(单词翻译:单击)
At dinner, Mother said to Father, "I have been telling Peter and Mary about the things boys and girls had to do when Polly made the sampler."
晚饭的时候，妈妈跟爸爸说，我跟彼得和玛丽讲了波利制作绣样，那个年代男孩和女孩要做的事情。
"Did you tell them that children of long ago did not always sit down to eat?" asked Father.
你跟他们说了很久以前，孩子们往往不做下来吃饭了，爸爸问到。
"They didn't stand, did they?" asked Peter.
他们不会是站着吃的吧？彼得问道。
"Yes, children usually stood while eating,"answered Mother, "Sometimes they stood back of the older people and sometimes at a side-table."
是的，那时的孩子们经常是站着吃饭的，妈妈回答说，有时他们站在长辈的后面，有时是站在茶几旁。
"I wouldn't like that," said Mary.
我可不想那样，玛丽说。
"I wouldn't either," said Peter.
我也不想，彼得说。
"But even the people who sat down to eat were not very comfortable," laughed Father.
但即使坐下来吃饭也不是很舒服。父亲笑着说。
"Sometimes their tables and chairs were nothing but long, narrow boards laid across other boards."
有时他们的桌子和椅子不过是又长又窄的板子相互垒在一起而已。
"Did the people in those days have tablecloths?" asked Mary.
那时候的人们用桌布吗？玛丽问道。
"Oh, yes," Mother answered, "They had fine linen cloths and napkins, made from flax grown on their farms.
用啊，妈妈回答说，他们有上好的亚麻桌布和餐巾，这些都是用他们农场上生长的亚麻制作的。
Many of the people made all the cloth they needed for bedding, clothes, and table linen.
他们所有的床上用品、衣物和桌布都是自己做的。
But of course they only used their fine table linens when someone came to visit them."
当然他们只有在有人来拜访的时候才会用最好的桌布。
"People worked very hard in those early days," said Father, "and the children had to help, too."
那时候的人们工作很勤奋，孩子们也需要去帮忙，父亲说。
"I'd rather live now than when Polly did," said Peter.
我更想生活在现在而不是波利生活的那个年代，彼得说。
"So would I," said Mary.
我也是，玛丽说。
"Then who will help me wash dishes?" asked Mother.
那谁来帮我洗盘子呢？妈妈问。
"We will," said Mary and Peter together.
我们都愿意，玛丽和彼得一起说到。
