Uncle Scrooge wanted to thank them, but the spirit hurried him away.
斯克罗吉舅舅想感谢他们，但幽灵催他立刻离开。
The ghost seemed much older now: his brown hair had become grey.
鬼魂现在看上去老了许多：它棕色的头发变成了灰白色。
'Are spirits' lives so short?' asked Scrooge.
“幽灵的生命如此短暂吗？”斯克罗吉问。
'My life in this world ends at midnight tonight. Listen! It's a quarter to midnight now!'
“我的生命在今天午夜时结束。听着，现在离午夜只差一刻钟了！”
The church clock was striking the three quarters.
教堂的钟正在敲响三刻的时辰。
'Excuse me for asking, spirit,'said Scrooge, 'but what are those strange things near your foot?'
“幽灵，请问，”斯克罗吉说，“你脚边是什么东西？”
'Oh man, look here!' said the spirit sadly, and brought out from under his robe two ghostly figures, a boy and a girl.
“噢！伙计，看这个！”幽灵悲伤地说，并从他的长袍下掏出两个鬼魂似的塑像，一个男孩一个女孩。
They were thin and poorly dressed, with cold, mean eyes and dry, yellow skin, and their faces showed only a frightening and murderous hate.
他们骨瘦如柴，破衣烂衫，目光冷漠犀利，皮肤干燥发黄，他们的脸上充满了可怕的、凶狠的仇恨表情。
Scrooge had never seen anything so terrible or so sad.
斯克罗吉从未见到过如此可怕、糟糕的场面。
'These miserable children are Man's,' said the spirit.
“这些悲惨的孩子属于人类，”幽灵说。
'The boy is Crime. The girl is Need. They will destroy Man if nothing is done about them.'
“男孩叫‘罪恶’，女孩叫‘需要’。如果不为他们做点什么的话，他们将毁掉人类。”
'Can't anyone help them?' cried Scrooge.
“难道就没有人能帮助他们吗？”斯克罗吉高声问道。
'Are there no prisons?' said the spirit, turning on Scrooge for the last time with his own words. 'Are there no workhouses?'
“难道没有看守所吗？”幽灵说着斯克罗吉曾说过的话，最后一次把脸转向他。“难道没有济贫院吗？”
The clock struck twelve.
钟敲响了12点。
Scrooge looked, but could no longer see the ghost or the children. He was alone again.
斯克罗吉看着，但他再也看不到幽灵和孩子们了。又剩下他一人了。