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

Another bang of the street door sent the basket under the sofa, and the girls to the table, eager for breakfast.

临街的大门又响了一下，篮子再次藏到沙发下面，姑娘们围坐在桌子边，等着吃早餐。

"Merry Christmas, Marmee! Many of them! Thank you for our books. We read some, and mean to every day," they all cried in chorus.

“圣诞快乐，妈咪！谢谢你送给我们的书。我们读了一点，以后每天都要读，“姐妹们齐声喊道。

"Merry Christmas, little daughters! I'm glad you began at once, and hope you will keep on. But I want to say one word before we sit down. Not far away from here lies a poor woman with a little newborn baby. Six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing, for they have no fire. There is nothing to eat over there, and the oldest boy came to tell me they were suffering hunger and cold. My girls, will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas present?"
　　
“圣诞快乐，小姑娘们！真高兴你们马上就开始学习，可要坚持下去埃不过坐下之前我想说几句话。离这儿不远的地方，躺着一个可怜的妇人和一个刚生下来的婴儿。六个孩子为了不被冻僵挤在一张床上，因为他们没有火取暖。那里没有吃的，最大的孩子来告诉我他们又冷又饿。姑娘们，你们愿意把早餐送给他们做圣诞礼物吗？”

They were all unusually hungry, having waited nearly an hour, and for a minute no one spoke, only a minute, for Jo exclaimed impetuously, "I'm so glad you came before we began!"

她们刚才等了差不多一个小时，现在正饿得慌，有一阵子大家都默不作声--就那么一阵子，只听乔冲口而出道：“我真高兴，早餐还没开始呢！”

"May I go and help carry the things to the poor little children?" asked Beth eagerly.

“我帮着把东西拿给那些可怜的孩子好吗？”贝思热切地问道。

"I shall take the cream and the muffings," added Amy, heroically giving up the article she most liked.

“我来拿奶油和松饼，”艾美接着说，英雄似地放弃了自己最喜欢吃的东西。

Meg was already covering the buckwheats, and piling the bread into one big plate.

梅格已动手把荞麦盖上，把面包堆放到一个大盘子里。

"I thought you'd do it," said Mrs. March, smiling as if satisfied. "You shall all go and help me, and when we come back we will have bread and milk for breakfast, and make it up at dinnertime."
　　
“我早料到你们会这样做，”马奇太太舒心地微笑道，”你们都去帮我，回来后早餐吃点牛奶面包，到正餐的时候再补回来。”

They were soon ready, and the procession set out. Fortunately it was early, and they went through back streets, so few people saw them, and no one laughed at the queer party.

大家很快准备妥当，队伍出发了。幸亏时候尚早，她们又打后街穿过，没几个人看到她们，也没人取笑这支奇怪的队伍。

词汇释义

1.chorus n. 合唱队,歌舞队，齐声说道，副歌部分 vt. 合唱

The audience joined in the chorus.
唱到歌曲的副歌时, 观众也跟着齐唱起来。

2.huddle n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

The boys huddled together in the cave to keep warm.
男孩子们在山洞里挤成一团取暖。

3.impetuously adv. 冲动地

Last year we accomplished many things, but some were overdone or done impetuously.
去年一年我们做了很多事情，有些事情是搞多了搞急了。

4.heroically adv. 英勇地