017 退回的礼物

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April 10

4月10日

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Dear Mr. Rich Man

亲爱的富翁先生：

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Here's your check for fifty dollars

这是您的五十美元支票。

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Thank you very much, but I can't keep it

非常感谢，但我不能收下。

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I'm sorry I wrote all that silly stuff about the hat shop

抱歉我写了那些关于帽子店的傻话。

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It was just that I'd never seen anything like it

只是因为我从没见过那样的东西。

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I wasn't hinting that you should buy me hats!

我并不是在暗示您给我买帽子！

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And I was definitely not begging!

而且我绝对不是在乞讨！

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My allowance is generous enough that I can buy all the hats I need

我的零用钱足够我买所有需要的帽子。

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I don't want to take any more money from you than I have to

我不想从您那里多拿一分钱。

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Sincerely yours

您真诚的，

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Jerusha Abbott

洁露莎·阿博特

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April 11

4月11日

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Dearest Daddy Longlegs

最亲爱的长腿叔叔，

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Will you please forgive me for yesterday's letter?

请您原谅我昨天的那封信，好吗？

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After I mailed it, I went to the post office and tried to get it back

寄出后，我去了邮局，想把它取回来。

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I waited in line forever

我排队等了很久很久。

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Finally it was my turn

终于轮到我了。

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" I mailed a letter and now I need it back," I said to the clerk

我对职员说：“我寄了一封信，现在需要把它取回来。”

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I tapped my fingers impatiently on the counter

我不耐烦地用手指敲打着柜台。

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" I can't do that, miss," he said

“我不能这么做，小姐，”他说。

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" It's against the rules."

“这是违反规定的。”

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" But I only mailed it an hour ago!

“可我一个小时前才寄出的！

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Surely it hasn't left the post office

肯定还没离开邮局。

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Can't you see if it's still here? Please!"

你能不能看看它是不是还在这里？求你了！”

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" It's against the rules," he repeated

“这是违反规定的，”他重复道。

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" Once a letter has been mailed, the post office can't return it to the sender

“信件一旦寄出，邮局就不能退还给寄件人。

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You'll have to write him again. Next!"

你得再给他写一封信。下一位！”

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The clerk motioned to the person behind me in line

职员示意我身后排队的人。

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" How do you know it was addressed to a man?" I asked

“你怎么知道是寄给一位先生的？”我问。

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" This is a college town full of young ladies

“这可是个大学城，满是年轻小姐。

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These things happen all the time."

这种事常有。”

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The clerk sneered at me

那职员对我冷笑一声。

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" A young lady writes something in anger to her young man, and then has second thoughts

“一位年轻小姐在气头上写了点什么给她的年轻人，然后又后悔了。

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Just write him another letter today

今天再给他写一封就行了。

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I'm sure your young man will understand."

我肯定你的那位年轻人会理解的。”

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" But... but..." I was so angry I could hardly speak

“可是……可是……”我气得几乎说不出话。

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I turned to go, but then I thought of something to say

我转身要走，但突然想到了要说的话。

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" He's not a young man!"

“他才不是什么年轻人！”

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Both the clerk and the lady behind me looked shocked as I stormed out of the post office

我气冲冲地冲出邮局时，那职员和我身后的女士都一脸震惊。

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Now it's the middle of the night

现在是半夜时分。

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I'm sitting in bed, writing on paper torn from my history notebook

我坐在床上，用从历史笔记本上撕下的纸写信。

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I've been awake for hours thinking about what a horrible person I am

我已经醒了好几个小时，一直在想我是个多么糟糕的人。

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I'm truly sorry that I returned your check with such a rude letter

我真的很抱歉，连同一封那么无礼的信一起退回了您的支票。

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You're very kind to take so much trouble over a silly hat

您真是太好了，为一顶傻帽子费这么多心。

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But I really can't accept your check

但我真的无法接受您的支票。

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You see, I'm different from other girls

您看，我和别的女孩不一样。

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They can accept money from other people

她们可以接受别人的钱。

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They have aunts and uncles and grandparents

她们有亲朋好友。

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But I have no one

但我却举目无亲。

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Yes, I like to pretend you're part of my family, but really I'm alone in this world

是的，我喜欢假装你是我家里的一员，但实际上，我在这个世界上孤身一人。

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Sometimes that idea fills me with so much fear that I can hardly breathe

有时候，这个念头让我害怕得几乎喘不过气来。

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So I try not to think about it

所以我尽量不去想它。

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I can't accept any more money than necessary because I want to pay you back

我不能接受超出必要的钱，因为我想要还给你。

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Even if I become a famous author, I won't be able to repay a huge debt

即使我成了名作家，也还不清一笔巨大的债务。

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I love pretty hats and things, but I must not go into debt for them

我喜欢漂亮的帽子之类的东西，但我绝不能为它们欠债。

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Do you understand?

你能理解吗？

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Please forgive me for being so rude

请原谅我如此无礼。

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I have an awful habit of writing letters when I'm upset

我有个坏习惯，总在不开心的时候写信。

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I should stop and think before I mail them

我应该在寄出去之前，停下来好好想一想。

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If I sometimes seem thoughtless and ungrateful, I never mean it

如果我有时显得轻率、忘恩负义，我从来都不是故意的。

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In my heart I thank you for the life and independence you've given me

在我心里，我感谢你给了我生活和独立。

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My childhood was just one long stretch of boredom, and now I'm so happy every moment

我的童年只是一段长长的无聊时光，而现在我每时每刻都很快乐。

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I can't believe it's true

我简直不敢相信这是真的。

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I feel like a heroine in a novel

我感觉自己像小说里的女主角。

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Speaking of novels... I've been reading Jane Eyre

说到小说...我最近在读《简·爱》。

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Did you know that Jane was an orphan?

你知道简是个孤儿吗？

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The other day I was reading about her troubles at the orphanage

前几天，我读到了她在孤儿院里的麻烦事。

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I got so angry that I had to take a walk!

我气得必须得出去走走才行！

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I understood exactly how she felt

我完全理解她的感受。

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I'm not saying that the John Grier Home was like poor Jane's orphanage

我不是说约翰·格利尔之家就像可怜的简待过的孤儿院。

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We had plenty to eat and warm clothes to wear

我们吃得饱，穿得暖。

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But there was one similarity: Our lives were boring and uneventful

但有一点是相似的：我们的生活沉闷又平淡。

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Nothing nice ever happened, except we got ice cream on Sundays

除了星期天能吃冰淇淋，从来没有什么好事发生。

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And even that was predictable because it happened every Sunday

就连那件事也毫无惊喜，因为每个星期天都这样。

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We never had any adventures

我们从未有过任何冒险。

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Everybody likes a few surprises in life; that's a normal thing to want

每个人都喜欢生活中有点惊喜;这是人之常情。

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Before I fall asleep at night, I like to imagine the perfect orphanage

晚上入睡前，我喜欢想象出一所完美的孤儿院。

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I plan out the smallest details: the meals, the clothes, the lessons, the entertainment

我规划出最微小的细节：饭食、衣服、课程、娱乐活动。

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I even imagine the punishments because I'm sure some of my orphans will be naughty

我甚至想象了惩罚措施，因为我确信我的某些孤儿会调皮捣蛋。

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But I'll make sure all the orphans are happy

但我会确保所有的孤儿都很快乐。

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Everybody should have a happy childhood to look back on

每个人都应该有一个可以回首的快乐童年。

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I didn't have a happy childhood, but I'm very happy now, thanks to you

我没有一个快乐的童年，但我现在非常幸福，这都要感谢你。

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Love always

永远爱你的，

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Judy

洁露莎