雾都孤儿(6级)(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：（英）查尔斯·狄更斯

出版社：外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

雾都孤儿(6级)试读：

简介

狄更斯写这本书还有一个目的。他试图说明，善良能克服一切艰难险阻。因此，他为我们塑造了小奥利弗·特威斯特——一个孤儿，他被投入一个充满贫困与犯罪的世界，忍饥挨饿，挨打挨骂，从来没有人爱他。他为我们写出了南希——可怜、凄惨、悲苦的南希，她生活在一个残忍的世界中，却挣扎着要忠实于她所爱的人。

而且，正如在一切最好的故事里一样，善良最终战胜了邪恶。

查尔斯·狄更斯（1812—1870）是英国最伟大的小说家之一。他出生于一个穷苦的家庭（他的父亲曾因欠债而入狱），但他后来享有盛名，并且拥有财富。

1 Oliver's early life

Oliver fought his first battle without much assistance from the two people present at his birth．One was an old woman, who was nearly always drunk, and the other was a busy local doctor, who was not paid enough to be very interested in Oliver's survival．After all, death was a common event in the workhouse, where only the poor and homeless lived.

However, Oliver managed to draw his first breath, and then announced his arrival to the rest of the workhouse by crying loudly．His mother raised her pale young face from the pillow and whispered, 'Let me see the child, and die.'

The doctor turned away from the fire, where he had been warming his hands．'You must not talk about dying yet,' he said to her kindly．He gave her the child to hold．Lovingly, she kissed the baby on its forehead with her cold white lips, then stared wildly around the room, fell back — and died.

'Poor dear！' said the nurse, hurriedly putting a green glass bottle back in the pocket of her long skirt.

The doctor began to put on his coat．'The baby is weak and will probably have difficulties,' he said．'If so, give it a little milk to keep it quiet.' Then he looked at the dead woman．'The mother was a good-looking girl．Where did she come from?'

'She was brought here last night,' replied the old woman．'She was found lying in the street．She'd walked some distance, judging by her shoes, which were worn to pieces．Where she came from, where she was going to, or what her name was, nobody knows.'

The doctor lifted the girl's left hand．'The old story,' he said sadly, shaking his head．'No wedding ring, I see．Ah！Good night.'

And so Oliver was left with only the drunken nurse．Without clothes, under his first blanket, he could have been the child of a king or a beggar．But when the woman dressed him later in rough cotton clothes, yellow with age, he looked exactly what he was — an orphan in a workhouse, ready for a life of misery, hunger, and neglect.

Oliver cried loudly．If he could have known that he was a workhouse orphan, perhaps he would have cried even more loudly.

There was no one to look after the baby in the workhouse, so Oliver was sent to a special 'baby farm' nearby．There, he and thirty other children rolled around the floor all day, without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing．Mrs Mann, the old woman who 'looked after' them, was very experienced．She knew what was good for children, and a full stomach was very dangerous to their health．She also knew what was good for herself, so she kept for her own use the money that she was given for the children's food．The board responsible for the orphans sometimes checked on the health of the children, but they always sent the beadle, a kind of local policeman, to announce their visit the day before．So whenever the board arrived, of course, the children were always neat and clean.

This was the way Oliver was brought up．Consequently, at the age of nine he was a pale, thin child and short for his age．But despite frequent beatings by Mrs Mann, his spirit was strong, which was probably the reason why he managed to reach the age of nine at all.

On Oliver's ninth birthday, Mr Bumble the beadle came to the house to see Mrs Mann．Through the front window Mrs Mann saw him at the gate, and turned quickly to the girl who worked with her.

'Quick！Take Oliver and those others upstairs to be washed！' she said．Then she ran out to unlock the gate．(It was always kept locked to prevent official visitors walking in unexpectedly.)

'I have business to talk about,' Mr Bumble told Mrs Mann as he entered the house．He was a big fat man, often bad-tempered, and was full of self-importance．He did not like to be kept waiting at a locked gate.

Mrs Mann took his hat and coat, placed a chair for him, and expressed great concern for his comfort．'You've had a long walk, Mr Bumble,' she said, 'and you must be thirsty.' She took out a bottle from the cupboard.

'No, thank you, Mrs Mann．Not a drop.' He waved the bottle away.

'Just a little drop, Mr Bumble, with cold water,' said Mrs Mann persuasively.

Mr Bumble coughed．'What is it?' he asked, looking at the bottle with interest.

'Gin．I keep it for the children's medicine drink.'

'You give the children gin, Mrs Mann?' asked Mr Bumble, watching as she mixed his drink.

'Only with medicine, sir．I don't like to see them suffer.'

'You're a good woman, Mrs Mann.' Mr Bumble drank half his glass immediately．'I'll tell the board about you．Now — the reason why I'm here．Oliver Twist is nine years old today．We've never been able to discover anything about his parents.'

'Then how did he get his name?'

' I gave it to him,' said Mr Bumble proudly．'We follow the alphabet．The last one was an S—Swubble．Then it was T, so this one is Twist．The next one will be Unwin．Anyway, Oliver Twist is now old enough to return to the workhouse．Bring him here, please.' While Mrs Mann went to get him, Mr Bumble finished the rest of his gin.

Oliver, his face and hands now almost clean, was led into the room.

'Will you come along with me, Oliver?' asked Mr Bumble in a loud voice.

Oliver was very glad to be free of Mrs Mann's violence, but he said nothing because she was angrily shaking her finger at him．However, as the gate closed behind Oliver, he burst into tears．He was leaving behind the other children, the only friends he had, and he realized at that moment how lonely he was in the world.

Mr Bumble walked on with long steps, with Oliver on his short little legs running beside him．The feeling of contentment produced by gin-and-water had now disappeared, and the beadle was in a bad mood once more.

Back at the workhouse, Oliver was taken to see the board．He stood in front of ten fat men who were sitting around a table.

'What's your name, boy?' asked a particularly fat man with a very round, red face.

Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many people, and started to cry.

'Why are you crying?'

The beadle hit him on the back, and so naturally Oliver cried even more.

'The boy is a fool,' one member of the board announced.

'You know you have no father or mother,' said the first man, 'and that you have been brought up with other orphans?'

'Yes, sir,' replied Oliver, crying bitterly.

'Why is the boy crying?' repeated the other man, puzzled.

'You have come here to be educated,' continued the fat man, 'so you will start working here tomorrow at six o'clock.'

Oliver was led away to a large room, where, on a rough hard bed, he cried himself to sleep.

The room in the workhouse where the boys were fed was a large stone hall, and at one end the master and two women served the food．This consisted of a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with a piece of bread on Sundays．The boys ate everything and were always hungry．The bowls never needed washing．The boys polished them with their spoons until they shone．After three months of this slow starvation, one of the boys told the others he was so hungry that one night he might eat the boy who slept next to him．He had a wild hungry eye, and the other boys believed him．After a long discussion, they decided that one of them should ask for more food after supper that evening, and Oliver was chosen.

The evening arrived; the soup was served, and the bowls were empty again in a few seconds．Oliver went up to the master, with his bowl in his hand．He felt very frightened, but also desperate with hunger.

'Please, sir, I want some more.'

The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale．He looked at the little boy in front of him with amazement．Nobody else spoke.

'What?' he asked at last, in a faint voice.

'Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more.'

The master hit him with the serving spoon, then seized Oliver's arms and shouted for the beadle．The beadle came quickly, heard the dreadful news, and immediately ran to tell the board.

'He asked for more?' Mr Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in horror．'Bumble — is this really true?'

'That boy will be hanged！' said the man who earlier had called Oliver a fool．'You see if I'm not right.'

Oliver was led away to be locked up, and a reward was offered to anybody who would take him away and use him for work.

workhouse n．public institution for homeless people. 贫民习艺所；救贫院。

struggle v．fight, make great efforts. 奋斗；挣扎。

assistance n．help. 帮助；援助。

announce v．make known. 宣布；通告。

blanket n．thick, wollen covering used on beds. 毛毯。

orphan n．person who has lost one or both of its parents by death. 孤儿。

misery n．state of being miserable. 悲惨。

inconvenient adj．causing discomfort, trouble or annoyance. 使人不便的；引起困扰的。

board n．group of persons controlling a business, or a government department. 掌管一项事务或政府部门的一批人员。

responsible adj．(of a person) legally or morally liable for carrying out a duty, for the care of sth or sb. 应负责的。

beadle n．parish officer who helped the priest by keeping order in church, giving out money to the poor, etc. 教区助理员。

gin n．colourless alcoholic drink distilled from grain or malt and flavoured with juniper berries, often drunk with tonic water. 杜松子酒。

alphabet n．the letters used in writing a language, arranged in order. 字母表。

violence n．state of being violent. 暴力。

burst v．suddenly begin to cry. 突然大哭。

mood n．state of mind or spirits. 心境；情绪。

particularly adv．in a special manner. 特别地。

puzzle v．cause sb to be perplexed. 使某人困惑。

polish v．make or become smooth and shiny by rubbing. 磨光；擦光。

starvation n．suffering caused by lack of food. 饥饿。

desperate adj．filled with despair and ready to do anything, regardless of danger. 因绝望而不惜冒险的。

amazement v．state of being filled with great surprise or wonder. 惊异。

faint adj．not clear. 模糊不清的。

dreadful adj．causing great fear and anxiety. 可怕的。

reward n．recompense for service or merit. 报酬；报答。

1 奥利弗的童年

奥利弗·特威斯特出生在一家济贫院里，他来到这个艰难的人世的那一刻，是否能活过三分钟都是很难说的。他躺在一张小硬板床上，挣扎着开始呼吸。

他出生时在场的两个人没有给他什么帮助，这使得奥利弗要独自承当他的第一场战斗。其中一个是位老妇人，她几乎总是喝得醉醺醺的；另一个则是当地一位忙碌的医生，这位医生没有得到足够的报酬，所以对奥利弗能否活下来并不很在意。在济贫院这个只有穷人和无家可归的人待的地方，死亡毕竟是一件非常平常的事。

不管怎样，奥利弗总算尽力吸进了第一口气，然后，他以响亮的哭声向济贫院里其他的人宣告自己的到来。他的母亲从枕头上抬起了年轻而苍白的脸，用微弱的声音说：“让我看一眼孩子，我就可以死了。”

正在火炉上烤手取暖的医生转过身来，好心地对她说：“别说什么死不死的了。”他把孩子递过去让她抱在怀里。她用冰冷而毫无血色的嘴唇怜爱地在孩子的额头上亲了一下，然后急切地在屋里四处环顾一圈，便向后倒去，咽了气。“可怜的东西！”老看护说着，急忙将一个绿色的小玻璃瓶揣回长裙子的兜里。

这时医生开始穿外衣。“这孩子太弱，恐怕会有麻烦，”他说，“如果真是这样，给他喂点牛奶，好让他别哭。”然后，他又转过脸看了一眼死去的女人，说：“这母亲长得还挺漂亮。她是从哪儿来的？”“她是昨天夜里被送到这儿来的，”老妇人回答道。“她倒在马路上，被人发现了。她脚上那双鞋子已经磨得破破烂烂的了，由此可以看出她是从很远的地方来的。她从哪儿来，要到哪儿去，叫什么名字，没人知道。”

医生拉起那年轻女人的左手，摇摇头，伤心地说：“又是老一套。没有结婚戒指，果然如此。唉！晚安。”

奥利弗就这样被留下了，由那位醉醺醺的看护一个人看着。他光着身子，裹在毕生第一块毯子里，既可以是国王的儿子，也可以是乞丐的儿子。可后来老妇人给他穿上了由于年头太久而发了黄的粗棉布衣服，这时，他看上去和他的身份完全一致了——一个济贫院的孤儿，准备好了去过一种充满苦难、饥饿和忽视的生活。

奥利弗大声哭着。假如他已经知道自己是一个济贫院的孤儿，他可能会哭得更响些。

在济贫院里没有专人照顾婴儿，所以奥利弗被送进了附近一家专门的“育婴堂”。在这里，奥利弗与其他三十多个孩子每天在地上滚爬着，没有过多的衣物和食物来麻烦他们。曼太太“照顾”着这些孩子，这老女人非常有经验。她知道什么对孩子们有好处，知道吃饱肚子对孩子们的身体是非常有害的。同时她也知道什么对她自己有好处，于是她把人家给孩子们的伙食费都留给自己。负责孤儿事务的地方董事会有时会来检查孩子们的健康状况，可他们往往在前一天派执事去通告他们要来访问，执事是一种地方警察。所以，无论他们什么时候来，孩子们准是个个头净脚净的。

奥利弗就是这样长大的，因此，他到了九岁时，还非常苍白瘦小，比同龄孩子矮一大截。尽管常常遭到曼太太的毒打，他的意志却很坚强。这大概也是他竟然能活到九岁的缘故吧。

奥利弗九岁生日的这天，执事班布尔先生来育婴堂看曼太太。曼太太透过楼前的窗户看见他站在大门口，慌忙转向和她一起干活的女孩，说道：“赶快！把奥利弗和其他孩子都带到楼上洗洗！”然后她匆忙跑去开大门。（为了防止官方人员料想不及的来访，这大门常常是锁着的。）“我有点事要跟你谈。”班布尔先生跟曼太太说着，走进了屋子。他是个身材肥胖、脾气暴躁、妄自尊大的人。他可不喜欢被关在门外长时间地等候。

曼太太接过了他的帽子和外衣，替他端过一把椅子，并且对他是否舒适表示了极大的关心。“班布尔先生，您大老远地走来，一定是渴了。”她说着从橱子里拿出了一个瓶子。“不，谢谢，曼太太，我一滴都不喝。”他挥手推开瓶子。“只稍稍来一点儿，班布尔先生，这是加了冰水的。”她极力地劝说着。

班布尔先生咳嗽了一声。“是什么？”他问道，并饶有兴趣地看着瓶子。“杜松子酒，我这是留着给孩子们吃药用的。”“曼太太，你给孩子们喝杜松子酒？”班布尔先生看着她给自己兑酒，问道。“只是吃药的时候给他们喝上一点儿，先生。我不忍心看着他们受罪。”“曼太太，你真是个好心的女人。”班布尔先生马上喝下了半杯。“我会在董事会那里替你美言的。现在言归正传，说说我今天来这儿的目的。奥利弗·特威斯特今天已经整整九岁了，迄今为止，我们没有打听到关于他父母的任何消息。”“那么，他是怎么有了这个姓的？”“这姓是我给他起的，”班布尔先生自豪地说，“我们是按照字母表的顺序给他们安排姓氏的，前一个是S，叫斯瓦勃（Swubble），轮到他是字母T，所以就叫特威斯特（Twist），下一个叫恩温（Unwin）。不管怎么说，奥利弗已经长大了，该回到济贫院去了。请把他带到这儿来。”曼太太去带奥利弗时，班布尔先生喝干了杯子里剩下的杜松子酒。

奥利弗手和脸差不多洗干净了，他被带了进来。“你愿意跟我走吗，奥利弗？”班布尔先生大声问。

奥利弗特别渴望能尽早逃脱曼太太的暴虐统治，可他却没吭声，因为这时她正恶狠狠地向他暗暗摇着手指头。可是当大门在奥利弗身后关上时，他突然涕泪横流。他就要离开其他的孩子们了，而这些孩子是他仅有的朋友，此刻，他顿时感到自己在这个世界上是多么孤独。

班布尔先生在前面大步流星地走着，奥利弗挪动短腿一路小跑地跟在旁边。喝了加水的杜松子酒所产生的心满意足的感觉这会儿已荡然无存，这位执事的情绪又不好了。回到了济贫院，奥利弗被带去见董事会的人。十个体态臃肿、肥头大耳的人围坐在一张桌子周围，他站在他们面前。“小子，你叫什么名字？”其中一个长着滚圆红脸的特别胖的人问道。

奥利弗被眼前这么多的人给吓哭了。“你哭什么？”

执事在奥利弗的背上揍了一下，当然这一下使他哭得更厉害了。“他是个傻子。”一位董事大声说。“你知道你没有父母，是和那些孤儿一起长大的吗？”第一位先生说。“我知道，先生。”奥利弗伤心地回答道。“这孩子哭什么？”另外那位先生莫名其妙地问。“你是到这儿来受教育的，”那个胖子接着说，“所以从明天早晨六点钟起，你得在这儿干活。”

奥利弗又从这儿被带到了一间大屋子里。他躺在屋里一张粗糙的木板床上，哭着哭着就睡着了。

济贫院里男孩子们吃饭的地方是一间有石板墙石板地的大屋子，在屋子的一头，管事的和两位女佣负责给孩子们打饭。其实这一日三餐顿顿只是一碗稀粥，只有在星期天才加一片面包。孩子们把碗里的东西吃得一干二净，还是饥肠辘辘。他们的碗根本不用刷洗。孩子们用勺子把碗刮得锃亮。这样缓慢的挨饿持续了三个月后，一天，一个男孩跟别的男孩子说他太饿了，没准哪天晚上他会吃了睡在他边上的人。他那饥饿得发狂的眼神让别的男孩无法不相信他的话。经过长时间的商量，他们决定必须有一个人在当天晚饭后，去请求多给点儿吃的。结果，奥利弗被选中了。

天黑了，开晚饭了，没有几秒钟，孩子们的碗就又一干二净了。奥利弗站了起来，手里捧着碗，心惊胆战地朝管事的走了过去。由于极度饥饿，他横下了一条心。“劳驾，先生。我还想要一点儿。”

管事的是一个脑满肠肥的壮汉，但他一下子显得大吃一惊，脸都白了。他惊讶地看着站在他面前的这个小男孩。这时屋里鸦雀无声。“什么？”他终于回过味来，用无力的声音问道。“劳驾，先生，”奥利弗又说了一遍，“我还想要一点儿。”

管事的用盛粥的勺子向奥利弗打去，过后又抓住他的胳膊大声地叫唤着执事。执事马上赶来了，得知了这件可怕的事，并立即跑去向董事会汇报。“他想要更多的饭吃？”董事会头号大胖子利姆金斯先生震惊地问，“班布尔——难道真是这样吗？”“这孩子将来是要上绞刑架的！”起初说奥利弗是个傻子的那位先生嚷嚷着，“你就看我说得对不对吧。”

奥利弗被带走，锁在一间屋子里。董事会宣布，谁把这孩子领去干活，谁就会得到奖赏。

2 Oliver's first job

One day Mr Bumble met the local undertaker, Mr Sowerberry, outside the workhouse.

'Do you know anybody who wants to train a boy for work, Mr Sowerberry?' Mr Bumble pointed at the notice on the wall above him, which offered five pounds to anybody who would take Oliver Twist for work.

Mr Sowerberry rubbed his chin and thought for a while．'I pay enough for the poor with my taxes,' he said, 'so why shouldn't I be able to make use of them in my work? Yes, I'll take the boy myself.'

And so the board agreed to send Oliver to work for the undertaker．The necessary papers were signed．Oliver's small possessions were put into a brown paper parcel, and he was led to Mr Sowerberry's house by Mr Bumble．As they walked along, tears began to run down Oliver's face.

'What is it this time?' asked Mr Bumble impatiently．'Don't be so ungrateful．This gentleman is going to look after you.'

'It's just that I'm so lonely, sir！' said the child．'Everybody hates me．Please don't be angry with me, sir！'

Even Mr Bumble felt a little pity．He coughed, told Oliver to dry his eyes and be a good boy, and walked on with him in silence.

The undertaker had just finished work for the day when Mr Bumble entered his shop.

'Here, I've brought the boy,' said the beadle.

Oliver bowed to the undertaker, who raised his candle to get a better view of the boy．'Mrs Sowerberry,' he called, 'come and have a look.'

His wife, a short, thin woman with a disagreeable face, came out to see．'He's very small,' she said immediately.

'He is,' agreed Mr Bumble, 'but he'll grow, Mrs Sowerberry.'

'Yes,' she said crossly, 'when he eats our food．Go on, get downstairs.' She pushed Oliver downstairs into a damp, dark kitchen, and called to the girl working down there．'Here, Charlotte, give this boy some meat that the dog left — if he thinks it's good enough for him.'

Oliver tore the meat to pieces with his teeth as if he were a wild animal．Mrs Sowerberry watched him in silent horror, already thinking about her future food bills, then took him upstairs to the shop.

'You'll sleep here, among the coffins,' she said.

Oliver stared around the dark, airless shop at the coffins, some finished, some only half-made．He trembled at the thought of ghosts．His bed was a small hole in the floor, and looked very like a grave.

But it was not only the room that depressed Oliver．He felt very lonely, with no friends and no one to care for him．As he lay on the bed, he found himself wishing that it really was his grave.

The next morning he was woken up by someone kicking at the shop door.

'Open the door, will you?' shouted a voice through the keyhole.

'Yes, sir.'

'I suppose you're the new boy,' said the voice through the keyhole．'How old are you?'

'Ten, sir.'

'Then I'll hit you when I get in,' said the voice.

Oliver was experienced enough to know that the promise was probably true．He opened the door with a shaking hand, then looked up and down the street．All he could see was a large boy wearing the uniform of one of the charity schools, where the children of the very poor used to go.

'Did you want a coffin?' asked Oliver, innocently.

The charity-boy looked at him fiercely．'You'll be needing a coffin soon, Workhouse, if you make jokes like that！I'm Mister Noah Claypole, and you're working under me．Now, hurry up and open the curtains！' As he said this, he kicked Oliver and entered the shop．He was a big, clumsy boy of about fourteen, with a large head and very small eyes．Added to these attractions were a red nose and dirty yellow trousers.

The boys went down to breakfast, which the girl Charlotte had made for them．She gave an extra piece of meat to Noah, then told Oliver to hurry up as it was his job to look after the shop.

'Did you hear that, Workhouse?' shouted Noah.

'He heard, Noah,' said Charlotte．'Leave him alone.'

'Why?' asked Noah．'All his relations have already left him alone．His mother and father aren't going to interfere with him！' Charlotte and Noah both started laughing loudly．Oliver sat alone in the corner, eating old bits of bread.

Noah was a charity-boy, but not a workhouse orphan; he at least knew who his parents were．But for a long time all the local shop-boys had insulted him because he wore the uniform of a charity-boy．Now fortune had brought him a creature in an even lower position in society than himself．Noah intended to repay to Oliver every insult he had ever received, and to make the new boy's life a misery.

After a few weeks, Mr Sowerberry decided that he liked Oliver's appearance enough to train him in the undertaking business．Oliver's permanent expression of sadness was very suitable, the undertaker thought, for collecting dead bodies from houses and accompanying the coffins to funerals.

One day Mr Bumble came to tell them about a woman who had died in an extremely poor part of the town, and Sowerberry and Oliver went to collect the body．They went down dirty narrow streets where the houses on either side were tall and large, but very old．Some of the houses were almost falling down, and had to be supported by huge blocks of wood．The area was so poor that even the dead rats in the street looked as though they had died of hunger.

They found the right house, and climbed the dark stairs to a miserable little room．Some children watched them from the shadows as they entered．Something lay beneath a blanket on the floor in one corner．A man and an old woman stood near the body．Oliver was afraid to look at them．With their thin faces and sharp teeth, they looked like the rats he had seen outside.

As Sowerberry began to measure the body for a coffin, the man knelt on the floor and cried out, 'She starved to death, I tell you！That's why she died！' He fell to the floor, and all the children behind him started to cry．Sowerberry and Oliver, their work done, left as fast as they could.

They returned the next day with the coffin and four men from the workhouse who were to carry it．The man and the old woman followed the coffin to the church, and waited silently by the grave for the priest to arrive．When at last he came, he hurried through the burial prayers, and as quickly as possible (it was only a job, after all) the coffin was put into the ground．At this point the husband, who had not moved once during his wife's burial — not even during the long wait for the priest — suddenly fainted to the ground and had to have cold water thrown over him.

'So how did you like it, Oliver?' asked Sowerberry later, as they walked home.

'Not very much, sir,' Oliver answered truthfully.

'You'll get used to it, my boy.'

Oliver wondered how long that would take, and remained silent all the way back to the shop, thinking about everything that he had seen and heard.

bitterly adv．sadly. 痛苦地。

undertaker n．one whose business is to prepare the dead for burial or cremation and manage funerals. 承办殡葬者。

possession n．sth possessed; property. 所有物；财产。

bow v．bend the head or body as a sign of respect or as a greeting, etc. 鞠躬。

crossly adv．in a bad-tempered manner. 坏脾气地。

damp adj．having some moisture (in or on). 潮湿的。

coffin n．box or case for a dead person to be placed in and then buried. 棺材。

ghost n．spirit of a dead person appearing to sb still living. 鬼。

grave n．hole dug in the ground for a corpse. 墓穴。

charity n．kindness in giving help to the poor. 慈善。

innocent adj．knowing nothing of evil or wrong. 天真无邪的。

curtain n．piece of cloth or lace hung up at a window or door. 窗帘。

clumsy adj．heavy and ungraceful in movement or construction. 笨拙的。

interfere v．come into opposition．妨碍。

insult v．speak or act in a way that hurts a person's feelings or dignity 侮辱。

extremely adv．to a very high degree. 极端地。

shadow n．area of shade, dark shape, thrown on the ground, etc by sth which cuts off the direct rays of light. 阴影。

beneath prep．below, under (neath). 在……下面。

remain v．continue to be 依然。

silent adj．saying little or nothing. 沉默的。

2 奥利弗的第一个工作

奥利弗单独一人在小黑屋里被关了一星期。他整天都伤心地流泪，每当漫长的黑夜来临，他就用两只小手捂住眼睛，来驱走黑暗，力求入睡。每天他只能用带着冰碴的水洗脸。为了杀一儆百，奥利弗每天要当着其他孩子的面挨班布尔先生一顿毒打。

一天，班布尔先生在济贫院外面遇见了当地的棺材店老板索尔贝里先生。“索尔贝里先生，您知道谁想要带个学徒吗？”班布尔指着墙上方的一个通告说。上面写着，愿意领走奥利弗·特威斯特去干活的人可以得到五英镑的奖金。

索尔贝里先生摸着下巴想了一会儿。“我纳不少的税金养活穷人，干吗不让他们去为我干活呢？对，我领走这孩子。”

这样，董事会同意让棺材店老板领走奥利弗去干活。必要的手续都办理了，奥利弗仅有的一点东西放在一个小牛皮纸包里。他由班布尔先生带着去了索尔贝里先生家。他们一面走着，奥利弗一面又泪流满面。“这回又怎么了？”班布尔先生不耐烦地问，“别那么不识好人心，这位先生会照顾你的。”“我感到太孤单了，先生！”这孩子说，“人人都讨厌我。请别生我的气，先生！”

连班布尔先生也有点可怜他了。他咳了一声，嘱咐奥利弗擦干眼泪，要当个乖孩子。然后两人便径直朝前走着，谁也不吭声了。

班布尔先生走进铺子时，棺材店老板刚忙完一天的活计。“瞧！孩子我给您送来了。”执事说。

奥利弗朝着店老板鞠了一躬。索尔贝里先生举起蜡烛台打量着奥利弗，嘴里喊着：“太太，快来看看。”

他的妻子是个瘦小枯干、面目可憎的女人。她走出来看了一眼，马上说：“他太小了。”“是的，”班布尔先生说，“可他还会长的，索尔贝里太太。”“那倒是，”她不痛快地说，“他吃了我们家的饭是会长大的。走，下楼去。”她连推带搡地把奥利弗推进了一间潮湿黑暗的厨房里，并朝着在那儿干活的女孩子说：“喂，夏洛特，把狗吃剩的肉给这孩子吃点——如果他不嫌弃的话。”

奥利弗像野兽一样用牙撕啃着肉。索尔贝里太太目瞪口呆地看着他，心里已经在想着她往后的伙食负担了。过后，她又把他带到楼上的铺面里。“你就睡在这些棺材中间。”她说。

奥利弗呆呆地环顾四周。原来这是一间黑暗、闷气的作坊，里面放着一些做好了和正在做着的棺材。看着这些，他满脑子都是鬼怪，不由得毛骨悚然。他睡在地板上一个狭小的洞里，看上去真像个墓穴。

使奥利弗沮丧的不仅仅是这个住处。他感到非常孤独，没有朋友，没人关心他。他躺在床上时，发现自己真希望就是躺在墓穴里了。

第二天一大早，他被店门口一阵踢门声惊醒。“开开门，好吗？”有人透过钥匙孔喊道。“就来，先生。”“你大概就是新来的学徒吧？”从钥匙孔里传进来的声音问道，“你多大了？”“十岁了，先生。”“那么我进去就揍你一顿。”那声音接着说。

奥利弗很有经验，认为他很可能真的说到做到。他用颤抖的手打开了门，然后，来回扫视了一下街面，只看见一个穿着一家慈善学校制服的大个子男孩。慈善学校是穷人家孩子上的学校。“您要棺材吗？”奥利弗无知地问。

这个慈善学校的男孩凶狠地看着他。“你才马上要用棺材了。如果你是那么开玩笑的话，我就管你叫济贫院！我是诺厄·克莱普尔先生，你是在我手下干活的。现在，马上打开帘子！”他说着，抬腿朝奥利弗踢了一脚，然后走进了铺子。他大约十四岁，大块头，笨手笨脚的，一个大脑袋上长了一双很小的眼睛。除了这些非凡品貌以外，他还有一个红鼻子和一条脏兮兮的黄裤子。

两个男孩到楼下去吃那个叫做夏洛特的姑娘为他们准备好的早饭。她多给了诺厄一块肉，然后又让奥利弗快点吃，因为照看铺子是他的事。“你听见了吗，济贫院？”诺厄嚷嚷道。“他听见了，诺厄。”夏洛特说，“别管他。”“为什么？”诺厄问道，“他的亲戚早就不管他了。他父母亲再也不会来烦他了！”夏洛特和诺厄两人都大声笑了起来，奥利弗独自坐在角落里吃着一点剩面包。

诺厄是个慈善学校的男孩，但并不是济贫院里的孤儿；他起码还知道自己的父母是谁。但就因为他穿着慈善学校的制服，有好长时间当地店铺里的男孩子们都侮辱他。这一次运气给他带来了一个比他社会地位更低下的家伙。诺厄决定要把以往所受的凌辱都转送给奥利弗，让这新来的男孩没有好日子过。

几星期之后，索尔贝里先生看够了奥利弗，决定要训练他去做殡仪生意。因为奥利弗老是一副苦相，棺材店老板认为他很合适做这件事，他想让他到死者家里搬运尸体和陪伴棺柩到墓地去。

一天，班布尔先生来告诉他们，有一位住在本镇贫民区的女人死了。索尔贝里先生和奥利弗去收尸，他们沿着肮脏狭窄的街道朝前走着，路两边的房屋都是又高又大，但过于陈旧了。有些房屋几乎要倒塌了，不得不用粗大的圆木支撑着。这个地方太穷了，连路上的死老鼠好像都是饿死的。

他们找到了死者的家，爬上黑暗的楼梯，走进了一个破破烂烂的小屋。几个孩子从黑影里看着他们走进来。在屋子一角的地上，一条毯子蒙着什么东西，旁边站着一个男人和一个老妇。奥利弗害怕看他们，他们面孔削瘦，牙齿尖锐，看起来就像他在外面街上看到的老鼠。

索尔贝里先生开始量尸体，看需要多大的棺材。站在旁边的男人跪在地上，大声地喊了起来：“她是活活给饿死的呀！我告诉你，她就是为这个死的！”他倒在地上，身后的孩子们都哭了起来。索尔贝里和奥利弗忙完了活计，就赶快离开了。

第二天，他们送来了棺材，一起来的还有四个从济贫院来抬棺材的人。那个男人和老妇跟在棺材的后面来到了教堂，默默地站在墓穴旁等着牧师的到来。牧师终于来了，他匆忙地主持了葬礼的祈祷仪式（毕竟这只是一种活计）。棺材尽可能快地放进了墓穴，就在这时，这位在妻子葬礼中一直一动不动的丈夫——即使在长时间等待牧师时也不曾动一下——晕倒在地上了。人们不得不在他的脸上洒了一些凉水。“奥利弗，你感觉怎么样？”事后，索尔贝里在往家走的路上问。“感觉不太好，先生。”奥利弗如实说道。“你会习惯的，孩子。”

奥利弗不知道这需要多长时间，在回铺子去的路上他一直一声不吭，回想着自己所见所闻的一切。

3 Oliver goes to London

He was treated badly by most of the people around him．Noah was jealous because Oliver went out to burials while he was left back in the shop, so he treated him even worse than before．Charlotte treated him badly because Noah did．And Mrs Sowerberry was his enemy because Mr Sowerberry was supposed to be his friend.

One day something happened which might seem unimportant, but which had a great effect on Oliver's future．Noah was in a particularly bad mood one dinnertime, and so he tried to make Oliver cry by hitting him, pulling his hair, and calling him horrible names．This was all unsuccessful, so he he tried personal insults.

'Workhouse, how's your mother?' he asked.

'She's dead,' replied Oliver, his face going red with emotion.

Noah hoped that Oliver was going to cry, so he continued．'What did she die of, Workhouse?'

'Of a broken heart, I was told.' And a tear rolled down Oliver's cheek.

'Why are you crying, Workhouse?'

Oliver remained silent, and Noah grew braver．'You know, I feel very sorry for you, Workhouse, but the truth is your mother was a wicked woman.'

Oliver seemed suddenly to wake up．'What did you say?'

'She was so bad it was lucky she died, or she would have ended up in prison, or hung.'

His face bright red with anger, Oliver jumped up, seized Noah's throat, and shook the older boy so violently that his teeth nearly fell out．Then he hit him with all his strength and knocked him to the ground.

'He'll murder me！' screamed Noah．'Charlotte！Help！Oliver's gone mad —'

Charlotte and Mrs Sowerberry ran in and screamed in horror．They took hold of Oliver and began to beat him．Then Noah got up and started to kick him from behind．When they were all tired, they forced Oliver, who was still fighting and shouting, into the cellar and locked it.

Mrs Sowerberry sat down, breathing heavily．'He's like a wild animal！' she said．'We could all have been murdered in our beds！'

'I hope Mr Sowerberry doesn't take any more of these dreadful creatures from the workhouse,' said Charlotte．'Poor Noah was nearly killed！' Mrs Sowerberry looked at Noah sympathetically.

Noah, who was twice Oliver's size, pretended to rub tears from his eyes.

'What shall we do?' cried Mrs Sowerberry．'He'll kick that door down in ten minutes.' They could hear Oliver banging and kicking at the cellar door．'Noah — run and get Mr Bumble.'

So Noah ran through the streets as quickly as he could to fetch the beadle．When he reached the workhouse, he waited for a minute to make sure his face was suitably tearful and frightened.

As soon as Mr Bumble came out, Noah cried, 'Mr Bumble！Mr Bumble！It's Oliver Twist, sir．He's become violent．He tried to murder me, sir！And Charlotte, and Mrs Sowerberry as well.'

Mr Bumble was shocked and angry．'Did he? I'll come up there immediately and beat him with my stick.'

When he arrived at the shop, Oliver was still kicking wildly at the cellar door.

'Let me out！' he shouted from the cellar, when he heard Mr Bumble's voice．'I'm not afraid of you！'

Mr Bumble stopped for a moment, amazed and even rather frightened by this change in Oliver．Then he said to Mrs Sowerberry, 'It's the meat that's caused this, you know.'

'What?'

'Meat, madam．You've fed him too well here．Back in the workhouse this would never have happened.'

'I knew I was too generous to him,' said Mrs Sowerberry, raising her eyes to the ceiling.

At that moment Mr Sowerberry returned and, hearing what had happened (according to the ladies), he beat Oliver so hard that even Mr Bumble and Mrs Sowerberry were satisfied．Mr Sowerberry was not a cruel man, but he had no choice．He knew．that if he didn't punish Oliver, his wife would never forgive him.

That night, alone in the room with the coffins, Oliver cried bitter, lonely tears．He did not sleep, and very early in the morning, before anyone was awake, he quietly unlocked the shop door and left the house．He ran up the street and through the town as far as the main road, where he saw a sign that told him it was just seventy miles from there to London．The name London gave the boy an idea．That huge place！Nobody, not even Mr Bumble, could ever find him there！He had heard old men in the workhouse say it was a good place for brave boys, and that there was always work there for those that wanted it．It would be the best place for him．He jumped to his feet and walked forward again.

But after only four miles he began to realize just how far he would have to walk．He stopped to think about it．He had a piece of bread, a rough shirt, two pairs of socks and a penny．But he could not see how these would help him get to London any faster, so he continued walking.

He walked twenty miles that day．The only thing he had to eat was his piece of bread and some water which he begged from houses near the road．He slept the first night in a field, feeling lonely, tired, cold and hungry．He was even hungrier the next morning when he woke up, and he had to buy some more bread with his penny．That day he walked only twelve miles．His legs were so weak that they shook beneath him.

The next day he tried to beg for money, but large signs in some villages warned him that anyone caught begging would be sent to prison．Travellers on the road refused to give him money; they said he was a lazy young dog and didn't deserve anything．Farmers threatened to send their dogs after him．When he waited outside pubs, the pub-owners chased him away because they thought he had come to steal something．Only two people were kind enough to feed him: an old woman and a gate-keeper on the road．If they had not given him some food, he surely would have died like his mother.

Early on the seventh morning of his journey, Oliver finally reached the little town of Barnet, just outside London．Exhausted, he sat down at the side of the road．His feet were bleeding and he was covered in dust．He was too tired even to beg．Then he noticed that a boy, who had passed him a few minutes before, had returned, and was now looking at him carefully from the opposite side of the road．After a long time the boy crossed the road and said to Oliver,

'Hello！What's the matter then?'

The boy was about Oliver's age, but was one of the strangest-looking people he had ever seen．He had a dirty, ordinary boy's face, but he behaved as if he were an adult．He was short for his age and had little, sharp, ugly eyes．His hat was stuck on top of his head but it looked as though it would blow off at any minute．He wore a man's coat which reached almost down to his feet, with sleeves so long that his hands were completely covered.

'I'm very tired and hungry,' answered Oliver, almost crying．'I've been walking for a week.'

'A week！The magistrate's order, was it?'

'The magistrate? What's that?'

'A magistrate's a kind of judge,' explained the surprised young gentleman．He realized Oliver did not have much experience of the world．'Never mind that．You want some food,' he went on．'I haven't got much money but don't worry — I'll pay.'

The boy helped Oliver to his feet, and took him to a pub．Meat, bread, and beer were placed before Oliver, and his new friend urged him to satisfy his hunger．While Oliver was eating, the strange boy looked at him from time to time with great attention.

'Going to London?' he asked him finally.

'Yes.'

'Got anywhere to live?'

'No.'

'Money?'

'No.'

The strange boy whistled, and put his arms into his pockets as far as the big coat sleeves would allow him．'I suppose you want to sleep somewhere tonight, don't you?'

'I do,' replied Oliver．'I haven't slept under a roof since I started my journey.'

'Well, don't worry．I've got to be in London tonight, and I know a very nice old gentleman there who'll let you live in his place and not even ask you for money！'

Oliver was deeply grateful for this offer of shelter and talked for a long time with his new friend．His name was Jack Dawkins, but he was usually called 'The Artful Dodger'．'Artful' because he was very clever at getting what he wanted; and 'Dodger' because he was very good at not getting caught when he did something wrong．When he heard this, Oliver felt rather doubtful about having such a friend．However, he wanted first to meet the kind old gentleman in London, who would help him．After that, he could decide whether to continue the friendship with the Artful Dodger.

assistant n．helper. 助手。

sickly adj．frequently ill. 多病的。

wealthy adj．rich. 富有的。

admire v．have a high regard for. 赞赏。

recover v．get back to a former state of health, mental condition, etc. 恢复以前的健康、心理状况等。

emotion n．stirring up, excitement, of the mind or the feelings.（心情或感情的）激动。

wicked adj．bad; wrong; immoral. 坏的；不道德的。

murder v．kill a human being unlawfully and on purpose. 谋杀。

cellar n．underground room for storing coal, wine, etc. 地窖。

creature n．living animal. 畜牲。

sympathetically adv．in a manner of feeling pity and tenderness. 同情地。

pretend v．make oneself appear to be doing sth to deceive others. 佯装。

bang v．hit violently. 猛击。

generous adj．giving, ready to give, freely. 慷慨的。

satisfy v．make contented. 使满意。

forgive v．no longer have hard feelings towards sb. 原谅。

huge adj．very great. 巨大的。

lazy adj．unwilling to work. 懒惰的。

pub n．public house. 酒馆。

chase v．run after in order to capture, kill, overtake or drive away. 驱逐。

exhaust v．use up completely. 用尽：耗尽。

bleed v．lose, send out, blood. 流血。

blow v．(of the wind) cause to move.（指风）刮走。

magistrate n．civil officer acting as a judge in the lowest courts. 地方法官。

urge v．request earnestly. 力劝。

whistle v．blowing through the rounded lips. 吹口哨。

roof n．top covering of a building, tent, etc.（建筑物等）顶。

shelter n．sth that gives safety or protection. 避难所。

dodger n．person who dodges, especially an artful or cunning person. 狡猾的逃避者。

3 奥利弗到伦敦去

奥利弗现已是棺材店老板的正式助理，这一年年景很好，疾病成灾，棺材生意兴旺。在不长的时间里他就积累了许多经验。他很有兴趣地发现有些人在家里死了人时表现得沉着勇敢。比如说，他发现在一些有钱人的葬礼上，在教堂里哭声最大的人往往都是事后恢复最快的人。他注意到，还有一些富人家，尽管刚刚死了人，但无论死者的妻子还是丈夫，都显得轻松愉快、镇定自若——好像什么都没发生过一样。奥利弗对这些感到不可理解，对他们能很好地克制悲伤不流露于外佩服极了。

他身边的人大都待他极不好。诺厄十分妒忌奥利弗，因为他能出去参加葬礼，而自己却被留在店铺里，所以比以前更加残酷地对待他。夏洛特对他不好，是因为诺厄对他坏。索尔贝里太太跟他是对头，是因为她认为索尔贝里先生是他的朋友。

一天，发生了一件本来看起来好像不很重要的事，可这事对奥利弗的未来却产生了很大的影响。晚餐时，诺厄的心情特别不好，他成心想弄哭奥利弗，就打他，揪他的头发，用各种坏话骂他，但这都无济于事。他便对他进行人格侮辱。“济贫院，你妈妈呢？”他问道。“她死了。”奥利弗回答说，由于感情激动，他的脸变红了。

诺厄想让奥利弗哭出来，就接着问：“她是怎么死的，济贫院？”“有人告诉我她是伤心死的。”一颗泪珠从奥利弗的脸上滚落下来。“你怎么哭了，济贫院？”

奥利弗不吭声，诺厄胆子大了，更加得寸进尺：“你知道我很同情你，济贫院，但你妈妈其实是个坏女人。”

奥利弗好像猛一激灵。“你说什么？”“她太坏了，所以死了倒是件好事，否则她最后会被关进监狱或处以绞刑的。”

奥利弗的脸由于气愤而涨得通红。他猛地跳了起来，一把掐住诺厄的喉咙，拼命地摇着那大孩子，差点儿把他的牙齿都摇掉了。接着，他使出全身的力气一拳将他打倒在地。“他会弄死我的！”诺厄尖声叫喊着，“夏洛特！救命！奥利弗疯了——”

夏洛特和索尔贝里太太跑了进来，害怕得尖叫起来。他们抓住奥利弗拳脚相加。这时诺厄才从地上爬了起来，从背后抬脚猛踢他。直到他们都打累了，他们才将仍在反抗的奥利弗推进地下室，锁了起来。

索尔贝里太太坐下来，喘着粗气说：“他简直像头野兽！我们都有可能被他害死在床上。”“我真不希望索尔贝里先生再从济贫院里带来这种可怕的东西，”夏洛特说，“可怜的诺厄差点儿被掐死！”索尔贝里太太表示同情地看着诺厄。

诺厄是奥利弗身材的两倍，这会儿他正假装擦着眼泪。“我们该怎么办？”索尔贝里太太叫喊着，“用不了十分钟他就会把那扇门踢破的。”他们能听见地下室里奥利弗咚咚的敲门踹门声。“诺厄——快去把班布尔先生找来。”

诺厄尽可能快地跑着，穿过了几条街道，去叫执事。他来到了济贫院，先在外面站了一会儿，好确实做到自己的脸上有适当的泪痕和害怕的样子。

班布尔先生从屋里一出来，诺厄就喊了起来：“班布尔先生！班布尔先生！又是奥利弗·特威斯特闹事了。他动手打人，想弄死我，先生！还想害死夏洛特和索尔贝里太太。”

班布尔先生大为震惊，他非常生气。“是吗？我立刻就去，我要用我的手杖狠狠地揍他。”

他来到棺材店时，奥利弗还在发疯似地踹着地下室的门。“让我出去！”他听到了班布尔先生的声音时，在地下室叫喊着，“我不怕你！”

班布尔先生稍稍站了一会儿，他对奥利弗的变化很吃惊，甚至很有点害怕。然后他对索尔贝里太太说：“这就是肉食造成的结果，你知道。”“什么？”“肉，太太，你这里给他吃得太好了。在济贫院里是从来不会发生这种事的。”“我知道我对他是太厚道了。”索尔贝里太太抬起眼睛看着天花板，说道。

就在这时，索尔贝里先生从外面回来了，他知道了发生的一切（是从女人们的嘴里听说的），就狠狠地打了奥利弗一顿，以至于班布尔先生和索尔贝里太太都感到满意了。索尔贝里先生不是个狠心的人，可他没有别的办法，他很清楚，假如他不惩罚奥利弗，他老婆是不会饶过他的。

那天晚上，一个人呆在棺材房里，奥利弗哭了，流下了辛酸、孤单的眼泪。他一夜没睡，第二天一大早，趁着还没有一个人起床，便轻轻地打开了铺子的门，离开了这座房子。他沿街道跑下去，尽快地穿过镇子，直走到大路上。他看见一块牌子上写着“此地距伦敦七十英里整”。伦敦这个地名使这个孩子产生了一个念头。那是个极大的地方！在那儿没人能找到他，就连班布尔先生也找不到！在济贫院里他听老人们说过，那是个勇敢的孩子去的好地方，而且在那儿很容易找到事做。对他来说那将是最好的去处。他一跃而起，朝前走去。

但是刚刚走了四英里，他已开始意识到他还有多么长的路要走。他停下脚步，想了想这件事。他身边有一块面包、一件粗布衫、两双袜子和一便士。他看不出这些东西怎么能帮他更快地到达伦敦。于是，他继续往前走去。

那一天，他走了二十英里，只吃了身边的那块面包，喝了点儿从路边人家讨来的水。第一天晚上他睡在了野地里，孤单、疲劳、寒冷、饥饿一起向他袭来。第二天早晨醒来，他更加饥饿难耐，不得不拿出仅有的一便士买了点儿面包。这一天他只走了十二英里，他的两条腿软弱无力，不停地瑟瑟发抖。

第三天，他不得不乞讨小钱了。但在一些村子，他能看到大的牌子，上面写着警告说，任何乞讨的人，一旦抓住后，将被送进监狱。路上的行人拒绝给他钱；他们说他是一条小懒狗，不应得到任何东西。农夫们威胁说要放出狗来追他。他站在小酒店外面时，酒店老板也要赶他走，因为他们认为他是来偷东西的。只有两个好心人给了他东西吃：一位老妇和一个路上的看门人。如果不是他们给他东西吃，他肯定会像他母亲一样死去的。

在旅途的第七天清早，奥利弗终于到达了伦敦附近一个叫巴尼特的小镇子。他精疲力竭地坐在路边，两只脚流着血，浑身上下沾满了尘土。由于过度疲劳，他连乞讨的劲儿都没有了，这时，他注意到有一个男孩几分钟之前从他身边走过，这会儿又折了回来，站在马路的对面仔细打量着他。过了好一会儿，这男孩穿过马路，向他走来，说：“喂！怎么回事？”

这男孩跟奥利弗年龄相仿，但奥利弗从未见过像他这样样子奇怪的人。他长着一张普通男孩的肮脏的脸，可他的一举一动跟大人一样。他比实际年龄要矮一点儿，一双贼溜溜的眯缝眼很难看。他的帽子就搁在脑袋顶上，看上去随时有可能被风吹掉。他身上穿了一件大人的外衣，衣服几乎拖到了脚背上。衣袖很长，几乎将他的两只手全盖在里面。“我又累又饿，”奥利弗几乎是哭着回答说，“我走了整整一星期的路了。”“一星期！是治安推事的命令吗？”“治安推事，是什么？”“治安推事是一种法官。”那位感到惊讶的年轻先生解释说。他明白了奥利弗涉世不深，没有多少经验。“别去管那些了。你现在需要吃点东西。”他接着说，“我身上没多少钱，但是别担心——我会付钱的。”

这个男孩扶奥利弗站起来，带他走进一家小酒馆。肉、面包和啤酒摆在了奥利弗面前。他的新朋友催他快解除饥饿。奥利弗吃东西时，这个陌生的男孩不时注意地盯着他看。“去伦敦吗？”他最后问。“是的。”“有地方住吗？”“没有。”“有钱吗？”“没有。”

这陌生的男孩吹了声口哨，将两只手插进了衣袋里，直到宽大的衣袖挡住不能再插进去为止。“我想你今儿晚上得找个睡觉的地儿，是不是？”“是的。”奥利弗回答说，“这一路上我从来没在屋顶下睡过觉。”“别担心，今儿晚上我也得去伦敦。我认识那儿一个非常好的老先生，他会让你住在他那儿的，而且不要你的钱！”

奥利弗对他能提供栖身之处深为感激，同他的新朋友聊了很长时间。他叫杰克·道金斯，可人们都叫他“插翅神偷”。叫“神偷”是因为他能灵巧地得到他想要的东西；而“插翅”则是指他做了坏事时，善于及时逃脱不被抓获。奥利弗听到这儿，对有这样一个朋友感到拿不定主意。不管怎样，他先要见见在伦敦的这位好心的、会帮助他的老先生，之后再决定是否与插翅神偷继续他们的朋友关系。

4 Oliver in London

'Who's there?' a voice cried out.

'It's me,' said the Dodger．The faint light of a candle appeared in the hall.

'Who's the other one?'

'A new friend.'

They went up some dark and broken stairs．Oliver could hardly see where he was going, but the Dodger seemed to know the way, and helped Oliver up．They entered a room with walls that were black with age and dirt．In front of the fire was a table with a candle stuck into a bottle of beer, and an old man, with a horribly ugly face and red hair, stood next to the fire cooking．He was wearing a dirty old coat and seemed to divide his attention between his cooking and a number of silk handkerchieves, which were hanging near the fire．There were several rough beds in the room．Four or five boys, about the same age as the Artful Dodger, sat round the table, smoking and drinking like middle-aged men．They all looked up when the Dodger and Oliver entered.

'This is him, Fagin,' the Dodger said to the old man．'My friend Oliver Twist.'

Fagin smiled and shook Oliver's hand．Then all the young gentlemen came up to him and shook both his hands very hard, especially the hand which held his few possessions．One of the boys was particularly kind．He even put his hands in Oliver's pockets so that Oliver would not have to empty them himself when he went to bed．The boys would probably have been even more helpful, but Fagin hit them on their heads and shoulders until they left Oliver alone.

'We're very glad to see you, Oliver,' said Fagin．'I see you're staring at the handkerchieves, my dear．Aren't there a lot? We've just taken them all out to wash them, that's all！Ha！Ha！Ha！'

This seemed to be a joke, as the old gentleman and all his young friends gave loud shouts of laughter．Then supper began．Oliver ate his share of the food and was then given a glass of gin-and-water．Fagin told him to drink it fast．Immediately afterwards, Oliver felt himself lifted onto one of the beds and he sank into a deep sleep.

When he woke, it was late morning．Fagin was the only other person in the room, and he was boiling coffee in a pan．When the coffee was done, he turned towards Oliver and looked closely at the boy．Oliver was only just awake and his eyes were half-closed, so he seemed to be still fast asleep．Fagin then locked the door and from a hidden hole in the floor, he took out a small box, which he placed carefully on the table．His eyes shone as he opened it and took out a gold watch covered in jewels.

'Aah！' he said to himself．'What fine men they were！Loyal to the end．They never told the priest where the jewels were．Nor about old Fagin．Not even at the very end．And why should they? It was already too late．It wouldn't have stopped the rope going round their necks！'

Fagin took out at least six more watches, as well as rings and bracelets and many other valuable pieces of jewellery．He looked at them with pleasure, then replaced them．'What a good thing hanging is！' he murmured．'Dead men can never talk, or betray old friends！'

At that moment he looked up and saw Oliver watching him．He closed the lid of the box with a loud crash, and picked up a bread knife from the table．'Why are you watching me? What have you seen? Tell me — quick！'

'I couldn't sleep any longer, sir,' said Oliver, terrified．'I'm very sorry.'

'You weren't awake an hour ago?' Fagin asked fiercely, still holding the knife.

'I promise I wasn't, sir,' replied Oliver.

'Don't worry, my dear,' Fagin said, putting down the knife and becoming once again the kind old gentleman．He laughed．'I only tried to frighten you, my dear．You're a brave boy, Oliver！And did you see any of the pretty things?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Ah,' said Fagin, turning rather pale．'They — they're mine, Oliver．All I have, in my old age.'

Oliver wondered why the old man lived in such an old, dirty place, when he had so many watches, but then he thought that it must cost Fagin a lot of money to look after the Dodger and the other boys．So he said nothing, and got up and washed．When he turned towards Fagin, the box had disappeared.

Soon the Dodger entered with a cheerful young man named Charley Bates.

'Have you been at work this morning?' Fagin asked the Dodger.

'Hard at work,' answered the Dodger.

'Good boys, good boys！' said Fagin．'What have you got?'

'A couple of pocket-books and some handkerchieves.'

'Good workers, aren't they, Oliver?' said the old man.

'Very good,' said Oliver．The others all started laughing, though Oliver saw nothing funny in his answer．Fagin inspected the handkerchieves and told the two boys that they were extremely well made and that he was very pleased with their work.

After breakfast they played a very strange game．The cheerful old man put a watch in his jacket pocket, with a guard-chain round his neck, and a notebook and a handkerchief in his trouser pocket．Then he went up and down the room holding a walking stick, just like the old gentlemen who walked in the streets．Sometimes he stopped at the fireplace, and sometimes at the door, pretending to stare with great interest into shop windows．He would then constantly look round, as if afraid of thieves, touching all his pockets in such a natural and funny way that Oliver laughed until tears ran down his face．All the time, the two boys followed Fagin everywhere, and every time he turned round, they moved out of his sight so quickly that it was impossible to follow their movements.

Finally, the Dodger bumped into him accidentally from behind, and at that moment both boys took from him, very quickly, his watch, guard-chain, handkerchief, and notebook．If the old man felt a hand in any of his pockets he cried out, and then the game began again.

Later, the boys went out again to do some more work．When they had gone, Fagin turned to Oliver．'Take my advice, my dear,' he said．'Make them your models．Especially the Dodger．He'll be a great man himself, and will make you one too, if you copy him．Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, my dear?'

'Yes, sir,' said Oliver.

'See if you can take it out, without my feeling it．Just as you saw them doing it when we were playing.'

Oliver held up the bottom of the pocket with one hand, as he had seen the Dodger hold it, and pulled the handkerchief lightly out of it with the other.

'Has it gone?' asked Fagin.

'Here it is, sir,' said Oliver, showing it in his hand.

'You're a clever boy, my dear,' said the old gentleman, putting his hand on Oliver's head．'I've never seen a quicker boy．If you go on like this, you'll be the greatest man in London．Now come here and I'll show you how to take the marks out of handkerchieves.'

Oliver wondered what the connection was between playing at stealing from the old gentleman's pocket and becoming a great man．But he followed him quietly to the table and was soon deeply involved in his new study.

Oliver remained in Fagin's room for many days, picking the marks and names out of the handkerchieves and sometimes playing the same game as before．One evening two young ladies came to visit, and a very cheerful party followed．Oliver thought they were very nice, friendly girls.

The Dodger and Charley Bates went out to work every day, but sometimes came home with no handkerchieves, and Fagin would get very angry．Once he even knocked them both down the stairs and sent them to bed with no dinner because they had returned with nothing.

At last, the morning came when Oliver was allowed to go out to work with the two other boys．There had been no handkerchieves for him to work on for several days and there was not very much to eat for dinner．The three boys set out, but they walked so slowly that Oliver thought they were not going to work at all．Then suddenly the Dodger stopped and put his finger to his lips.

'What's the matter?' demanded Oliver.

'Be quiet！' replied the Dodger．'Do you see that old man outside the bookshop? He's the one.'

Oliver looked from the Dodger to Charley Bates with great surprise and confusion, but he had been told not to ask questions．The two boys walked quickly and secretly across the road towards the old gentleman．Oliver followed behind them, watching in silent amazement.

The old gentleman looked quite rich; he wore gold glasses, white trousers, and had an expensive walking stick under his arm．He had picked up a book and was standing there, reading it with great concentration — just as if he were in his own armchair at home．Oliver, his eyes wide with horror and alarm, watched as the Dodger put his hand in the old gentleman's pocket, took out a handkerchief, and handed it to Charley Bates．Then the two of them ran round the corner as fast as they could.

Suddenly, the whole mystery of the handkerchieves, and the watches, and the jewels, and Fagin, became clear．Oliver stood for a moment in terror, blood rushing through him until he felt he was on fire．Then, confused and frightened, he started to run．At the same time, the old gentleman, putting his hand to his pocket and realizing his handkerchief was missing, turned round．He saw Oliver running away, so he naturally thought Oliver was the thief．With loud cries of 'Stop thief！', he ran after Oliver with the book still in his hand.

The old gentleman was not the only one who started shouting．The Dodger and Charley Bates, not wanting to attract attention to themselves by running down the street, had stopped round the first corner．When they realized what was happening, they also shouted 'Stop thief！' and joined in the chase like good citizens.

The cry of 'Stop thief！' always causes great excitement．Everybody in the street stopped what they were doing and began to shout themselves．Many joined in the chase with enthusiasm and soon there was a big crowd running after Oliver.

Finally, they caught the exhausted boy．He fell down on the pavement and the crowd gathered round him.

'Is this the boy?' they asked the old gentleman.

'Yes,' he answered, leaning over Oliver．'But I'm afraid he's hurt himself.'

' I did that,' said a huge young man proudly．'And I hurt my hand doing it.' The old gentleman looked at him with an expression of dislike.

Oliver lay on the ground, covered with mud and dust and bleeding from the mouth, and looked wildly at all the faces surrounding him．At that moment a policeman arrived and took Oliver by the collar．'Come on, get up,' he said roughly.

'It wasn't me, sir,' said Oliver, looking round．'It was two other boys．They're here somewhere.'

'Oh no, they aren't,' replied the policeman．In fact, he was right, as the Dodger and Charley had quietly disappeared as soon as the crowd had caught Oliver．'Come on, get up！'

'Don't hurt him,' said the old gentleman.

'I won't,' said the policeman, tearing Oliver's jacket half off his back as he lifted him up.

The three of them started walking, followed by the excited crowd.

centre n．middle part or point. 中心；中央。

district n．part of a country. 地区。

muddy adj．full of, covered with mud. 泥泞的。

evil adj．wicked. 邪恶的。

handkerchief n．square piece of cotton, linen, etc carried in the pocket or handbag, for blowing the nose into or wiping the face. 手帕。

empty v．make or become empty, remove what is inside. 腾空。

joke n．sth said or done to cause amusement, laughter, etc. 玩笑。

sink v．come to a lower level or state. 陷入。

jewel n．precious stone. 宝石。

loyal adj．true and faithful. 忠诚的。

bracelet n．ornamental band or chain for the wrist or arm. 手镯。

fiercely adv．in a violent and angry manner. 凶猛地。

frighten v．fill with fright or terror. 使惊骇。

pretty adj．fine; good. 好的。

cheerful adj．bringing or suggesting happiness. 愉快的。

couple n．two things seen together or associated 一对。

inspect v．examine carefully. 检查。

bump v．come against with a blow or knock. 碰到。

model n．person or thing to be copied. 模范。

especially adv．to an exceptional degree. 特别地。

bottom n．lowest part of anything. 底部。

connection n．point where two things are connected. 连接点。

steal v．take sb else's property secretly, without right, unlawfully. 偷。

involve v．cause sb to be caught or mixed up. 使陷于麻烦中。

demand v．ask for (sth) as if ordering, or as if one has a right to. 要求（某事物）。

confusion n．being confused. 混乱。

follow v．go after (in space or order). 跟随。

concentration n．being concentrated on. 集中。

mystery n．condition of being secret or obscure. 秘密。

enthusiasm n．strong feeling of admiration or interest. 热心。

crowd n．large number of people together, but without order or organization. 人群。

pavement n．paved way at the side of a street for people on foot. 人行道。

expression n．a look on sb's face. 表情。

surround v．be all round, shut in on all sides. 包围；环绕。

collar n．part of a garment that fits round the neck. 衣领。

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