County
Mark Twain
Introduction：Jim Smiley was addicted to gambling。Hebet on anything from the death of Parson Walker’s wife to fights between his bulldog pup，Andrew Jackson，and other dogs。One day a stranger to the town agreed to bet on a frog jumping higher than Jim’s frog，Daniel Webster。When Jim wasn’t looking the stranger poured quail shot into Daniel Webster’s mouth making it impossible for him to jump at all。The stranger won the$40 bet and escaped before Jim realized the con。
1 In compliance with the request of a friend of mine，who wrote me from the East，I called on good-natured，garrulous old Simon Wheeler，andinquired after my friend’s friend，Leonidas W。Smiley，as requested to do，and I hereunto appendthe result。I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W。Smiley is a myththat my friend never knew such a personageand that he only conjectured that if I asked old Wheeler about him，it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley，and he would go to work and bore me to death with some exasperating reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be useless to me。If that was the design，it succeeded。
評注：這是一篇根據民間傳說寫成的短篇小說，生動地表現了當時正在開發中的西部地區的群眾幽默，並用充滿了美國俚語的口語體寫成。
in compliance with：依照，遵照
garrulous：adj。多嘴多舌的
hereunto：adv。這裏，以下
append：v。附加，添加
myth：n。虛構的人物
personage：n。名人
conjecture：v。推測，猜想
exasperating：adj。激怒人的
reminiscence：n。回想，懷舊2I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove of the dilapidated tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel’s，andI noticed that he was fat and bald headed and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance。He roused up，and gave me good day。I told him that a friend of mine had commissioned me to make some inquiries about a cherished companion of his boyhood named Leonidas W。Smiley—Rev。Leonidas W。Smiley，a young minister of the Gospel，who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel’s Camp。I added that if Mr。Wheeler could tell me anything about this Rev。Leonidas W。Smiley，I would feel under many obligations to him。
3 Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair，and then sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this paragraph。He never smiled，he never frowned，he never changed his voice from thegentle-flowing key to which he tuned his initial sentence，he never betrayed the slightest suspicion of enthusiasmbut all through the interminable narrative there ran a vein of impressive earnestness and sincerity，which showed me plainly that，so far from his imagining that there was anything ridiculous or funny about his story，he regarded it as a really important matter，and admired its two heroes as men of transcendent genius in finesse。I let him go onin his own way，and never interrupted him once。
評注：這個故事的敘事視角是小說中的第三者，而“我”隻是一個外鄉旁聽者。這種安排非常有利於西部幽默故事的那種口語風格。注意，文中有很多方言化的不合規範的拚寫和語法。
dilapidated：adj。毀壞的，荒廢的
countenance：n。麵容，臉色
commission：v。委派，委任
Rev。：n。對僧侶、牧師的尊稱
Gospel：n。《聖經》中的《福音書》
reel off：滔滔不絕地談論
betray：vt。顯露出
vein：n。特色，風格
transcendent：adj。出類拔萃的
4 Rev。Leonidas W。H’m，Reverend Le—well，there was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley，in the winter of’49—or maybe it was the spring of’50—I don’t recollect exactly，somehow，though what makes me think it was oneor the other is because I remember the big flume wasn’t finishedwhen he first come to campbut anyway，he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up you ever see，if he could get anybody to bet on the other sideand if he couldn’t he’d change sides。Any way that suited the other man would suit him—any way just so’s he got a bet，he was satisfied。But still he was lucky，uncommon luckyhe most always come out winner。He was always ready and laying for a chancethere couldn’t be no solit’ry thing mentioned but that feller’d offer to bet on it，and take ary side you please，as I was just telling you。If there was a horse-race，you’d find him flush or you’d find him busted atthe end of itif there was a dog-fight，he’d bet on itif there was a cat-fight，he’d bet on itif there was a chicken-fight，he’d bet on it，why，if there wastwo birds setting on a fence，he would bet you which one would fly firstof ifthere was a camp-meeting，he would be there reg’lar to bet on Parson Walker，which he judged to be the best exhorted about here，and so he was too，and a good man。If he even see a straddle-bug start to go anywheres，he would bet you how long it would take him to get to—to wherever he was going to，and if you took him up，he would foller that straddle-bug to Mexico but what he would find out where he was bound for and how long he was on the road。