A Christmas Carol 1

A Christmas Carol 1

圣诞颂歌1

Late in the afternoon one Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, were hard at work. Ebenezer Scrooge was perhaps the cheapest, most cold-hearted, mean-spirited man that ever lived. He had no friends. On the street, not even the beggars would beg from him. Cratchit was a good and honest man, but working for Scrooge had kept his family poor. Cratchit was working as hard as he could, but it was difficult because Scrooge kept the office terribly cold.

在一个圣诞夜的下午，埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉和他的店员鲍勃·克拉奇特正在努力工作。 埃比尼泽·斯克罗吉也许是有史以来最廉价、最冷酷、小心眼的人。 他没有朋友。在街上，连乞丐都不会向他乞讨。 克拉奇特是一个善良诚实的人，但为斯克罗吉工作使他的家庭陷入贫困。 克拉奇特尽了最大努力工作，但困难的是因为斯克罗吉把办公室弄得很冷。

He was too cheap even to buy coal. Suddenly they heard a cheerful cry, “ Merry Christmas, Uncle! ” It was Scrooge’s nephew. Being surprised, being interrupted, and hearing the words “ Merry Christmas, ” all angered Scrooge. “ Bah! Humbug! ” he replied. “ Christmas a humbug, Uncle?” His nephew laughed.

他小气得连煤都不买。突然，他们听到一声欢快的喊叫:“叔叔，圣诞快乐!” 那是斯克罗吉的侄子。惊讶、被打断、听到“圣诞快乐”这句话，都激怒了斯克罗吉。 “呸！骗人的！”他回答。 “圣诞是骗人的，叔叔？”他的侄子笑了。

“ Christmas is for fools who waste their money, ” grunted Scrooge. “ There is no profit. ” To this, his nephew replied, “ Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Jesus, and to be kind, forgiving, loving, and pleasant to others. It is a time to know that all people are brothers and sisters. While it may not bring me profit, I say, ‘God bless Christmas. ’ ” “ Bah! Humbug! ” Scrooge replied. With a smile his nephew asked, “ Would you at least come to dinner with us tomorrow?”

“圣诞节是给那些浪费钱的傻瓜的，”斯克罗吉咕哝着说。“没有利润。” 对此，他的侄子回答说：“圣诞节是一个纪念耶稣诞生的时刻，是一个仁慈、宽容、慈爱、让人愉快的时刻。 这是一个知道所有人都是兄弟姐妹的时刻。虽然它可能不会给我带来好处，但我要说，‘上帝保佑圣诞节。’ ” “呸!骗子!”斯克罗吉回答。 侄子笑着问：“你明天至少来和我们一起吃饭好吗？”

“ No, I will not. Now, good afternoon, ” snorted Scrooge. “ Merry Christmas, Uncle, ” replied his nephew with a smile. With that, his nephew left, and two gentlemen walked in. “ Mr. Scrooge, we are taking a Christmas collection for the poor, ” said one of the gentlemen. “ Many have little or nothing to live on. ” To this, Scrooge replied, “ Are there no prisons or workhouses?”

“不，我不会去的。现在，下午好，”斯克罗吉哼道。 “圣诞快乐，叔叔，”侄子笑着回答。说完，他的侄子走了，两位绅士走了进来。 “斯克罗吉先生，我们正在为穷人进行圣诞节募捐，”其中一位先生说。“许多人几乎没有或根本没有赖以生存的东西。” 对此，斯克罗吉回答：“难道没有监狱或济贫院吗？”

“ Mr. Scrooge! Most people would rather die than go to those terrible places, ” replied the gentlemen. “ If they would rather die, then fine, ” declared Scrooge. “ Let them die. I will not waste my money on helping people who are lazy. Good afternoon, gentlemen. ” Shocked and disgusted, the men quickly left. Then, looking at his watch, Scrooge realized that it was time to close the office.

“斯克罗吉先生!大多数人宁愿死也不去那些可怕的地方。”绅士们回答说。 “如果他们宁愿死，那就好了，”斯克罗吉宣称。 “让他们去死吧。我不会把钱浪费在帮助那些懒惰的人身上。下午好，先生们。”他们感到震惊和厌恶，迅速离开了。 然后，看着他的手表，斯克罗吉意识到是时候关闭办公室了。