牛津书虫系列《圣诞欢歌》Chapter3 附中英双语文本

斯克罗吉的外甥笑着，和他在一起的人也都想笑，他的笑就具备这样的感染力。此刻，他漂亮的妻子和他的几个朋友和他一起在笑。
‘He said that Christmas was humbug！Ha ha ha！’cried Scrooge's nephew．
“他说圣诞节是骗人的！哈哈哈！”斯克罗吉的外甥大声说。
‘That's very bad of him，Fred！’said his wife．
“他真是太坏了，弗雷德！”他妻子说。
‘He's a strange old man，’said Scrooge's nephew，‘but I'm sorry for him．His money is no use to him，you see．He isn't at all happy or comfortable，although he's rich．It's sad to think of him sitting alone in his cold room．And so I'm going to invite him every Christmas．He can be cross and miserable if be likes，but I'll go on inviting him and one day perhaps he'll think better of Christmas！’
“他是一个怪老头，”斯克罗吉的外甥说，“但我很是为他感到难过。你知道，他的钱没有给他带来什么，他既不幸福也不舒服，虽然他有钱。想到他独自一人坐在他那冷飕飕的屋子里我心里就不是滋味，所以每个圣诞节我都将去邀请他。他爱发脾气，那就发好了，但我会继续邀请他，也许终究有一天他对圣诞节的感觉会好起来的。”
After tea，the cheerful little group sang songs，and played music．Scrooge recognized the song that his little sister used to sing， and remembered sadly what the ghost of Christmas Past had shown him．Later the friends played guessing games，and Scrooge joined in the games with delight．Nobody except the spirit could hear him，but he often guessed the right answer．
下午茶后，这几个欢快的人唱歌并演奏音乐。斯克罗吉听出了他小妹妹过去常唱的那支歌，记起了“昔日圣诞”幽灵给他看过的东西。后来朋友们进行了猜谜游戏，斯克罗吉高兴地同他们一起猜。只有幽灵能听见他说什么，但他请的答案大都正确。
‘It's time to go now，’said the ghost，smiling at the old man's childish excitement．
“现在该走了，”鬼魂说，这个老头孩子般的兴奋劲儿使他觉得好笑。
‘No，spirit，please，let me stay a little longer．Look， they're playing a new game！’
“不，幽灵，请让我再多呆一小会儿。看，他们又要做一个新游戏！”
It was a game called Yes and No，in which Scrooge's nephew had to think of something，and the others had to ask questions to discover what it was．The only possible answers were Yes or No．Scrooge heard that Fred was thinking of a living animal，a wild animal，sometimes an angry animal， which lived in London and walked in the streets．Every time he answered a question，Fred could not stop himself laughing．At last，his wife's dark， pretty sister started laughing too．
这个游戏的名字叫‘是与否’，在这个游戏中斯克罗吉的外甥要想点什么事情，其余的人便可以问问题以便知道他想的是什么。唯一可能的答案就是‘是和否’。斯克罗吉听见弗雷德在想一只活着的动物，一只野兽，有时是一只暴怒的动物，它生活在伦敦，走在大街上。他每回答一个问题，弗雷德就情不自禁地大笑。最后他那长得黑黑的漂亮妻妹也开始笑了起来。
‘I know what it is，Fred！I know！’she cried out．‘It's your uncle Scro-o-o-o-oge！’
“弗雷德，我知道它是什么！我知道！”她大声喊道。“它是你舅舅斯克罗——吉！”
Everyone laughed until they cried．What a wonderful game！ What a clever idea of Fred's！But at last Fred dried his eyes， and said，‘We've been very merry because of him， so I think we should drink to his health．Here's to Uncle Scrooge！A merry Christmas and a happy new year to the old man！Uncle Scrooge！’
大家都笑得流出了眼泪。多么精彩的游戏啊！弗雷德的主意多妙啊！但最后弗雷德擦干了眼睛说道，“我们刚才很快活是因为他，所以我想我们应该为他的健康干杯。这一杯是祝斯克罗吉舅舅的！祝他老人家圣诞快乐、新年幸福！斯克罗吉舅舅！”
‘To Uncle Scrooge！’they all cried，cheerfully lifting their glasses．
“祝福斯克罗吉舅舅！”他们异口同声地喊道，高兴地举起了洒杯。
Uncle Scrooge wanted to thank them，but the spirit hurried him away．The ghost seemed much older now： his brown hair had become grey．
斯克罗吉舅舅想感谢他们，但幽灵催他立刻离开。鬼魂现在看上去老了许多：它棕色的头发变成了灰白色。
‘Are spirits' lives so short？’asked Scrooge．
“幽灵的生命如此短暂吗？”斯克罗吉问。
‘My life in this world ends at midnight tonight．Listen！It's a quarter to midnight now！’
“我的生命在今天午夜时结束。听着，现在离午夜只差一刻钟了！”