Chapter 1 Four sisters
第1章 四姐妹
Christmas wont be Christmas without any presents,said Jo crossly.
如果没有礼物,圣诞节就徒有其名,琼生气地说。
Its so awful to be poor!agreed Meg,looking at her old dress.
贫穷真是糟糕透了!麦格边看着她的旧衣裙边表示赞同。
Its not right for some girls to have pretty things,and others to have nothing at all,said little Amy.
有些女孩子有漂亮的东西,而其他人却什么都没有,这太不应该了,小艾米说。
Weve got Father and Mother,and each other,said Beth gently.
我们有父亲和母亲,还拥有彼此,白丝温文尔雅地说道。
The four young faces round the fire cheered up as they thought of this,
想起这些,围在火炉边的四张年轻的面孔变得快乐起来,
but then Jo said sadly,We havent got Father,and we wont have him for a long time.
可然后琼悲伤地说:我们没有父亲,我们要有很长时间都不会有他。
She didnt say perhaps never,
她并没有说出也许永远也不会有了这句话,
but each silently thought it,remembering that he was away at the war in the South.
但想起父亲去南方打仗了,每个人都默默地想到了它。
Then Meg said,Mother says we shouldnt spend money on presents when our men are fighting a war.
然后麦格说道:妈妈说过,当我们的男人在打仗的时候我们不应该把钱花在买礼物上。
We cant expect anything from Mother or each otehr,said Jo,
我们不能期待会从母亲或彼此那里得到任何礼物,琼说,
but we only have a dollar each,and that wont help the army much.
可我们每个人都有一块钱,这帮不了军队什么忙。
Lets each buy ourselves what we want, and have a little fun.
咱们每人给自己买些想要的东西高兴高兴吧。
We work hard to earn it.
这是咱们努力工作挣来的。
关于《小妇人》
《小妇人》由美国作家露易莎·梅·奥尔科特所著,一部以美国南北战争为背景,以19世纪美国新英格兰地区的一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事为蓝本的带有自传色彩的家庭伦理小说。小说受到当时的大思想家爱默生的影响,强调了个人尊严与自立自律的观念;内容平实却细腻,结构单纯而寓意深远,富有强烈的感染力。