牛津书虫系列 雾都孤儿 Chapter2

2 Oliver’s first job
2 奥利弗的第一个工作
Oliver stayed a prisoner alone in the dark room for a week. He cried bitterly all day，and when the long night came，he spread his little hands over his eyes to shut out the darkness， and tried to sleep.He was given freezing water to wash with，and was beaten daily by Mr Bumble in front of all the other boys in the hall，as a warning to the m.
奥利弗被单独在小黑屋里关了一星期。他整天都伤心地流泪，每当漫长的黑夜来临，他就用两只小手捂住眼睛，来驱走黑暗，力求入睡。每天他只能用带着冰碴的水洗脸。为了杀一儆百，奥利弗每天要当着其他孩子的面挨班布尔先生一顿毒打。
One day Mr Bumble met the local undertaker， Mr Sowerberry， outside the workhouse.
一天，班布尔先生在济贫院外面遇见了当地的棺材店老板索尔贝里先生。
‘Do you know anybody who wants to train a boy for work，Mr Sowerberry?’Mr Bumble pointed at the notice on the wall above him， which offered five pounds to anybody who would take Oliver Twist for work.
“索尔贝里先生，您知道谁想要带个学徒吗?”班布尔指着墙上方的一个通告说。上面写着，愿意领走奥利弗·特威斯特去干活的人可以得到五英镑的奖金。
Mr Sowerberry rubbed his chin and thought for a while. ‘I pay enough for the poor with my taxes，’ he said， ‘so why shouldn’t I be able to make use of the m in my work? Yes， I’ll take the boy myself.’
索尔贝里先生摸着下巴想了一会儿。“我纳不少的税金养活穷人，干吗不让他们去为我干活呢?对，我领走这孩子。”
And so the board agreed to send Oliver to work for the undertaker.The necessary papers were signed.Oliver’s small possessions were put into a brown paper parcel，and he was led to Mr Sowerberry’s house by Mr Bumble.As They walked along，tears began to run down Oliver’s face.
这样，董事会同意让棺材店老板领走奥利弗去干活。必要的手续都办理了，奥利弗仅有的一点东西放在一个小牛皮纸包里。他由班布尔先生带着去了索尔贝里先生家。他们一面走着，奥利弗一面又泪流满面。
‘What is it this time?’asked Mr Bumble impatiently. ‘Don’t be so ungrateful.This gentleman is going to look after you.’
“这回又怎么了?”班布尔先生不耐烦地问，“别那么不识好人心，这位先生会照顾你的。”
‘It’s just that I’m so lonely， sir!’ said the child. ‘Everybody hates me.Please don’t be angry with me，sir!’
“我感到太孤单了，先生!”这孩子说，“人人都讨厌我。请别生我的气，先生!”
Even Mr Bumble felt a little pity. He coughed，told Oliver to dry his eyes and be a good boy， and walked on with him in silence.
连班布尔先生也有点可怜他了。他咳了一声，嘱咐奥利弗擦干眼泪，要当个乖孩子。然后两人便径直朝前走着，谁也不吭声了。
The undertaker had just finished work for the day when Mr Bumble entered his shop.
班布尔先生走进铺子时，棺材店老板刚忙完一天的活计。
‘Here，I’ve brought the boy，’ said the beadle.
“瞧!孩子我给您送来了。”执事说。
Oliver bowed to the undertaker， who raised his candle to get a better view of the boy. ‘Mrs Sowerberry，’he called， ‘come and have a look.’
奥利弗朝着店老板鞠了一躬。索尔贝里先生举起蜡烛台打量着奥利弗，嘴里喊着：“太太，快来看看。”
His wife， a short，thin woman with a disagreeable face，came out to see. ‘He’s very small，’she said immediately.
他的妻子是个瘦小枯干、面目可憎的女人。她走出来看了一眼，马上说：“他太小了。”
‘He is，’agreed Mr Bumble， ‘but he’ll grow，Mrs Sowerberry.’
“是的，”班布尔先生说，“可他还会长的，索尔贝里太太。”
‘Yes，’she said crossly， ‘when he eats our food. Go on，get downstairs.’ She pushed Oliver downstairs into a damp，dark kitchen，and called to the girl working down the re. ‘Here，Charlotte，give this boy some meat that the dog left-if he thinks it’s good enough for him.’
“那倒是，”她不痛快地说，“他吃了我们家的饭是会长大的。走，下楼去。”她连推带搡地把奥利弗推进了一间潮湿黑暗的厨房里，并朝着在那儿干活的女孩子说：“喂，夏洛特，把狗吃剩的肉给这孩子吃点——如果他不嫌弃的话。”
Oliver tore the meat to pieces with his teeth as if he were a wild animal. Mrs Sowerberry watched him in silent horror，already thinking about her future food bills，then took him upstairs to the shop.
奥利弗像野兽一样用牙撕啃着肉。索尔贝里太太目瞪口呆地看着他，心里已经在想着她往后的伙食负担了。过后，她又把他带到楼上的铺面里。
‘You’ll sleep here， among the coffins，’she said.
“你就睡在这些棺材中间。”她说。
Oliver stared around the dark，airless shop at the coffins，some finished，some only half-made.He trembled at the thought of ghosts.His bed was a small hole in the floor，and looked very like a grave.
奥利弗呆呆地环顾四周。原来这是一间黑暗、闷气的作坊，里面放着一些做好了和正在做着的棺材。看着这些，他满脑子都是鬼怪，不由得毛骨悚然。他睡在地板上一个狭小的洞里，看上去真像个墓穴。
But it was not only the room that depressed Oliver.He felt very lonely，with no friends and no one to care for him. As he lay on the bed，he found himself wishing that it really was his grave.
使奥利弗沮丧的不仅仅是这个住处。他感到非常孤独，没有朋友，没人关心他。他躺在床上时，发现自己真希望就是躺在墓穴里了。
The next morning he was woken up by someone kicking at the shop door.
第二天一大早，他被店门口一阵踢门声惊醒。
‘Open the door，will you?’shouted a voice through the keyhole.
“开开门，好吗?”有人透过钥匙孔喊道。
‘Yes，sir.’
“就来，先生。”
‘I suppose you’re the new boy，’said the voice through the keyhole. ‘How old are you?’
“你大概就是新来的学徒吧?”从钥匙孔里传进来的声音问道，“你多大了?”
‘Ten， sir.’
“十岁了，先生。”
‘The n I’ll hit you when I get in，’said the voice.
“那么我进去就揍你一顿。”那声音接着说。
Oliver was experienced enough to know that the promise was probably true. He opened the door with a shaking hand，the n looked up and down the street.All he could see was a large boy wearing the uniform of one of the charity schools，where the children of the very poor used to go.
奥利弗很有经验，认为他很可能真的说到做到。他用颤抖的手打开了门，然后，来回扫视了一下街面，只看见一个穿着一家慈善学校制服的大个子男孩。慈善学校是穷人家孩子上的学校。
‘Did you want a coffin?’asked Oliver，innocently.
“您要棺材吗?”奥利弗无知地问。
The charity-boy looked at him fiercely. ‘You’ll be needing a coffin soon，Workhouse，if you make jokes like that! I’m Mister Noah Claypole，and you’re working under me.Now，hurry up and open the curtains!’As he said this， he kicked Oliver and entered the shop.He was a big，clumsy boy of about fourteen， with a large head and very small eyes.Added to the se attractions were a red nose and dirty yellow trousers.
这个慈善学校的男孩凶狠地看着他。“你才马上要用棺材了。如果你是那么开玩笑的话，我就管你叫济贫院!我是诺厄·克莱普尔先生，你是在我手下干活的。现在，马上打开帘子!”他说着，抬腿朝奥利弗踢了一脚，然后走进了铺子。他大约十四岁，大块头，笨手笨脚的，一个大脑袋上长了一双很小的眼睛。除了这些非凡品貌以外，他还有一个红鼻子和一条脏兮兮的黄裤子。
The boys went down to breakfast， which the girl Charlotte had made for the m. She gave an extra piece of meat to Noah，the n told Oliver to hurry up as it was his job to look after the shop.
两个男孩到楼下去吃那个叫做夏洛特的姑娘为他们准备好的早饭。她多给了诺厄一块肉，然后又让奥利弗快点吃，因为照看铺子是他的事。
‘Did you hear that，Workhouse?’ shouted Noah.
“你听见了吗，济贫院?”诺厄嚷嚷道。
‘He heard， Noah，’said Charlotte. ‘Leave him alone.’
“他听见了，诺厄。”夏洛特说，“别管他。”
‘Why?’asked Noah. ‘All his relations have already left him alone. His mother and father aren’t going to interfere with him!’Charlotte and Noah both started laughing loudly.Oliver sat alone in the corner，eating old bits of bread.
“为什么?”诺厄问道，“他的亲戚早就不管他了。他父母亲再也不会来烦他了!”夏洛特和诺厄两人都大声笑了起来，奥利弗独自坐在角落里吃着一点剩面包。
Noah was a charity-boy， but not a workhouse orphan; he at least knew who his parents were. But for a long time all the local shop-boys had insulted him because he wore the uniform of a charity-boy. Now fortune had brought him a creature in an even lower position in society than himself.Noah intended to repay to Oliver every insult he had ever received，and to make the new boy’s life a misery.
诺厄是个慈善学校的男孩，但并不是济贫院里的孤儿;他起码还知道自己的父母是谁。但就因为他穿着慈善学校的制服，有好长时间当地店铺里的男孩子们都侮辱他。这一次运气给他带来了一个比他社会地位更低下的家伙。诺厄决定要把以往所受的凌辱都转送给奥利弗，让这新来的男孩没有好日子过。
After a few weeks，Mr Sowerberry decided that he liked Oliver’s appearance enough to train him in the undertaking business.Oliver’s permanent expression of sadness was very suitable，the undertaker thought，for collecting dead bodies from houses and accompanying the coffins to funerals.
几星期之后，索尔贝里先生看够了奥利弗，决定要训练他去做殡仪生意。因为奥利弗老是一副苦相，棺材店老板认为他很合适做这件事，他想让他到死者家里搬运尸体和陪伴棺柩到墓地去。
One day Mr Bumble came to tell the m about a woman who had died in an extremely poor part of the town， and Sowerberry and Oliver went to collect the body.They went down dirty narrow streets where the houses on either side were tall and large，but very old.Some of the houses were almost falling down， and had to be supported by huge blocks of wood. The area was so poor that even the dead rats in the street looked as though They had died of hunger.
一天，班布尔先生来告诉他们，有一位住在本镇贫民区的女人死了。索尔贝里先生和奥利弗去收尸，他们沿着肮脏狭窄的街道朝前走着，路两边的房屋都是又高又大，但过于陈旧了。有些房屋几乎要倒塌了，不得不用粗大的圆木支撑着。这个地方太穷了，连路上的死老鼠好像都是饿死的。
They found the right house，and climbed the dark stairs to a miserable little room.Some children watched the m from the shadows as They entered.Something lay beneath a blanket on the floor in one corner.A man and an old woman stood near the body.Oliver was afraid to look at the m. With their thin faces and sharp teeth， They looked like the rats he had seen outside.
他们找到了死者的家，爬上黑暗的楼梯，走进了一个破破烂烂的小屋。几个孩子从黑影里看着他们走进来。在屋子一角的地上，一条毯子蒙着什么东西，旁边站着一个男人和一个老妇。奥利弗害怕看他们，他们面孔削瘦，牙齿尖锐，看起来就像他在外面街上看到的老鼠。
As Sowerberry began to measure the body for a coffin， the man knelt on the floor and cried out， ‘She starved to death，I tell you!That’s why she died!’He fell to the floor，and all the children behind him started to cry.Sowerberry and Oliver，their work done，left as fast as They could.
索尔贝里先生开始量尸体，看需要多大的棺材。站在旁边的男人跪在地上，大声地喊了起来：“她是活活给饿死的呀!我告诉你，她就是为这个死的!”他倒在地上，身后的孩子们都哭了起来。索尔贝里和奥利弗忙完了活计，就赶快离开了。
They returned the next day with the coffin and four men from the workhouse who were to carry it.The man and the old woman followed the coffin to the church，and waited silently by the grave for the priest to arrive.When at last he came， he hurried through the burial prayers， and as quickly as possible(it was only a job，after all) the coffin was put into the ground. At this point the husband， who had not moved once during his wife’s burial- not even during the long wait for the priest-suddenly fainted to the ground and had to have cold water thrown over him.
第二天，他们送来了棺材，一起来的还有四个从济贫院来抬棺材的人。那个男人和老妇跟在棺材的后面来到了教堂，默默地站在墓穴旁等着牧师的到来。牧师终于来了，他匆忙地主持了葬礼的祈祷仪式(毕竟这只是一种活计)。棺材尽可能快地放进了墓穴，就在这时，这位在妻子葬礼中一直一动不动的丈夫——即使在长时间等待牧师时也不曾动一下——晕倒在地上了。人们不得不在他的脸上洒了一些凉水。
‘So how did you like it，Oliver?’asked Sowerberry later，as they walked home.
“奥利弗，你感觉怎么样?”事后，索尔贝里在往家走的路上问。
‘Not very much， sir，’Oliver answered truthfully.
“感觉不太好，先生。”奥利弗如实说道。
‘You’ll get used to it，my boy.’
“你会习惯的，孩子。”
Oliver wondered how long that would take，and remained silent all the way back to the shop，thinking about everything that he had seen and heard.
奥利弗不知道这需要多长时间，在回铺子去的路上他一直一声不吭，回想着自己所见所闻的一切。