Colonial Life

Colonial Life, written by Julie Harding. Illustrated by Maria Vores.

《殖民地生活》，作者朱莉·哈丁，绘者玛丽亚·沃尔斯。

Step back more than 300 years to when life was much different. Imagine a time before the United States was a country. It is a period known as the colonial times. It is a cold morning. You wake up before the sun rises. You have much work to do. Only some lucky children get to go to school. Most kids spend their days working beside their parents.

让我们倒退回300多年前，那时候的生活和现在大不一样。 想象一下美国还没成为一个国家的年代。 这段时期叫做殖民时代。 这是一个寒冷的清晨。 你天还没亮就醒了。 你有好多活儿要干呢。 只有少数幸运的小朋友才能去上学。 大多数孩子整天都要跟着爸爸妈妈干活。

You begin the day by washing up in the wash basin and getting dressed. The water isn't hot unless your mother or father has already boiled some. Then you light a lantern and walk outside to gather wood from the woodpile. This is your first chore of the day.

你起床的第一件事是在洗脸盆里洗漱，然后穿好衣服。 除非爸爸妈妈提前烧了水，不然水都是凉的。 接着你点亮一盏灯笼，走到外面的柴堆去拾柴火。 这是你今天要做的第一件家务。

After you put the wood in the fireplace, a fire is lit to warm the house. Your mother uses the fire to cook breakfast. You soon sit down to a big breakfast. You need it because you have a day of hard work ahead of you.

你把柴火放进壁炉，大家点起火给屋子供暖。 你的妈妈就用这炉火来做早饭。 很快你就能坐下享用丰盛的早餐了。 你得吃饱才行，因为接下来一整天你都要干重活儿。

If you are a girl, you probably have to help your mother cook, gather eggs from the chickens, or wash the laundry by hand. You might also have to churn the butter. That means that you sit over a large wooden bucket full of cream. You grab a long, funny -shaped stick and gently move it and down in the bucket. This churns the cream until it slowly turns to butter. The butter tastes good, but it takes many hours to make. Once you make it, you are not able to keep it for long. You see, there are no refrigerators in colonial days. You have to chill things in a stream, if you live near one.

如果你是个小女孩， 你可能得帮妈妈做饭， 去鸡窝捡鸡蛋， 或者手洗衣服。 你可能还要搅拌黄油。 这就得你坐在一个装满奶油的大木桶旁边。 你拿一根形状奇怪的长棍子，轻轻把它在桶里上下搅动。 这样搅拌奶油，直到它慢慢变成黄油。 黄油味道很好，但做起来要花好几个小时。 而且你做好之后也没法放太久。 你知道的，殖民时代没有冰箱。 你得把东西放到小溪里冰着，前提是你家住在小溪附近。

If you are a boy, you might have to work on the farm. You plant seeds and till soil with a plow pulled by oxen. You might repair the barn, milk the cows, or chop down trees for wood. Some days, you might help to build a new neighbor's house or even work in the local mill. You have to work many hours both in the cold of winter and in the heat of summer. There is no air conditioning in the summer. In the winter, you have only a fireplace to keep warm.

如果你是个小男孩，你可能得去农场干活。 你要播种，还要用牛拉的犁耕地。 你可能还要修谷仓，给奶牛挤奶，或者砍树砍柴。 有些日子，你可能要帮新邻居盖房子，甚至去当地的磨坊干活。 不管是寒冬还是酷暑，你都得干好长时间的活儿。 夏天没有空调。 冬天你也只能靠壁炉取暖。