007 邻居变朋友

旁白 neutral

Although they were doing nothing wrong, Laurie and Jo felt like two very naughty children

虽然他们并没有做错什么，但劳里和乔觉得自己像两个非常顽皮的孩子。

旁白 neutral

Sitting up straight, hands folded in their laps, neither young one dared to utter a sound

他们坐得笔直，双手交叠放在膝上，两人谁都不敢出声。

旁白 neutral

" You say you are too ill to have your lessons with Mr. Brookes," Mr. Laurence began

“你说你病得太重，没法跟布鲁克斯先生上课，”劳伦斯先生开口道。

旁白 neutral

" My tutor," Laurie whispered under his breath to Jo

“我的家庭教师。”劳里压低声音对乔耳语。

旁白 neutral

" Did you say something, boy?" Mr. Laurence stood menacingly in front of Laurie

“你嘀咕什么，小子？”劳伦斯先生气势汹汹地站到劳里面前。

旁白 neutral

" No, sir," squeaked Laurie," I mean, I was telling Jo, who's our neighbor... you know that lovely family with all those girls

“没有，先生，”劳里尖声说道，“我是说，我在跟乔说，她是我们的邻居……您知道那个可爱的、女孩成群的家庭，

旁白 neutral

and Jo, here, being the second eldest... well, I was telling her who Brookes was, I mean, Mr. Brookes, sir."

而乔是二女儿……嗯，我只是在告诉她布鲁克斯是谁，我是说，布鲁克斯先生，先生。”

旁白 neutral

Jo felt a giggle in her throat as poor Laurie rambled on

可怜的劳里越说越乱，乔觉得嗓子眼儿里憋着笑。

旁白 neutral

" What's so funny, girl?" Mr. Laurence moved over to where Jo sat

“有什么好笑的，丫头？”劳伦斯先生走到乔坐着的地方。

旁白 neutral

At that moment, the whole situation seemed oddly hilarious

那一刻，整个情形竟出奇地滑稽。

旁白 neutral

Holding back the laughter that bubbled inside was causing Jo physical pain

强忍住涌上来的笑意让乔浑身难受。

旁白 neutral

She could no longer do it." Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry, sir," roared Jo, wiping the tears from her eyes

她再也忍不住了。“哦，我真是万分抱歉，先生，”乔大声说道，擦去眼角的泪水。

旁白 neutral

Both Laurie and his grandfather were shocked at her outburst

劳里和他祖父都被她的突然爆发惊呆了。

旁白 neutral

" Well, Laurie looks horribly sick and that ugly doll he's holding..." Jo's voice cracked but she continued

“嗯，劳里看起来病得很重，他抱着的那个丑娃娃……”乔的声音断断续续，但她继续说道，

旁白 neutral

" As for me, I should be ladylike and not laugh out loud

“至于我，我应该端庄有礼，不该这样笑出声来。

旁白 neutral

And you..." Jo stopped herself before she did further damage

而您呢……”乔在造成更大麻烦前打住了。

旁白 neutral

But to her astonishment, the old man looked at her with a twinkle in his eye and said

但令她惊讶的是，老先生眼睛里闪着光看着她，说道：

旁白 neutral

" Please continue. I'd like to know what is so funny about me."

“请继续说。我想知道我到底有什么这么好笑。”

旁白 neutral

Ignoring Laurie's kicks from under the table, Jo cleared her throat and went on:

乔没理会劳里在桌子底下踢她，清了清嗓子继续说道：

旁白 neutral

" Well, you're like a schoolmaster who has just caught his two most naughty pupils doing something terrible but he doesn't know what

“嗯，您就像一个老师，刚刚抓到两个最调皮的学生在做坏事，却还不知道他们到底做了什么。

旁白 neutral

So you're frowning and grunting and trying so hard to look upset but... but...,"

你皱着眉头，咕咕哝哝，使劲装出生气的样子，可是……可是……，”

旁白 neutral

Jo gasped for breath," to me, sir, it's absolutely comical."

乔喘着气说：“先生，对我来说，这实在太滑稽了。”

旁白 neutral

Still chuckling, Jo stood up and gathered her things

乔还在咯咯笑着，站起身来收拾东西。

旁白 neutral

" But I understand that I was completely out of line

“但我明白我完全失礼了。

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My sisters tell me that I am so boorish, that's what the youngest, Amy, says

我的姐妹们都说我粗野得很，最小的艾米就这么说，

旁白 neutral

and I'm sure the others agree, though Beth, being so sweet and gentle, would never tell me that to my face

而且我肯定其他姐妹也这么想，虽然贝丝那么温柔可亲，绝不会当面这样说我，

旁白 neutral

but I do cause so much embarrassment to our family

但我确实给我们家丢尽了脸。

旁白 neutral

So before I do any more damage, I had better leave," Jo babbled

所以趁我还没惹出更多麻烦，我最好先告辞了。”乔絮絮叨叨地说。

旁白 neutral

She caught a glimpse of Laurie bowing his head lower and his shoulders quivering

她瞥见劳里把头垂得更低，肩膀在微微颤抖。

旁白 neutral

" That boy is laughing at me," she said to herself

“那男孩在笑我呢，”她心里想。

旁白 neutral

Resisting the temptation to give Laurie a playful punch, Jo, instead, took a deep breath, faced the old man and said

乔忍住想打趣地捶劳里一拳的冲动，于是深吸一口气，面向老人说道：

旁白 neutral

" Sir, may I speak freely one last time?"

“先生，我能否最后再畅所欲言一次？”

旁白 neutral

" You've been saying whatever you like until now

“反正你到现在为止一直都在想说就说。

旁白 neutral

Why stop?" Mr. Laurence said in a teasing voice

又何必现在停下呢？”劳伦斯先生用打趣的语气说。

旁白 neutral

" Well, in my opinion, sir, I think Laurie is a splendid boy

“嗯，先生，在我看来，我觉得劳里是个非常出色的男孩。

旁白 neutral

And what he really needs to feel better is some warm love and lots and lots of laughter," said Dr. Jo

而他真正需要好转起来的，是一些温暖的爱和很多很多的欢笑。”乔医生说道。

旁白 neutral

Mr. Laurence was a shrewd man. He had already noticed how different Laurie seemed when he was with Jo

劳伦斯先生是个精明的人。他已经注意到，劳里和乔在一起时，看起来是多么的不一样。

旁白 neutral

The change in his grandson was a pleasant one

孙子的这种变化是令人愉快的。

旁白 neutral

" Then maybe you'd better stay and make sure he gets well," was the old man's surprising remark

“那也许你最好留下来，确保他好转起来。”老人语出惊人地说。

旁白 neutral

He smiled warmly at Jo and then at his grandson

他先朝乔温和地笑了笑，然后又朝他的孙子笑了笑。

旁白 neutral

Later on she described Mr. Laurence's transformation to her sisters this way:

后来，她这样向姐妹们描述劳伦斯先生的转变：

旁白 neutral

" It was as if another person took over his body and he suddenly turned into the kindest man in the world."

"就像换了个人似的，他突然变成了全世界最和蔼的人。"

旁白 neutral

From that moment on, Laurie became the daily visitor to the March home

从那一刻起，劳里就成了马奇家的常客。

旁白 neutral

During the day he had his lessons with Mr. Brookes, a handsome intelligent young man employed by Mr. Laurence to help with his grandson's studies

白天他跟布鲁克斯先生上课。那是位相貌英俊、知识渊博的年轻人，受雇于劳伦斯先生，辅导他孙子的学业。

旁白 neutral

Left with no choice after Laurie refused to attend boarding school

由于劳里拒绝上寄宿学校，别无他法，

旁白 neutral

his grandfather finally agreed to let him receive home-schooling until he went off to university the following year

他祖父最终同意让他在家接受教育，直到第二年去上大学。

旁白 neutral

Even during his lessons, Laurie had one eye on the time

即便在上课，劳里也时刻留意着时间。

旁白 neutral

As the hands of the antique grandfather clock in the library inched toward four

当书房里那座古董落地钟的指针慢慢指向四点钟时，

旁白 neutral

Laurie's ears strained for the now-familiar sounds of his neighbors returning from their day's activities. Amy would come home first

劳里便会侧耳倾听，捕捉邻居们结束一天活动后回家时那熟悉的声音。通常艾米会最先到家。

旁白 neutral

Laurie recognized how she slammed the door in her impatience to shut out any memory of the school day

劳里能辨认出她急躁地砰地一声关上门，急于把学校一天的记忆都关在门外。

旁白 neutral

Then she would call out in a childish shrill," Hannah! Can I have a snack? I'm so famished!"

然后她会用幼稚的尖声喊道：“汉娜！我能吃点零食吗？我饿极了！”

旁白 neutral

Meg and Jo came home around the same time but their entrance was completely different

梅格和乔差不多同时到家，但她们进家门的方式完全不同。

旁白 neutral

Laurie never knew when Meg returned home exactly because he would not hear her going into the house like Amy

劳里从不知道梅格何时回家，因为他不会像听艾米那样听到她进屋的声音。

旁白 neutral

But from where he sat, he could see Meg walk into the kitchen, say hello to Hannah, put on her apron, and help the housekeeper prepare dinner

但从他坐的地方，他能看见梅格走进厨房，跟汉娜打招呼，系上围裙，然后帮管家准备晚餐。

旁白 neutral

Thinking about his friend Jo brought a smile to Laurie's lips

想到朋友乔，劳里嘴角露出了微笑。

旁白 neutral

Jo, knowing that Laurie would be watching out for her return, would make all kinds of noises to let him know she was home

乔知道劳里会留意她回来，就会发出各种声响让他知道她到家了。

旁白 neutral

One time, she started to hum a funny song as she walked up the path to their door

有一次，她沿着小路走向家门时，开始哼一首滑稽的歌。

旁白 neutral

Laurie had burst out into laughter, alarming and troubling Mr. Brookes, who was in the middle of explaining a rather dismal subject

劳里突然大笑起来，这让正在解释一个相当沉闷话题的布鲁克斯先生感到惊慌和困扰。

旁白 neutral

Then, on another occasion, Mr. Brookes was explaining a tricky mathematical problem on the blackboard when he was interrupted by a strange barking noise

还有一次，布鲁克斯先生正在黑板上解释一道棘手的数学题，突然被一阵奇怪的狗叫声打断了。

旁白 neutral

Looking out the window, Mr. Brookes could not see any canine in the area

布鲁克斯先生朝窗外望去，没看见附近有任何狗，

旁白 neutral

but he did happen to catch a glimpse of a girl hastily shutting the entrance door over at the March home

但他确实瞥见一个女孩匆匆关上马奇家的入户门。

旁白 neutral

Of the four girls, Beth stayed home all day but Laurie could not make out any sounds that alerted him to where she was

四个女孩中，贝丝整天待在家里，但劳里听不出任何能让他知道她在哪里的声音。

旁白 neutral

Once, he thought he heard very soft singing, but Laurie could not be sure if it was Beth, who he knew loved to sing, or if he had imagined it

有一次，他以为自己听到了非常轻柔的歌声，但劳里不确定是不是贝丝，他知道她喜欢唱歌，还是自己想象出来的。

旁白 neutral

" As your attention has already left the lesson and moved on to the affairs in the other house,"

“既然你的注意力已经离开了课堂，转而关注那家的事情了，”

旁白 neutral

Mr. Brookes declared, closing his book," you may be excused now."

布鲁克斯先生合上书宣布，“你现在可以走了。”

旁白 neutral

Giving him a mock salute, Laurie sprang up, and leaped out of the library

劳里向他做了个滑稽的敬礼，一跃而起，跳出了书房。

旁白 neutral

Nothing was ever boring at the Marches' home

马奇家从来不会无聊。

旁白 neutral

The girls always had plenty to keep themselves occupied and there was never a shortage of things to talk about

姑娘们总是有忙不完的事情，而且从来不缺话题。

旁白 neutral

On this particular evening, the conversation ranged from spiders to dinner invitations

这个特别的晚上，谈话内容从蜘蛛到晚餐邀请，应有尽有。

旁白 neutral

" Grandfather would love for all of you to come for dinner tomorrow," Laurie said

“爷爷希望你们明天都来吃晚饭，”劳里说。

旁白 neutral

Although Mr. Laurence had extended the invitation on several occasions

尽管劳伦斯先生已经多次发出邀请，

旁白 neutral

Mother was delaying accepting it until Beth felt comfortable enough around Laurie to venture over to the unfamiliar house

妈妈一直在推迟接受，直到贝丝在劳里身边感到足够自在，敢去那座不熟悉的房子。

旁白 neutral

" That's very kind of him," Beth replied in her soft way

“他真好心，”贝丝用她轻柔的方式回答。

旁白 neutral

Laurie and Jo stopped playing cards to stare at her

劳里和乔停下玩牌，盯着她看。

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" Does that mean you'd like to come to my house?" asked Laurie

“那是不是说你愿意来我家了？”劳里问。

旁白 neutral

Beth smiled shyly at Laurie and said: " To me, you're more than a neighbor, Laurie, you're our dear friend."

贝丝羞涩地对劳里笑了笑，说：“对我来说，你不只是邻居，劳里，你是我们亲爱的朋友。”