033 午餐邀约

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As Aunt March's favorite grand-niece, Amy received many favors from her rich relative, including art lessons at the finest institute in town

作为马奇姑婆最疼爱的侄孙女，艾米从这位富有的亲戚那里得到了许多优待，包括在镇上最好的学院上艺术课。

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On the first day of class, she realized that she already knew some of her classmates from school

开课第一天，她发现班上有几个同学是她之前在学校就认识的。

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These were the girls whose parents had the wealth to send their children to this particular place

这些女孩的父母都很有钱，能够送她们来这所特定的学校学习。

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" Amy? Amy March?" Christina cried disbelievingly on the first day of class

“艾米？艾米·马奇？”开课第一天，克里斯蒂娜难以置信地喊道。

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" Christina! Mary! How lovely to see you again!" exclaimed Amy, genuinely pleased to see the girls

“克里斯蒂娜！玛丽！真高兴再见到你们！”艾米由衷地高兴见到她们，大声说道，

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even though the memories of the limes incident still pricked her heart

尽管酸橙事件的记忆仍刺痛着她的心。

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Having survived many experiences, including almost losing a beloved sister

在经历了许多事情，包括差点失去一位心爱的姐妹之后，

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Amy felt life was too short to hold grudges

艾米觉得人生太短暂，不值得记仇。

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Instead, she chose to be friendly and kind even to those who had wronged her

相反，她选择对那些曾亏待过她的人依然友好和善。

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Amy also tried her best to remain modest, even though Mrs. Meade, the art instructor, often showered praise on Amy's talent

艾米还尽力保持谦虚，尽管美术老师米德太太经常赞扬她的天赋。

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" Lunch at my house this week, Amy," Mary informed her as the class was dismissed one afternoon

“这周来我家吃午饭吧，艾米。”一天下午下课时，玛丽对她说。

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At some point during the classes, the girls had decided among themselves to take turns hosting a luncheon every Saturday

在课程进行中的某个时候，女孩们私下约定，每周六轮流举办午餐聚会。

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Amy had attended three so far, and it seemed to her that each girl tried to outshine the one before

艾米已经参加了三次，在她看来，每个女孩都想胜过上一个。

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by preparing fancy feasts and desserts more suited for a ball than a midday meal

她们会准备豪华的大餐和甜点，更像舞会上的款待，而不是简单的午餐。

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However, Amy doubted very much that the girls actually cooked the meals themselves; most likely they relied on servants to get the job done

然而，艾米非常怀疑这些女孩是否真的自己下厨；很可能她们是让仆人来做的。

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After lunch, the girls would set out for some scenic place and spend the rest of the afternoon sketching, painting

午餐后，女孩们会前往某个风景优美的地方，整个下午都在素描、绘画，

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and doing what all girls love best: gossiping

以及做所有女孩最喜欢的事：闲聊。

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Amy knew that after Mary, it would be her turn to host a lunch and so began her worries

艾米知道在玛丽之后，就该轮到她主办午餐了，于是开始担心起来。

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That evening, Amy drew up a schedule for her upcoming luncheon, including the menu and activities to follow the meal

那天晚上，艾米为即将到来的午餐会制订了计划，包括菜单和餐后的活动。

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She had checked her savings beforehand to make sure she had enough to finance the event

她事先查看了自己的积蓄，确保有足够的钱来支付这次活动。

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Fortunately, Amy received a generous salary from Aunt March, so she was able to put away a little extra each week for special occasions

幸运的是，艾米从马奇姑妈那里得到丰厚的薪水，因此她每周都能多存一点钱，以备特别场合使用。

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Originally, Amy had wanted to save enough money to travel to Italy and paint to her heart's content

原本，艾米想攒够钱去意大利旅行，然后尽情地画画。

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Sighing loudly, she said, disheartened," Italy will have to wait till after lunch."

她重重地叹了口气，沮丧地说：“意大利只能等午餐会之后再说了。”

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Father, carrying a large basket of fresh, ripe vegetables, walked in as Amy was making her curious remark

父亲提着一大篮新鲜熟透的蔬菜走了进来，当时艾米正说着她那句奇怪的话。

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Chuckling, he said," I'm sure you know what you're talking about, but I haven't a clue what you mean."

他轻笑道：“我肯定你知道自己在说什么，但我完全听不懂你的意思。”

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Slipping the paper into her pocket, Amy gave her father a hug and said," It's nothing, Father, but I may ask for some of your vegetables next week."

艾米把那张纸塞进口袋，拥抱了父亲，说：“没什么，父亲，不过我下周可能需要您的一些蔬菜。”

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" As many as you like, darling," he replied, tweaking her nose

“要多少都行，亲爱的，”他答道，轻轻捏了捏她的鼻子。

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Amy spent a great deal of time ( and money ) making individual invitations for her lunch

艾米花了大量时间（和金钱）为她的午餐会制作个性化的请柬。

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Handing them out to the girls, Amy heard many compliments about her design and artwork

把请柬分发给姑娘们时，艾米听到了许多对她设计和画作的赞美。

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" I've hired a carriage that will take us to the most enchanting place in the world," she said as her old habit of bragging started to return

“我雇了一辆马车，会带我们去世界上最迷人的地方，”她说，她过去爱炫耀的老毛病又有点犯了。

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" I personally prefer oil paints but its beauty can be captured with any technique of your choice."

“我个人更喜欢油画，但它的美可以用你选择的任何技法来捕捉。”

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On the eve of the party, Mother and Jo watched Amy anxiously as she scurried around like a little mouse preparing things

聚会前夕，母亲和乔焦急地看着艾米像只小老鼠一样忙忙碌碌地准备着东西。

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They waited for her instructions since Amy had asked for their help, along with that of Beth, Hannah, and Meg

她们等着她的吩咐，因为艾米曾请她们帮忙，也请了贝丝、汉娜和梅格。

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( who had to decline because her husband's friends were coming for dinner that very day )

（她不得不婉拒，因为丈夫的朋友那天正好要来吃饭。）

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" Do you know how much she's spent so far?" Jo asked disapprovingly

“你知道她已经花了多少钱吗？”乔不以为然地问道。

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" It's her money. She can do as she likes," Mother replied

“那是她自己的钱，她可以按自己的心意花。”母亲回答。

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" But she's blowing her hard-earned money on just this one day and for a bunch of whiny girls who don't even care about her," Jo said critically

“可她把辛苦挣来的钱全砸在这一天，就为了一群根本不在乎她的娇气姑娘。”乔挑剔地说。

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" Jo, even though we may not agree with Amy's idea, we have agreed to help her, so let's keep our word," Mother said

“乔，就算我们不一定认同艾米的想法，但我们已经答应帮她了，那就得说话算话。”母亲说。

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It was not easy to do even that, as Jo discovered, with Amy's short temper, sharp reproofs, and constant corrections

就连这点也不容易做到，乔发现，因为艾米脾气急躁，责备尖刻，还不时地挑错。

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" Jo, I said beat the eggs one at a time, not all together!" Amy shouted after she had asked her sister to help bake a cake

“乔，我说了鸡蛋要一个一个打，不是全打在一起！”艾米叫姐姐帮忙烤蛋糕后大声喊道。

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" Jo, don't slice the meat so thickly!" she corrected after asking Jo to help with the sandwich meat

“乔，肉别切那么厚！”她请乔帮忙切三明治用的肉之后又纠正道。

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" Jo, must you sing while you wash the vegetables? It's rather annoying!" she snapped when Jo started to hum aloud to entertain herself

“乔，你洗菜非得唱歌吗？挺烦人的！”乔开始大声哼歌解闷时，她厉声说道。

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" It's you who's annoying," Jo wanted to yell back, but she bit her lip and did as Amy asked

“烦人的是你。”乔想吼回去，但她咬住嘴唇，照艾米的话做了。

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Everyone fell into bed exhausted that night, looking forward to a restful sleep

那天晚上，所有人都筋疲力尽地倒在床上，盼着能好好睡一觉。

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But a few hours later at the crack of dawn, Amy woke them up

可才过了几个小时，天刚蒙蒙亮，艾米就把她们叫醒了。

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After a poor attempt at an apology, Amy said to her sisters," This house must sparkle and shine before the girls come."

敷衍地道了个歉后，艾米对姐妹们说：“在姑娘们来之前，这屋子必须闪闪发光、一尘不染。”

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The two sisters, yawning and rubbing their eyes, glanced over at the clock, which read 6:15 a. m

两个姐妹打着哈欠，揉着眼睛，瞥了一眼钟，才早上六点一刻。

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Groaning loudly, Jo murmured some unpleasant things about her youngest sister

乔大声呻吟着，嘴里嘟囔了几句对小妹的不满。

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Unfortunately for Amy the weather did not cooperate with her plans

对艾米来说，不幸的是，天公不作美，打乱了她的计划。

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It was pouring cats and dogs while low thunder rumbled in the distance

外面下着倾盆大雨，远处传来低沉的雷声。

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Looking outside, Mother said," Perhaps Mr. Laurence will allow you girls to paint in his conservatory."

妈妈看了看外面，说道：“或许劳伦斯先生会同意你们姑娘们去他的暖房里画画。”

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" The rain may let up yet," Amy said hopefully," so Father should still go and collect the horse and carriage anyway."

“雨说不定还会停呢，”艾米满怀希望地说，“所以爸爸还是该去把马车取回来。”

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Ever the gentleman, Father put on his hat, found his umbrella, and set out to do as his daughter requested

父亲向来是位绅士，他戴上帽子，找到雨伞，便动身去照女儿的要求办了。

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Jo and Beth got to work cleaning every inch of the house, while Mother and Hannah finished preparing the meal

乔和贝丝开始动手把屋子里的每个角落都打扫干净，而妈妈和汉娜则把饭菜准备好了。

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By the time they got everything ready, the March home looked quite presentable for a group of upper-class girls

等她们把一切准备就绪时，马奇家看上去已经相当体面，足以接待一群上流社会的姑娘了。

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" Now I'm going upstairs to change so if anyone comes while I'm gone, please make them feel welcome,"

“现在我要上楼换衣服了，要是我不在的时候有人来了，请一定好好招呼她们，让她们感到宾至如归。”

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Amy said to her sisters while she went to make herself beautiful

艾米一边对姐妹们说着，一边去把自己打扮得漂漂亮亮。

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Around noon, when the guests were scheduled to come, Amy, looking very pretty in a green dress, stood waiting by the door like a good hostess

中午时分，到了客人该来的时候，艾米穿着一件绿色连衣裙，显得非常漂亮，像个好客的女主人一样站在门边等候。

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At the sounds of a carriage approaching, Amy excitedly opened the door

听到马车驶近的声音，艾米兴奋地打开了门。

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She discovered it was only Father returning, not with a grand carriage, but with an open wagon being pulled by an old, smelly horse

她发现只是父亲回来了，带来的不是气派的马车，而是一辆由一匹老迈难闻的马拉着敞篷板车。

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Running outside into the rain, Amy cried," Father! This isn't the one I hired!"

艾米冲到外面的雨中，喊道：“爸爸！这不是我租的那辆！”

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Trying to calm his daughter down, Father explained," Mr. Glendale didn't want his finest horse and carriage out in the terrible weather

父亲想安抚女儿，解释道：“格伦戴尔先生不想让他最好的马和马车在这么糟糕的天气里出来。

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He'll give you a discount for these."

这些他会给你打折的。”

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Amy's neatly brushed and styled hair was soon dripping wet and her clothes clung to her like a second skin

艾米梳得整整齐齐、做好的发型很快就湿透了，水珠直往下滴，衣服也像第二层皮肤一样紧紧贴在身上。

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" Amy, you must change out of those clothes or you'll catch a cold," Mother said, pushing her upstairs to her room

“艾米，你必须把湿衣服换下来，不然会感冒的，”妈妈说着，把她推上楼去她的房间。

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Sniffing, Amy argued," But this is my best dress

艾米抽着鼻子争辩道：“可这是我最好的裙子。

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I don't have anything else to wear."

我没别的可穿了。”

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" Don't exaggerate," Mother said firmly." You have a closet full of pretty things. Now go and change!"

“别夸张了，”妈妈坚定地说，“你衣柜里漂亮衣服多的是。现在快去换！”

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Shuffling her feet, Amy cried," Can the day get any worse?" It did for poor Amy

艾米拖着脚步，哭喊道：“还能有比这更糟的一天吗？” 对可怜的艾米来说，还真有。