Introduction：This story took place in a Spanish café，with a plot centeringon three characters：the old man，the middle-aged waiter，and the young waiter。Rich as the old man was，life was meaningless for him。He tried to commit suicide，but in vain。The old man tried to drive away emptiness in life by drowning his sorrow in alcohol，while the young man，not understanding the bitterness of being old，was eager to go back home to meet his wife……
1.It was very late and everyone had left the cafe except an oldman who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light。In the day time the street was dusty，but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference。The two waiters inside the cafe knew that the old man was a little drunk，and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk hewould leave without paying，so they kept watch on him。
2.“Last week he tried to commit suicide，”one waiter said。
3.“Why？”
4.“He was in despair。”
5.“What about？”
6.“Nothing。”
评注：“Nothing”一词包含了他企图自杀的深层原因：生活的无意义与空虚。
7.“How do you know it was nothing？”
8.“He has plenty of money。”
9.They sat together at a table that was close against the wall near the door ofthe cafe and looked at the terrace where the tables were all empty except wherethe old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the wind。A girl and a soldier went by in the street。The street light shone on the brass number on his collar。The girl wore no head covering and hurried beside him。
10.“The guard will pick him up，”one waiter said。
11.“What does it matter if he gets what he’s after？”
12.“He had better get off the street now。The guard will get him。They went byfive minutes ago。”
评注：这两个侍者在隐晦地谈论某位士兵和少女的风流韵事，显然他们的深夜幽会是不被军队允许的，执勤警卫如果撞见他们后果就会很严重。
13.The old man sitting in the shadow rapped on his saucer with his glass。The younger waiter went over to him。
14.“What do you want？”
15.The old man looked at him。“Another brandy，”he said。
16.“You’ll be drunk，”the waiter said。The old man looked athim。The waiterwent away。
17.“He’ll stay all night，”he said to his colleague。“I’m sleepy now。I neverget into bed before three o’clock。He should have killed himself last week。”
18.The waiter took the brandy bottle and another saucer from the counter insidethe cafe and marched out to the old man’s table。He put down the saucer and poured the glass full of brandy。
19.“You should have killed yourself last week，”he said to the deaf man。The old man motioned with his finger。“A little more，”he said。The waiter poured oninto the glass so that the brandy slopped over and ran down the stem into the topsaucer of the pile。“Thank you，”the old man said。The waiter took the bottleback inside the cafe。He sat down at the table with his colleague again。
20.“He’s drunk now，”he said。
21.“He’s drunk every night。”
22.“What did he want to kill himself for？”
23.“How should I know。”
24.“How did he do it？”
25.“He hung himself with a rope。”
26.“Who cut him down？”
27.“His niece。”
28.“Why did she do it？”
29.“Fear for his soul。”
评注：为他的灵魂担忧。根据《圣经》，自杀违背了十戒，其灵魂将无法升入天堂。
30.“How much money has he got？”
31.“He’s got plenty。”
32.“He must be eighty years old。”
33.“Anyway I should say he was eighty。”
34.“I wish he would go home。I never get to bed before three o’clock。What kind of hour is that to go to bed？”
35.“He stays up because he likes it。”
36.“He’s lonely。I’m not lonely。I have a wife waiting in bed for me。”
37.“He had a wife once too。”
评注：年长侍者似乎在提醒年轻人，眼前的这个不幸人也曾经幸福过，而眼前的幸福其实也会随风逝去。
38.“A wife would be no good to him now。”
39.“You can’t tell。He might be better with a wife。”
40.“His niece looks after him。”
41.“I know。You said she cut him down。”
42.“I wouldn’t want to be that old。An old man is a nasty thing。”
43.“Not always。This old man is clean。He drinks without spilling。Even now，drunk。Look at him。”
44.“I don’t want to look at him。I wish he would go home。He has no regard forthose who must work。”
pick……up：逮捕……
slop：v。溢出，溅溢
cut……down：放下……救下……
stay up：晚上熬夜
be no good to：无用
regard：n。尊敬，尊重
45.The old man looked from his glass across the square，then over at the waiters。
46.“Another brandy，”he said，pointing to his glass。The waiterwho was in a hurry came over。
47.“Finished，”he said，speaking with that omission of syntax stupid people employ when talking to drunken people or foreigners。“No more tonight。Close now。”
48.“Another，”said the old man。
49.“No。Finished。”The waiter wiped the edge of the table with a towel and shook his head。
50.The old man stood up，slowly counted the saucers，took a leather coin purse from his pocket and paid for the drinks，leaving half a peseta tip。The waiter watched him go down the street，a very old man walking unsteadily but with dignity。
评注：从他留下小费，以及之前提到的他喝酒时爱干净等细节我们不难想象这位老人是个出身上层，受过良好教育的绅士。
51.“Why didn’t you let him stay and drink？”the unhurried waiter asked。They were putting up the shutters。“It is not half-past two。”
52.“I want to go home to bed。”
53.“What is an hour？”
54.“More to me than to him。”
55.“An hour is the same。”
56.“You talk like an old man yourself。He can buy a bottle and drink at home。”
57.“It’s not the same。”
58.“No，it is not，”agreed the waiter with a wife。He did not wish to be unjust。He was only in a hurry。
59.“And you？You have no fear of going home before your usual hour？”
评注：年长侍者在这开了一个玩笑，意指年轻侍者这么早回去，很有可能碰上自己的妻子偷情。
60.“Are you trying to insult me？”
61.“No，hombre，only to make a joke。”
62.“No，”the waiter who was in a hurry said，rising from pulling down the metalshutters。“I have confidence。I am all confidence。”
63.“You have youth，confidence，and a job，”the older waiter said。“You have everything。”
64.“And what do you lack？”
65.“Everything but work。”
66.“You have everything I have。”
67.“No。I have never had confidence and I am not young。”
68.“Come on。Stop talking nonsense and lock up。”
评注：海明威故意不再详细申明这些谈话都出自谁口，希望读者能透过这些话语的口吻和透露出的人生态度来各自定位说话者的身份。
69.“I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe，”the olderwaiter said。
70.“With all those who do not want to go to bed。With all thosewho need a light for the night。”
71.“I want to go home and into bed。”
72.“We are of two different kinds，”the older waiter said。He was now dressed to go home。“It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful。Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe。”
73.“Hombre，there are bodegas open all night long。”
74.“You do not understand。This is a clean and pleasant cafe。It is well lighted。The light is very good and also，now，there are shadows of the leaves。”
评注：这个酒吧干净明亮的灯光对于那些深夜买醉的老醉汉来说意味着某种更深层次的慰藉。
75.“Good night，”said the younger waiter。
76.“Good night，”the other said。Turning off the electric lighthe continued the conversation with himself，It was the light of course but it is necessary thatthe place be clean and pleasant。You do not want music。Certainly you do not want music。Nor can you stand before a bar with dignity although that is all that is provided for these hours。What did he fear？It was not a fear or dread。It was a nothing that he knew too well。It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too。It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order。Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada。Our nada who art in nada，nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada。Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada pues nada。Hail nothing full of nothing，nothing is with thee。He smiled and stood before a bar with a shining steam pressure coffee machine。
评注：此处年长侍者开始不断地说着与nada有关的话，其中部分引自《圣经》，它们混杂在一起，表达了年长侍者心中不为人知的苦涩和绝望。
peseta：n。比塞塔，西班牙货币单位。
hombre：n。一种友好的称呼，意为老兄
bodega：n。西班牙卖酒的杂货店
nada：西班牙语，相当于英文中的nothing
y：西班牙语，相当于英文中的and
pues：西班牙语，相当于英文中的then
Hail nothing full of nothing，nothing is with thee：祈祷语“欢呼虚无缥缈，与虚无缥缈同在！”
77.“What’s yours？”asked the barman。
78.“Nada。”
79.“Otro loco mas，”said the barman and turned away。
80.“A little cup，”said the waiter。
81.The barman poured it for him。
82.“The light is very bright and pleasant but the bar is unpolished，”the waiter said。
83.The barman looked at him but did not answer。It was too late at night for conversation。
84.“You want another copita？”the barman asked。
copita：西班牙语，雪利酒杯85“No，thank you，”said the waiter and went out。He dislikedbars and bodegas。A clean，well-lighted cafe was a very different thing。Now，without thinkingfurther，he would go home to his room。He would lie in the bed and finally，withdaylight，he would go to sleep。After all，he said to himself，it’s probably only insomnia。Many must have it。
评注：年长侍者对黑夜的恐惧和对亮光的依赖，实际上反映了他与小说开头那位醉酒的老人是一样的境遇。
Comprehension Exercises
1.A clean，well-lighted place is simply a decent place for people to drink，butin this story it implies more than that。How do you interpret the irony of the title in this story？
2.In the story，Hemingway holds a black，naturalistic view of the world and sees it as“all a nothing”。How do you understand“nothing”？
厄内斯特·海明威（1899—1961）：二十世纪美国著名作家。生于芝加哥郊外的一个医生家庭。第一次世界大战时，年仅18岁的他便到意大利前线驾驶救护车，不久身受重伤，在医院治疗20个月，仅从腿上就取出弹片237块，重伤的后果是严重的失眠和内心深处的恐惧。伤愈后，他作为《多伦多星报》的记者赴巴黎，结识了侨居法国的美国女作家斯坦因等人，并成为“迷惘一代”的代表作家。20年代，他发表了短篇小说集《在我们的时代里》、长篇小说《太阳照样升起》和《永别了，武器》等作品，透视了一代人精神世界的深刻变化，揭示了战争给人们生理上、心理上造成的巨大创伤，以及战后青年心中苦闷无聊，与己无关的迷惘情绪。50年代，他主要完成了长篇小说《过河入林》和中篇小说《老人与海》。后者使作家获得了1952年的美国普利策奖和1954年的诺贝尔文学奖。海明威作品的最大特点就是语言简练，但却蕴义深刻，这种风格被称为“冰山”风格，即海面上露出的是冰山一角，更重要的部分隐藏在海面之下，因此，他的短篇小说虽然用词简单，句式简短，但却让人回味无穷。