牛津書蟲系列 霧都孤兒 Chapter1

1 Oliver’s early life

1 奧利弗的童年

Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse，and when he arrived in this hard world，it was very doubtful whether he would live beyond the first three minutes.He lay on a hard little bed and struggled to start breathing.

奧利弗·特威斯特出生在一家濟貧院里，他來到這個艱難的人世的那一刻，是否能活過三分鐘都是很難說的。他躺在一張小硬板床上，掙扎著開始呼吸。

Oliver fought his first battle without much assistance from the two people present at his birth.One was an old woman，who was nearly always drunk， and the other was a busy local doctor，who was not paid enough to be very interested in Oliver’s survival. After all，death was a common event in the workhouse，where only the poor and homeless lived.

他出生時在場的兩個人沒有給他什么幫助，這使得奧利弗要獨自承當他的第一場戰(zhàn)斗。其中一個是位老婦人，她幾乎總是喝得醉醺醺的;另一個則是當?shù)匾晃幻β档尼t(yī)生，這位醫(yī)生沒有得到足夠的報酬，所以對奧利弗能否活下來并不很在意。在濟貧院這個只有窮人和無家可歸的人待的地方，死亡畢竟是一件非常平常的事。

However，Oliver managed to draw his first breath，and the n announced his arrival to the rest of the workhouse by crying loudly.His mother raised her pale young face from the pillow and whispered， ‘Let me see the child， and die.’

不管怎樣，奧利弗總算盡力吸進了第一口氣，然后，他以響亮的哭聲向濟貧院里其他的人宣告自己的到來。他的母親從枕頭上抬起了年輕而蒼白的臉，用微弱的聲音說：“讓我看一眼孩子，我就可以死了。”

The doctor turned away from the fire， where he had been warming his hands. ‘You must not talk about dying yet，’he said to her kindly.He gave her the child to hold.Lovingly，she kissed the baby on its forehead with her cold white lips，the n stared wildly around the room，fell back-and died. ‘Poor dear!’said the nurse，hurriedly putting a green glass bottle back in the pocket of her long skirt.

正在火爐上烤手取暖的醫(yī)生轉(zhuǎn)過身來，好心地對她說：“別說什么死不死的了。”他把孩子遞過去讓她抱在懷里。她用冰冷而毫無血色的嘴唇憐愛地在孩子的額頭上親了一下，然后急切地在屋里四處環(huán)顧一圈，便向后倒去，咽了氣。“可憐的東西!”老看護說著，急忙將一個綠色的小玻璃瓶揣回長裙子的兜里。

The doctor began to put on his coat. ‘The baby is weak and will probably have difficulties，’ he said. ‘If so， give it a little milk to keep it quiet.’The n he looked at the dead woman. ‘The mother was a good-looking girl.Where did she come from?’

這時醫(yī)生開始穿外衣。“這孩子太弱，恐怕會有麻煩，”他說，“如果真是這樣，給他喂點牛奶，好讓他別哭。”然后，他又轉(zhuǎn)過臉看了一眼死去的女人，說：“這母親長得還挺漂亮。她是從哪兒來的?”

‘She was brought here last night，’replied the old woman. ‘She was found lying in the street. She’d walked some distance，judging by her shoes，which were worn to pieces.Where she came from，where she was going to，or what her name was，nobody knows.’

“她是昨天夜里被送到這兒來的，”老婦人回答道。“她倒在馬路上，被人發(fā)現(xiàn)了。她腳上那雙鞋子已經(jīng)磨得破破爛爛的了，由此可以看出她是從很遠的地方來的。她從哪兒來，要到哪兒去，叫什么名字，沒人知道。”

The doctor lifted the girl’s left hand. ‘The old story，’he said sadly，shaking his head. ‘No wedding ring， I see.Ah!Good night.’

醫(yī)生拉起那年輕女人的左手，搖搖頭，傷心地說：“又是老一套。沒有結婚戒指，果然如此。唉!晚安。”

And so Oliver was left with only the drunken nurse.Without clothe s，under his first blanket， he could have been the child of a king or a beggar.But when the woman dressed him later in rough cotton clothe s， yellow with age，he looked exactly what he was - an orphan in a workhouse， ready for a life of misery，hunger， and neglect.

奧利弗就這樣被留下了，由那位醉醺醺的看護一個人看著。他光著身子，裹在畢生第一塊毯子里，既可以是國王的兒子，也可以是乞丐的兒子?？珊髞砝蠇D人給他穿上了由于年頭太久而發(fā)了黃的粗棉布衣服，這時，他看上去和他的身份完全一致了——一個濟貧院的孤兒，準備好了去過一種充滿苦難、饑餓和忽視的生活。

Oliver cried loudly.If he could have known that he was a workhouse orphan， perhaps he would have cried even more loudly.

奧利弗大聲哭著。假如他已經(jīng)知道自己是一個濟貧院的孤兒，他可能會哭得更響些。

The re was no one to look after the baby in the workhouse，so Oliver was sent to a special ‘baby farm’ nearby. The re，he and thirty other children rolled around the floor all day，without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing. Mrs Mann，the old woman who ‘looked after’ them， was very experienced.She knew what was good for children，and a full stomach was very dangerous to their health. She also knew what was good for herself， so she kept for her own use the money that she was given for the children’s food.The board responsible for the orphans sometimes checked on the health of the children， but They always sent the beadle，a kind of local policeman，to announce their visit the day before.So whenever the board arrived， of course，the children were always neat and clean.

在濟貧院里沒有專人照顧嬰兒，所以奧利弗被送進了附近一家專門的“育嬰堂”。在這里，奧利弗與其他三十多個孩子每天在地上滾爬著，沒有過多的衣物和食物來麻煩他們。曼太太“照顧”著這些孩子，這老女人非常有經(jīng)驗。她知道什么對孩子們有好處，知道吃飽肚子對孩子們的身體是非常有害的。同時她也知道什么對她自己有好處，于是她把人家給孩子們的伙食費都留給自己。負責孤兒事務的地方董事會有時會來檢查孩子們的健康狀況，可他們往往在前一天派執(zhí)事去通告他們要來訪問，執(zhí)事是一種地方警察。所以，無論他們什么時候來，孩子們準是個個頭凈腳凈的。

This was the way Oliver was brought up. Consequently， at the age of nine he was a pale，thin child and short for his age.But despite frequent beatings by Mrs Mann， his spirit was strong， which was probably the reason why he managed to reach the age of nine at all.

奧利弗就是這樣長大的，因此，他到了九歲時，還非常蒼白瘦小，比同齡孩子矮一大截。盡管常常遭到曼太太的毒打，他的意志卻很堅強。這大概也是他竟然能活到九歲的緣故吧。

On Oliver’s ninth birthday， Mr Bumble the beadle came to the house to see Mrs Mann.Through the front window Mrs Mann saw him at the gate， and turned quickly to the girl who worked with her.

奧利弗九歲生日的這天，執(zhí)事班布爾先生來育嬰堂看曼太太。曼太太透過樓前的窗戶看見他站在大門口，慌忙轉(zhuǎn)向和她一起干活的女孩，說道：

‘Quick!Take Oliver and those others upstairs to be washed!’she said.The n she ran out to unlock the gate.(It was always kept locked to prevent official visitors walking in unexpectedly.)

“趕快!把奧利弗和其他孩子都帶到樓上洗洗!”然后她匆忙跑去開大門。(為了防止官方人員料想不及的來訪，這大門常常是鎖著的。)

‘I have business to talk about，’Mr Bumble told Mrs Mann as he entered the house.He was a big fat man， often bad-tempered， and was full of self-importance. He did not like to be kept waiting at a locked gate.

“我有點事要跟你談，”班布爾先生跟曼太太說著，走進了屋子。他是個身材肥胖、脾氣暴躁、妄自尊大的人。他可不喜歡被關在門外長時間地等候。

Mrs Mann took his hat and coat， placed a chair for him，and expressed great concern for his comfort. ‘You’ve had a long walk，Mr Bumble’ she said， ‘and you must be thirsty.’She took out a bottle from the cupboard.

曼太太接過了他的帽子和外衣，替他端過—把椅子，并且對他是否舒適表示了極大的關心。“班布爾先生，您大老遠地走來，一定是渴了。”她說著從櫥子里拿出了一個瓶子。

‘No， thank you， Mrs Mann. Not a drop.’He waved the bottle away.

“不，謝謝，曼太太，我一滴都不喝。”他揮手推開瓶子。

‘Just a little drop， Mr Bumble， with cold water，’ said Mrs Mann persuasively.

“只稍稍來一點兒，班布爾先生，這是加了冰水的，”她極力地勸說著。

Mr Bumble coughed. ‘What is it?’ he asked， looking at the bottle with interest.

班布爾先生咳嗽了一聲。“是什么?”他問道，并饒有興趣地看著瓶子。

‘Gin.I keep it for the children’s medicine drink.’

“杜松子酒，我這是留著給孩子們吃藥用的。”

‘You give the children gin，Mrs Mann?’asked Mr Bumble，watching as she mixed his drink.

“曼太太，你給孩子們喝杜松子酒?”班布爾先生看著她給自己兌酒，問道。

‘Only with medicine， sir. I don’t like to see the m suffer.’

“只是吃藥的時候給他們喝上一點兒，先生。我不忍心看著他們受罪。”

‘You’re a good woman， Mrs Mann.’ Mr Bumble drank half his glass immediately. ‘I’ll tell the board about you.Now - the reason why I’m here. Oliver Twist is nine years old today. We’ve never been able to discover anything about his parents.’

“曼太太，你真是個好心的女人。”班布爾先生馬上喝下了半杯。“我會在董事會那里替你美言的?，F(xiàn)在言歸正傳，說說我今天來這兒的目的。奧利弗·特威斯特今天已經(jīng)整整九歲了，迄今為止，我們沒有打聽到關于他父母的任何消息。”

‘The n how did he get his name?’

“那么，他是怎么有了這個姓的?”

‘I gave it to him，’said Mr Bumble proudly. ‘We follow the alphabet.The last one was an S-Swubble. The n it was T， so this one is Twist. The next one will be Unwin.Anyway，Oliver Twist is now old enough to return to the workhouse. Bring him here， please.’ While Mrs Mann went to get him， Mr Bumble finished the rest of his gin.

“這姓是我給他起的，”班布爾先生自豪地說，“我們是按照字母表的順序給他們安排姓氏的，前一個是S，叫斯瓦勃(Swubble)，輪到他是字母T，所以就叫特威斯特(Twist)，下一個叫恩溫(Unwin)。不管怎么說，奧利弗已經(jīng)長大了，該回到濟貧院去了。請把他帶到這兒來。”曼太太去帶奧利弗時，班布爾先生喝干了杯子里剩下的杜松子酒。

Oliver， his face and hands now almost clean， was led into the room.

奧利弗手和臉差不多洗干凈了，他被帶了進來。

‘Will you come along with me，Oliver?’asked Mr Bumble in a loud voice.

“你愿意跟我走嗎，奧利弗?”班布爾先生大聲問。

Oliver was very glad to be free of Mrs Mann’s violence， but he said nothing because she was angrily shaking her finger at him.However，as the gate closed behind Oliver，he burst into tears. He was leaving behind the other children， the only friends he had，and he realized at that moment how lonely he was in the world.

奧利弗特別渴望能盡早逃脫曼太太的暴虐統(tǒng)治，可他卻沒吭聲，因為這時她正惡狠狠地向他暗暗搖著手指頭。可是當大門在奧利弗身后關上時，他突然涕淚橫流。他就要離開其他的孩子們了，而這些孩子是他僅有的朋友，此刻，他頓時感到自己在這個世界上是多么孤獨。

Mr Bumble walked on with long steps，with Oliver on his short little legs running beside him.The feeling of contentment produced by gin-and-water had now disappeared，and the beadle was in a bad mood once more.

班布爾先生在前面大步流星地走著，奧利弗挪動短腿一路小跑地跟在旁邊。喝了加水的杜松子酒所產(chǎn)生的心滿意足的感覺這會兒已蕩然無存，這位執(zhí)事的情緒又不好了。

Back at the workhouse， Oliver was taken to see the board. He stood in front of ten fat men who were sitting around a table.

回到了濟貧院，奧利弗被帶去見董事會的人。十個體態(tài)臃腫、肥頭大耳的人圍坐在一張桌子周圍，他站在他們面前。

‘What’s your name， boy?’ asked a particularly fat man with a very round， red face.

“小子，你叫什么名字?”其中一個長著滾圓紅臉的特別胖的人問道。

Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many people， and started to cry.

奧利弗被眼前這么多的人給嚇哭了。

‘Why are you crying?’

“你哭什么?”

The beadle hit him on the back，and so naturally Oliver cried even more.

執(zhí)事在奧利弗的背上揍了一下，當然這一下使他哭得更厲害了。

‘The boy is a fool，’one member of the board announced.

“他是個傻子。”一位董事大聲說。

‘You know you have no father or mother，’said the first man， ‘and that you have been brought up with other orphans?’

“你知道你沒有父母，是和那些孤兒一起長大的嗎?”第一位先生說。

‘Yes， sir，’replied Oliver， crying bitterly.

“我知道，先生。”奧利弗傷心地回答道。

‘Why is the boy crying?’repeated the other man， puzzled.

“這孩子哭什么?”另外那位先生莫名其妙地問。

‘You have come here to be educated，’continued the fat man， ‘so you will start working here tomorrow at six o’clock.’

“你是到這兒來受教育的，”那個胖子接著說，“所以從明天早晨六點鐘起，你得在這兒干活。”

Oliver was led away to a large room， where，on a rough hard bed，he cried himself to sleep.

奧利弗又從這兒被帶到了一間大屋子里。他躺在屋里一張粗糙的木板床上，哭著哭著就睡著了。

The room in the workhouse where the boys were fed was a large stone hall，and at one end the master and two women served the food.This consisted of a bowl of thin soup three times a day， with a piece of bread on Sundays.The boys ate everything and were always hungry.The bowls never needed washing.The boys polished the m with their spoons until They shone.After three months of this slow starvation，one of the boys told the others he was so hungry that one night he might eat the boy who slept next to him.He had a wild hungry eye，and the other boys believed him.After a long discussion，They decided that one of the m should ask for more food after supper that evening，and Oliver was chosen.

濟貧院里男孩子們吃飯的地方是一間有石板墻石板地的大屋子，在屋子的一頭，管事的和兩位女傭負責給孩子們打飯。其實這一日三餐頓頓只是一碗稀粥，只有在星期天才加一片面包。孩子們把碗里的東西吃得一干二凈，還是饑腸轆轆。他們的碗根本不用刷洗。孩子們用勺子把碗刮得锃亮。這樣緩慢的挨餓持續(xù)了三個月后，一天，一個男孩跟別的男孩子說他太餓了，沒準哪天晚上他會吃了睡在他邊上的人。他那饑餓得發(fā)狂的眼神讓別的男孩無法不相信他的話。經(jīng)過長時間的商量，他們決定必須有一個人在當天晚飯后，去請求多給點兒吃的。結果，奧利弗被選中了。

The evening arrived;the soup was served，and the bowls were empty again in a few seconds.Oliver went up to the master，with his bowl in his hand.He felt very frightened，but also desperate with hunger.

天黑了，開晚飯了，沒有幾秒鐘，孩子們的碗就又一干二凈了。奧利弗站了起來，手里捧著碗，心驚膽戰(zhàn)地朝管事的走了過去。由于極度饑餓，他橫下了一條心。

‘Please，sir，I want some more.’

“勞駕，先生。我還想要一點兒。”

The master was a fat，healthy man， but he turned very pale. He looked at the little boy in front of him with amazement.Nobody else spoke.

管事的是一個腦滿腸肥的壯漢，但他一下子顯得大吃一驚，臉都白了。他驚訝地看著站在他面前的這個小男孩。這時屋里鴉雀無聲。

‘What?’ he asked at last， in a faint voice.

“什么?”他終于回過味來，用無力的聲音問道。

‘Please， sir，’ replied Oliver， ‘I want some more.’

“勞駕，先生，”奧利弗又說了一遍，“我還想要一點兒。”

The master hit him with the serving spoon，the n seized Oliver’s arms and shouted for the beadle.The beadle came quickly，heard the dreadful news，and immediately ran to tell the board.

管事的用盛粥的勺子向奧利弗打去，過后又抓住他的胳膊大聲地叫喚著執(zhí)事。執(zhí)事馬上趕來了，得知了這件可怕的事，并立即跑去向董事會匯報。

‘He asked for more?’ Mr Limbkins，the fattest board member， asked in horror. ‘Bumble - is this really true?’

“他想要更多的飯吃?”董事會頭號大胖子利姆金斯先生震驚地問，“班布爾——難道真是這樣嗎?”

‘That boy will be hanged!’ said the man who earlier had called Oliver a fool. ‘You see if I’m not right.’

“這孩子將來是要上絞刑架的!”起初說奧利弗是個傻子的那位先生嚷嚷著，“你就看我說得對不對吧。”

Oliver was led away to be locked up，and a reward was offered to anybody who would take him away and use him for work.

奧利弗被帶走，鎖在一間屋子里。董事會宣布，誰把這孩子領去干活，誰就會得到獎賞。