048 憧憬未来

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Laurie found a place to stay in Florence, and for the next few days, he and Amy were inseparable

劳里在佛罗伦萨找了个住处，接下来的几天，他和艾米形影不离。

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Amy noticed some changes in Laurie: for example, he wasn't throwing money around like before

艾米注意到劳里的一些变化：比如，他不再像以前那样挥霍金钱，

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he showed more consideration for others, and he seemed to be more responsible, more mature

他更体贴他人，也显得更有责任感、更成熟了。

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Amy mentioned what she had noticed to him

艾米向他提起了自己观察到的变化。

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" After what you told me in Rome, I did a lot of soul-searching," he admitted

“听了你在罗马对我说的话之后，我进行了很多自我反省。”他承认道。

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" I'm sorry if I was blunt," Amy began apologetically but Laurie stopped her

“如果我的话太直率了，我很抱歉。”艾米抱歉地开口，但劳里打断了她。

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" No, I should be thanking you," he said." You were right

“不，我应该感谢你，”他说，“你说得对。

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I was too engrossed in myself to realize it then."

我当时太沉浸于自我，没能意识到这一点。”

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" Well, if you feel that way, then I'm glad I spoke up," Amy said with a smile

“嗯，既然你这么想，那我很高兴我当时说出来了。”艾米笑着说。

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" After Beth died," Laurie continued in a softer voice," everything changed

“贝思去世后，”劳里用更轻柔的声音继续说道，“一切都变了。

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I didn't want to waste another moment on anything insignificant or meaningless

我不想再在无关紧要或无意义的事情上浪费片刻。

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I need purpose and direction to guide me through this life."

我需要目标和方向来指引我度过此生。”

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Laughing, Amy laid a hand on Laurie's and said," Oh no! I think I've made a philosopher out of you."

艾米笑着把手搭在劳里的手上，说：“哦不！我看我把你变成个哲学家了。”

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Taking her hand, Laurie looked into her eyes and said," Not a philosopher but a real person."

劳里握住她的手，凝视着她的眼睛说：“不是哲学家，而是个真实的人。”

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They sat there like that for a while, looking into each others' eyes, both of them realizing that their friendship had turned into something deeper

他们就这样坐了一会儿，凝视着彼此的眼睛，两人都意识到他们的友谊已变得更深了。

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Back home, loneliness was a word and a state that Jo had long forgotten as she threw herself into Mr. Laurence's project

回到家里，乔早已忘记了孤独这个词和那种感受，因为她全身心投入到了劳伦斯先生的计划中。

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One day she and Mr. Laurence were in town visiting possible sites to build the school on

一天，她和劳伦斯先生在镇上考察适合建学校的地点。

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" What is the school going to be called, by the way?" Jo asked

“对了，学校打算叫什么名字？”乔问。

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" I thought I'd leave that up to you," Mr. Laurence replied

“我想这个就交给你来定吧，”劳伦斯先生回答。

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" Why don't you choose something special that reminds you of Beth?

“为什么不选一个特别的、能让你想起贝丝的名字呢？

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Grateful for his thoughtfulness, Jo promised she would think about it and let him know

乔很感激他的体贴，答应会考虑一下再告诉他。

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" The school will be small, but I want the students to enjoy all areas of education:

“学校规模会很小，但我想让学生们接受到全面的教育：

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not just academic, but arts and sports as well," Mr. Laurence explained

不仅是学术方面的，还有艺术和体育。”劳伦斯先生解释道。

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" It sounds like just the kind of place Beth would have loved," Jo said warmly, then added," and it's exactly what this town needs."

“听起来正是贝丝会喜欢的那种地方，”乔亲切地说，接着补充道，“而且正是这个小镇所需要的。”

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They were standing in front of a large house that looked deserted, yet it was appealing to both Jo and Mr. Laurence at once

他们站在一栋看上去很荒凉的大房子前，但房子立刻吸引了乔和劳伦斯先生。

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" For starters, the roof needs repairing, and the exterior will need to be repainted,"

“首先，屋顶需要修理，外墙也得重新粉刷。”

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Mr. Laurence remarked, gently tugging his chin in deep thought." What do you think, Jo?"

劳伦斯先生轻捋着下巴，沉思着说。“你觉得怎么样，乔？”

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Jo placed her hands on her hips and made as professional a judgment as an amateur can make

乔双手叉腰，尽量摆出一副专业的样子做出评判。

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She nodded agreeably and said," It's perfect."

她欣然点头，说：“太完美了。”

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Across the ocean, Laurie and Amy were also finding many things they agreed upon

大洋彼岸，劳里和艾米也在许多事情上找到了共识。

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From Florence they agreed, with the consent of Aunt March, of course, to travel next to Venice

他们从佛罗伦萨出发，当然征得了马奇姑妈的同意，下一站就去威尼斯。

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Amy filled two sketchbooks in the first three days they were there, every street being more colorful and exotic than the one before

到那儿头三天，艾米就画满了两个素描本，每条街都比前一条更绚丽新奇。

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On the fourth day, Laurie treated Amy to a ride on a gondola that he steered himself

第四天，劳里请艾米坐他亲自撑的贡多拉。

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As they glided over the water, Amy sketched the unique architecture while Laurie watched her with a smile

船在水上滑行时，艾米描绘着别致的建筑，劳里则含笑看着她。

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" Stop staring at me. You're making me nervous," she teased

“别老盯着我，你弄得我紧张了，”她逗他。

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" I can't help it. You're fascinating to watch," he said in return

“我忍不住。你画画的样子的确很迷人，”他回道。

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Laurie steered the gondola toward a small bridge that led to a beautiful flower garden

劳里把贡多拉撑向一座通往美丽花园的小桥。

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" I want to show you this breathtaking spot," Laurie said as he stood up and pointed toward the garden with his oar

“我想带你看个美得让人透不过气的地方，”劳里边说边站起身，用船桨指向花园。

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No one really knew how it happened, but Laurie lost his balance

真不知道怎么回事，劳里失去了平衡。

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For a second, he looked like a tightrope walker at the circus, wiggling this way and that to stay standing

那一瞬间，他就像马戏团走钢丝的演员，左摇右晃地想要站稳。

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But in the end, the weight of the oar won, and down he went into the water

但最终，船桨的重量占了上风，他掉进了水里。

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" Laurie!" Amy shouted

“劳里！”艾米喊道。

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Laurie shook his wet hair as he pulled himself into the gondola

劳里把自己拉上贡多拉时，甩了甩湿发。

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" My ego is bruised, but I'm okay. Where's the oar?"

“我的自尊心受了点伤，不过我没事。桨呢？”

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Laurie looked around and saw it floating gently away

劳里环顾四周，看到船桨正缓缓漂走。

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" We have to get that back!" he said, panicking

“我们得把它追回来！”他慌张地说。

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There was nothing in the boat to use except Amy's sketchbook

船上除了艾米的速写本，没别的东西可用。

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Without a second thought, Amy rolled it up and used it to paddle toward the runaway oar

艾米想都没想，就把本子卷起来，当桨划向漂走的船桨。

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" There you go," she said, snatching the oar out of the water when they reached it and shaking out her dripping, ruined sketchbook

“给你，”他们追到桨时，她一把从水里捡起船桨，然后抖了抖湿透的、被毁掉的速写本。

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Impressed beyond words, Laurie stared at Amy with a strange look

劳里感动得说不出话来，用一种异样的目光凝视着艾米。

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Then he simply said," We make a great team, you and I

然后他简单地说：“我和你，我们很合拍。

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Do you think we can do it forever?"

你觉得我们能永远这样吗？”

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Understanding what his words implied, Amy smiled shyly and said," Yes, I think we can."

艾米明白了他的言外之意，害羞地笑着说：“是的，我想我们可以。”

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Jo was unaware of the tremendous development that had just happened in Venice, but she was also about to embark on a life-altering course

乔并不知道威尼斯刚刚发生的巨大进展，但她也即将踏上一条改变人生的道路。

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She had finally completed her novel, the one she had recorded in the special notebook from the Professor

她终于完成了她的小说，就是写在教授送的那本特别笔记本里的那部。

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With mixed feelings, yet determined to move ahead with her goal, Jo put the notebook into an envelope

怀着复杂的心情，但决心朝着目标前进，乔把笔记本放进信封，

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wrote a New York address on it, took it to the post office, and mailed it off

写上了一个纽约的地址，拿到邮局寄了出去。

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While Jo was in New York, the Professor had helped her get the addresses of several publishers

在纽约的时候，教授帮乔拿到了几家出版商的地址。

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Until recently, Jo had been content to sell her short stories to local newspapers and magazines

直到最近，乔都满足于把她的短篇小说卖给当地的报纸和杂志，

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because she was reluctant to reach out to a bigger wider market

因为她不太愿意去接触更广阔的市场。

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After her sister died, however, Jo felt less afraid of failure

然而，在妹妹去世后，乔不那么害怕失败了。

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She decided to take chances and to set her standards higher

她决定去冒险，并把标准设得更高。

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Having faced so many obstacles in life, Jo now had the confidence that even if she did fail, she could get right back on her feet again

在生活中面对过那么多障碍后，乔现在有信心，即使真的失败了，她也能立刻重新站起来。

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A few days later, two urgent telegrams were delivered: one to the Laurence household and the other to the March family

几天后，两封加急电报送到了：一封送往劳伦斯家，另一封送往马奇家。

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Jo happened to be the one who received it at their home, so she read it aloud for her parents to hear

乔正好是家里收到电报的那个人，于是她大声读给父母听。

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" It's from our Amy," Jo said cheerfully

“是咱们艾米发来的，”乔高兴地说。

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" It reads,' Dear Mother, Father, and my darling sisters: I am delighted to tell you that I am engaged to...'"

“上面写着：‘亲爱的母亲、父亲和我亲爱的姐妹们：我很高兴地告诉你们，我已订婚，对象是……’”

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Jo paused as she read the name,"'Laurie.'"

乔读到那个名字时停了下来，“劳里。”

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" Jo, are you all right?" Mother said as she saw her daughter's white face

“乔，你没事吧？”母亲看着女儿苍白的面容说道。

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" Yes, I'm just shocked. I... I never thought...," Jo stammered

“没事，我就是很惊讶。我……我从没想到……”乔结结巴巴地说。

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" I need some fresh air." She staggered out the door and walked briskly to the pond

“我需要透透气。”她踉跄着走出门，快步走向池塘。

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Jo wasn't upset that Laurie had found someone else to love after she rejected him, but that telegram signaled another change in their relationship

乔并不是因为在她拒绝劳里之后，他找到了另一个爱人而难过，但那封电报标志着他们关系的又一次变化。

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For Jo, this was going to take a little time to accept

对乔来说，这需要一点时间来接受。

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Sitting alone looking out at the pond, Jo was reminded of Beth's words on their last trip

独自坐着望着池塘，乔想起了贝丝在她们最后一次出行时说的话。

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She heard Beth's voice say," If we spent our time concentrating on one sight, we might miss out on the others

她仿佛听见贝丝的声音说：“如果我们把时间都花在专注于一处风景上，可能会错过其他的风景。

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I'd rather see everything once than see the same scene over and over again

我宁愿每样都看一次，也不愿一遍又一遍地看同样的景象。

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Besides, the picture we take with our heart is always so much more precious than the ones we capture with a brush, don't you think?"

再说了，我们用心拍下的画面，总比用画笔捕捉的要珍贵得多，你不觉得吗？”

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" You're right, Beth," Jo said, looking up toward the sky

“你说得对，贝丝，”乔说着，抬头望向天空。

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" Life is constantly changing, and so are relationships

“生活不断变化，人际关系也是如此。

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We can't expect things to remain the same when we ourselves are forever evolving

当我们自己永远在成长时，我们不能期望事物一成不变。

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But we will always have the precious memories of the past to look back on with fondness."

但我们永远拥有过去珍贵的回忆，可以满怀温情地回首。”