詞匯提示
1.hoards 存儲
2.frugality 節(jié)約
3.drags 拖，拉
4.ledgers 賬簿
5.purses 錢包
6.deeds 房契
7.condemned 被判死刑
8.crutch 拐杖
9.pawnbroker 當鋪商人
10.acquaintance 熟人
原文
Ebenezer Scrooge
In the story "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge is an English businessman who thinks about nothing but money.
He has no friends, and spends no time with his family.
He lives alone, eats alone, and works alone, except for his underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit.
Scrooge never spends his money, but hoards it all, and prides himself on his frugality.
Scrooge hates Christmas.
It is all nonsense to him.
People spend money on food, and gifts, and parties.
Often they can't afford what they spend.
Worse than that, they take a whole day off work and so lose a chance to make more money.
Scrooge is angry that he has to give his clerk the day off with pay.
He feels that he is being robbed.
Christmas is also a time when people are asked to give money to help the poor.
Scrooge is angry when two men come to his door asking for donations.
Scrooge argues that he pays taxes, which support prisons and workhouses.
It is not his business to worry about the problems of other people.
Scrooge represents businessmen who see the "bottom line" as all that matters.
Scrooge's partner Marley had died seven years earlier.
He was like Scrooge in all respects.
That evening, which is Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by Marley's ghost.
Marley drags steel chains round about him, which contain keys, cash-boxes, ledgers, purses and deeds.
These are the things that Marley cared about when he was alive.
Marley is condemned in death to wander the world and tells Scrooge that the same fate is likely to happen to him.
However, three spirits will visit Scrooge, and if Scrooge listens to them, he may escape his fate.
The first spirit comes and takes Scrooge back to the early scenes of his own life.
He sees himself being left behind at school while the other boys went home for the holidays.
Then his little sister arrives to tell him he could go home too.
Another scene was of a cheerful Christmas party, when Scrooge was a young man.
A third scene showed him with the girl he was planning to marry.
She left him because he no longer cared about anything but money.
The second spirit shows Scrooge what people are doing that very Christmas.
He shows Scrooge the preparations that people even poor people, are making to celebrate Christmas.
They visit Bob Cratchit's tiny home.
There they see the family cooking their little Christmas dinner.
Bob's son, Tiny Tim, has been weakened by disease, and has to use a crutch to walk.
The family is delighted with its meal, small as it is.
They see other scenes of poor people -miners and sailors - celebrating Christmas.
Finally, they visit Scrooge's nephew, and view his Christmas party and its games.
The third spirit was the spirit of Christmas Yet to Come - the Future.
This spirit does not talk but points to scenes connected with Scrooge.
They overhear some businessmen joking about someone who has recently died, but no one is going to the funeral.
Scrooge sees that he no longer occupies his usual place of business.
The spirit then shows him two women who have stolen the bed clothes, curtains, and clothes of the dead man and taken them to a pawnbroker.
The spirit takes Scrooge to the room where the dead man died.
The only people who are happy about the death are a young couple who owed him money.
The spirit then shows Scrooge the Cratchit's house, where they are mourning the death of Tiny Tim.
Finally, the spirit takes him to a churchyard, where they stand among the graves.
Then the spirit points to the name of the dead man on the tombstone - "Ebenezer Scrooge.
Scrooge is going to die, and no one will care.
Scrooge finds himself in his own bed on Christmas morning.
He is resolved now to avoid the fate that the spirits had shown him.
He is delighted that he is getting a second chance.
Scrooge decides to surprise all his acquaintances, and he begins by buying a huge goose and sending it to the Cratchits.
On his walk, he meets the two men collecting for the poor, and offers them a large sum of money.
He goes on to join his nephew at his Christmas party.
The next day when Bob Cratchit comes into work, Scrooge gives him a raise in his salary.
He also takes care of Tiny Tim, so that Tim's health is recovered.
Charles Dickens' story was written at a time when governments did very little to help the poor.
Wages were very low, and many businessmen were unwilling to look after their workers properly.
Dickens points out that people like Scrooge not only make other people unhappy, but also are usually unhappy themselves.
It is possible to be a very rich businessman, and a poor human being at the same time.
翻譯
埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇
在故事《圣誕頌歌》中，斯克羅吉是一位英國商人，除了錢什么都不想。
他沒有朋友，也沒有時間和家人在一起。
他一個人生活，一個人吃飯，一個人工作，除了工資低的店員鮑勃·克拉奇特。
斯克羅吉從不花錢，而是把錢都存起來，并以自己的節(jié)儉為榮。
斯克羅吉討厭圣誕節(jié)。
這對他來說都是無稽之談。
人們把錢花在食物、禮物和聚會上。
他們經(jīng)常買不起他們所花的錢。
更糟糕的是，他們休息一整天，因此失去了賺更多錢的機會。
斯克羅吉對他不得不給他的職員一天帶薪休假感到憤怒。
他覺得自己被搶劫了。
圣誕節(jié)也是人們被要求捐錢幫助窮人的時候。
當兩個男人上門要求捐款時，斯克羅吉很生氣。
斯克羅吉辯稱，他繳納稅款，支持監(jiān)獄和濟貧院。
擔心別人的問題不是他的事。
斯克羅吉代表的是將“底線”視為最重要的商人。
斯克羅吉的搭檔馬利早在七年前就去世了。
他在各方面都像史克魯奇。
那天晚上，也就是圣誕節(jié)前夕，史克魯奇被馬利的鬼魂拜訪。
馬利拖著鐵鏈圍著他，里面有鑰匙、錢箱、賬本、錢包和契約。
這些都是馬利生前關心的事情。
馬利被判死刑，去流浪世界，告訴史克魯奇，同樣的命運很可能會發(fā)生在他身上。
然而，三個鬼魂將拜訪斯克羅吉，如果斯克羅吉聽從他們的話，他可能會逃脫命運。
第一個靈魂降臨，將斯克羅吉帶回了他自己生活的早期場景。
當其他男孩回家度假時，他看到自己被留在學校。
然后他的小妹妹來告訴他他也可以回家了。
另一個場景是一個歡快的圣誕派對，當時斯克羅吉還是個年輕人。
第三幕是他和他計劃結婚的女孩在一起。
她離開了他，因為他除了錢什么都不在乎了。
第二種精神向斯克羅吉展示了人們在圣誕節(jié)做什么。
他向斯克羅吉展示了人們甚至窮人為慶祝圣誕節(jié)所做的準備。
他們參觀了鮑勃·克拉奇特的小家。
在那里，他們看到一家人在做圣誕大餐。
鮑勃的兒子蒂尼·蒂姆（Tiny Tim）因疾病而身體虛弱，不得不用拐杖行走。
這家人很喜歡這頓飯，盡管它很小。
他們看到了窮人——礦工和水手——慶祝圣誕節(jié)的其他場景。
最后，他們拜訪了斯克羅吉的侄子，并觀看了他的圣誕派對和游戲。
第三種精神是圣誕節(jié)的精神——未來。
這種精神不會說話，而是指向與斯克羅吉有關的場景。
他們無意中聽到一些商人開玩笑說有人最近去世了，但沒有人參加葬禮。
斯克羅吉發(fā)現(xiàn)他不再占據(jù)他通常的營業(yè)場所。
然后，鬼魂向他展示了兩個女人，她們偷走了死者的床上用品、窗簾和衣服，并將其帶到了當鋪。
鬼魂將斯克羅吉帶到死者死亡的房間。
唯一對死亡感到高興的是一對欠他的錢的年輕夫婦。
然后，鬼魂出現(xiàn)在克拉奇特的斯克羅吉家，他們正在那里悼念小蒂姆的死。
最后，鬼魂把他帶到一個教堂墓地，在那里他們站在墳墓中間。
然后靈魂指向墓碑上死者的名字——“埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇”。
斯克羅吉會死的，沒人會在乎。
圣誕節(jié)早晨，斯克羅吉發(fā)現(xiàn)自己躺在自己的床上。
他現(xiàn)在下定決心要避免鬼魂給他的命運。
他很高興得到了第二次機會。
斯克羅吉決定給所有熟人一個驚喜，他首先買了一只大鵝，然后把它送到克拉奇家。
在散步時，他遇到了兩個為窮人募捐的人，并給了他們一大筆錢。
他繼續(xù)和侄子一起參加他的圣誕聚會。
第二天，當鮑勃·克拉奇開始上班時，斯克羅吉給了他加薪。
他還照顧小蒂姆，使蒂姆的健康得到恢復。
查爾斯·狄更斯的故事是在政府幾乎沒有幫助窮人的時候寫的。
工資很低，許多商人不愿意妥善照顧他們的工人。
狄更斯指出，像斯克羅吉這樣的人不僅讓別人不開心，而且他們自己也不開心。
有可能成為一個非常富有的商人，同時也是一個窮人。
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