《雾都孤儿》一书于1838年首次刊行。当时并不时兴写作反映生活的悲惨现实的小说，但狄更斯存心要使读者震惊。他想要展示出罪犯们的真实面目，揭露出隐藏在伦敦狭小、肮脏的偏僻街道里的恐怖与暴力。因此他为我们写了邪恶的费金，残暴的比尔·赛克斯，以及一大群窃贼强盗。这些人撒谎、欺诈、偷盗，害怕进监狱，害怕刽子手把绞索套到他们的脖颈上，在惴惴不安中生活。
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。
1 Oliver’s early life
1 奥利弗的早年生活
Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse, and when he arrived in this hard world, it was very doubtful whether he would live beyond the first three minutes.
奥利弗·特威斯特出生在济贫院，当他来到这个艰难的世界时，能否活过最初的三分钟都很难说。
He lay on a hard little bed and struggled to start breathing.
他躺在一张坚硬的小床上，挣扎着开始呼吸。
Oliver fought his first battle without much assistance from the two people present at his birth.
奥利弗打赢了人生第一场仗，而当时在场的两个人并没有给他多少帮助。
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.
一个是几乎总是喝醉的老妇人，另一个是忙碌的当地医生，他的报酬微薄，对奥利弗的死活并不怎么关心。
After all, death was a common event in the workhouse, where only the poor and homeless lived.
毕竟，在只住着穷人和无家可归者的济贫院里，死亡是常事。
However, Oliver managed to draw his first breath, and then announced his arrival to the rest of the workhouse by crying loudly.
然而，奥利弗总算吸进了第一口气，随后用响亮的哭声向济贫院里的其他人宣告了他的到来。
His mother raised her pale young face from the pillow and whispered, ‘Let me see the child, and die.’
他的母亲从枕头上抬起苍白年轻的脸庞，低声说道：“让我看一眼孩子，然后死去。”
The doctor turned away from the fire, where he had been warming his hands.
医生从烤火的壁炉旁转过身来。
‘You must not talk about dying yet,’ he said to her kindly.
“你现在还不能说死，”他和蔼地对她说。
He gave her the child to hold.
他把孩子递给她抱。
Lovingly, she kissed the baby on its forehead with her cold white lips, then stared wildly around the room, fell back — and died.
她用冰冷苍白的嘴唇深情地亲吻了婴儿的额头，然后狂乱地环顾四周，向后倒去——死了。
‘Poor dear!’ said the nurse, hurriedly putting a green glass bottle back in the pocket of her long skirt.
“可怜的人啊！”护士说着，急忙把一个绿色玻璃瓶放回长裙口袋里。
The doctor began to put on his coat.
医生开始穿上外套。
‘The baby is weak and will probably have difficulties,’ he said.
“这孩子很虚弱，恐怕会有困难，”他说。
‘If so, give it a little milk to keep it quiet.’
“如果是这样，就喂他一点奶让他安静下来。”
Then he looked at the dead woman.
然后他看了看死去的女人。
‘The mother was a good-looking girl. Where did she come from?’
“这母亲是个漂亮的姑娘。她从哪里来的？”
‘She was brought here last night,’ replied the old woman.
“她是昨晚被送来的，”老妇人回答道。
‘She was found lying in the street. She’d walked some distance, judging by her shoes, which were worn to pieces.’
“有人发现她躺在街上。从她那双磨破的鞋子来看，她走了很远的路。”
‘Where she came from, where she was going to, or what her name was, nobody knows.’
“没人知道她从哪儿来，要到哪儿去，也没人知道她叫什么名字。”
The doctor lifted the girl’s left hand.
医生抬起女孩的左手。
‘The old story,’ he said sadly, shaking his head.
“又是老一套，”他悲伤地摇着头说。
‘No wedding ring, I see. Ah! Good night.’
“果然没有结婚戒指。唉！晚安。”
And so Oliver was left with only the drunken nurse.
于是，奥利弗身边只剩下了那个醉醺醺的护士。
Without clothes, under his first blanket, he could have been the child of a king or a beggar.
没穿衣服、裹在第一条毯子里的他，既可能是国王的孩子，也可能是乞丐的孩子。
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.
但当那个女人后来给他穿上因年久而发黄的粗棉布衣服时，他的模样便完全符合他的身份了——一个济贫院里的孤儿，注定要过悲惨、饥饿和被忽视的生活。
Oliver cried loudly.
奥利弗大声哭了起来。
If he could have known that he was a workhouse orphan, perhaps he would have cried even more loudly.
如果他知道自己是济贫院的孤儿，也许会哭得更响亮。
There was no one to look after the baby in the workhouse, so Oliver was sent to a special ‘baby farm’ nearby.
济贫院里没人照看婴儿，所以奥利弗被送到了附近一家专门的“育婴堂”。
There, he and thirty other children rolled around the floor all day, without the inconvenience of too much food or too much clothing.
在那里，他和另外三十个孩子整天在地板上打滚，既不会因食物太多也不会因衣服太多而感到不便。
Mrs Mann, the old woman who ‘looked after’ them, was very experienced.
“照看”他们的老妇人曼太太非常有经验。
She knew what was good for children, and a full stomach was very dangerous to their health.
她知道什么对孩子好，而吃得太饱对他们的健康非常危险。
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.
她也知道什么对自己好，所以她把发给孩子们的伙食费留作己用。
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.
负责管理孤儿的理事会偶尔会检查孩子们的健康状况，但他们总是派教区执事（一种地方警察）在前一天通知探访事宜。
So whenever the board arrived, of course, the children were always neat and clean.
因此，每当理事会到来时，孩子们当然总是整洁干净的。
This was the way Oliver was brought up.
奥利弗就是这样被抚养长大的。
Consequently, at the age of nine he was a pale, thin child and short for his age.
结果，九岁的他脸色苍白、身体瘦弱，个子也比同龄人矮。
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.
但尽管经常挨曼太太的打，他的意志却很坚强，这大概也是他能活到九岁的原因。
On Oliver’s ninth birthday, Mr Bumble the beadle came to the house to see Mrs Mann.
在奥利弗九岁生日那天，教区执事班布尔先生来到育婴堂见曼太太。
Through the front window Mrs Mann saw him at the gate, and turned quickly to the girl who worked with her.
曼太太透过前窗看见他在大门口，便迅速转向和她一起干活的女孩。
‘Quick! Take Oliver and those others upstairs to be washed!’ she said.
“快！把奥利弗和其他几个孩子带到楼上去洗洗！”她说。
Then she ran out to unlock the gate. (It was always kept locked to prevent official visitors walking in unexpectedly.)
然后她跑出去打开大门。（大门总是锁着的，以防官方访客突然闯入。）
‘I have business to talk about,’ Mr Bumble told Mrs Mann as he entered the house.
班布尔先生进屋时对曼太太说：“我有公事要谈。”
He was a big fat man, often bad-tempered, and was full of self-importance.
他是个肥胖的大个子，脾气常常不好，而且自视甚高。
He did not like to be kept waiting at a locked gate.
他不喜欢被关在大门外等候。
Mrs Mann took his hat and coat, placed a chair for him, and expressed great concern for his comfort.
曼太太接过他的帽子和外套，给他搬了把椅子，并对他的舒适表现出极大的关切。
‘You’ve had a long walk, Mr Bumble,’ she said, ‘and you must be thirsty.’
“您走了这么远的路，班布尔先生，”她说，“一定渴了吧。”
She took out a bottle from the cupboard.
她从柜子里拿出一个瓶子。
‘No, thank you, Mrs Mann. Not a drop.’ He waved the bottle away.
“不了，谢谢，曼太太。一滴也不要。”他挥手拒绝了那个瓶子。
‘Just a little drop, Mr Bumble, with cold water,’ said Mrs Mann persuasively.
“就来一小滴吧，班布尔先生，兑点凉水，”曼太太劝说道。
Mr Bumble coughed. ‘What is it?’ he asked, looking at the bottle with interest.
班布尔先生咳嗽了一声。“这是什么？”他感兴趣地看着瓶子问道。
‘Gin. I keep it for the children’s medicine drink.’
“杜松子酒。我留着给孩子们配药喝的。”
‘You give the children gin, Mrs Mann?’ asked Mr Bumble, watching as she mixed his drink.
“你给孩子们喝杜松子酒，曼太太？”班布尔先生一边看着她调酒一边问。
‘Only with medicine, sir. I don’t like to see them suffer.’
“只是配药时才加，先生。我不忍心看他们受苦。”
‘You’re a good woman, Mrs Mann.’ Mr Bumble drank half his glass immediately.
“你是个好心肠的女人，曼太太。”班布尔先生立刻喝掉了半杯。
‘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.’
“我会向理事会表扬你的。现在——说说我来这儿的原因。奥利弗·特威斯特今天满九岁了。我们一直没能查到他父母的任何消息。”
‘Then how did he get his name?’
“那他的名字是怎么来的？”
‘I gave it to him,’ said Mr Bumble proudly.
“是我给他起的，”班布尔先生自豪地说。
‘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.’
“我们按字母表顺序起名。上一个是S——斯瓦布尔。然后是T，所以这个叫特威斯特。下一个将是U——昂温。”
‘Anyway, Oliver Twist is now old enough to return to the workhouse. Bring him here, please.’
“总之，奥利弗·特威斯特现在已经够大了，可以回济贫院了。请把他带过来。”
While Mrs Mann went to get him, Mr Bumble finished the rest of his gin.
趁曼太太去叫他的时候，班布尔先生喝完了剩下的杜松子酒。
Oliver, his face and hands now almost clean, was led into the room.
奥利弗被领进了房间，此时他的脸和手差不多洗干净了。
‘Will you come along with me, Oliver?’ asked Mr Bumble in a loud voice.
“你愿意跟我走吗，奥利弗？”班布尔先生大声问道。
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.
奥利弗很高兴能摆脱曼太太的暴力，但他什么也没说，因为她正愤怒地对他摇晃着手指。
However, as the gate closed behind Oliver, he burst into tears.
然而，当大门在奥利弗身后关上时，他突然大哭起来。
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.
他离开了其他孩子——他仅有的朋友，那一刻他意识到自己在这个世界上是多么孤独。
Mr Bumble walked on with long steps, with Oliver on his short little legs running beside him.
班布尔先生迈着大步往前走，奥利弗迈着小短腿在旁边跑着跟上。
The feeling of contentment produced by gin-and-water had now disappeared, and the beadle was in a bad mood once more.
杜松子酒兑水带来的满足感已经消失，这位执事的脾气又变坏了。
Back at the workhouse, Oliver was taken to see the board.
回到济贫院后，奥利弗被带去见理事会。
He stood in front of ten fat men who were sitting around a table.
他站在围坐在桌旁的十个胖子面前。
‘What’s your name, boy?’ asked a particularly fat man with a very round, red face.
“你叫什么名字，孩子？”一个特别胖、脸又圆又红的男人问道。
Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many people, and started to cry.
看到这么多人，奥利弗吓坏了，开始哭了起来。
‘Why are you crying?’
“你为什么哭？”
The beadle hit him on the back, and so naturally Oliver cried even more.
执事在他背上打了一下，于是奥利弗自然哭得更厉害了。
‘The boy is a fool,’ one member of the board announced.
“这孩子是个傻瓜，”一位理事会成员断言道。
‘You know you have no father or mother,’ said the first man, ‘and that you have been brought up with other orphans?’
“你知道自己没有父母，”第一个人说，“也知道你是和其他孤儿一起长大的吧？”
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Oliver, crying bitterly.
“是的，先生，”奥利弗哭着回答，十分伤心。
‘Why is the boy crying?’ repeated the other man, puzzled.
“这孩子为什么哭？”另一个人困惑地重复道。
‘You have come here to be educated,’ continued the fat man, ‘so you will start working here tomorrow at six o’clock.’
“你来这里是为了受教育，”那个胖子继续说，“所以你明天早上六点就要开始在这里干活。”
Oliver was led away to a large room, where, on a rough hard bed, he cried himself to sleep.
奥利弗被带到一个大房间里，在那张粗糙坚硬的床上，他哭着睡着了。
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.
济贫院里男孩们吃饭的房间是一个宽敞的石砌大厅，在一端由管事和两个女人分发食物。
This consisted of a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with a piece of bread on Sundays.
伙食是一天三碗稀汤，星期天有一块面包。
The boys ate everything and were always hungry.
男孩们把所有东西都吃得干干净净，却总是饿着肚子。
The bowls never needed washing.
碗从来不需要洗。
The boys polished them with their spoons until they shone.
男孩们用勺子把碗擦得锃亮。
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.
经过三个月这种慢性饥饿的折磨，其中一个男孩告诉其他人，他饿极了，说不定哪天晚上会把睡在他旁边的男孩吃掉。
He had a wild hungry eye, and the other boys believed him.
他眼神狂野而饥渴，其他男孩都相信了他。
After a long discussion, they decided that one of them should ask for more food after supper that evening, and Oliver was chosen.
经过长时间的讨论，他们决定当晚晚饭后由其中一人去要求添饭，奥利弗被选中了。
The evening arrived; the soup was served, and the bowls were empty again in a few seconds.
傍晚到了；汤分发了下去，几秒钟内碗又空了。
Oliver went up to the master, with his bowl in his hand.
奥利弗手里端着碗，走到管事面前。
He felt very frightened, but also desperate with hunger.
他感到非常害怕，但也因饥饿而绝望。
‘Please, sir, I want some more.’
“求您了，先生，我还想要一点。”
The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale.
管事是个肥胖健康的男人，但他脸色变得煞白。
He looked at the little boy in front of him with amazement. Nobody else spoke.
他惊愕地看着眼前的小男孩。其他人都没说话。
‘What?’ he asked at last, in a faint voice.
“什么？”他终于用微弱的声音问道。
‘Please, sir,’ replied Oliver, ‘I want some more.’
“求您了，先生，”奥利弗回答，“我还想要一点。”
The master hit him with the serving spoon, then seized Oliver’s arms and shouted for the beadle.
管事用分汤的勺子打了他一下，然后抓住奥利弗的手臂大喊执事。
The beadle came quickly, heard the dreadful news, and immediately ran to tell the board.
执事很快赶来，听到了这个可怕的消息，立刻跑去报告理事会。
‘He asked for more?’ Mr Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in horror.
“他竟然还要添饭？”最胖的理事林布金斯先生惊恐地问道。
‘Bumble — is this really true?’
“班布尔——这是真的吗？”
‘That boy will be hanged!’ said the man who earlier had called Oliver a fool. ‘You see if I’m not right.’
“那孩子迟早会被绞死！”之前骂奥利弗傻瓜的那个人说。“你看我说得对不对。”
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.
奥利弗被带走关了起来，并且悬赏给任何愿意把他领走当劳工使用的人。
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