《圣诞颂歌》 第三章 三幽灵中的第二位(1)

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3 The second of the three spirits

3．三幽灵中的第二位

When Scrooge woke up, he realized immediately that the church clock was just going to strike one.

当斯克罗吉醒来的时候，他立刻发现教堂的钟就要敲响1点钟了。

He felt sure that the second spirit would Soon visit him.

他肯定第二个幽灵不久就要来看望他了。

This time he wanted to be ready, so he pulled back all the curtains round his bed himself, and lay there, waiting.

这次他想做好准备，所以他自己把他床周围的帘子都拉开了，躺在那儿等着。

At one o'clock, instead of a spirit, a strong light shone down on Scrooge's bed.

1点钟时，幽灵没有来，但一束强光从上面照在了斯克罗吉的床上。

He felt very frightened.

他害怕极了。

After a few minutes he thought that perhaps the light was coming from the next room, so he got up and went to the door.

几分钟之后，他以为光是从隔壁的房间照过来的，所以他起身下床来到了门口。

When he touched it, a strange voice called his name, and asked him to enter. He obeyed.

当他的手摸到门时，一个奇怪的声音叫他的名字并让他进去，他听从了。

Although he recognized it as his own room, it looked very different now.

尽管他认出这是他自己的房间，但它现在看上去已完全不同。

The walls were covered with bright green leaves, and there was a good fire burning in the fireplace¹.

墙壁被鲜亮的绿叶所覆盖，壁炉里燃烧着熊熊的火焰。

On the floor were big plies² of the best Christmas food—wonderful rich dark cakes, warm soft bread,

地板上摆着大堆的上好的圣诞食品——味道浓郁的巧克力蛋糕、热乎乎松软的面包、

colourful apples and oranges, plates of yellow butter, cooked chickens, boxes of chocolates and sugared sweets.

五颜六色的苹果和桔子、一盘盘的黄油、炖好的鸡、一盒盒的巧克力和糖果。

Sitting beside all this was a large, smiling spirit, who called out cheerfully⁴ to Scrooge,

坐在这些东西旁边的是一个身材高大、面带笑容的幽灵，它高兴地对斯克罗吉高声喊，

'Come in! Come in, man! I am the ghost of Christmas Present! Look at me!'

“请进！请进，伙计！我是今日圣诞鬼魂！看着我！”

Since the first ghost's visit, Scrooge was no longer very sure of himself.

自从第一个鬼魂的来访，斯克罗吉对自己就没了把握。

So although the spirit's eyes were clear and kind, Scrooge was afraid to look straight into its face.

所以尽管幽灵的眼睛明亮且充满善意，但斯克罗吉还是不敢正视它的脸，

But he could see that its body was dressed in a long green robe⁵, its long brown hair fell freely⁶ down its back, and its face wore a warm and friendly smile.

但他能看见幽灵身穿一件绿色长袍，它长长的棕色头发随意地散落在背上，它面带热情友好的笑容。

Light shone from the torch⁷ which it was holding in its strong right hand.

光是从他强有力的右手握着的火把里发出的。

'Spirit,' said Scrooge quietly, 'take me where you want.

“幽灵，”斯克罗吉轻柔地说，“你想带我去哪儿就去哪儿。

Last night I learned⁸ a lesson which is working now.

昨天晚上我接受了教训，而且这教训现在正在生效。

If you have anything to teach me tonight, let me learn from you.'

如果今晚你也有什么让我借鉴的话，请让我向你领教。”

'Touch my robe!' said the spirit, and Scrooge obeyed.

“拽着我的长袍！”幽灵说，斯克罗吉从命了。

The food, the room, the fire all disappeared, and they were standing⁹ outside in the cold, snowy streets on Christmas morning.

食品、房间、炉火都消失了。圣诞早晨，他们正站在冰天雪地的户外。

Although the sky was grey and the streets were dirty, the people looked surprisingly cheerful³, as they hurried to the bakers¹⁰ shops with their Christmas dinners, all ready for cooking.

虽然天空灰蒙蒙的，街上也很脏，但人们看上去都出奇的欢喜，当他们拿着他们的圣诞晚餐匆匆赶往面包房准备烤制的时候。

The spirit seemed specially¹¹ interested in poor people.

幽灵似乎对穷人特别感兴趣。

He stood with Scrooge in a baker's doorway¹² and held his torch over the dinners as they were carried past him.

它和斯克罗吉一同站在面包房的门口，当晚餐从它面前经过时它把火把照在上面。

Sometimes, when he saw people pushing each other or getting angry, he lifted his torch over their heads, and immediately they became kinder, or stopped arguing, 'because it's Christmas,' they told each other.

有时当他看见人们相互拥挤或发脾气时，他把火把举在他们的头上，他们立刻就会变得温顺或停止争吵，“因为今天是圣诞节，”他们彼此告诫着。

1 fireplace   

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

• The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
• I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

2 plies   

v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• The ship plies between London and Sydney. 这船常航行于伦敦与悉尼之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bus plies from the station to the hotel. 这辆公共汽车往来于车站和旅馆之间。 来自辞典例句

3 cheerful   

adj.快活的，高兴的，兴高采烈

参考例句：

• Yellow is a cheerful colour.黄色是令人高兴的颜色。
• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。

4 cheerfully   

adv.高兴地，愉快地

参考例句：

• The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
• He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。

5 robe   

n.长袍，长衣，浴衣

参考例句：

• She was sitting at her mirror in a robe.她穿着长裙坐在镜子前。
• She put her robe on the chair.她把睡袍搭在椅子上。

6 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

7 torch   

n.火炬

参考例句：

• They are looking for volunteers to carry the torch.他们正在寻找火炬传递的志愿者。
• A famous athlete held a torch and ran to the stadium.一个著名的运动员举着火炬跑到运动场。

8 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

12 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。