牛津书虫系列《大卫科波菲尔》Chapter4 附中英双语文本

“迪克先生，你和我将一起收养这个孩子，”姨婆说着，严肃的表情转化成一丝微笑。
And so a new life began for me．I was soon able to forget the warehouse and the Murdstones，in learning to please my aunt，and to play games with Mr Dick，who spent much of his time with me．
自此，我的新生活开始了。我努力让姨婆高兴，并和迪克先生玩游戏，他大部分时间都和我在一起，这样我很快就忘记了仓库和摩德斯通姐弟。
But one day my aunt suggested that I should go to boarding school in Canterbury．I was delighted，as I was eager to con tinue my studies，and Canterbury was very near my aunt's home in Dover．So the next day my aunt and I went to Can terbury，where I admired the beautiful old buildings in the an cient city centre．
可有一天，姨婆提议我应该到坎特伯雷寄宿学校去上学。我很高兴，因为我自己急切希望能继续学习，而坎特伯雷离多佛的姨婆家又很近。于是，姨婆陪我来到了坎特伯雷，我很欣赏这座城市中心美丽的旧式建筑。
‘Is it a large school，aunt？’I asked politely．
“那是一所很大的学校吗，姨婆？”我很有礼貌地问道。
‘I haven't decided which school you'll go to yet，’she replied．‘First we're going to ask my old friend Mr Wickfield's advice about it．He lives and works in Canterbury，you see．’
“我还没决定你上哪所学校，”她回答。“我们首先要听听我的老朋友威克菲尔先生对此的看法。他就住在坎特伯雷，在这儿工作，明白了吧。”
Soon we stopped in front of a very old house，with a very clean front doorstep，and fresh white curtains at the windows．A strange-looking person，dressed in black，with short red hair and a very thin white face came out to meet us．I thought he must be a servant．He was about fifteen，but looked much older．
很快，我们在一幢十分古旧的房子前停了下来。门前的台阶十分干净，窗户挂着洁白的窗帘。有一位相貌古怪、身着黑衣、留红色短发、面孔精瘦苍白的男子出来迎接我们。我想他一定是这家的仆人。他大概15岁，但看上去要大得多。
‘Is Mr Wickfield at home，Uriah Heep？’asked my aunt．
“威克菲尔先生在家吗，尤赖亚·希普？”姨婆问他。
‘He is，madam，’replied Uriah，smiling unpleasantly．He showed us into the sitting-room，where I noticed two large paintings on the wall，one of a grey-haired gentleman and the other of a lady with a sweet，gentle face．Just then a gentle man entered the room，looking a little older than his picture．I soon discovered he was Mr Wickfield，my aunt's lawyer．
“在家，小姐，”尤赖亚回答，不自在地笑了笑。他领我们进了客厅，我注意到客厅墙上挂着两幅画像，一幅是位灰头发男子，另一幅是位恬静、温柔的女士。这时，一位先生走进客厅，显得比像片老些。我立刻意识到他就是威克菲尔先生，我姨婆的律师。
‘Mr Wickfield，’said my aunt，‘this is my nephew．I have adopted him，and I want to send him to a good boarding school here in Canterbury．Can you help me find a school for him？’
“威克菲尔先生，”姨婆说道，“这是我的外孙，我收养了他，我想送他上一所较好的寄宿学校，就在坎特伯雷城，您能帮我找一所吗？”
Mr Wickfield thought for a moment．‘There's a very good school I can recommend，Dr Strong's，but the boy can't board there，and it's too far to travel from Dover every day．However，he could live here，if you liked，in my house．There's plenty of room for him．’
威克菲尔先生想了一会儿，“我可以推荐他去一所非常好的学校，斯特朗博士学校，可学生不能寄宿，而且每天从多佛赶到这里也太远了。不过，他可以住在这儿，在我家，如果您愿意的话。家里有的是空房间。”
‘That's very kind of you，Mr Wickfield．I'll pay you for his food，of course，’said my aunt．
“您真是太好了，威克菲尔先生。当然他的生活费由我负担。”姨婆说。
‘Come and meet Agnes，who takes care of everything and manages the house，’said Mr Wickfield．We all went upstairs to another sitting-room，prettily furnished，where a girl of my own age was sitting．On her face I saw immediately the beau tiful，calm expression of the lady in the painting downstairs，and I knew she must be Mr Wickfield's daughter，Agnes．When I saw the way Mr Wickfield looked at Agnes and held her hand，I realized that she was the only thing that made life worth living for him．The lady in the painting was her mother，who had died some years before，and Agnes was now in complete charge of the house．She welcomed me warmly as a guest，and showed me the comfortable bedroom I would sleep in．My aunt was very happy to leave me in the care of Mr Wickfield and his daughter．