牛津书虫系列《小妇人》Chapter4 附中英双语文本

4 The house next door
4 隔壁的房子
'It's so nice to go to parties and drive home in carriages．'said Mea，the next morning．'Other people live like that all the time，and I wish we could．I wish we were rich．'
“去参加舞会然后坐马车回家真好，”第二天早晨麦格说道。“其他人一直都是这样生活的，真希望我们也是。真希望我们是富有的。”
'Well， we're not，'said Jo．' So we must do our work with a smile，the way Mother does．'
“哎，我们不富有，”琼说，“所以我们必须面带微笑做我们的工作，就像妈妈那样。”
Mr March had lost most of his money helping a friend．When the two older girls discovered this，they wanted to do something to earn some money for the family， and as soon as they were old enough，they found work．Meg got a job teach ing four small children．It was hard for her to be poor because she could remember the time when their home had been beautiful，with every thing they wanted． And every day at Mrs King's house she saw pretty dresses，and heard talk of parties and the theatre-all the things which Meg loved．
马奇先生为了帮助一位朋友失去了他的大部分钱。当两个年长的女孩子发现这件事时，她们就想要做些事来帮家里挣钱。她们等年龄一到，就去找工作。麦格找到了一份给四个小孩教课的工作。对她来说贫困是艰难的，因为她能记得当初家里是多么漂亮，她们要什么有什么。每天在金太太的家里她都能看到漂亮的衣服，听到有关舞会和剧院的议论——这些都是麦格所热衷的。
Jo went to Aunt March，who needed someone to fetch and carry things，and read to her．She was a difficult old lady who complained a lot，but Jo did her best．
琼到了马奇姑妈家，她需要有人帮她拿取东西，给她读文章。她是个很难缠的老太太，经常抱怨，可琼尽力而为。
Beth was much too shy to go to school with other children，so she studied at home with her father． When he went away，and her mother was busy with war work， Beth continued to study by herself and helped Hannah keep the home tidy for the others． She also spent long，quiet hours alone，talking to her dolls or playing the old piano．Beth loved music and，although the family could not afford music lessons or a good piano for her， she tried hard to make herself a better musician．
白丝太害羞，不愿跟其他孩子一起上学，于是她呆在家里跟父亲学习。父亲走了之后，母亲忙于战争方面的工作，白丝就继续自学，同时帮助海娜为其他人整理房间。她也常常花很长时间安静地独处，和她的玩具娃娃说话，或者弹那架旧钢琴。白丝热爱音乐，虽然家里不能供她上音乐课或买架好钢琴给她，她还是努力使自己成为一名更好的音乐家。
Amy drew the most beautiful pictures and wanted to be a fa mous painter one day．She was a favoturite with everyone， except when she complained abut having to wear her cousin's old clothes because her mother could not afford to buy new ones for her．
艾米会画最漂亮的画，她希望有一天能成为名画家。她很讨大家的喜欢，不过当母亲由于买不起新衣服而让她穿上表姐的旧衣服、她发牢骚的时候，情形就不同了。
One afternoon a week or two later， Jo went outside to clear the snow away from some of the garden so that Beth could walk there when the sun came out．She looked across to the house next door-a big stone house with lovely things inside that Jo occasionally saw through the open curtains at the windows．But it seemed a lonely， lifeless kind of house， as no children played outside， no motherly face smiled at the windows， and not many people went in and out， except the old gentleman and his grandson．
一两个星期以后的一个下午，琼到外面去，想把花园里的部分雪清扫掉，这样白丝就可以在太阳出来时到那儿去散步了。她朝隔壁的房子看过去——那是座大砖房，里面有很多漂亮的东西，琼有时会从那些打开窗帘的窗户看到里面。可它看上去像是一座孤独的毫无生气的房子，没有孩子在外面玩，没有窗边慈母的笑脸，也没有许多进进出出的人，只有那个老先生和他的孙子。
She had not seen the Laurence boy lately and wondered if he was away， but suddenly she saw him looking out of an upstairs window ．She threw up a handful of soft show and called out，'Are you ill？'
她后来一直没有见到劳伦斯家的男孩，她怀疑他已经走了，可突然间，她见到他正从楼上的一扇窗户朝外张望。她向上扔了一把松软的雪，喊道：“你是病了吗？”
Laurie opened the window'm almost better， thank you，'he said．'I've had a bad cold．'