牛津书虫系列《圣诞欢歌》Chapter4 附中英双语文本

‘You took the shirt off a dead body，and the blankets and curtains off his bed，while he was lying there！Well，well！’said Joe，shaking his head．‘Here's your money．’And he counted out several shillings into the women's hands．
“你从死尸上脱下了这件衬衣，从他一直睡觉的床上拿了这些毯子和床罩！哎，哎！”乔边说边摇头，“这是给你的钱。”他数出几个先令塞到这几个妇女的手中。
‘Ha ha ha！’laughed the first woman．‘He frightened everyone away when he was alive，and we've made money out of him now that he's dead！ Ha ha ha！’
“哈哈哈！”第一个妇女笑了，“他活着的时候把大家都吓跑了，现在他死了我们还能从他身上挣到钱！哈哈哈！”
Scrooge felt sick and angry at the same time．‘Spirit，’he said，‘I see now．I could be that unhappy man．Good Heavens， what's this？’
斯克罗吉既感到懊丧又感到气愤。“幽灵，”他说，“现在我明白了，那个不幸的人可能就是我。天哪，这是什么？”
Joe and the women had disappeared，and Scrooge was standing in a dark room．Opposite him was a bed， with no blankets or curtains．A light shone down from above，on to the body of a dead man，covered with a sheet．
乔和女人们消失了，斯克罗吉站在一间黑屋子里。他对面有一张床，上面没有毯子和床罩。一束光从上面照下来，照在死尸上，死尸用单子盖着。
‘How sad，’thought Scrooge，‘to die with no friends or family around him！ To lie in an empty room，with no candles or flowers，and robbed of his clothes！To know that nobody loves him， because he loved nobody in his life！Money can't buy a happy life，or a peaceful death！’He looked at the spirit， whose hand was pointing at the man's covered head．It would be easy to lift the sheet，and see who the man was．But for some reason Scrooge could not do it．
斯克罗吉想，“死时身边没有朋友和家人，被剥光了衣服躺在空屋子里，没有蜡烛和鲜花，知道自己不被人爱是因为他在世时不曾爱过别人，这是多么悲哀的事情啊！金钱买不到幸福的生活和安宁的死亡。”他看着幽灵，手指着那个男人被盖住的脸。要想揭开单子看看那个男人是谁是件轻而易举的事，但由于某种原因斯克罗吉不能这样做。
‘Spirit，’he said，‘this is a terrible place．Let's go！’
“幽灵，”他说，“这个地方太可怕了。咱们走吧。”
Still the ghost's unmoving finger pointed at the man's head．
鬼魂一动不动的指头依旧指着男人的头。
‘I understand you，but I can't look at him，spirit，I can't！’said Scrooge wildly．‘If there's anyone in this town who feels anything at this man's death， show that person to me， spirit， please！’
“我理解你，但我不能看他，幽灵，不能！”斯克罗吉发疯似地说。“如果这个镇上有谁对这个人的死有任何感触的话，请你带我去看他，幽灵。”
For a moment the spirit lifted its dark robe like a wing，and showed Scrooge a room， where a mother and her children were sitting．The young woman kept looking at the clock，and when her husband arrived， she hurried to meet him．
幽灵把黑袍子掀起了一会儿，像个翅膀，带斯克罗吉看了一个屋子，里面坐着一位母亲和她的孩子们。年轻的母亲一直看着钟表，当她的丈夫回来时，她赶快上前去迎他。
‘What—what is the news？’she asked him worriedly．‘Is it good！…or… or bad？’
“有什么消息吗？”她焦虑地问，“是好消息还是坏消息？”
‘There is still hope，Caroline，’he replied．
“还有希望，卡罗琳。”他回答说。
‘How can there be hope？If that hard，mean old man wants us to pay back the money now，they'll send us to prison！We haven't got enough to pay him！’
“怎么还有希望呢？如果那个刻薄吝啬的人想让我们现在立刻还钱的话，他们就会把我们送到拘留所！我们没有那么多钱还他。”
‘He is dead，Caroline，’answered her husband．
“他死了，卡罗琳。”她丈夫回答说。
‘Thank God for that！’cried the young woman from her heart．The next moment she realized what she had said．‘Oh， I didn't mean that．I'm sorry if anyone dies．’
“这得感谢上帝！”少妇发自内心地高声说。立刻她意识到她说的话不对。“噢，我不是这个意思，谁死了我都会难过的。”
‘Perhaps the person who inherits his business will give us more time to pay the money back．And we'll have the money by then．Tonight we can sleep well，Caroline！’
“也许他生意的继承人会多给我们一些时间还钱的，到那时我们就能有这笔钱了。今天晚上我们能睡个好觉了，卡罗琳！”