002 意外的生日访客

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Peter had a birthday — his tenth

彼得过生日了——他的十岁生日。

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Father was at work

爸爸在上班。

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But his sisters, Bobbie and Phyllis, and his mother all gave him presents in the morning

但他的姐妹，博比和菲利斯，还有妈妈，早上都送了他礼物。

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One of these presents was a model engine, and Peter was overjoyed

其中一件礼物是个模型引擎，彼得开心极了。

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Peter's joy lasted for three days until the engine suddenly went bang!

彼得的快乐持续了三天，直到引擎突然砰的一声响！

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The engine was broken

引擎坏了。

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Peter was very unhappy

彼得非常不开心。

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His sisters said he had cried, but Peter insisted his eyes were red from a cold

他的姐妹们说他哭过，但彼得坚称眼睛红是因为感冒。

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When Father came home that evening, Peter told him the story of the broken engine

那天晚上爸爸回家时，彼得把引擎坏了的事告诉了他。

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Father looked at the toy engine carefully

爸爸仔细查看了玩具引擎。

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" Hmm," said Father. The children waited impatiently

“嗯，”父亲说。孩子们不耐烦地等着。

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" Is there any hope?" asked Peter

“还有希望吗？”彼得问。

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" Yes, it can be fixed with some tools — but not tonight," said Father cheerfully

“有的，用些工具就能修好——但今晚不行。”父亲高兴地说。

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" Let's wait till Saturday and you can all help me fix it."

“我们等到星期六，你们都可以帮我一起修。”

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" Can girls help to fix engines?" Peter asked doubtfully

“女孩子能帮忙修引擎吗？”彼得怀疑地问。

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" Of course! Girls are just as clever as boys, and don't you forget it!" Father said

“当然！女孩和男孩一样聪明，你可别忘了！”父亲说。

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" How would you like to be an engine driver, Phyllis?"

“你想当火车司机吗，菲莉丝？”

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" No, my face would always be dirty," said Phyllis

“不想，我的脸总会脏兮兮的。”菲莉丝说。

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" I would just love it," said Bobbie

“我非常想当。”博比说。

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" Can I be an engine driver when I grow up, Father?"

“我长大后能当火车司机吗，父亲？”

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" Yes, we'll help you!" Father replied

“当然，我们会帮你的！”父亲回答道。

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Suddenly there was a knock at the door

突然传来了一阵敲门声。

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" Who's that?" said Father

“是谁啊？”父亲说道。

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Mother came in and said that two gentlemen wanted to see Father

母亲走进来，说有二位先生想见父亲。

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" They're in the next room," she added

“他们在隔壁房间，”她补充道。

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" I hope they leave soon because it's nearly the children's bedtime."

“我希望他们很快离开，因为快到孩子们的就寝时间了。”

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But the visitors stayed until late

但访客们待到了很晚。

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Mother told the children a story about a princess with green eyes

母亲给孩子们讲了一个关于绿眼睛公主的故事。

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It was difficult for the children to listen because voices came from the next room

孩子们很难专心听，因为隔壁房间传来了说话声。

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Father's voice sounded louder than usual

父亲的声音听起来比平时要高。

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He even sounded angry

他的语气甚至听起来很生气。

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Ruth, the maid, came in

女仆露丝走了进来。

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" He wants you to go in, ma'am," she said to Mother

“先生请您进去，夫人，”她对妈妈说道。

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" I think he's had bad news

“我看他是听到了坏消息。

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Be ready for the worst."

要做好最坏的打算。”

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So Mother went into the next room, and there was more talking

于是，妈妈走进了隔壁房间，那里传来了更多的谈话声。

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Later Mother came back, and her face was pale

过了一会儿，妈妈回来了，脸色苍白。

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" It's bedtime," she said." Ruth will put you to bed."

“该睡觉了，”她说，“露丝会带你们上床。”

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" But you promised we could stay up with Father!" said Phyllis

“可您答应过我们可以和爸爸一起待着的！”菲莉丝说。

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" Father had to leave — on business," said Mother

“爸爸有事，不得不离开了，”妈妈说。

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The children kissed her and went to bed. Bobbie lingered

孩子们亲吻了她，然后去睡觉了。博比留了下来。

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She hugged Mother and whispered," It wasn't bad news, was it, Mommy?

她拥抱了妈妈，轻声问道：“不是什么坏消息，对吗，妈咪？

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Did someone... die?"

是不是……有人去世了？”

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" Nobody died, no," said Mother, and she almost seemed to push Bobbie away

“没有人去世，没有，”妈妈说道，同时她几乎像是把博比推开了。

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When the children woke up the next morning, Mother was gone

第二天早上孩子们醒来时，妈妈已经走了。

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" I think something awful has happened," said Peter during breakfast

“我觉得发生了一些可怕的事情，”吃早饭时彼得说。

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" I asked Ruth, and she said we'll find out soon."

“我问过露丝，她说我们很快就知道了。”

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" You should have waited to ask Mother!" Bobbie said angrily

“你应该等一等，直接去问妈妈的！”博比生气地说。

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It was seven o'clock in the evening when Mother came home

晚上七点钟，妈妈才回到家。

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She looked worn-out

她看起来筋疲力尽。

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After she rested and had a cup of tea, she said

她休息了一会儿，喝了一杯茶之后，说道：

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" My darlings, I want to tell you something

“我亲爱的孩子们，我要告诉你们一件事。

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Those men did bring very bad news last night

昨晚那几个人确实带来了非常糟糕的消息。

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Father won't be here for some time

爸爸要有段时间不在这里了。

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I am very worried, and I want you to help me

我非常担心，我想让你们帮帮我。

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You can help me by being good and not quarreling."

你们可以帮助我的方式是乖乖的，不吵架。”

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The children wondered why Father had to leave

孩子们很纳闷，为什么爸爸必须离开。

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What could have happened?

到底可能发生了什么事呢？