1 Nobody's baby

USBORNE YOUNG READING Oliver Twist

乌斯本·杨在读《雾都孤儿》

Chapter 1 Nobody's baby "Take... care... of... him." The young mother's whisper was as soft as the swirling snow outside; her face as white as the sheet that covered her. Feebly she touched her newborn son, breathed a last sigh, and closed her eyes.

第一章没有人的宝贝“拿…… 照顾……的……他。”年轻母亲的耳语像外面纷飞的雪一样轻柔；她的脸像盖在她身上的被单一样苍白。 她无力地抚摸着刚出生的儿子，叹了最后一口气，闭上了眼睛。

"She's dead!" announced Mrs. Mann, the midwife. "What a nuisance. I'll have to get Mr. Bumble." Mr. Bumble was in charge of the workhouse- a cold, grim place for the homeless without a spark of comfort or a crumb of nourishing food. He didn't care if the inmates starved, as long as his own tummy felt warm and full three times a day. Quickly, Mrs. Mann unclasped a gold locket from the dead woman's neck and put it around her own. Opening it, she read the name "Agnes" engraved inside.

“她死了！”接生婆曼恩太太宣布。 “真讨厌。我得去找班布尔先生。” 班布尔先生负责管理济贫院——这是一个为无家可归的人准备的寒冷、严酷的地方，没有一丝安慰，也没有一点营养食品。 他不在乎囚犯们是否挨饿，只要他自己的肚子一天三次感到温暖和饱足就行。 曼太太迅速地从死者的脖子上摘下一个金吊坠，戴在自己的脖子上。 她打开盒子，看到里面刻着“艾格尼丝”的名字。

"Another orphan brat," raged Mr. Bumble, when he saw the baby. "Who is he anyway?" "Who knows?" Mrs. Mann yawned. "His mother walked in yesterday off the street. She must have walked some distance- her shoes were worn out. Good looking girl, too." "He must have a name..." Mr. Bumble thought hard. "Well, I name all orphans alphabetically and the last one was Smith, so he can be Twist. Oliver Twist."

“又是一个孤儿，”邦布尔先生看到这个孩子，怒不可遏。 “他到底是谁？”“谁知道呢?”曼太太打了个哈欠。 “他妈妈昨天从街上走进来。 她一定走了一段路——她的鞋子都磨破了。 也是个漂亮的女孩。”“他一定有名字……” 班布尔先生苦思冥想。“嗯，我按字母顺序给所有的孤儿命名，最后一个是史密斯，所以他可以叫Twist。 雾都孤儿。”

"Ooh, Mr. Bumble, you are clever," smiled Mrs. Mann, fluttering her eyelashes at him. She wrapped Oliver in a scrap of cloth, yellowed with age. Oliver opened his mouth and roared with all the force of his baby lungs. If he'd understood he was an orphan, loved by no one, he would have cried even louder.

“哦，班布尔先生，你真聪明，”曼太太微笑着，朝他眨着睫毛。 她把奥利弗裹在一块因岁月而发黄的破布里。 奥利弗张开嘴，用尽他那稚嫩的肺脏，大声吼叫起来。 如果他知道自己是个孤儿，没有人爱他，他会哭得更大声。