牛津书虫系列《大卫科波菲尔》Chapter1 附中英双语文本

1 David Copperfield's childhood
1 大卫·科波菲尔的童年
I was born at Blunderstone，in Suffolk， in the east of England，and was given my poor father's name，David Copperfield． Sadly， he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married， and died six months before I was born． My father's death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy， and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband The richest and most important person in our family was my father's aunt，Miss Betsey Trotwood. She had in fact been married once， to a handsome young husband. But because he demanded money from her， and sometimes beat her， she decided they should separate He went abroad， and soon news came of his death.
我出生在英国东部萨福克郡的布兰德斯通，并沿用了我不幸的父亲之名——大卫·科波菲尔。可悲的是，他从未见过我的面。他同我母亲结婚时比我母亲大许多，在我出生前6个月就谢世了。他的死使我年轻美貌的母亲感到极为痛苦，因为她知道没有丈夫独自带婴儿的日子将会异常艰难。在我们家族中最富有、最重要的人物要数我父亲的姨妈——贝茜·特拉伍德小姐。其实她结过一次婚，嫁的是一个英俊的青年。但是，由于这位丈夫总找她要钱，有时还动手打她，她便决定与他分手。他出了国，不久就有消息说他已去世了。
Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea， and lived there alone， with only one servant． She had not spoken to my father since his marriage， because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl But just before I was born， when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby， she came to visit Blunder- stone.
特拉伍德小姐在海边买了一所小房子，独自生活在那里，身边只随了一位用人。自从我父亲结婚后她就不理睬我父亲了，因为她认为我父亲娶这么年轻的小姐做妻子是个错误。然而，在我出生前，当她听说我母亲临产时，就来到布兰德斯通拜访我们。
It was a cold， windy Friday afternoon in March． My mother was sitting by the fire， feeling very lonely and unhappy， and crying a little. Suddenly a stern， strange-looking face appeared at the window.
那是在三月份的一个寒冷、多风的星期五下午，我母亲正独自坐在火炉旁，因感到孤单和不幸而轻声抽泣着。突然一张严肃、陌生的脸出现在窗外。
‘Open the door！’ ordered the sternfaced lady． My mother was shocked，but obeyed at once． ‘You must be David Copper field's wife，’said the lady as she entered．‘I'm Betsey Trotwood． You've heard of me？’
“开门！”这位满脸严肃的女人命令道。我母亲吓了一跳，但还是很快开了门。“你就是大卫·科波菲尔的妻子吧，”她边进门边说，“我叫贝茜·特拉伍德，你听说过吧？”“听说过，”母亲轻声答道，声音发颤。“你真年轻呀，”贝茜小姐叫道，“简直还是个孩子！”
‘Yes，’whispered mother，trembling． ‘How young you are！’ cried Miss Betsey．‘Just a baby！’ My mother started sobbing again．‘I know I look like a child！ I know I was young to be a wife， and I'm young to be a mother！ But perhaps I'll die before I become a mother！’ ‘Come， come！ answered Miss Betsey.‘Have some tea．Then you'll feel better．What do you call your girl？’ ‘My girl？ I don't know yet that it will be a girl，’replied my mother miserably． ‘No，I don't mean the baby，I mean your servant！’
母亲开始抽泣，“我知道我看着像个孩子！我知道我年纪还小，不该为人妻，不该为人母！但也许我会在成为一个母亲之前死去！”“行了，行了！”贝茜小姐回答说，“喝口茶水吧，这样你会好受些。你叫你的女孩什么？”“我的女孩？我还不知道是不是女孩，”我母亲疑惑地答道。“不，我不是指小孩，我是说你的女用人！”
‘Her name's Peggotty． Her first name's Clara，the same as mine， so I call her by her family name，you see．’ ‘What a terrible name！ However， never mind． Peggotty！’she called， going to the door．‘Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once！’ She sat down again and continued speaking．‘You were talking about the baby． I'm sure it'll be a girl． Now， as soon as she’ s born…’ ‘He， perhaps，’ said my mother bravely． ‘Don’ t be stupid， of course it’ ll be a she．I'm going to send her to school，and educate her well． I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I've made in life．’ Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this． My mother said nothing，as she was not feeling at all well.‘But tell me， were you and your husband happy？’asked Miss Betsey．