5 Shocking news

Chapter 5 Shocking news When Laurie went on outings with the March girls, he often brought his tutor along. John Brooke was a thoughtful man, with friendly brown eyes and a gentle presence. "Have you seen how Brooke looks at Meg?" Laurie asked Jo, one afternoon. "Meg wouldn't dream of falling in love with him," snapped Jo. "She's tired of flirting and men. Come on, let's go to the post office. I want to see if there's a new story magazine out."

劳里和马奇家的姑娘们出去玩时，常常带着他的家庭教师。 约翰·布鲁克是一个体贴的人，有着友好的棕色眼睛和温和的风度。 “你看到布鲁克看梅格的眼神了吗？”一天下午，罗瑞问琼。 “梅格做梦也不会爱上他的，”琼厉声说。 “她厌倦了调情和男人。 来吧，我们去邮局吧。 我想看看有没有新的故事杂志出来。”

There was. Laurie and Jo brought it home. Jo flung herself down and read as if she were gobbling it up. "Read it aloud," urged Meg. "We haven't heard a new story for ages." "Brilliant!" was the general opinion when Jo finished. "Who wrote it?" asked Amy. With an odd mix of solemnity and excitement in her voice, Jo replied, "Your sister!" Beth flung her arms around Jo. "Oh, you're so clever!" "The magazine editor paid me for this one and he's asked me for more stories. I'll be able to help us all." Mrs. March gazed at Jo fondly. "Your father would be so proud," she said. A sharp ring at the door interrupted them. It was a telegraph boy bearing a telegram with the stark instruction:

有。罗瑞和琼把它带回家。 乔扑倒在地读起来，好像在狼吞虎咽似的。 “大声念出来，”麦格催促道。 “我们已经很久没有听到新的故事了。” 乔讲完后，大家一致认为：“太棒了！” “谁写的？”艾米问。 乔的声音里夹杂着一种奇怪的严肃和兴奋，回答道：“你妹妹！”白丝张开双臂搂住琼。 “哦，你真聪明！”“杂志编辑付了我这篇稿费，还请我写更多的故事。 我就能帮助大家了。” 马奇太太深情地望着乔。 “你父亲会很自豪的，”她说。 门上一阵尖锐的铃声打断了他们。 那是一个报务员，拿着一份电报，上面写着一条明确的指示：

Jo: Mrs. March. Your husband is very ill. Come at once. Dr. Hale. Washington Hospital. Instantly, the whole world seemed to change, as the happy atmosphere collapsed around them. Mrs. March rose shakily to start packing. Laurie and Jo rushed from the house. Beth hugged her cat tightly while Amy simply stood still as a statue.

乔：马奇太太。你丈夫病得很重。 马上来。黑尔博士。华盛顿医院。 顷刻之间，整个世界似乎都变了，他们周围的欢乐气氛也崩塌了。 马奇太太颤抖着站起来收拾行李。 罗瑞和琼冲出了房子。 贝丝紧紧地抱着她的猫，而艾米只是像雕像一样站着不动。

Laurie returned with John Brooke. "Would your mother like me to escort her?" he asked Meg. "It's a difficult journey, and the war makes it even harder for women to travel alone." Meg was full of gratitude. "That's so kind, John." "Grandfather sent these to help the invalid," said Laurie, squeezing some bottles of brandy into their mother's luggage, along with a warm dressing gown, bandages and a blanket.

劳里和约翰·布鲁克一起回来了。 “你妈妈要我陪她吗？”他问麦格。 “这是一段艰难的旅程，战争让女性独自旅行变得更加困难。” 梅格满怀感激之情。 “太好了，约翰。”“爷爷送这些来帮助病人的，”劳里说着，把几瓶白兰地塞进母亲的行李里，还有一件暖和的睡袍、绷带和一条毯子。

Jo raced in excitedly, her bonnet tied tightly under her chin, and handed a purse full of money to her mother. "Aunt March sent this. She said Father was stupid to go to war when he was so old, she knew no good would come of it, and she hoped that you'd take her advice next time." Mrs. March tightened her lips, and Jo guessed that she was trying to keep her temper. But her mother only said, "Take off your bonnet, Jo."

乔兴奋地跑了进来，把帽子紧紧地系在下巴下面，把一个装满钱的钱包递给母亲。 “这是马奇姑妈送来的。她说父亲这么大年纪还去打仗是愚蠢的，她知道这样做不会有什么好结果，她希望你下次能听从她的建议。” 马奇太太抿紧了嘴，琼猜她是在竭力控制自己的脾气。 但她母亲只说：“脱下你的帽子，琼。”

Jo pulled it off and a cry rose from her family. Her beautiful long chestnut hair had been cut as short as a boy's. "What have you done?" gasped Amy. "I sold it," Jo said proudly. "I saw tails of hair for sale in a barber's window, so I asked him to cut mine off to get more money for Father."

乔把它扯下来，她的家人哭了起来。 她美丽的栗色长发被剪得像男孩一样短。 “你做了什么？”艾米喘着气说。 “我把它卖了，”琼自豪地说。 “我在一家理发店的橱窗里看到了出售的尾巴，所以我让他把我的头发剪掉，好给爸爸多赚点钱。”