《远大前程》第2章 抓住一名罪犯(2)

　　‘Before we eat，let us thank God for the food in front of us，'said Mr Wopsle，in the deep voice he used in church．
　　‘Do you hear that？’whispered my sister to me．‘Be grateful！’
　　‘Especially，'said Mr Pumblechook firmly，‘be grateful，boy，to those who brought you up by hand．’
　　‘Why are the young never grateful？’wondered Mr Wopsle sadly．
　　‘Their characters are naturally bad，’answered Mr Pumblechook，and all three looked unpleasantly at me．
　　When there were guests，Joe's position was even lower than usual（if that was possible），but he always tried to help me if he could．Sometimes he comforted me by giving me extra gravy．He did that now．
　　‘Just imagine，boy，'said Mr Pumblechook，‘if your sister hadn't brought you up—’
　　‘You listen to this，'said my sister to me crossly．
　　‘If，as I say，she hadn't spent her life looking after you，where would you be now？’
　　Joe offered me more gravy．
‘He was a lot of trouble to you，madam，’Mr Wopsle said sympathetically to my sister．
“我们进餐之前，让我们感谢上帝赐给我们面前的食物”，伍甫赛先生以他在教堂常用的低沉语调说。
　　“你听见了吗？”姐姐耳语对我说，“感谢！”
　　“特别是，”潘波趣先生坚定地说，“孩子，要感谢那些把你亲手带大的人。”
　　“为什么这个小家伙从来没有感激之情呀？”惊奇的伍甫赛先生不解地问。
　　“他们的品行就是天生的坏，”潘波趣先生回答说，三个人不愉快地看着我。
　　当有客人的时候，乔的地位甚至比平时还要低，但是，他总是尽最大努力设法帮助我。有时，他用给我额外添的点肉汁来安慰我。现在，他就是这样做的。
　　“正走神呢，孩子，”潘波趣先生说，“如果不是你姐姐亲手把你带大……”。
　　“你听着，”我姐姐不高兴地对我说。
　　“如果像我说的，不是她花费很大的精力照顾你，你现在还不知在哪儿呢？”
　　乔又给我加了一些肉汤。
　　“他给你添了不少麻烦，夫人，”伍甫赛先生对我姐姐同情地说。