033 辛苦的工作

旁白 neutral

The baker's foreman sold me to Nicholas Skinner, the owner of a large cab company

面包房的工头把我卖给了尼古拉斯·斯金纳，他是一家大型出租马车行的老板。

旁白 neutral

Skinner's company was like the one poor Ginger had worked for in her last days

斯金纳的马车行，就像可怜的金儿最后那段日子干活的地方一样。

旁白 neutral

He owned many cabs and horses, which he leased out to his drivers

他拥有很多马车和马匹，并把它们租给他的车夫。

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He was hard on the men, and the men were hard on the horses

他对车夫很苛刻，车夫也就对马很粗暴。

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There were no Sundays off and no rest, even in the worst heat of summer

星期天没有休息，也根本没有喘息的机会，即便是在夏天最酷热的时候。

旁白 neutral

My driver had a cruel whip with a sharp end that sometimes drew blood

我的车夫有一条残忍的鞭子，鞭梢很尖，有时会抽出血印来。

旁白 neutral

When I didn't respond fast enough, he whipped me under the belly or on the head

只要我反应稍微慢一点，他就抽打我的肚子底下或者脑袋。

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It was terrible!

这太可怕了！

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I'd always worked willingly for Jerry because he was a kind master

我从前总是心甘情愿地为杰里干活，因为他是一位仁慈的主人。

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Now I worked because I had no other choice

现在，我干活只是因为我别无选择。

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It was a wretched life

那是一种凄惨的生活。

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I found myself thinking of poor Ginger and hoping, like her, to drop dead soon and escape my misery

我发现自己想起了可怜的金杰，希望像她一样快点倒下死去，好摆脱我的痛苦。

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One day that wish almost came to pass

有一天，这个愿望几乎成真了。

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It was a very hot day

那是一个非常炎热的日子。

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My driver and I reached the cab stand at eight in the morning

早上八点钟，车夫和我到达了出租马车停靠点。

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We were at work almost immediately, carrying several customers here and there

我们几乎立刻就开始干活了，载着好几位客人到处跑。

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The last one needed to go to the train station

最后一位客人要去火车站。

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After we dropped him off, we took our place at the end of the line of cabs, waiting for fares

我们把他送到后，就在一长排马车的末尾排好队，等着客人。

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A large train pulled in, and soon all the other cabs were taken

一列大火车进了站，很快其他的马车都载到了客人。

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Finally it was our turn

终于轮到我们了。

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A family of four hurried toward us

一家四口急匆匆地朝我们走来。

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There was a loud-voiced man, his wife, and their young son and daughter

那是一个嗓门很大的男人，他的妻子，还有他们年幼的儿女。

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They had lots of luggage, which the porters started loading onto the cab

他们有很多行李，搬运工开始把行李装上马车。

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The little girl looked at me

小女孩看着我。

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" Papa, this poor horse looks so weak and worn-out!

“爸爸，这匹可怜的马看起来又虚弱又疲惫！

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Do you think he'll be able to pull us and all of our luggage?"

你觉得他能拉动我们和这么多行李吗？”

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" Don't worry, miss," my driver said." He's strong enough."

“别担心，小姐，”车夫说，“他够强壮的。”

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" He does look tired," a porter said

“他确实看起来很累，”一个搬运工说。

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" Maybe you should hire a second cab to take part of the load."

“也许你该再租一辆马车分担一部分行李。”

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Once again my driver insisted that I could do it

车夫又一次坚持说我能行。

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When the little girl tried to protest, her father shushed her

当小女孩想要抗议时，父亲嘘声制止了她。

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" Get into the cab, Grace," he said

“上车吧，格蕾丝。”他说。

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" This driver knows his business better than we do

“这位车夫比我们更懂行。

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That's the last I want to hear about it."

我不想再听你提这件事了。”

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The little girl had no choice but to obey

小女孩别无选择，只好服从。

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Soon all the luggage was loaded, and we set out

很快，所有行李都装好了，我们便出发了。

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I managed fairly well until we reached a hill

我勉强支撑着，直到上了一个山坡。

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The load seemed to pull at me more than ever

车上的重物似乎比以往更沉重地拖拽着我。

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I struggled on, doing my best as always

我继续奋力前行，一如既往地竭尽全力。

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My driver urged me on with his voice and whip

车夫用吆喝声和鞭子催我前进。

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Suddenly my feet slipped out from under me

突然，我脚下一滑，摔了出去。

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I fell to the ground, landing heavily on my side

我摔倒在地上，身体一侧重重着地。

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All I could do was lie there, my sides heaving while I struggled to breathe

我什么也做不了，只能躺在那里，身体两侧剧烈起伏，拼命喘气。

旁白 neutral

Despite my driver's shouts, I couldn't even move

任凭车夫怎么吆喝，我连动都动不了。

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I thought this was it — now I was going to die

我想这下完了——我要死了。

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" That poor horse!" I heard the little girl's voice cry out." It's our fault."

“那可怜的马！”我听到那个小女孩的哭声。“是我们的错。”

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Other louder voices quickly drowned her out. There was confusion all around me

其他更响的声音很快淹没了她的声音。我周围一片混乱。

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Someone came and loosened my bridle and unfastened the harness

有人过来，松开我的笼头，解开了挽具。

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" I think he's dead," someone said

“我觉得他死了，”有人说。

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" No, he's still breathing, see?" someone else said

“不，他还在呼吸，看到没？”另一个人说。

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I'm not sure how much time passed after that

我不知道那之后过了多久。

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Someone poured cold water on my head, and a blanket was laid over my body

有人往我头上浇了冷水，还在我身上盖了条毯子。

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After a while a kind-voiced man came and patted me and urged me to rise

过了一会儿，一个声音和善的男人走过来，轻轻拍着我，催我站起来。

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By then I was able to obey

那时候我已经能照做了。

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It was a struggle, but finally I found myself back on my feet, trembling and weak

很费劲，但最后我还是站起来了，身子打颤，虚弱不堪。

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The kind man led me to a stable nearby, and the people there took care of me for the evening

那个好心人把我牵到附近的一个马厩，那里的人照看了我一个晚上。

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The next day I was strong enough for the walk back to my owner's stable

第二天，我已经有力气走回我主人的马厩了。

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The owner and the vet came to see me

马主和兽医来看我。

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" There's nothing really wrong with this horse," the vet told Skinner after he examined me

“这匹马其实没什么大毛病，”兽医检查完我后对斯金纳说。

旁白 neutral

" He's just been overworked

“他只是过度劳累了。

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If you give him six months off, he should be able to work again."

如果你让他休息六个月，他应该还能再干活。”

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" I don't have time for that," Skinner said

“我可没那时间，”斯金纳说。

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" I guess he's no good for anything but dog food."

“我看他除了当狗粮，没什么用了。”

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The vet shook his head." He's not that far gone

兽医摇了摇头。“他还没到那个地步。

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Rest him and feed him well for ten days

让他休息十天，喂好一点。

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Then you should be able to get something for him at the next horse sale."

然后你应该能在下次的马匹拍卖会上给他卖个价钱。”

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Skinner decided to take the vet's advice

斯金纳决定听从兽医的建议。

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He ordered his men to take good care of me for the next ten days

他吩咐手下接下来十天好好照顾我。

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By the day of the horse sale I was feeling as if life might be worth living after all

到马匹拍卖会那天，我觉得生活或许终究还是值得过下去的。

旁白 neutral

So I held up my head and hoped for the best

于是，我扬起头，往最好的方面想。