这部小说以家庭生活为描写对象，以家庭成员的感情纠葛为线索，描写了马奇一家的天伦之爱。马奇家的四姐妹中，无论是为了爱情甘于贫困的海格，还是通过自己奋斗成为作家的乔，以及坦然面对死亡的贝思和以扶弱为己任的艾米，虽然她们的理想和命运都不尽相同，但是她们都具有自强自立的共同特点。描写了她们对家庭的眷恋；对爱的忠诚以及对亲情的渴望。

名著阅读

CHAPTER ONE第一章

PLAYING PILGRIMS 朝圣

Then things went smoothly, for Don Pedro defied the world in a speech of two pages without a single break. Hagar, the witch, chanted an awful incantation over her kettleful of simmering toads, with weird effect. Roderigo rent his chains asunder manfully, and Hugo died in agonies of remorse and arsenic, with a wild, "Ha! Ha!"

接下来就顺利多了。唐·佩德罗一口气读下两页挑战世界的宣言；女巫黑格把满满一锅蟾蜍放在火里炖，妖里妖气地给它们念一道可怕的咒语；罗德力戈力拔山河地扯断锁链，雨果狂叫着"哈！哈！”在悔恨和砒霜的折磨下死去。

"It's the best we've had yet," said Meg, as the dead villain sat up and rubbed his elbows.

“这是做得最好的一次，”当"死去"的反角坐起来揉擦肘部时，梅格说。

"I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare!" exclaimed Beth, who firmly believed that her sisters were gifted with wonderful genius in all things.

“乔，你能写出这么好的剧本，而且演得这么出色，简直不可思议！你真是莎士比亚再世！”贝思喊道。她坚信姐妹们才华横溢，无所不能。

"Not quite," replied Jo modestly. "I do think _The Witches Curse, an Operatic Tragedy_ is rather a nice thing, but I'd like to try _Macbeth_, if we only had a trapdoor for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. 'Is that a dagger that I see before me?" muttered Jo, rolling her eyes and clutching at the air, as she had seen a famous tragedian do.

“过奖了，”乔谦逊地回答，”《女巫的咒语，一个歌剧式的悲剧》是挺不错的，不过我想演《麦克佩斯》，如果我们能给班柯一扇活地板门的话。我一直想演刺客这一角色。'我眼前看到的是一把刀吗？'"乔轻声朗诵，像她所见过的一位著名悲剧演员一样，转动着眼珠，两手抓向空中。

"No, it's the toasting fork, with Mother's shoe on it instead of the bread. Beth's stage-struck!" cried Meg, and the rehearsal ended in a general burst of laughter.

“错了，这是烧烤叉，你放上去的不是面包，而是妈妈的鞋。贝思看入迷了！“梅格叫起来。众姐妹大笑不已，排练也随之结束。

"Glad to find you so merry, my girls," said a cheery voice at the door, and actors and audience turned to welcome a tall, motherly lady with a 'can I help you' look about her which was truly delightful. She was not elegantly dressed, but a noble-looking woman, and the girls thought the gray cloak and unfashionable bonnet covered the most splendid mother in the world.

“看到你们这么快活我真高兴，我的女儿们。”门口传来一串愉快的声音，这些演员和观众转过身来，迎接一位高高个儿、充满母性的女士。她神情可亲、令人愉快。她的衣着虽不华丽，但仪态高贵。在姐妹们心目中，这位身披灰色外套，头戴一顶过时无边小圆软帽的女士是普天下最出色的母亲。

词汇释义

1.incantation n. 诀语, 咒语

A magic spell or incantation.
有魔力的话语或咒文

2.simmer v. 煨, 炖, 慢慢地煮沸, 即将发作, 内心充满 n. 即将沸腾的状态, 即将发作

Simmer the stew for an hour.
用文火把菜炖一小时.

3.weird adj. 怪异的, 离奇的 n.命运; 预言者

I heard weird shrieks in the darkness.
我在黑暗中听到奇怪的尖叫声。

4.asunder adj. 分开地, 零散地 adv. 分离, 化为碎片

Law and equity are things which God hath joined, but which man has put asunder.
法律与平等, 是上帝给结合在一起的东西, 人却把它们拆开来了。

5.arsenic n. 砷, 砒霜 adj. 砷的, 含砷的

His wife poisoned him with arsenic.
他妻子用砒霜把他毒死了.

6.villain n. 坏人, 恶根

The king is represented as a villain in the play.
在这出剧中把国王刻画成一个反面人物。

7.tragedian n. 悲剧演员, 悲剧作家

8.unfashionable adj. 不流行的, 不时髦的, 过时的