美国语文第三册 第44期:醉鬼

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　　Yes, boys. Let me get my hat and cane¹, and we will take a ramble². 好的，孩子们。我去拿帽子和手杖，然后四处走走，

　　I will tell you a story as we go. 我会在路上给你们讲一个故事。

　　Do you know poor old Tom Smith? 你们认识可怜的老汉，汤姆.史密斯吗？

　　Know him! Why, Uncle Philip, everybody knows him. 认识他！怎么了，菲利普叔叔，所有人都认识他呀。

　　He is such a shocking drunkard, and swears so horribly. 他是一个令人厌恶的酒鬼，而且骂起人来很吓人。

　　Well, I have known him ever since we were boys together. 我可认识他很久了，因为我们自小就在一起玩耍。

　　There was not a more decent³, well-behaved boy among us. 我们当中没有一个孩子是乖巧得体的好孩子。

　　After he left school, his father died, and he was put into a store in the city. 离开学校后，他的父亲去世了，于是他被送到市里的一家商店。

　　There, he fell into bad company. 在那里，他遇到了不好的伙伴。

　　Instead of spending his evenings in reading, he would go to the theater and to balls. 他并没有将晚上的业余时间用来读书，反而去戏院、去打球玩。

　　He soon learned to play cards, and of course to play for money. 很快，他就玩起了扑克牌，当然是玩钱的那种。

　　He lost more than he could pay. 他输掉的钱比自己挣到的钱还多。

　　He wrote to his poor mother, and told her his losses. 他给妈妈写信诉说了自己的损失。

　　She sent him money to pay his debts, and told him to come home. 妈妈寄来钱让他还债，还告诉他尽快回家去。

　　He did come home. 他并没有回家。

　　After all, he might still have been useful and happy, for his friends were willing to forgive the past. 毕竟，朋友们都愿意原谅他过去的行为，他或许依然快乐地生活着，而且还认为自己尚有用武之地。

　　For a time, things went on well. 有一段时间，事情进展得很顺利。

　　He married a lovely woman, gave up his bad habits, and was doing well. 他娶了一个可爱的女人，也戒除了自己的恶习，日子过得很好。

　　But one thing, boys, ruined him forever. 孩子们，但是有一件事却毁了他一生。

　　In the city, he had learned to take strong drink, and he said to me once, that when a man begins to drink, he never knows where it will end. 在城市里，他学会了喝烈酒，他曾经对我说过，当一个男人开始酗酒，就永无终结了。

　　Therefore, said Tom, "be ware⁴ of the first drink!" 因此，汤姆说，“千万要谨慎对待自己的第一次喝酒！”

　　It was not long before he began to follow his old habit. 就在不久前，他的老毛病又犯了。

　　He knew the danger, but it seemed as if he could not resist his desire to drink. 他自己也知道这样很危险，但是似乎无法抗拒想要喝酒的欲望。

　　His poor mother soon died of grief⁵ and shame. 他那可怜的妈妈很快就因过度悲痛和羞愧而过世了。

　　His lovely wife followed her to the grave. 他的爱妻也追随母亲离去。

　　He lost the respect of all, went on from bad to worse, and has long been a perfect sot. 他失去了尊严，情况越来越糟糕，完全成了一个不折不扣的醉鬼。

　　Last night, I had a letter from the city, stating that Tom Smith had been found guilty of stealing, and sent to the state prison for ten years. 昨天晚上，我收到了市里寄来的一封信，提到汤姆.史密斯因盗窃罪而被送进州监狱服刑十年。

　　There I suppose he will die, for he is now old. 我猜他可能会死在监狱里，因为他现在已经老了。

　　It is dreadful⁶ to think to what an end he has come. 我甚至都不敢去想他的末日会是什么样子，非常可怕。

　　I could not but think, as I read the letter, of what he said to me years ago, 'Be ware of the first drink!' 当我读到这封信时，禁不住想起几年前他对我说的话，‘要当心第一次喝酒！’

　　Ah, my dear boys, when old Uncle Philip is gone, remember that he told you the story of Tom Smith, and said to you, 'Be ware of the first drink!' 啊，我亲爱的孩子们，菲利普叔叔走后，你们要记得他曾经告诉过你们汤姆.史密斯的故事，并且还对你们说过，‘要当心第一次饮酒！’

　　The man who does this will never be a drunkard." 一个谨慎对待饮酒的人永远不会成为一个醉鬼。

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