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The Richer, the Poorer

Over the years Lottie had urged her sister Bess to prepare for her old age. Over the years Bess had lived each day as if there were no other. Now they were both past sixty. Lottie had a bank account that had never grown lean. Bess had the clothes on her back, and the rest of her worldly possessions in an old suitcase.

Lottie had hated being a child, seeing her parents constantly worrying about money, Bess had never seemed to notice. All she ever wanted was to go outside and play. She learned to skated on borrowed skates. She rode a borrowed bicycle. Lottie couldn't wait to grow up and buy herself the best of everything.
As soon as anyone would hire her, Lottie put herself to work. She looked after babies, she ran errands for the old.
She never touched a penny of her money, though her child's mouth watered for ice cream and candy. When the dimes began to add up to dollars, she lost her taste for sweets.

By the time she was twelve, she was clerking after school in a small variety store. Saturdays she worked as long as she was wanted. She decided to keep her money for clothes. When she entered high school, she would wear a wardrobe that no one else would be able to match.
But her freshman year found her unable to indulge this fantasy, particularly when her admiring instructors advised her to think seriously of college. No one in her family had ever gone to college. She would show them all what she could do, if she put her mind to it.
She began to bank her money, and her bankbook became her most precious possession.

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.
She made her choice easily. A job in hand was worth two in the future.
Bess had a boy-friend 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.

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 homemaking job that paid nothing was a risk she was incapable of taking.
Bess's married life was nothing for Lottie to envy. She and Harry lived like gypsies, with Harry playing in second-rate bands all over the country, even getting himself and Bess stranded in Europe. They were often in rags and never in riches.
Bess grieved because she had no child, not having sense enough to know she was better off without them. Very likely she would have dumped them on Lottie's doorstep.

参考译文

多年来洛蒂一直敦促妹妹贝丝为晚年准备点积蓄。多年来贝丝尽情地享受生活，好像过了今天就没明天似的。现在她俩都60多岁了。洛蒂有一个银行账户，里面的钱从不见少；而贝丝除了她身上穿的衣服外，就只有一个旧箱子了，里面装着她所有的财产。

洛蒂不喜欢自己的童年，因为在她的童年里，她总是看到父母为钱发愁。而贝丝似乎从来没注意到这些。她所想到的只是出去玩。她用借来的溜冰鞋学滑冰，用借来的自行车学骑车。洛蒂迫不及待想长大，然后给自己买所有最好的东西。
一旦有人愿意雇佣她，洛蒂就会全身心投入工作。她为别人照看孩子，为老人跑腿办事。
虽然在她的童年里，她很馋冰激凌和糖果，她却从来不花一分钱买它们。当她的钱积蓄得很多的时候，她已经对糖果不感兴趣了。

到了十二岁，她放学后在一家小杂货店当店员。每逢星期六，只要店里需要，她就会去工作。她决定攒钱买衣服。这样当她考上高中时，她就能穿最漂亮的衣服了。
但当她上了高一之后，尤其是当她特别尊敬的老师建议她认真考虑上大学时，她发现自己还是不能大手大脚地花钱。她家从来没人上过大学，如果她下定决心的话，她就能向家里证明她的能力。
她开始存钱，存折成了她最宝贵的财产。

在她上高三那年，她在一家规模很小但生意兴隆的餐馆里找了一份出纳员的工作。在那儿她从生意高峰期一直忙到打烊的时候。在她上高中的最后一年里，餐馆的生意非常红火，因此是继续念书还是做全职工作，洛蒂必须做出选择。
贝丝的男朋友在学校乐队里。他别无所求，只好吹好他的号。洛蒂盼望着有个房子，然后结婚生子，过一种安稳的生活。而贝丝仍等着她男朋友哈里挣到足够多的钱来买一张结婚证书。

贝丝和哈里高中一毕业就结婚了，这并不令人感到奇怪；洛蒂从来没有结过婚，这一点也不奇怪。有两三次她差点儿就被别人劝说得要结婚了，可是结婚就意味着放弃待遇优厚的工作去做一点薪水也没有的家务活，洛蒂可不想冒这个险。
贝丝的婚姻生活没有什么让洛蒂可羡慕的。她和哈里像吉普赛人一样过着流浪的生活。哈里跟随一支二流的乐队全国巡演，他和贝丝还曾被困在欧洲。他们经常捉襟见肘，从来没宽裕过。
贝丝很伤心，因为她没有孩子。可她没有意识到其实没有孩子她过得要更好；如果有了孩子，她很可能会把他们寄养在洛蒂那儿。

词汇释义

1.possession n. 拥有, 占有, 所有, 财产, 领土, 领地, 自制, 着迷

例句：

How did you get possession of it?
你是怎样得到它的?

2.taste n. 味道, 品味, 味觉, 感受, 体验, 爱好, 审美, 少量 vt. 尝, 察觉...的味道, 体会

例句：

You have good taste.
你有很好的鉴赏力。

3.wardrobe n. 衣橱, 衣室, 全部衣服

例句：

She wanted to renew her wardrobe.
她想要添置新衣。

4.gypsy n. 吉卜赛人, 吉卜赛语

例句：

She has pure gypsy blood in her veins.
她血管里流的是纯吉普赛人的血液。

5.doorstep n. 门阶

例句：

News reporters camped upon his doorstep day and night.
一些新闻记者日夜在他门口纠缠不走。

难句解析

1.She never touched a penny of her money, though her child's mouth watered for ice cream and candy.

【难句释义】She never bought ice cream and candy with a penny of which she had earned, though she was eager to have them.

【难句解析】Water在句中为动词，意为“（嘴）流口水”，如：The delicious cooking smells made my mouth water.

2.But her freshman year found her unable to indulge this fantasy, particularly when her admiring instructors advised her to think seriously of college.

【难句释义】But in her first year at high school, she found that she couldn't allow herself to spend her money on clothes. She thought of going to college, especially when her favorite teachers advised her to do so.

【难句解析】freshman year学院、大学或高中一年级