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"Mary Garrett's mother is better, and Mary came back to the school this morning,
“玛丽．加勒特的母亲好些了，玛丽今天早上到校里来了，
and I shall have four new girls next week from the Foundry Close --
下星期我有四个从铸造场来的新同学——
they would have come to-day but for the snow."
要不是这场雪今天该到了。”
"Indeed!"
“真的？”
"Mr. Oliver pays for two."
“奥利弗先生支付其中两个的学费。”
"Does he?"
“是吗？”
"He means to give the whole school a treat at Christmas."
“他打算在圣诞节请全校的客。”
"I know."
“我知道了。”
"Was it your suggestion?"
“是你的建议吗，”
"No."
“不是。”
"Whose, then?"
“那么是谁的？”
"His daughter's, I think."
“他女儿的，我想。”
"It is like her: she is so good-natured."
“是像她建议的，她心地善良。”
"Yes."
“是呀。”
Again came the blank of a pause: the clock struck eight strokes.
谈话停顿了下来，再次出现了空隙。时钟敲了八下。
It aroused him; he uncrossed his legs, sat erect, turned to me.
钟声把他惊醒了，他分开交叉的腿，站直了身子，转向我。
"Leave your book a moment, and come a little nearer the fire," he said.
“把你的书放—会儿吧，过来靠近点火炉”他说。
Wondering, and of my wonder finding no end, I complied.
我有些纳闷，而且是无止境地纳闷，于是也就答应了。
"Half-an-hour ago," he pursued,
“半小时之前，”他接着说，
"I spoke of my impatience to hear the sequel of a tale:
“我曾说起急于听一个故事的续篇。
on reflection, I find the matter will be better managed by my assuming the narrator's part, and converting you into a listener.
后来想了一下，还是让我扮演叙述者的角色，让你转化为听众比较好办。
Before commencing, it is but fair to warn you that the story will sound somewhat hackneyed in your ears;
开场之前，我有言在先，这个故事在你的耳朵听来恐怕有些陈腐，
but stale details often regain a degree of freshness when they pass through new lips.
但是过时的细节从另一张嘴里吐出来，常常又会获得某种程度的新鲜感。
For the rest, whether trite or novel, it is short.
至于别的就不管了，陈腐也好，新鲜也好，反正很短。”
