《远大前程》第1章 匹普与一位陌生人相遇(4)（在线收听）

Because Joe and I were in the same position of being scolded by Mrs Joe，we were good friends，and Joe protected me from her anger whenever he could．So when I ran breathless into the kitchen，he gave me a friendly warning．‘She's out look-ing for you，Pip！And she's got the stick with her！’This stick had been used so often for beating me that it was now quite smooth．

因为我和乔都处于被乔夫人责骂的地位，我们俩是好朋友，乔随时都在保护我免遭她的怒斥。所以，当我上气不接下气地跑进厨房时，他给了我一个友好的忠告：“她正在外面找你，匹普！她还拿了条棍子！”这条棍子过去常用来敲打我，它现在是非常光滑了。

Just then Mrs Joe rushed in．

正在这时，乔夫人闯了进来。

‘Where have you been，you young monkey？’she shouted．I jumped behind Joe to avoid being hit with the stick．

“到哪里去了，你这个小淘气鬼？”她大叫着，我跳着躲到乔的背后，以避开她棍子的毒打。

Only to the churchyard，I whispered，starting to cry．

只去了教堂墓地，我小声嘟囔着，接着哭了起来。

Churchyard！If I hadn't brought you up，you'd be in the churchyard with our parents．

教堂墓地！如果不是我照顾你，你早就和我们的父母被埋在教堂墓地里了。

You'll send me to the church-yard one day！Now let me get your supper ready，both of you！

有一天你会把我送到坟墓去！现在，我给你们准备晚餐，你们俩！

For the rest of the evening，I thought of nothing but the stranger on the marshes．Sometimes，as the wind blew round the house，I imagined I heard his voice outside，and I thought with horror of the young man who ate boys hearts．

晚上休息时，我其它的事情都不想，只考虑沼泽地里那个陌生人。有时，当风在房屋周围掠过时，我想自己听到外面他的声音，还想起吞吃小孩子心脏的那个可怕的年轻人。

Just before I went to bed，we heard the sound of a big gun on the marshes．Was that a gun，Joe？I asked．

我刚要睡觉，我们听到从沼泽地传来的一阵枪声。乔，那枪声是干什么的？我问道。

Ah！said Joe．Another convict's escaped．One got away last night．They always fire the gun when one escapes．

噢！乔说，又有一个囚犯逃走了，昨晚上有一个囚犯逃跑了。当有囚犯逃跑时，他们总是要开火。

Who fires the gun？I asked．Joe shook his head to warn me．

向谁开的枪？我问道，乔摇摇头警告我。

Too many questions，frowned my sister．If you must know it's the men in the prison-ships who fire the gun．

问得太多了，我的姐姐皱着眉头说，你要是知道关在船上监狱的那些人，就明白向谁开枪了。

I wonder who is put into prison-ships，and why？I asked，in a general way，quietly desperate to know the answer．

我想知道谁被关在船上监狱里，为什么他们被关在那里？我追问道，通常，我非常想知道这类问题的答案。