牛津书虫系列《圣诞欢歌》Chapter3 附中英双语文本

The church clock was striking the three quarters．
教堂的钟正在敲响三刻的时晨。
‘Excuse me for asking，spirit，’said Scrooge，‘but what are those strange things near your foot？’
“幽灵，请问，”斯克罗吉说，“你脚边是什么东西？”
‘Oh man， look here！’said the spirit sadly，and brought out from under his robe two ghostly figures， a boy and a girl．They were thin and poorly dressed， with cold， mean eyes and dry，yellow skin， and their faces showed only a frightening and murderous hate．Scrooge had never seen anything so terrible or so sad．
“噢！伙计，看这个！”幽灵悲伤地说，并从他的长袍下掏出两个鬼魂似的塑像，一个男孩一个女孩。他们骨瘦如柴，破衣烂衫，目光冷漠犀利，皮肤干燥发黄，他们的脸上充满了可怕的、凶狠的仇恨表情。斯克罗吉从未见到过如此可怕、糟糕的场面。
‘These miserable children are Man's，’said the spirit．‘The boy is Crime．The girl is Need．They will destroy Man if nothing is done about them．’
“这些悲惨的孩子属于人类，”幽灵说。“男孩叫‘罪恶’，女孩叫‘需要’。如果不为他们做点什么的话，他们将毁掉人类。”
‘Can't anyone help them？’cried Scrooge．
“难道就没有人能帮助他们吗？”斯克罗吉高声问道。
‘Are there no prisons？’said the spirit，turning on Scrooge for the last time with his own words．‘Are there on workhouses？’
“难道没有看守所吗？”幽灵说着斯克罗吉自己曾说过的话，并最后一次把脸转向他。“难道没有济贫院吗？”
The clock struck twelve．Scrooge looked，but could no longer see the ghost or the children．He was alone again．
钟敲响了12点。斯克罗吉看着，但他再也看不到幽灵和孩子们了。又剩下他一人了。