雙語(yǔ)美文：小伯特的感恩節(jié)（第一話）

作者： J. T. Trowbridge 來(lái)源：Short-Story-Time 2016-11-19 07:00

雙語(yǔ) 中文英語(yǔ)

Bert's Thanksgiving

伯特的感恩節(jié)

By J. T. Trowbridge?revised?by Kristina Harding

特羅布里奇【著】. 克里斯汀娜?哈丁【修訂】.

At noon on a dreary November day, a lonesome little fellow stood at the door of a cheap restaurant in Boston, and offered a solitary copy of a morning paper for sale to the people passing. But there were really not many people passing, for it was Thanksgiving Day, and the shops were closed, and everybody who had a home to go to, and a dinner to eat, seemed to have gone home.

十一月的一個(gè)沉悶的午間，一位寂寞的小伙子站在波士頓一家廉價(jià)餐館門口，想把一份晨報(bào)賣給路人。但是由于這天是感恩節(jié)，路上沒有很多行人，商店也都關(guān)門了，那些有家可歸、有晚餐要赴的人們，似乎也都已經(jīng)回家了。

An old man, with a face that looked pinched, and who was dressed in a seedy black coat, stopped at the same doorway, and, with one hand on the latch, he appeared to hesitate between hunger and a sense of poverty, before going in. It was possible, however, that he was considering whether he could afford himself the indulgence of a morning paper, seeing it was Thanksgiving Day; so at least Bert thought, and addressed him accordingly.

這時(shí)，有一個(gè)滿臉消瘦的老人，身上穿著破舊的黑色外套，在餐館門前停了下來(lái)，一只手搭在門把上準(zhǔn)備進(jìn)去，但在進(jìn)門前，他看起來(lái)似乎在饑餓感與貧窮之間猶豫不決。而賣報(bào)紙的小伙伯特也在考慮老人能否看在今天是感恩節(jié)的份上，買一份晨報(bào)。不管怎樣，至少伯特認(rèn)為有可能，因此他走上前問(wèn)了這位老人。

"Buy a paper, sir? All about the fire in East Boston, and arrest of burglars in Springfield. Only two cents."

“先生，買一份報(bào)紙嗎？今天的內(nèi)容是關(guān)于東波士頓的火災(zāi)和斯普林菲爾德的竊賊被捕。只要兩美分。”

The little old man looked at the boy, with keen gray eyes which seemed to light up the pinched look of his face, and answered in a shrill voice,"You ought to come down in your price, this time of day. You can't expect to sell a morning paper at 12 o'clock for full price."

那位瘦弱的老人看著小伙，銳利的灰色眼睛似乎為他憔悴的面色增添了一絲生機(jī)，他用尖銳的聲音回答道，“你應(yīng)該在今天把報(bào)紙的價(jià)格降下來(lái)。因?yàn)槟悴荒苤竿谥形缡c(diǎn)還能以原價(jià)來(lái)賣出晨報(bào)?！?/div>

"Well, give me a cent, then," said Bert. "That's less than cost; but never mind. I'm bound to sell out, anyhow."

“好吧，那付我一美分就好?！辈卣f(shuō)?！氨M管這價(jià)錢低于成本，但沒關(guān)系，我無(wú)論如何都要把它們賣出去?！?/div>

"You look cold," said the old man.

老人說(shuō)，“你看起來(lái)很冷。”

"Cold," replied Bert, "I'm nearly frozen. And I want my dinner. And I'm going to have a big dinner, too, seeing it's Thanksgiving Day."

“冷？”伯特回答說(shuō)，“我都要被凍僵了。我想要吃晚餐，一頓豐盛的晚餐，畢竟今天是感恩節(jié)?！?/div>

"Ah! Lucky for you, my boy!" said the old man. "You've a home to go to, and friends, too. I hope."

“歐！你是多么幸運(yùn)啊，我的孩子！”老人說(shuō)，“你有家可回，還有朋友，我猜?！?/div>

"No, sir; no home, and no friend—only my mother."

“不，先生。我沒有家，也沒有朋友，我只有媽媽?！?/div>

"It's more lonesome not to eat at all," said the old man, his gray eyes twinkling. "Here, I guess I can find one cent for you—though there's nothing in the paper, I know."

“如果完全不吃點(diǎn)什么東西會(huì)更孤獨(dú)吧”，那位老人說(shuō)著說(shuō)著，灰色的眼睛里閃爍出了光芒。“我想我可以找出一分錢來(lái)買份報(bào)紙，雖然我知道里面并沒有什么可讀的?！?/div>

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