Level 4-Day 8.Louisa May Alcott

词汇提示

1.flourishing 繁荣的

2.capable 能干的

3.severe 严重的

4.scarlet fever 猩红热

5.spoiled 宠坏的

6.substantial 大量的

7.resembles 仿效

8.sequel 续集

原文

Louisa May Alcott

New England, in the early and middle years of the 19th century, had a flourishing culture.

People were passionately interested in ideas and education.

Most New Englanders were strongly opposed to slavery.

They were also concerned about other social issues.

New ideas resulted in new kinds of writing.

These ideas included the importance of doing what seemed right for them, no matter how different it was from what other people thought.

People also believe that nature gave them guidance in our lives, and that it was important to live close to nature.

These and other ideas were expressed through teaching and writing. Bronson Alcott was one of those who looked at the world in a new way.

He looked for work as a teacher so that he could pass on his ideas to others.

However, very few parents wanted Mr. Alcott to teach their children, and very few people were interested in hearing his speeches or reading his books.

As a result, the Alcott family was very poor.

Fortunately for Bronson, he married a very capable and energetic woman, Mrs. Abigail Alcott, helped to earn money to support the family and did most of the work involved in looking after the four Alcott girls.

The oldest daughter, Anna, was quiet and serious.

She rarely got into trouble and was a good helper at home.

The second daughter was Louisa May Alcott, who became a writer.

She was adventurous and cared very little for rules.

She was always saying and doing things that got her into trouble.

The third daughter, Elizabeth, was very kind and good natured.

All the others loved her. As a young woman, Elizabeth had a severe case of scarlet fever and never fully recovered.

She died at age 23.

The youngest sister, may was talented, but she was rather spoiled.

Because there was never enough money, the Alcott girls felt pressure to work at an early age.

But this did not stop them from having fun.

Louisa wrote little plays that she and her sisters performed at home.

They all enjoyed the woods and ponds around Concord, Massachusetts, where they lived most of these years.

When they moved back to Boston in 1848, Anna took a job looking after other people's children, and Louisa looked after the house.

Meanwhile, their mother worked outside the home,.

While working on laundry or sewing, Louisa was thinking up stories, at night she would write them down.

When she was 18, she began selling poems and stories to magazines.

Within ten years, Louisa was earning a substantial income from writing.

One day, her publisher suggested that she write a story for girls.

At first, Louisa didn't like the suggestion, but when she started to write, the ideas came rapidly.

Her book was based on her own family and her own childhood.

“Little Women” was published in 1868 and was an immediate success.

The March family was very much like the Alcott.

Mrs. Alcott resembles “Marmee”.

“Meg” is like Anna and “Jo” is like Louisa herself.

“Beth” is based on Elizabeth and “Amy” on May Alcott.

Many of the situations in the book happened to the Alcott family.

Nonetheless, many characters and incidents were invented little women.

And its sequel opened up a new kind of writing for children.

While these books did have a moral, they were more lively and interesting than earlier children's writing.

“Little Women” inspired many writers later to write more realistic accounts of childhood.

翻译

路易莎·梅·奥尔科特

19世纪初和中期的新英格兰有着繁荣的文化。
人们对思想和教育非常感兴趣。
大多数新英格兰人强烈反对奴隶制。
他们还关心其他社会问题。
新思想产生了新的写作方式。
这些想法包括做对他们来说似乎是正确的事情的重要性，无论它与其他人的想法有多么不同。
人们还相信大自然在我们的生活中给了他们指引，亲近大自然是很重要的。
这些想法和其他想法都是通过教学和写作表达出来的。布朗森·奥尔科特是以一种新的方式看待世界的人之一。
他想找一份当老师的工作，以便把自己的想法传给别人。
然而，很少有家长希望奥尔科特教授他们的孩子，也很少有人对听他的演讲或读他的书感兴趣。
结果，奥尔科特一家很穷。
布朗森幸运的是，他娶了一位非常能干、精力充沛的女性——阿比盖尔·奥尔科特夫人，帮助他挣钱养家，并完成了照顾四个奥尔科特女孩的大部分工作。
大女儿安娜安静而严肃。
她很少惹麻烦，是家里的好帮手。
二女儿是路易莎·梅·奥尔科特，她后来成为了一名作家。
她喜欢冒险，很少注意规则。
她总是说些什么，做些什么，让她陷入麻烦。
三女儿伊丽莎白非常善良。
其他人都爱她。

年轻时，伊丽莎白患了严重的猩红热，从未完全康复。
她在23岁时去世。
最小的妹妹梅很有天赋，但她被宠坏了。
因为从来没有足够的钱，奥尔科特家的女孩们在很小的时候就感到了工作的压力。
但这并没有阻止她们玩得开心。
路易莎写了一些她和姐妹们在家里玩的故事。
他们都喜欢马萨诸塞州康科德附近的树林和池塘，这些年他们大部分时间都住在那里。
1848年，当他们搬回波士顿时，安娜找到了一份照顾别人孩子的工作，路易莎则负责照看房子。
与此同时，他们的母亲在外面工作。

在干着洗衣或缝纫的工作的时候，路易莎会在想故事，晚上她会把它们写下来。
18岁时，她开始向杂志出售诗歌和故事。
不到十年，路易莎就从写作中获得了可观的收入。
一天，她的出版商建议她为女孩写一个故事。
起初，路易莎不喜欢这个建议，但当她开始写作时，想法很快就产生了。
她的书是根据她自己的家庭和童年写成的。
《小妇人》出版于1868年，立即获得成功。
马奇一家很像奥尔科特一家。
阿尔科特夫人很像“玛米”。
“梅格”像安娜，“乔”像路易莎自己。
“贝丝”改编自伊丽莎白，而“艾米”改编自梅·奥尔科特自己。

书中的许多情况都发生在奥尔科特一家身上。
尽管如此，许多人物和事件都是由小妇人创造的。
它的续集为孩子们开辟了一种新的写作方式。
虽然这些书确实有寓意，但它们比早期儿童的作品更生动有趣。
《小妇人》启发了许多作家后来写更多关于童年的真实故事。

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