牛津书虫系列《圣诞欢歌》Chapter2 附中英双语文本

2 The first of the three spirits
2．三幽灵中的第一位
When Scrooge woke up，it was very dark in the room．He heard the church clock start striking，and listened to see what the time was．To his great surprise，the heavy bell went on striking up to twelve，then stopped．Twelve o'clock！ It was past two in the morning when he had gone to bed．The clock must be wrong！He looked at his watch．It said twelve o'clock too！
当斯克罗吉醒来的时候，房间里黑极了。他听见教堂的钟声响了，他听着想知道是几点了。令他大吃一惊的是，沉重的钟声一直敲了12下，然后停了。12点了！他上床睡觉的时候已经是凌晨2点了。一定是钟出了问题！他看了看他的手表，也是12点。
‘Have I slept all day？Is it the next night already？’scrooge asked himself．‘Or has something happened to the sun？Perhaps it's midday，not midnight！But that's impossible！’
“我睡了一整天吗？难道已经是第二天夜里了吗？”斯克罗吉问自己。“或者是太阳出了问题？也许是正午而不是午夜！但那又不太可能。”
He climbed out of bed，and felt his way to the window．But there was nobody outside in the dark，foggy streets，and he realized it must be night-time．He went back to bed again，but could not sleep．He was worried，because he could not understand what was happening．‘Was Marley's ghost a dream？’he wondered．‘But it seemed very real…’
他下了床，摸黑来到窗前，但外面漆黑的、雾蒙蒙的街上一个人也没有，他知道一定是晚上。他又上了床，但是却睡不着。他忧心忡忡，因为他不明白正在发生的一切。“马利的鬼魂是梦吗？”他想知道。“但它似乎是真的。”
He lay awake until he heard the clock striking a quarter to the hour．Suddenly he remembered．The ghost had warned him that a spirit would visit him at one o'clock．He decided to stay awake until one o'clock had passed．The quarter of an hour passed very slowly，but at last he heard the clock striking the four quarters．
他睁着眼睛躺着直到听见钟敲45分。突然他记起了。鬼魂曾警告过他1点钟时有个幽灵要来见他。他决定睁眼等到1点钟过去。15分钟过得极慢，但最后他终于听到钟敲了4刻。
‘It's one o'clock！’cried Scrooge delightedly，‘and nothing has happened！’But he spoke before the hour bell had sounded．The clock now struck a deep，sad ONE，and immediately light shone into Scrooge's bedroom．The curtains round his bed were pulled open．Scrooge sat up in bed，and stared at his ghostly visitor．
“1点了！”斯克罗吉高兴地大叫道，“而且什么也没发生！”但他是在整点的铃响之前说这番话的。现在钟敲了沉闷悲伤的1点，立刻就有亮光照进了斯克罗吉的卧室。他床周围的帘子被扯开了。斯克罗吉从床上坐起注视着鬼魂般的来访者。
A strange figure，half like a child，half like an old man， looked back at him．It had long，white hair，but its skin was soft and young．It wore a short，white robe，covered with both summer and winter flowers．But the strangest thing about it was that from the top of its head shone a bright，clear light．
一个奇怪的影子，一半像孩子，一半像老头儿，回头看着他。它的头发又长又白，但它的皮肤柔软而富有弹性。它穿着白色的短袍子，上面满是夏季和冬季的花儿。但最奇怪的是它的头顶上闪耀出明亮的光。
Perhaps this light was sometimes too bright，because under one arm it carried a hat，which looked like a large extinguisher．
也许这光有时太亮了，因为它的一只胳膊下夹着一顶帽子，看上去像是一个大的灭火工具。
‘Who and what are you，sir？’asked Scrooge．
“你是谁，是干什么的，先生？”斯克罗吉问。
‘I am the ghost of Christmas Past，’replied the spirit，in a soft，gentle voice．
“我是昔日圣诞鬼魂，”幽灵用柔弱、温柔的声音回答说。
‘Do you mean long ago in the past？’asked Scrooge．
“你是指过去很久以前吗？”斯克罗吉问。
‘No．Your past．’
“不。是你的过去。”
‘Spirit，please tell me why you are here．’
“幽灵，请告诉我你为什么来这儿。”
‘I am here for your own good，’answered the ghost．
“我来这儿纯粹是为了你好，”鬼魂说。
‘Thank you，’replied Scrooge politely．But secretly he thought，‘Bah！A night of unbroken sleep is a more useful thing to have！’
“谢谢你，”斯克罗吉礼貌地回答说，但他心里想，“呸！睡个一晚上没人打扰的觉比什么都强。”
The spirit seemed to hear him thinking，and said at once，‘I am here to help you change your life！Watch and listen！’It put out a strong hand，and held Scrooge by the arm．‘Get up，and come with me！’