《圣诞颂歌》 第四章 最后一位幽灵(1)

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4 The last of the spirits

4．最后一位幽灵

'The third spirit will come at midnight.'

“第三位幽灵将在午夜的时候到来。”

Scrooge suddenly remembered the words of Jacob Marley's ghost, and, lifting his eyes, saw a spirit, all in black, coming slowly towards him.

斯克罗吉突然记起雅各布·马利幽灵的话，他抬起眼睛，看见了一个幽灵，身着黑衣服，慢慢地朝他走来。

It was a tall, silent¹ figure, wearing a long black robe² which hid its head and body.

它个头很高，一声不响，一件长长的黑袍蒙住了他的头和身体。

When it came close to him, it stopped and pointed³ onwards⁴ with one hand.

当它走近的时候，它停住了，并用一只手朝前指着。

Scrooge was more afraid of this spirit than he had been of the others, and his voice was shaking as he asked, 'Are you the spirit of Christmas Yet to Come?'

斯克罗吉对这个幽灵的恐惧胜过前面所有的，他用颤抖的声音问道，“你是来日的圣诞幽灵吗？”

The ghost neither spoke⁵ nor moved, but still pointed onwards.

幽灵既不讲话也不走开，但还是朝前指着。

'Are you going to show me shadows of the things which haven't happened yet, but will happen in the future?'

“你是不是要给我看那些尚未发生的但将来会发生的事情的幻影？”

Scrooge asked. There was no answer.

斯克罗吉问。仍然没有应答。

'Ghost of the future!' he continued.

“未来的鬼魂！”他继续说。

'You frighten me very much, but I think you can help me to change my life.

“你把我吓坏了，但我想你能帮我改变我的生活。

I'll be very grateful⁶ to you if you show me the future. Won't you speak to me?'

如果你能为我指明未来的话，我会很感激你的。你难道不跟我讲话吗？”

Again, no reply.

还是没有回答。

'Well, show me the way, spirit!' said Scrooge finally.

“那好吧，幽灵，就给我指出我的出路吧。”斯克罗吉最后说。

'The night is passing, and time is valuable to me, I know.'

“夜晚马上就要结束，时间对我来说很珍贵，我知道。”

The ghost moved away, with Scrooge following in its shadow.

鬼魂走开了，斯克罗吉跟着它的影子。

Suddenly they were in the heart of the capital, among the businessmen and moneylenders.

突然他们来到了市中心，周围都是商人和放债人。

The ghost pointed to one small group of men, so Scrooge went closer to listen to their conversation.

鬼魂指了指一小群人，斯克罗吉便走上前听着他们的谈话。

'No, I don't know much about it,' said one fat man. 'I only know he's dead.'

“不，这件事我知道的不多。”一个胖子说。“我只知道他死了。”

'When did he die?' asked another man.

“他什么时候死的？”另一个人问。

'Last night, I think.'

“昨天晚上，我想。”

'Why, what was the matter with him?' asked a third.

“怎么了，他出了什么事？”第三个人问道。

'I've no idea,' replied the fat man, looking bored. 'who cares?'

“我不知道，”胖子回答说，看上去很不耐烦。“管他呢？”

'What's he done with his money?' asked a red-faced gentleman.

“他的钱怎么处理了？”一位红脸先生问。

'I haven't heard,' said the fat man. 'He hasn't left it to me, that's all I know.'

“我没听说，”胖子说，“我只知道他没把钱留给我。”

They all laughed at this.

听了这话他们都笑了。

Scrooge knew the men, and looked towards the spirit, hoping it would explain what the conversation meant.

斯克罗吉认识这些人，他看着幽灵，希望它能解释解释他们的谈话是什么意思。

But the ghost moved on, pointing at two more men. Scrooge listened again.

但鬼魂继续朝前走，又指着另外两个人。斯克罗吉又听了他们在说什么。

He knew these men well. They were rich and important, and he had often done business with them.

他很熟悉这些人。他们有钱又都是要人，他经常和他们做生意。

1 silent   

adj.安静的，不吵闹的，沉默的，无言的；n.(复数)默剧

参考例句：

• Immediately on his beginning to speak,everyone was silent.他一讲话，大家顿时安静下来。
• The boys looked at the conjuror in silent wonder. 孩子们目瞪口呆地看着那魔术师。

2 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。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 onwards   

adv.前进；在前；在先；迈进

参考例句：

• From now onwards my teacher will be stricter.从此我的老师会更加严格。
• The crowd began to move onwards.人群开始向前移动。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 grateful   

adj.感谢的，感激的，受欢迎的，表示谢意的

参考例句：

• If you will help us, we shall be very grateful.如果你愿意帮助我们，我们会很感激你。
• He closed his letter with expression of grateful thanks.他在那封信的结尾表达了自己的感激之情。