本书选录了美国著名作家弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德编著的两篇小说《返老还童》和《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》，它们都是公认的文学经典。并采用中文导读英文版的形式出版。在中文导读中，尽力使其贴近原作的精髓。我们希望能够编出为当代中国读者所喜爱的经典读本。读者在阅读每章之前，可以先阅读中文导读内容，这样有利于了解每章的背景，从而加快阅读速度。这两篇经典小说的引进对加强当代中国读者，特别是大学生读者的文学修养是非常有帮助的。

本书选录了美国著名作家弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德编著的两篇小说《返老还童》和《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》，它们都是公认的文学经典。

《返老还童》是一篇充满魔幻色彩的小说，讲述主人公本杰明·巴顿逆行时光的人生故事。本杰明一出生就像一位耄耋的老者，母亲因他难产而死，他一出生便遭父亲的遗弃。在养老院工作的一对黑人夫妇收养了他，并给予他无限的爱和智慧。从第一次世界大战末到二十一世纪，随着时间的流逝，本杰明越变越年轻，经历了求学、结婚、参军……最后，他以婴儿的状态躺在妻子的怀抱里安静去世。

《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》是一篇关于财富的魔幻小说。主人公昂格尔是个富家子弟，受邀到同学珀西家做客。珀西家住在一个神秘的从不为人所知的钻石山中，这是一个地图上没有的梦幻世界，在那里昂格尔不但见识了什么是有钱人，而且逐渐了解了财富背后的秘密：谋杀、欺骗、占有……因为知道钻石山的秘密，来到这里的外人都不允许活着出去。童话式的游玩逐渐演变成一场惊心动魄的历险故事。好在逃出的意大利人带来了攻击机飞行队，并将整个钻石山炸毁，昂格尔才得以逃脱。

这两部短篇小说一经出版，很快就成为当时最受欢迎的作品，至今已被译成世界上多种文字，而由《返老还童》改编的同名电影还获得了第81届奥斯卡多项大奖。书中所展现的魔幻故事伴随了一代又一代人的美丽少年直至成年。无论作为文学作品的经典读本，还是作为语言学习的课外读物，本书对当代中国的读者，特别是青少年读者将产生积极的影响。为了使读者能够了解每章的主要内容，进而提高阅读速度和阅读水平，在每个主题的开始部分增加了中文导读。

返老还童／The Curious Case of Beniamin Button

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像里兹饭店那样大的钻石／The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

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罗杰将这位家庭新成员取名本杰明。修饰后本杰明仍看上去老态龙钟。罗杰家生的孩子像老头的消息很快在当地的上流社会流传开来。好在由于南北战争的缘故，巴顿夫妇没有听到过多的负面评论。

罗杰认为孩童应喝牛奶、玩玩具，便花心思为本杰明准备了一些，还要本杰明和其他小男孩一起玩耍。为了使父母顺心，本杰明有时会做出些孩童该有的举动，但对那些并不感兴趣。相反，他要求吃面包，喜欢抽雪茄，爱看百科全书，经常置那些玩具于不顾。本杰明最喜欢与老祖父待在一起，翻来覆去讲些无聊的事。

父母渐渐对本杰明习惯了。五岁时，本杰明上了幼儿园，因为实在对那些画画、剪纸和拼图没有兴趣，所以很快就退了学。长到十二岁，本杰明惊奇地从镜子里发现自己似乎变得年轻了一点。他要求穿成人穿的长裤，罗杰看到本杰明的外观确实和成年人一样，便准许了他。

Even after the new addition to the Button familv had had his hair cut short arid then dyed to a sparse unnatural black，had had his face shaved SO close that it glistened，and had been attired in small—boy clothes made to order by a flabbergasted tailor,it was impossible for Mr,Button to ignore the fact that his son was a poor excuse for a first family baby.Despite his aged stoop，Benjamin Button--for it was by this name they called him instead of by the appropriate but invidious Methuselah--was five feet eight inches tall.His clothes did not conceal this, nor did the clipping and dyeing of his eyebrows disguise the fact that the eyes underneath were faded and watery and tired. In fact, the baby-nurse who had been engaged in advance left the house after one look, in a, state of considerable indignation.

But Mr. Button persisted in his unwavering purpose. Benjamin was a baby,and a baby he should remain. At first he declared that if Benjamin didn't like warm milk he could go without food altogether, but he was finally prevailed upon to allow his son bread and butter, and even oatmeal by way of a compromise. One day he brought home a rattle and, giving it to Benjamin,insisted in no uncertain terms that he should "play with it," whereupon the old man took it with a weary expression and could be heard jingling it obediently at intervals throughout the day.

There can be no doubt, though, that the rattle bored him, and that he found other and more soothing amusements when he was left alone. For instance, Mr.Button discovered one day that during the preceding week he had smoked more cigars than ever before--a phenomenon which was explained a few days later when, entering the nursery unexpectedly, he found the room full of faint blue haze and Benjamin, with a guilty expression on his face, trying to conceal the butt of a dark Havana. This, of course, called for a severe spanking, but Mr.Button found that he could not bring himself to administer it. He merely warned his son that he would "stunt his growth. "

Nevertheless he persisted in his attitude. He brought home lead soldiers,he brought toy trains, he brought large pleasant animals made of cotton, and, to perfect the illusion which he was creating--for himself at least--he passionately demanded of the clerk in the toy-store whether "the paint would come off the pink duck if the baby put it in his mouth. " But, despite all his father's efforts, Benjamin refused to be interested. He would steal down the back stairs and return to the. nursery with a volume of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," over which he would pore through an afternoon, while his cotton cows and his Noah's ark were left neglected on the floor. Against such a stubbornness Mr. Button's efforts were of little avail.

The sensation created in Baltimore was, at first, prodigious. What the mishap would have cost the Buttons and their kinsfolk socially cannot be determined, for the outbreak of the Civil War drew the city's attention to other things. A few people who were unfailingly polite racked their brains for compliments to give to the parents--and finally hit upon the ingenious device of declaring that the baby resembled his grandfather, a fact which, due to the standard state of decay common to all men of seventy, could not be denied. Mr.And Mrs. Roger Button were not pleased, and Benjamin's grandfather was furiously insulted.

Benjamin, once he left the hospital, took life as he found it. Several small boys were brought to see him, and he spent a stiff-jointed afternoon trying to work up an interest in tops and marbles--he even managed, quite accidentally,to break a kitchen window with a stone from a sling shot, a feat which secretly delighted his father.

Thereafter Benjamin contrived to break something every day, but he did these things only because they were expected of him, and because he was by nature obliging.

When his grandfather's initial antagonism wore off, Benjamin and that gentleman took enormous pleasure in one another's company. They would sit for hours, these two so far apart in age and experience, and, like old cronies,discuss with tireless monotony the slow events of the day. Benjamin felt more at ease in his grandfather's presence than in his parents'--they seemed always somewhat in awe of him and, despite the dictatorial authority they exercised over him, frequently addressed him as "Mr. "

He was as puzzled as any one else at the apparently advanced age of his mind and body at birth. He read up on it in the medical journal, but found that no such case had been previously recorded. At his father's urging he made an honest attempt to play with other boys, and frequently he joined in the milder games--football shook him up too much, andshe feared that in case of a fracture his ancient bones would refuse to knit.

When he was five he was sent to kindergarten, where he was initiated into the art of pasting green paper on orange paper, of weaving colored maps and manufacturing eternal cardboard necklaces. He was inclined to drowse off to sleep in the middle of these tasks, a habit which both irritated and frightened his young teacher. To his relief she complained to his parents, and he was removed from the school. The Roger Buttons told their friends that they felt he was too young.

By.the time he was twelve years old his parents had grown used to him.Indeed, so strong is the force of custom that they no longer felt that he was different from any other child--except when some curious anomaly reminded them of the fact. But one day-a few weeks after his twelfth birthday, while looking in the mirror, Benjamin made, or thought he made, an astonishing discovery. Did his eyes deceive him, or had his hair turned in the dozen years of his life from white to iron-gray under its concealing dye ？ Was the network of wrinkles on his face becoming less pronounced ？ Was his skin healthier and firmer, with even a touch of ruddy winter color？ He could not tell. He knew that he no longer stooped and that his physical condition had improved since the early days of his life.

"Can it be--" he thought to himself, or, rather, scarcely dared to think.

He went to his father. "I am grown," he announced determinedly. "I want to put on long trousers."

His father hesitated. "Well," he said finally, "I don't know. Fourteen is the age for putting on long trousers--and you are only twelve. "

"But you'll have to admit," protested Benjamin, "that I'm big for my age."

His father looked at him with illusory speculation. " Oh, I'm not so sure of that, "he said. "I was as big as you when I was twelve."

This was not true--it was all part of Roger Button's silent agreement with himself to believe in his son's normality.

Finally a compromise was reached. Benjamin was to continue to dye his hair. He was to make a better attempt to play with boys of his own age. He was not to wear his spectacles or carry a cane in the street. In return for these concessions he was allowed his first suit of long trousers ...

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弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德（F．Scott Fitzgerald，1896—1940），20世纪与海明威、福克纳齐名的美国著名作家，于1896年9月24日出生在美国明尼苏达州圣保罗市一个小商人家庭。1913年，他在亲戚的资助下进入普林斯顿大学，起初醉心于社会活动，梦想崭露头角，后来决心从事创作，并写下了他第一部小说《人间天堂》的初稿。1920年，《人间天堂》一经出版，便轰动一时；继《人间天堂》之后，又陆续出版了《了不起的盖茨比》（1925年）和《夜色温柔》（1934年）等。

除长篇小说外，菲茨杰拉德还出版了160多部短篇小说，这些短篇小说收录在《爵士时代的故事》（1922）、《所有悲伤的年轻人的故事》（1926）等短篇小说集中，他的短篇小说取得了很高的艺术成就。同时，短篇小说还给他带来了可观的收入，并赢得了普通读者的认同和喜爱。菲茨杰拉德的短篇小说一般都有很强的娱乐性，它们布局精巧曲折，文字细腻华丽，风格机智诙谐，经常有出人意料的结尾，读起来是一种愉快的享受。本书选录的《返老还童》（也译作《本杰明·巴顿奇事》）和《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》是菲茨杰拉德短篇小说中的典型代表，也是世界短篇小说的经典之作，它们同时收录在《爵士时代故事集》中的“幻想故事”类下。由《返老还童》改编而拍成的电影还获得了第81届奥斯卡的多项大奖。时至今日，菲茨杰拉德的很多作品已成为美国大学和中学英文课的必读文学经典。

菲茨杰拉德作品最引人瞩目的特色是那诗人和梦想家的气质和风格。在小说创作方面，菲茨杰拉德受到了俄罗斯作家屠格涅夫、法国作家福楼拜、英国作家康拉德的影响，但他最为之倾心的作家却是英国浪漫主义诗人济慈。20世纪的20年代和30年代是美国小说的黄金时代，这20年间可谓是群星璀璨。除菲茨杰拉德外，美国文坛还涌现出了像辛克莱·刘易斯、赛珍珠、福克纳、海明威、斯坦贝克、莫里斯等享誉世界的作家。这个年代也称“爵士时代”，因为这是美国历史上最会纵乐、最绚丽的时代，也是空前繁荣的时代，是创造“美国梦”的时代。菲茨杰拉德纵情参与了“爵士时代”的酒食征逐，也完全融化在自己的作品之中。正因为如此，他才能栩栩如生地重现那个时代的社会风貌、生活气息和感情节奏。但更重要的是，在沉湎其中的同时，他又能冷眼旁观，体味“灯火阑珊，酒醒人散”的怅惘，用严峻的道德标准衡量一切，用凄婉的笔调抒写了战后“迷茫的一代”对于“美国梦”感到幻灭的悲哀。

在中国，菲茨杰拉德的作品同样受到广大读者的热爱，这其中包括《返老还童》和《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》。目前，在国内数量众多的菲茨杰拉德的书籍中，主要的出版形式有两种：一种是中文翻译版，另一种是中英文对照版。其中的中英文对照读本比较受读者的欢迎，这主要是得益于中国人热衷于学习英文的大环境。从英文学习的角度来看，直接使用纯英文的学习资料更有利于英语学习。考虑到对英文内容背景的了解有助于英文阅读，使用中文导读应该是一种比较好的方式，也可以说是该类型书的第三种版本形式。采用中文导读而非中英文对照的方式进行编排，这样有利于国内读者摆脱对英文阅读依赖中文注释的习惯。基于以上原因，我们决定编译其中的短篇小说《返老还童》和《像里兹饭店那样大的钻石》，并采用中文导读英文版的形式出版。在中文导读中，我们尽力使其贴近原作的精髓。我们希望能够编出为当代中国读者所喜爱的经典读本。读者在阅读每章之前，可以先阅读中文导读内容，这样有利于了解每章的背景，从而加快阅读速度。我们相信，这两篇经典小说的引进对加强当代中国读者，特别是大学生读者的文学修养是非常有帮助的。

本书主要内容由王勋、纪飞编译。参加本书素材搜集整理及编译工作的还有郑佳、刘乃亚、赵雪、左新杲、黄福成、冯洁、徐鑫、马启龙、王业伟、王旭敏、陈楠、王多多、邵舒丽、周丽萍、王晓旭、李永振、孟宪行、熊红华、胡国平、熊建国、徐平国、王小红等。限于我们的文学素养和英语水平，书中难免会有不当之处，衷心希望读者朋友批评指正。