《圣诞颂歌》 第三章 三幽灵中的第二位(2)

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'What does your torch¹ do, spirit²?' asked Scrooge.

“你的火把是作什么用的，幽灵？”斯克罗吉问。

'It gives a special taste to people's dinners on this day,' answered the spirit.

“它能给人们今天的晚餐带来特殊的味道，”幽灵回答说。

'Why do you use it most on poor people?' said Scrooge.

“你为什么大多把它用在穷人身上？”斯克罗吉问。

'Because poor people need it most,' was the reply.

“因为穷人最需要它，”幽灵回答说。

They went on through London, and came to the small house where Scrooge's clerk lived.

他们继续前行，穿过伦敦，来到了斯克罗吉雇员居住的狭小住处。

Here the spirit smiled, and held his torch high over the door.

在这儿幽灵笑了，把他的火把高高地举过房门。

Inside, Bob Cratchit's wife and second daughter, Belinda, in their everyday³ dresses, but looking clean and pretty, were putting plates on the table for their Christmas dinner.

屋里，鲍勃·克拉奇蒂的妻子和二女儿贝琳达身穿她们平日的服装，但看起来干净漂亮，她们正往桌子上摆圣诞晚餐用的盘子。

Bob's son Peter was helping⁴ to cook the potatoes, and two smaller Cratchits, a boy and a girl, were running round excitedly.

鲍勃的儿子彼得正帮着烧土豆，两个再小点的克拉奇蒂，一男一女，正高兴地来回跑着。

Just then the eldest⁵ daughter, Martha, arrived home from work.

这时大女儿玛莎下班回来了。

'Here's Martha, mother!'cried the two young Cratchits happily.

“玛莎回来了，妈妈！”两个小克拉奇蒂高兴地喊着。

'We're having a really big chicken for dinner, Martha!'

“晚饭我们能吃到一只真的很大的鸡了，玛莎！”

In fact it was only a small chicken, but it seemed large to the excited children.

实际上它不过是一只很小的鸡，但对这些兴奋的孩子们来说它似乎很大。

'My dear, how late you are!' said Mrs Cratchit, kissing her daughter several times.

“我亲爱的，你这么晚才回来！”克拉奇蒂太太边说边吻了女儿好几下。

'We were so busy yesterday, mother!' replied the girl. 'That's why we didn't finish until this morning!'

“我们昨天非常忙，妈妈！”女孩回答说。“所以我们直到今天早晨都没有干完！”

'Well! Never mind, now that you're here. God⁶ bless⁷ you! Sit down by the fire, my dear!'

“哎！既然你回来了就没关系了。愿上帝保佑你！亲爱的，来坐到火边来！”

'No, no! Father's coming!' ried the two young Cratchits. 'Hide, Martha, hide!'

“不，不！爸爸回来了！”两个小克拉奇蒂嚷道。“藏起来，玛莎，藏起来！”

So Martha hid herself, and in came Bob in his thin coat and long white scarf, with his son Tiny Tim in his arms.

所以玛莎藏了起来，鲍勃身穿他的薄大衣戴着白色的长围巾走了进来，怀里抱着小蒂姆。

Poor Tiny Tim! He had not walked since he was born, and although he could pull himself and his thin little legs along with the help of a wooden crutch⁸, he was not strong enough to travel far alone.

可怜的小蒂姆啊！自从他降生就没行走过。尽管他借助于一个木拐杖能够拖着身躯和他那瘦骨嶙峋的腿往前走，但他毕竟太弱了，一个人走不了多远。

'Why, where's Martha?' cried Bob, looking round.

“怎么了，玛莎呢？”鲍勃高声喊道，并朝四周看了看。

'Not coming,' said Mrs Cratchit.

“还没回来呢？”克拉奇蒂太太说。

'Not coming!' repeated⁹ Bob, his cheerful¹⁰ smile disappearing¹¹. 'Not coming on Christmas Day!'

“还没回来！”鲍勃重复了一遍，他欢快的笑容不见了。“圣诞节了，还没回来！”

1 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。

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 everyday   

adj.每天的，日常的，平常的

参考例句：

• Sweeping the floor is his everyday work.扫地是他的日常工作。
• He practices speaking English everyday.他每天练习说英语。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

6 god   

n.上帝，神；被极度崇拜的人或物

参考例句：

• God knows how the cat got up on the roof.只有天知道那只猫是怎样爬上房顶的。
• God wills that man should be happy.上帝愿人类幸福。

7 bless   

v.祝福，感激，保佑，保护

参考例句：

• May God bless you with a long life!愿上帝保佑你长寿！
• Bless you,my sister!祝福你，我的妹妹！

8 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

9 repeated   

adj.反复的，再三的，重复的；累；频仍

参考例句：

• repeated absences from school 一再缺课
• the prisoner's repeated denials of the charges against him 囚犯再三否认对他的指控

10 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。

11 disappearing   

v.不见，消失( disappear的现在分词 )；不复存在；掩始；隐显

参考例句：

• She caught sight of a figure disappearing into the darkness. 她看见一个人影儿在黑暗中消失了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The speeding wheels and disappearing country put Chicago farther and farther behind. 向前飞奔的车轮和向后消失的乡村把芝加哥甩得越来越远。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹