029 圣诞颂歌一

旁白 neutral

Late in the afternoon one Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, were hard at work

一个圣诞前夜的下午晚些时候，埃比尼泽·斯克鲁奇和他的职员鲍勃·克拉奇正在辛勤工作。

旁白 neutral

Ebenezer Scrooge was perhaps the cheapest, most cold-hearted, mean-spirited man that ever lived

埃比尼泽·斯克鲁奇或许是有史以来最小气、最冷漠、最刻薄的人。

旁白 neutral

He had no friends. On the street, not even the beggars would beg from him

他没有朋友。在街上，连乞丐都不会向他乞讨。

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Cratchit was a good and honest man, but working for Scrooge had kept his family poor

克拉奇是个善良诚实的人，但为斯克鲁奇工作让他一家始终很贫穷。

旁白 neutral

Cratchit was working as hard as he could, but it was difficult because Scrooge kept the office terribly cold

克拉奇拼命地工作，但这很难，因为斯克鲁奇让办公室冷得要命。

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He was too cheap even to buy coal

他吝啬得连煤都舍不得买。

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Suddenly they heard a cheerful cry," Merry Christmas, Uncle!"

突然，他们听到一声欢快的呼喊：“圣诞快乐，舅舅！”

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It was Scrooge's nephew

是斯克鲁奇的外甥。

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Being surprised, being interrupted, and hearing the words " Merry Christmas," all angered Scrooge

受到惊吓、被打扰、还有听到“圣诞快乐”这几个字，都让斯克鲁奇火冒三丈。

旁白 neutral

" Bah! Humbug!" he replied

“呸！胡扯！”他回答道。

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" Christmas a humbug, Uncle?" His nephew laughed

“圣诞节是胡闹，舅舅？”外甥笑了起来。

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" Christmas is for fools who waste their money," grunted Scrooge

“圣诞节是给那些浪费钱的傻瓜过的，”斯克鲁奇咕哝道。

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" There is no profit."

“根本没好处。”

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To this, his nephew replied," Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Jesus, and to be kind, forgiving, loving, and pleasant to others

对此，外甥答道：“圣诞节是纪念耶稣诞生的日子，是要对他人友善、宽容、仁爱和和蔼的时候。

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It is a time to know that all people are brothers and sisters

是明白天下人皆为兄弟姐妹的时候。

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While it may not bring me profit, I say,' God bless Christmas.'"

虽然它可能不会给我带来好处，我还是要说，‘上帝保佑圣诞节。’”

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" Bah! Humbug!" Scrooge replied

“呸！胡闹！”斯克鲁奇回应道。

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With a smile his nephew asked," Would you at least come to dinner with us tomorrow?"

外甥微笑着问：“您至少明天来和我们一起吃顿饭吧？”

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" No, I will not. Now, good afternoon," snorted Scrooge

“不，我不去。好了，再见，”斯克鲁奇哼了一声。

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" Merry Christmas, Uncle," replied his nephew with a smile

“圣诞快乐，舅舅，”外甥微笑着答道。

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With that, his nephew left, and two gentlemen walked in

说完，他的外甥离开了，两位绅士走了进来。

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" Mr. Scrooge, we are taking a Christmas collection for the poor," said one of the gentlemen

“斯克鲁奇先生，我们正在为穷人募捐圣诞善款，”其中一位绅士说。

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" Many have little or nothing to live on."

“许多人几乎或完全没有生计。”

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To this, Scrooge replied," Are there no prisons or workhouses?"

对此，斯克鲁奇回答：“难道没有监狱或济贫院吗？”

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" Mr. Scrooge! Most people would rather die than go to those terrible places," replied the gentlemen

“斯克鲁奇先生！大多数人宁愿死也不愿去那些可怕的地方，”绅士们回答。

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" If they would rather die, then fine," declared Scrooge

“如果他们宁愿死，那好吧，”斯克鲁奇宣称。

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" Let them die. I will not waste my money on helping people who are lazy

“让他们死好了。我不会浪费我的钱去帮助懒惰的人。”

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Good afternoon, gentlemen." Shocked and disgusted, the men quickly left

下午好，绅士们。”两人既震惊又厌恶，快步离开了。

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Then, looking at his watch, Scrooge realized that it was time to close the office

接着，斯克鲁奇看了看表，意识到该关办公室了。

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" I guess you want tomorrow off," said Scrooge with a sigh

“我猜你明天想休假，”斯克鲁奇叹了口气说。

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" It is Christmas, sir," replied Cratchit

“先生，今天是圣诞节。”克拉奇回答。

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" Bah! Humbug! It is a poor excuse," said Scrooge

“唉！骗人的玩意！这借口真差劲。”斯克鲁奇说。

旁白 neutral

" You'd better be here very early the next day."

“你第二天最好早点来。”

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With that, the office was locked, and Scrooge went home to his dreary, lonely house

说完，办公室锁了门，斯克鲁奇回到他那阴沉孤寂的家。

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Scrooge once had a partner named Jacob Marley

斯克鲁奇曾有个合伙人，名叫雅各布·马利。

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But on Christmas Eve, seven years before, Marley had died

但在七年前的圣诞前夜，马利去世了。

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Marley and Scrooge were similar in that they both had no friends, no family, and no hearts

马利和斯克鲁奇很相似，他们都没有朋友，没有家人，也没有善心。

旁白 neutral

Scrooge was the only one at Marley's funeral, and even he was not very sad

斯克鲁奇是唯一参加马利葬礼的人，而就连他也没多悲伤。

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In fact, shortly after Marley died, Scrooge completely stopped thinking about him

事实上，马利死后不久，斯克鲁奇就完全不再想起他了。

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That is why it was quite strange that, when Scrooge arrived at his house

正因如此，当斯克鲁奇到家时，发生了一件很奇怪的事，

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the old knocker on his front door turned into the living face of Jacob Marley

他家前门上的旧门环变成了雅各布·马利活生生的脸。

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Startled, Scrooge looked again and saw just a knocker

斯克鲁奇吓了一跳，定睛再看时，却只见一个门环。

旁白 neutral

" Pooh! Pooh!" said Scrooge, thinking that he was acting silly

“啧！啧！”斯克鲁奇自言自语道，觉得自己刚才真是犯傻。

旁白 neutral

Without another thought, he entered and sat by a very low fire

他没再多想，走进屋，在一堆微弱的炉火旁坐下。

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Suddenly an old servant bell next to the fireplace began to ring loudly, giving Scrooge a shock

突然，壁炉边的旧唤铃大声响起，把斯克鲁奇吓了一跳。

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This was followed by a terrible noise, and then, through the locked door came a ghost

接着是一阵可怕的响声，然后，一个幽灵穿过了紧锁的门。

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" What do you want?" declared Scrooge, trying to sound stern

“你想干什么？”斯克鲁奇声称，试图让声音显得严厉。

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" Much!" said the ghost

“事儿不少！”幽灵说。

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" Who are you?" asked Scrooge

“你是谁？”斯克鲁奇问。

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" Who was I?" replied the ghost." I was your partner, Jacob Marley

“我曾经是谁？”幽灵回答，“我是你的合伙人，雅各布·马利。"

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Listen carefully, Ebenezer," said Marley sternly

仔细听着，埃比尼泽，”马利严厉地说。

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" In life, everyone must love others and help those in need

“人活着，必须关爱他人，帮助有需要的人。”

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If not, after death, he is condemned to search the earth

否则，死后就会注定在世间游荡。

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I spent my entire life in our office counting money, and I never knew love or charity

我这辈子都在咱们的办公室里数钱，从不知爱心或仁慈为何物。

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Now I must wander the earth trying to make up for my selfish life, but it is too late

如今我必须在大地上徘徊，试图弥补我自私的一生，但为时已晚。

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I see a poor woman with no food for her babies

我看见一个可怜的女人，没有食物给她的孩子们吃。

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I want to give her some money, but I can't

我想给她些钱，可我做不到。

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I must sit and watch her suffer."

我必须坐在那儿，眼睁睁看着她受苦。"

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Scrooge began to shake with fear because he knew he was the same

斯克鲁奇开始吓得发抖，因为他知道自己也是一样的人。

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" I am here tonight to help save you from my fate," said Marley

“我今晚来这儿，是为了帮你免于落入我这般境地。”马利说。

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" Thank you," replied Scrooge." You were always a good friend."

“谢谢你，”斯克鲁奇回答，“你一向是个好朋友。”

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" You will be haunted by three ghosts," said Marley

“你将会被三个幽灵缠住，”马利说。

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" They will come to you in your sleep."

“他们会在你睡着时来找你。”

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" Ghosts? I want no more ghosts," replied Scrooge

“幽灵？我可不想再见到什么幽灵了。”斯克鲁奇回答。

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Marley repeated," They are your only chance to escape my pain

马利重复道：“他们是你逃脱我这般痛苦的唯一机会。”

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The ghosts will come."

幽灵们会来的。

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With that, the ghost of Marley left

话音未落，马利的幽灵便离开了。

旁白 neutral

Exhausted from the terrible fright and not knowing what was true, Scrooge climbed into bed and went to sleep

经历了这场可怕的惊吓，斯克鲁奇精疲力尽，也分不清真假，爬上床便睡着了。