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Advice to Little Girls 给小女孩的一些建议
作 者：Mark Twain 马克.吐温 |
内容简介
你曾因为委屈和老师顶过嘴吗？你有想过拿你的破布娃娃和别人的瓷娃娃交换吗？你曾用武力抢过弟弟的泡泡糖吗？你有往哥哥身上扔过泥巴吗？……如果你曾有过类似的经历，那么不妨来听听幽默大师马克·吐温的建议，学做一个好女孩吧。
Advice to Little Girls 给小女孩的一些建议
Good little girls ought not to make mouths at their teachers for every trifling offense. This retaliation should only be resorted to under peculiarly aggravated circumstances.
好女孩不应该为小小的一点委屈和老师顶嘴。在特别严重、特别恶劣的情况下你报仇的机会就来了。
If you have nothing but a rag-doll stuffed with sawdust， while one of your more fortunate little playmates has a costly China one， you should treat her with a show of kindness nevertheless. And you ought not to attempt to make a forcible swap with her unless your conscience would justify you in it， and you know you are able to do it.
如果你有一个里面塞满了锯沫屑的破布娃娃，而你的那个幸运的同伴却有一个很贵的搪瓷娃娃，你一定会表现出和她很友好的样子。你不要想着和她交换，除非你的良心能过得去，并且有把握做得到。
You ought never to take your little brother's "chewing-gum" away from him by main force； it is better to rope him in with the promise of the first two dollars and a half you find floating down the river on a grindstone. In the artless simplicity natural to this time of life， he will regard it as a perfectly fair transaction. In all ages of the world this eminently plausible fiction has lured the obtuse infant to financial ruin and disaster.
不要用武力抢你小弟弟的“泡泡糖”。许诺先给他2.5美元，骗他说这钱是从河里漂上来并落在岩石上的。在他这个天真的年纪，他一定会认为这个交易很划算。从古至今，这个花言巧语的故事让多少笨笨的孩子损失了钱，而且还可碰到更大的灾难。
If at any time you find it necessary to correct your brother， do not correct him with mud——never， on any account， throw mud at him， because it will spoil his clothes. It is better to scald him a little， for then you obtain desirable results. You secure his immediate attention to the lessons you are inculcating， and at the same time your hot water will have a tendency to move impurities from his person， and possibly the skin， in spots.
如果你认为是时侯教育一下你的哥哥了，可以惩罚他，但是不要往他身上甩泥巴，因为这样做只会弄脏他的衣服。最好用热水烫他一下，这样做的效果最好。你会立刻让他记住教训，因为热水更容易去掉他身上的缺点和他皮肤上的斑点。
If your mother tells you to do a thing， it is wrong to reply that you won't. It is better and more becoming to intimate that you will do as she bids you， and then afterward act quietly in the matter according to the dictates of your best judgment.
如果你的妈妈告诉你应该怎样做时，你不应该反驳她。最好假装说你会照她的话做。然后按照自已的判断力悄悄地做事。
You should ever bear in mind that it is to your kind parents that you are indebted for your food， and for the privilege of staying home from school when you let on that you are sick. Therefore you ought to respect their little prejudices， and humor their little whims， and put up with their little foibles until they get to crowding you too much.
你应该记着，你能吃到可口的食物，装病不上学生时可以待在家里，全是因为你有慈祥的爸爸妈妈。所以最好尊重他们的小偏见，对他们的小小的随心所欲也一笑视之，他们的小缺点也忍受一下吧。但是如果你实在受不了，那就随你便吧。
Good little girls always show marked deference for the aged. You ought never to "sass" old people unless they "sass" you first.
好女孩会对你的长辈表现出毕恭毕敬。不要顶撞他们，除非他们先骂你。
