牛津书虫系列《圣诞欢歌》Chapter5 附中英双语文本

“弗雷德！”斯克罗吉说。“我是你舅舅斯克罗吉，我是来吃晚饭的。你会留我吗，弗雷德？”
Let him stay！Fred almost shook his uncle's arm off．Scrooge felt at home in five minutes．Nothing could be merrier．And what a wonderful dinner they had！Wonderful party，wonderful games，wonderful happiness！
让他留下。弗雷德都快把他舅舅的胳膊摇掉了。5分钟后斯克罗吉就不再拘束了。没有什么比这更快乐了。他们的晚餐真是棒极了！绝妙的晚会，绝妙的游戏，无与伦比的幸福！
But he was early at the office next morning．Oh，he was there early．He wanted to catch Bob Cratchit arriving late．And he did！The clock struck nine．No Bob．A quarter past．No Bob．He was eighteen and a half minutes late when he finally hurried in．Scrooge was sitting with his office door open．
但第二天早晨他早早地赶到了办公室。噢，他到的很早，他想抓住鲍勃来晚了，他确实抓到了！钟敲了9点，鲍勃没来。过了一刻钟，鲍勃还是没来。当他匆忙进来的时候，他迟到了18分半。斯克罗吉坐在那儿，他办公室的门敞开着。
‘Hallo！’said Scrooge in his old，hard voice．‘What do you mean by coming here so late？’
“喂！”斯克罗吉用他年迈、刻薄的声音说，“你这么晚才来是什么意思？”
I'm very sorry，sir， said Bob．‘I am late．It's only once a year．We were rather merry yesterday，sir．’
“先生，很抱歉，”鲍勃说。“我确实是晚了。一年中不就这么一次吗。先生，我们昨天过得太快活了。”
‘Now I'll tell you what，my friend，said Scrooge，‘I'm not going to have this any longer．And so’，he continued， jumping off his chair and shaking Bob's hand，‘I'm going to pay you twice as much！’
“现在我要告诉你什么，我的朋友，”斯克罗吉说，“我再也不能这样了，所以，”他从椅子上跳出来握着鲍勃的手继续说道，“我要付给你双倍的工资！”
Bob's face went white．For a second or two he thought that Scrooge had gone crazy．
鲍勃的脸变白了。一时间他想斯克罗吉可能是疯了。
‘A merry Christmas，Bob！’said Scrooge，and it was clear that he meant It．‘A merrier Christmas，Bob，than I've given you for a long time．I'm going to pay you well，and help you with your family，and we'll discuss it all this afternoon over a Christmas drink， Bob！ Put more wood on the fire at once， Bob Cratchit，and let's be comfortable！’
“圣诞快乐，鲍勃！”斯克罗吉说，很显然他是真心说这番话的。“鲍勃，祝你有一个，比我以前给你的更为快乐的圣诞。我要给你加薪，而且要帮助你们全家，今天下午我们边喝圣诞酒边商量这件事，鲍勃！马上给火里多加些木柴，鲍勃·拉克奇蒂，咱们也舒服点！”
Scrooge did everything that he had promised，and more．To Tiny Tim， who did NOT die，he became a second father．He became as good a friend，employer and man， as anyone in London or in the world．Some people laughed to see the change in him，but he did not care．His own heart laughed inside him，and that was good enough for him．He never had any more conversations with spirits， but kept Christmas cheerfully，and lived a happy life．That is what all of us want， and so，as Tiny Tim said，‘God bless us， every one！’
斯克罗吉兑现了他所有的承诺，甚至更多。对小蒂姆来说，他根本没有死，他成了他的第二个父亲。他同伦敦或是全世界上的任何一个朋友、雇主和男人一样好。有人发现了他的变化就笑，但他不在乎。他从心里笑，这对他来说就够不错的了。他再也没有同幽灵们说过话，但圣诞节他一直过得都很快活，并且生活得很幸福。这也是我们大家共同的心愿，正如小蒂姆所说：“愿上帝保佑我们每个人！”