《远大前程》第3章 给匹普的一次机会(2)

I wondered whether I would have to teach Joe from the beginning，so I asked，How do you write Gargery，Joe？

我不知道是否必须从头教乔，所以，我问道，你写出葛吉瑞。乔，怎么样？

I don't write it at all，said Joe．But，you know，I am fond¹ of reading²．

我一点也不会写，乔说，但是，你知道，我爱好读，

Give me a good book or newspaper，a good fire and I ask no more．

给我一本好书或者报纸，一盆炉火，不要更多。

Well！When you come to a J and an O，how interesting reading is！

喂！当你写出一个J和O，读它多么有趣呀！

Didn't you ever go to school，Joe，when you were young？

乔，你小时候未曾上过学？

No，Pip．You see，my father drank a lot，and when he drank，he used³ to hit my mother，and me too，sometimes．

没有，匹普，你知道，我爸爸酗酒，当他酗酒时，常打我妈妈，有时候也打我。

So she and I ran away from him several times．And she used to say，Now，Joe，you can go to school．

因此，她和我几次逃离他，她过去对我说，唉，乔，你能上学了。

But my father had such a good heart that he didn't want to be without us．

可是，我爸爸有如此的好心，他不能没有我们。

So he always came to find us，and took us home，and hit us．

因此，他总是来找我们，并把我们带回家，继续揍我们。

So you see，Pip，I never learnt much．

这样你就明白了，匹普，我一点也没学习过。

Poor Joe！

可怜的乔！

But remember，Pip，my father had a good heart．

但是记住，匹普，我爸爸有一副好心肠。

I wondered about that，but said nothing．

这话让我惊奇，但是没说什么。

He let me become a blacksmith，which was his job too，only he never worked at it．I earned the money for the family，until he died．

他让我当了一名铁匠，铁匠也是他的工作，只是他从来不干这活。

And listen to this，Pip，I wanted to put this on his gravestone：

直到他死，都是我为家里挣钱。听着这一点，匹普，在他的墓碑上我要这样写：

Whatever the fault⁴ he had from the start，

无论怎样的过失，他是创家立业的。

1 fond   

adj.喜爱的，多情的，喜欢的

参考例句：

• Volleyball is a sport of which I am very fond.排球是我很喜欢的运动。
• I was fond of playing on the beach when I was young.小的时候，我喜欢在河滩上玩耍。

2 reading   

n.阅读，知识，读物，表演，对法律条文的解释；adj.阅读的

参考例句：

• Children learn reading and writing at school.孩子们在学校学习阅读和写作。
• He finds pleasure in reading.他从阅读中得到乐趣。

3 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。

4 fault   

n.过错；缺点；故障；毛病；vt.挑剔；vi.弄错

参考例句：

• It's not our fault.这不是我方过错。
• I cannot pass over his fault.我不能宽恕他的过失。