牛津书虫系列《化学秘密》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

 At home
2 在家中
'Hi，Dad．Your supper's in the kitchen．'
“喂，爸爸。你的晚餐在厨房里。”
John's sixteen-year-old daughter，Christine，was sitting at the table doing her homework．His son Andrew，who was thirteen，was watching television．
约翰16岁的女儿克里斯汀正坐在桌旁做功课。他13岁的儿子安德鲁正在看电视。
'Thanks，Christine，'John said．'I'm sorry I'm late．Is everything OK？'
“谢谢你，克里斯汀，”约翰说。“很抱歉，我回来晚了，你一切都好吗？”
'Fine，thanks．'Christine gave him a quick smile，then con-tinued with her work．John got his food from the kitchen．Fried fish and chips．The food was dry and didn't taste very good．But he didn't say anything about that．John was not a good cook himself and his children were no better．His wife had been a good cook，he remembered．
“好，谢谢。”克里斯汀朝他匆匆一笑，又继续做作业。约翰从厨房端出食物——炸鱼和薯条。食物很干，不怎么好吃，但是他什么也没说。约翰自己不善于烹饪，他的孩子们更不行。他回想起他的太太曾是很好的厨师。
John tried to eat the terrible supper and looked around the small，miserable flat．The furniture was twenty years old，the wallpaper and carpets were cheap and dirty．The rooms were all small，and he could see no trees or gardens from the win-dows—just the lights from hundreds of other flats．And there were books，clothes，and newspapers on the floor．
约翰努力吃下这难咽的晚餐，环视着这又小又简陋的公寓。家具是20年前买的，壁纸和地毯既廉价又脏。所有的房间都很小，从窗口往外看去见不到树林或花园，只有从数百家别的公寓里透出的灯光。地上到处扔著书、衣服和报纸。
Once，when his wife had been alive， he had had a fine house．A beautiful big house in the country，with a large gar-den．They had had lots of new furniture，two cars，expensive holidays—everything they needed．He had had a good job；they hadn't needed to think about money．And then he had started the boat-building company，and his luck had ended．
以前他太太活着的时候，他有一座很好的房子，一座坐落在乡村，有很大花园的漂亮的大房子。他们曾有很多崭新的家具、两部汽车、奢侈的假期——应有尽有。他有一份满意的工作，他们不用考虑钱。然后他创办了造船公司，接着他的运气结束了。
When Rachel had died，John had been terribly unhappy—much too unhappy to think about business．A few months later his company had closed，and he had lost all his money．John had had to sell his beautiful house in the country，and move to this miserable flat．
雷切尔死后，约翰一直很忧郁，太忧郁以至于无心考虑生意。几个月以后他的公司关闭了，他失去了所有的钱。约翰不得不卖掉乡村房子，搬进这简陋的公寓。
And for the last two years， he hadn't had a job at all．He was a poor man，and an unlucky one， too．He had tried for lots of jobs，and got none of them．There were too many bright young biologists．But now that was all going to change．He looked at his daughter and smiled．
在过去的两年中他根本没有工作。他是一个贫穷的人，也是一个倒霉的人，他试找了许多工作，但没有得到一份工作。智慧、年轻的生物学家太多了。但是现在这一切都将发生变化。他微笑着望着他女儿。
'Did you have a good day at school，Christine？'he asked her．
“今天你在学校过得愉快吗，克里斯汀？”他问她。
'Oh，all right，I suppose，'she said．She didn't look very happy．'I've got a letter for you．'
“噢，我想还行，”她说。她看上去并不很高兴。“我有一封给你的信。”
She pushed the letter across the table，and he opened it．It was from her school．One of the teachers was taking the chil-dren on a skiing holiday to the mountains in Switzerland．It cost ￡ 400 for ten days．Parents who wanted their children to go had to send the money to the school before February 25th．
她把信从桌上推过来，他打开信。信来自她的学校。有个老师要带学生们到瑞士的山上去滑雪度假。10天的费用是400英镑。想让自己的孩子去的家长得在2月25日前把钱交到学校。
John's smile grew bigger．'Do you want to go on this holi-day，Christine？'he asked．
约翰的笑容更加灿烂了。“克里斯汀，你想参加这次度假吗？”他问。
She looked at him strangely．'Of course I do， Dad，'she said．'But I can't，can I？We haven't got ￡ 400．'
她奇怪地望着他。“我当然想，爸爸。”她说，“但是我不能去，对吧？我们没有400英镑。”