047 孤独的乔

旁白 neutral

Daisy and Demi were the apple of everyone's eye as they charmed whoever caught sight of them

黛西和德米是所有人的掌上明珠，他们迷住了每一个见到他们的人。

旁白 neutral

Meg brought over the babies almost every day, knowing that their adorable faces would bring smiles to a mourning household

梅格几乎每天都把孩子们带过来，她知道他们可爱的脸庞会给这个悲伤的家庭带来笑容。

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" Our Daisy is a stubborn one," John said proudly to Mother and Father

“我们家黛西可倔了，”约翰骄傲地对爸爸和妈妈说。

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" If her brother comes near her space, she kicks and screams until he moves away."

“如果她哥哥靠近她的地盘，她就又踢又闹，直到他让开为止。”

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" Sounds like our Jo when she was a baby," Mother said with a wink

“听起来像我们家乔小时候的样子，”妈妈眨了眨眼说。

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Everyone laughed at the resemblance. It was true the twins could not have been more opposite in temperament

大家都被这相似之处逗笑了。的确，这对双胞胎的性情再相反不过了。

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Demi, the boy, was mild, quiet, and obedient, while Daisy threw tantrums until she got her way

男孩德米温和、安静又听话，而黛西则发脾气直到如愿以偿。

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But both babies looked like perfect angels when they slept in their father's arms

但当两个宝宝睡在父亲怀里时，看起来都像完美的小天使。

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" Brings back memories, doesn't it, dear?" Father said tenderly, putting his arm around his wife

“让人想起从前了，对吧，亲爱的？”爸爸温柔地说着，用手臂搂住了他的妻子。

旁白 neutral

Jo watched as Meg placed a loving hand on her husband's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, while their babies slept peacefully

乔看到梅格将充满爱意的手放在丈夫的手臂上，并把头靠在他的肩上，而他们的宝宝正在安睡。

旁白 neutral

Instead of being moved by seeing such a loving family, it made Jo feel tremendously lonely and sad

看到如此充满爱的家庭，乔非但没有感动，反而感到无比孤独和悲伤。

旁白 neutral

Making her excuses, she went upstairs, got her notebook, and walked out to the pond

她找了个借口，上楼拿了笔记本，然后向池塘走去。

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It was no fault of theirs, but Jo felt distanced from her parents, from Meg and John, and also from Amy and Laurie, knowing they were seeing Europe together

这不是他们的错，但乔觉得自己与父母、梅格和约翰，以及艾米和劳里都疏远了，因为知道他们正一起游览欧洲。

旁白 neutral

It wasn't jealousy, but Jo felt as though everyone had someone special to spend time with except for her

这不是嫉妒，但乔觉得好像每个人都有特别的人陪伴，唯独她没有。

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" This is ridiculous," she said to her reflection in the water

“这太可笑了，”她对着水中的倒影说。

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" I've done well on my own till now

“到现在为止，我一个人过得挺好。

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Why should I start feeling sorry for myself?"

我干嘛要开始自怨自艾呢？”

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No matter how many times she told herself that, however, Jo still felt the empty space in her heart gradually growing bigger

然而，无论她告诉自己多少次，乔仍然感到内心的空虚在逐渐扩大。

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Sighing loudly, she opened the notebook the Professor had given her and began writing

她大声叹了口气，打开教授送给她的笔记本开始写作，

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escaping into the world of make-believe where no one suffered loneliness

逃进那个无人感到孤独的虚构世界中。

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In Florence, Amy sat on the balcony of the villa, silent tears falling onto her beautiful dress

在佛罗伦萨，艾米坐在别墅的阳台上，无声的泪水滴落在她美丽的裙子上。

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In her hand was the telegram from home telling her of Beth's passing

她手里攥着家里发来的电报，告知她贝丝去世的消息。

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She had known that Beth was ill and that eventually this day would come, but Amy thought she would be with her family when it happened

她早就知道贝丝病了，也知道这一天终会来临，可艾米原以为那一刻到来时，自己能陪在家人身边。

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Now she felt as if she had betrayed Beth for not being with her during the last months of her life on earth

现在她觉得，自己没能陪贝丝度过她生命中最后的几个月，仿佛背叛了她。

旁白 neutral

" I'm so selfish for being here. I should be with my family," she cried to Aunt March when she first received the telegram

“我待在这儿太自私了。我本该和家人在一起。”她刚收到电报时，哭着对马奇姑婆说。

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" Beth wished for you to stay here, so you shall

“贝丝希望你留在这儿，那你就该留下。

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We must let go of the dying and hold fast to life and live," Aunt March said bluntly

我们必须放下逝者，紧紧抓住生者，好好活下去。”马奇姑婆直言不讳地说。

旁白 neutral

Clearly, if Amy wanted any comfort, she wasn't going to get it from Aunt March

显然，艾米若想寻求安慰，从马奇姑婆这儿是得不到的。

旁白 neutral

For days Amy did not eat, speak, or do anything but sit on the balcony and cry

一连好几天，艾米不吃、不说话，什么也不做，只是坐在阳台上哭泣。

旁白 neutral

One day while she was doing just that, clinging to the piece of paper from home as if it was her only link to her family, she prayed for Beth

有一天，她正这样做着，紧紧攥着那张来自家里的纸，仿佛那是她与家人唯一的联系，她为贝丝祈祷。

旁白 neutral

When Amy opened her eyes, she couldn't believe who was walking toward the villa

当艾米睁开眼睛时，她简直不敢相信正朝别墅走来的人是谁。

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" Laurie?" she cried in a little girl's voice

“劳里？”她用小女孩般的声音喊道。

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Amy could see Laurie's distressed face looking up at her and she knew he had also heard about Beth

艾米看到了劳里抬头望她时那张满是悲伤的脸，便知道他也听说了贝丝的事。

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She ran downstairs and flung herself into his arms as soon as she opened the door

她冲下楼，一打开门就扑进了他的怀里。

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They stood there like that, holding each other and crying together

他们就那样站着，紧紧相拥，一起哭泣。

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" I'm so sorry, Amy," Laurie kept whispering." We all loved her very much."

“我很难过，艾米，”劳里不停地低声说道，“我们大家都很爱她。”

旁白 neutral

Nodding but unable to answer, Amy kept crying, yet she found a calming comfort in Laurie's arms

艾米点着头却说不出话来，只是不停地哭着，但在劳里的怀抱里，她感到一种令人平静的安慰。

旁白 neutral

On a rainy afternoon too miserable to venture outside to the pond where Jo had been doing most of her recent writing

在一个雨天的下午，天气糟糕得让人没法去池塘边——乔最近大部分写作都是在那里完成的。

旁白 neutral

she decided, for some odd reason, to pay a visit to Mr. Laurence

出于某种奇怪的原因，她决定去拜访劳伦斯先生。

旁白 neutral

Without question Beth had been his favorite girl, so her death had affected Mr. Laurence deeply

毫无疑问，贝丝是他最喜欢的女孩，所以她的离世对劳伦斯先生打击很大。

旁白 neutral

Because he wasn't family, however, Jo failed to realize just how much the old man must have been missing her

然而因为不是一家人，乔没有意识到，这位老人原本会多么想念她。

旁白 neutral

She thought it was a good time to see how Mr. Laurence was coping

她觉得这是去看看劳伦斯先生近况的好时机。

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" Jo! What a pleasant surprise, my dear," he said happily when he saw who had come to visit

“乔！真是让人惊喜啊，亲爱的，”看到是谁来访时，他高兴地说。

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Jo had baked some oatmeal cookies, which she handed over with a smile

乔烤了些燕麦饼干，微笑着递了过去。

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" I'm sorry I haven't been here sooner," she apologized

“非常抱歉没能早点过来，”她道歉说。

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Holding up his hand, Mr. Laurence stopped her, saying," Jo, under the circumstances, it's understandable

劳伦斯先生举起手，止住了她的话：“乔，这种情况下，可以理解。

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But I expect you to come and visit this lonely old man at least once a day from now on."

不过，我盼你从现在起，至少每天来看望我这个孤独的老头一次。”

旁白 neutral

" I will, and since I'm a lonely old woman we can be lonely together," she said miserably

“我会的，既然我也是个孤独的老姑娘，那我们可以一起孤独，”她凄苦地说。

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" Splendid!" Mr. Laurence roared as if he hadn't laughed out loud in a while

“太好了！”劳伦斯先生放声大笑，好像很久没有这样开怀大笑过似的。

旁白 neutral

They talked about the babies, Amy and Laurie, and other things. Then Mr. Laurence said something very interesting

他们聊了这对双胞胎、艾米和劳里，还谈了其他事。接着，劳伦斯先生说了件很有意思的事。

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" You know, Jo, I'd like to do something to commemorate Beth's life," he said

"你知道，乔，我想做些事情来纪念贝丝的一生，"他说。

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" What were you thinking of?" asked Jo

"你在想什么呢？"乔问道。

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" Some kind of place that would bring good to the community, just as Beth always did kind acts for others," he explained

"一个能为社区带来好处的地方，就像贝丝总是为他人做善事一样，"他解释道。

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" What do you think Beth would like?"

"你觉得贝丝会喜欢什么呢？"

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Jo thought for a moment, then said," Well, Beth always loved children, so perhaps something for little ones?"

乔想了一会儿，然后说："嗯，贝丝总是喜欢孩子，所以也许为小孩子们做些什么？"

旁白 neutral

Mr. Laurence stood up and began pacing the room

劳伦斯先生站起来，开始在房间里踱步。

旁白 neutral

He said," Yes, yes, a school for children would be a fine idea. A piano school?"

他说："是的，是的，为孩子们办一所学校会是个好主意。一所钢琴学校？"

旁白 neutral

Jo nodded in agreement and said," Beth loved music so that would be a wonderful memorial to her."

乔点头同意，说："贝丝热爱音乐，所以那会是对她绝好的纪念。"

旁白 neutral

Mr. Laurence stopped suddenly and said," True, but Beth would want children to learn so much more

劳伦斯先生突然停下，说："没错，但贝丝会希望孩子们学到更多东西。

旁白 neutral

Jo! What about a school that teaches academics and arts such as piano or painting?"

乔！一所教授学术和艺术，比如钢琴或绘画的学校怎么样？"

旁白 neutral

Jo sat up straight, remembering someone else who wanted to start a school

乔坐直了身子，想起了另一个人也想开办一所学校。

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" Mr. Laurence, if you do open a school in Beth's name, I already know the perfect person to be the headmaster," she said excitedly

"劳伦斯先生，如果您真的以贝丝的名义开办一所学校，我已经知道一个完美的人选来当校长，"她兴奋地说。

旁白 neutral

Grabbing her hands tightly, Mr. Laurence said emotionally," Let's make this work, Jo. Let's do this for Beth."

劳伦斯先生紧紧抓住她的手，动情地说："让我们把这做成吧，乔。让我们为贝丝做这件事。"

旁白 neutral

Letting go of his hands and giving him a tight hug instead, Jo cried," Thank you, Mr. Laurence

乔放开他的手，反而紧紧地拥抱他，哭着说："谢谢您，劳伦斯先生。

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This means so much to us, and Beth would be so proud if she knew what you were doing for her."

这对我们意义重大，如果贝丝知道您为她所做的，她会非常自豪的。"

旁白 neutral

That evening, Jo wrote a long, detailed letter to the Professor

那天晚上，乔给教授写了一封长而详细的信，

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telling all that had happened in the past few months and ending with Mr. Laurence's proposal

讲述了过去几个月发生的一切，并以劳伦斯先生的提议结尾。

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" If you are interested in this position, you may wish to make a trip here and meet Mr. Laurence in person to discuss the details further," she wrote

"如果您对这个职位感兴趣，您可能希望来这里一趟，亲自见见劳伦斯先生，进一步讨论细节，"她写道。

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Placing the letter in an envelope and sealing it, Jo said," Now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

把信放进信封并封好，乔说："现在，我们只能等待，看看会发生什么了。"

旁白 neutral

Just a few days later, that same envelope was handed over to the Professor, who read the letter with much interest

几天后，那同一个信封被交到了教授手上，他饶有兴趣地读了信。

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" Hmm, this sounds very promising indeed and highly tempting

"嗯，这听起来确实很有前景，也非常诱人。

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I must find out about a coach ticket."

我得打听一下马车票的事。"