| 1. | The years , after forty , began to race . suddenly lottie was sixty , and retired from her job by her boss ' s son , who had no sentimental feeling about keeping her on until she was ready to quit
岁月在她过了四十以后就开始飞逝。一眨眼，珞蒂已经六十岁，老板的儿子不讲什么情份，没等她提出，就请她退休。 |
| 2. | Bess had a beau in the school band who had no other ambition except to play a horn . lottie expected to be settled with a home and family while bess was still waiting for harry to earn enough to buy a marriage license
碧丝的男朋友在学校的乐队，他惟一的雄心就是吹法国号。珞蒂想的是将来要好好成家立业，碧丝则等哈里赚够钱买一张结婚证书。 |
| 3. | Lottie , trapped by the blood tie , knew she would not only have to send for her sister but take her in when she returned . it didn ' t seem fair that bess should reap the harvest of lottie ' s life - time of self - denial
珞蒂知道既是同胞手足，她逃不掉得把妹妹给接回国，等她回国后还得收容她。想起她一生克勤克俭，碧丝却来坐享其成，觉得很不公平。 |
| 4. | She made several attempts to find other employment , but her dowdy appearance made her look old and inefficient . for the first time in her life lottie would gladly have worked for nothing to have some place to go , something to do with her day
她找了几次工作，但是她邋遢的外表使她看起来又老又没用。珞蒂生平第一次愿意不计报酬只要有个工作，有一个地方可去，有事情可以打发她的日子。 |
| 5. | That lottie had a doorstep they might have been left on was only because her boss , having bought a second house , offered lottie his first house at a price so low and terms so reasonable that it would have been like losing money to refuse
珞蒂今天有这么个门口好让碧丝丢下孩子，说来也是因为她老板买了第二幢房子，第一幢房子就以很便宜的价格和合理的条件要珞蒂租下，珞蒂认为如果拒绝，和损失金钱一样。 |
| 6. | Bess grieved because she had no child , not having sense enough to know she was better off without one . lottie was certainly better off without nieces and nephews to feel sorry for . very likely bass would have dumped them on her doorstep
碧丝自怨自艾说自己没有孩子. . . . . .竟然不懂得庆幸没有孩子才是她前世修来的，日子可以过得比较好。珞蒂好多了，不必看着苦兮兮的外甥们，替他们可怜。碧丝很可能会把孩子们往她门口一丢的扔给她的。 |
| 7. | It took lottie a week to get a bedroom ready , a week of hard work and hard cash . there was everything to do , everything to replace or paint . when she was through the room looked so fresh and new that lottie felt she deserved it more than bess
珞蒂费了一个礼拜的时间才整理好一间卧室，一个礼拜的辛苦日和辛苦钱。每样都得做，每样东西都得换新或油漆。等她把一切都弄好之后，那间卧房看起来又新又舒适，珞蒂觉得自己比妹妹更配住这样的一间房。 |
| 8. | She would let bess have her room , but the mattress was so lumpy , the carpet so worn , the curtains so threadbare that lottie ' s conscience pricked her . she supposed she would have to redo that room , too , and went about doing it with an eagerness that she mistook for haste
把她自己的卧室给碧丝住好了。但是床垫垮得太厉害，地毯太破旧，窗帘太褴褛，珞蒂有些于心不安。她想她的卧房也该翻修一下，于是便动手去做，其实是干劲十足，她却自以为是仓促行事。 |
| 9. | That bess married harry straight out of high school was not surprising . that lottie never married at all was not really surprising either . two or three times she was halfway persuaded , but to give up a job that paid well for a home making job that paid nothing was a risk she was incapable of taking
珞蒂终身未嫁也一样的没什么可怪。其实有两、三次她都给说动了一半了，但一想到放下赚钱的工作不干，去搞那赔钱的结婚成家什么的，她总觉得这种险她冒不起。 |
| 10. | In her third year of high school she found a job in a small but expanding restaurant where she cashiered from the busy hour until closing . in her last year of high school the business increased so rapidly that lottie was faced with the choice of staying in school or working full time
高中三年级时，她在一家规模虽小但生意蒸蒸日上的餐馆找到一份工作，从生意最忙的时间帮忙出纳工作一直到打烊。高中最后一年，餐馆生意直线上升，珞蒂如果要工作就不能上课，面临了学业与职业的抉择。 |
