《圣诞颂歌》 第二章 三幽灵中的第一位(5)

搜索

复制

'You have changed. We promised to marry a long time ago, when we were both poor, and happy to be poor.

“你已经变了。在很久以前当我们都还很穷但又穷得快乐的时候我们就许诺过要结婚。

I have stayed the same, but you have different hopes and dreams now.

我一直没改变想法，但你现在有了不同的希望和理想。

I loved the man that you used¹ to be, but I know that you do not wish to marry me any more.

我爱的是过去的你，但我知道你不再想娶我了，

So I've come to tell you that you're free.

所以我来是想告诉你你自由了。

Be happy in the life that you've chosen!' And she left him.

祝你在你自己选择的道路上幸福生活！”她离开了他。

'Spirit²!' cried Scrooge. 'Show me no more! Take me home! This is too painful³!'

“幽灵！”斯克罗吉大声说，“别再让我看下去了！带我回家吧！这太痛苦了！”

'One shadow⁴ more!' said the ghost.

“还有一个影子！”鬼魂说。

'No more!' cried Scrooge. 'I don't wish to see any more!'

“一个也不要再看了！”斯克罗吉高声喊道。“我不想再看了！”

But the spirit held his arms, and he could not escape⁵.

但幽灵抓住他的胳膊，所以他无法逃脱。

Now they were in another place, in a room which was not very large, but comfortable.

现在他们来到了另一个地方，一个不是很大但非常舒适的房间里。

Near the fire sat a beautiful young girl.

火边坐着一位漂亮的年轻姑娘。

Scrooge thought she was the girl that he had just seen, until he saw her, now a good-looking married⁶ lady, sitting opposite her daughter.

斯克罗吉想她就是刚才看到过的女孩，到他见到她时，她已是一位漂亮的已婚妇女了，她坐在女儿的对面。

The room was full of children, and noise, and shouting, and laughing.

房间里都是孩子，满屋子吵闹声、喊叫声和笑声。

Just then the door opened, and the father entered, carrying a great pile⁷ of Christmas presents.

这时门开了，父亲抱着一大摞圣诞礼物走了进来。

The noise became twice as loud, as the children received their presents with delight⁸, and kissed their father gratefully⁹.

当孩子们高兴地拿到礼物时，吵闹声比刚才高了一倍，他们充满感激地吻了父亲。

Finally, the younger ones went upstairs to bed, and Scrooge watched more sadly¹⁰ than ever, as the father sat down with his loving daughter and her mother by the fire.

最后，小点儿的孩子们上楼睡觉去了。斯克罗吉比往常更加伤心地看着，父亲同他可爱的女儿及妻子在火炉旁坐下。

'Belle,' said the husband, turning to his wife with a smile, 'I saw an old friend of yours this afternoon. Guess who?

“贝尔，”丈夫说着把脸转向妻子，面带微笑。“我今天下午看见了你的一位老朋友，你猜他是谁？

Mr Scrooge! He was sitting alone in his office.

斯克罗吉先生！他正独自一人坐在他的办公室里。

His partner is dying¹¹, and I don't think he has any other friends.'

他的合伙人快要死了，我认为他再没有别的朋友了。”

'Spirit!' said Scrooge in a broken¹² voice. 'Take me away from this place.'

“幽灵！”斯克罗吉用颤抖的声音说。“带我离开这个地方吧。”

'These are shadows¹³ of the things that happened in the past,' said the ghost.

“这都是过去所发生的事情的影子，”鬼魂说，

'You chose the life that you preferred, so why cry now?'

“你选择了你喜欢的生活，现在干嘛要哭呢？”

'I can't watch any more! It's too awful! Leave me alone, spirit!'

“我不能再看下去了！太可怕了！幽灵，让我一个人呆着吧！”

And Scrooge, noticing that the ghostly light was burning high and bright, suddenly took the extinguisher, and pushed it down hard on the spirit's head.

当斯克罗吉看到鬼火高高地明晃晃地照着时，他突然夺下灭火器，重重地放在了幽灵的头上。

But although it covered the ghost's head and body, Scrooge could not hide the light, which continued to shine out strongly from underneath¹⁴.

但尽管它盖住了鬼魂的头和身体，斯克罗吉还是盖不住它身上的光，那光依旧从下面强烈地放射出来。

Now Scrooge found himself back in his own bedroom again.

现在斯克罗吉发现他又回到了自己的卧室。

Feeling very tired, he climbed into bed and at once fell into a deep, heavy sleep.

感觉非常疲劳，他爬上床立刻就进入了沉睡的梦乡。

1 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

2 spirit   

n.烈酒（常用复数）；精神；情绪

参考例句：

• You're feeling her spirit.你感受着她的精神。
• His selfless spirit is worth praising.他的无私精神值得赞扬。

3 painful   

adj.(引起)疼痛的；困难的，令人不快的

参考例句：

• He did not want to mention the painful past.他不愿意提起过去的伤心事。
• The memory came back with a painful rush.回忆起往事心里一阵难受。

4 shadow   

n.阴影，荫，影子，影像，阴暗，预兆，少许，隐蔽处，庇护；vt.遮蔽，使朦胧，预示

参考例句：

• Every light has its shadow.是灯都有影。
• The trees throw a shadow on the grass.树木在草地上投下了阴影。

5 escape   

vi.逃跑，逃避；逃过..的注意；逸出；n.逃跑

参考例句：

• We had to break the door out to escape from the fire.我们不得不把门砸开以逃避火灾。
• He didn't allow any word to escape his lips.他守口如瓶。

6 married   

adj.已婚的；与…结婚的

参考例句：

• I heard John got married.我听说约翰结婚了。
• They got married last autumn.他们在去年秋季结婚。

7 pile   

n.堆，大堆，大量，电池，桥桩，软毛，痔疮；vi.堆起，堆积，积累，挤；vt.堆于，累积

参考例句：

• Collect the books and put them in a pile on my desk.把书收起来放在我的桌子上。
• Pile the leaves in the corner of the yard.把树叶堆到院子里。

8 delight   

n.高兴，愉快；vt.给（某人）乐趣；使愉快；vi.喜爱

参考例句：

• Your new book is a real delight!你的新书真讨人喜欢！
• He takes delight in annoying me.他以惹我生气为乐。

9 gratefully   

adv.感激地；感谢地；令人快意地；舒适地

参考例句：

• "Oh,thank you!'she enthused gratefully."You're a real gem,a diamond of the first water.” “谢谢！”她表示感激热情洋溢地说，“你真是一个被人尊敬的人，第一流的好人。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I gratefully acknowledge financial support from several local businesses. 我对本地几家企业的资助表示感谢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sadly   

adv.悲痛地，悲惨地，悲伤地

参考例句：

• She looked at him sadly.她难过地看着他。
• Sadly the good times aren't returning any time soon.遗憾的是，好时光不会很快就回来。

11 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

12 broken   

adj.坏掉的，患病的，被制服的，断掉的；vbl.break的过去分词

参考例句：

• He is mending a broken cup.他在修补破杯子。
• Something was broken in my engine.我的发动机里有个东西损坏了。

13 shadows   

n.阴影( shadow的名词复数 )；影子；（坏）影响；形影不离的人[物]

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• The children were having fun, chasing each other's shadows. 孩子们追逐着彼此的影子，玩得很开心。

14 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。