前情提要：
四月，梅格拜访了安妮莫法特的家。晚上，梅格收到了一束花。每个人都猜到是劳里寄给他的，所以他们小声交谈。马奇太太打算让四姐妹中的一个嫁给劳伦斯家的男孩。梅格非常生气。在星期四的聚会上，安妮邀请了劳里，并借了梅格的衣服，让她看起来光彩照人。梅格在派对上和很多男生聊天，可能是想打破安妮的谣言。她又感到有点后悔。回家后，梅格告诉母亲和琼发生的事情以及那些谣言。母亲的回答是，所有的母亲都希望女儿嫁得好，但她也希望她们嫁给爱情，而不仅仅是金钱。
故事原文：
只玩不工作就是只玩不工作。
六月一日，金一家人明天要去度假！”麦格说。我有三个月的自由！
“今天是6月1日，金一家人明天要去度假，”麦格说。“我有三个月的空闲时间！”
“马奇婶婶今天去度假了，”琼说。“生活多美好啊！”
“马奇婶婶今天也去度假了，”琼说。“多好的生活啊！”
“你整个假期打算做什么？”艾米问道。
"整个假期你都做些什么？"艾米问。
“我会在床上躺到很晚，什么也不做，”麦格说。
"我会睡懒觉，什么也不做，"梅格答道。
“我有很多书要读，”琼说。
“我有很多书要读，”琼说。
“我们不要学习了，贝丝，”艾米说。让我们像琼和梅格打算做的那样，一直玩下去，休息一下。
“我们不要做作业了，贝丝，”艾米说。"我们把所有的时间都花在玩耍和休息上，就像琼和梅格将要做的那样."
“如果妈妈不跳mind舞，我就跳，”贝思说。
“如果妈妈不介意，我会同意的，”贝思说。
马奇太太同意了这个计划，并说他们可以试用一个星期。
马奇太太同意了这个计划，并说他们可以试用一个星期。
“但是，”added说，“我想到了星期六晚上，你会发现只玩不工作和只工作不玩一样糟糕。”
“但是，”她补充道，“我想在周六晚上，你会发现只玩不工作的生活和只工作不玩耍一样糟糕。”
第二天，梅格十点钟出现，独自吃早餐。这是一个孤独的meal，房间很乱，因为贝丝没有打扫。
第二天，梅格10点才露面，一个人吃早饭。这是一顿孤独的早餐，房间很乱，因为贝丝没有整理。
琼和劳里一起去了河边，然后坐在苹果树上看书。贝丝开始整理橱柜里的东西，但她累了，只做了一半。她走到钢琴前，庆幸自己不用洗杯子和盘子。艾米坐在花园里画画，希望有人能看到她，对她的画说些好话。但是没有人出现，所以她去散步，淋了雨，回家时全身湿透了。
琼和劳里去了河边，然后坐在一棵苹果树上看书。贝丝开始整理她的橱柜，但她觉得累了，只做了一半。
就不做了。她来到她的钢琴旁，为她不用洗杯子和盘子而高兴。艾米坐在花园里画画，希望有人能看到她并夸奖她的画。可没有一个人出现，于是她就去散步，途中遇到了雨，湿淋淋地回到家。At tea，everyone said that it had been a delightful but unusually long day.Meg，who had been shopping in the afternoon，now decided that she did not like the dress she had bought.Jo had a headache from reading too long.Beth couldn’t find anything in her cupboard，and the rain had made Amy’s dress so wet that she couldn’t wear it to Katy Brown’s party the next day.
喝茶时，每个人都说那天过得很愉快，只是有些出乎寻常地长。麦格下午去买东西了，可她现在却觉得她不喜欢她买的衣服。琼因为看书时间太长，头疼起来。白丝在她的橱柜里什么都找不到了。雨把艾米的衣服弄得太湿，第二天她不能穿那件衣服去参加凯特布朗家的聚会了。
Mrs March listened，smiled and said nothing.
马奇太太听着，面带微笑，什么都没说。
The week seemed to get longer and longer with nothing much to do，and by Friday the girls were glad that it was nearly over.Then Mrs March gave Hannah a holiday，and when the girls got up on Saturday，there was no breakfast ready，no fire in the kitchen，and no mother waiting for them.
因为没有事情做，那个星期看起来越来越长，到了星期五孩子们都很高兴这一切就要结束了。然后马奇太太放了海娜一天假，当星期六早晨孩子们起床时，发现没有了早餐，没有了炉火，妈妈也没在等她们。
’What has happened?’said Jo.
“发生了什么事?”琼说。
Meg ran upstairs，then came down to say that Mother was staying in her room to have a rest.’She says we must look after ourselves today，’Meg said.
麦格跑上楼，然后又跑下来跟大家说妈妈呆在她的房间里休息。“她说今天我们得自己照顾自己。”麦格说。
’Good，I want something to do，’said Jo.
“好啊，我想做点事，”琼说。
Secretly，they were all pleased to have something useful to do again.Beth and Amy put cups and plates on the table while Jo and Meg got the breakfast，then Meg took some tea and an egg up to Mrs March.The tea was too strong and the egg was burned.Mrs March did not complain，but she laughed to herself afterwards.
私下里，她们都很高兴又有些有用的事情可以做了。白丝和艾米把杯子和盘子摆到桌上，琼和麦格做早餐，然后麦格把一些茶和一个鸡蛋拿到楼上给母亲。茶太浓了，鸡蛋烧糊了。马奇太太没有抱怨，但之后她对自己笑了。
Jo decided to invite Laurie to dinner.’There’s meat and vegetables and plenty of potatoes，’she told Meg，’and we can have strawberries，and then coffee.’ Her mother said she did not mind at all because she was going out for dinner.
琼决定请罗瑞来吃晚餐。“有肉、蔬菜和足够的土豆，”她告诉麦格，“我们还可以吃草莓，然后喝咖啡。”母亲说她一点也不在乎，因为她要出去吃晚餐。
Jo did her best，but the potatoes were still hard in the middle，the vegetables were cooked too long and fell to pieces，and the meat was burned black.The strawberries were not ready for eating，and she put salt on them instead of sugar!Unfortunately，this was not discovered until Laurie began eating them.He pretended everything was all right，but Amy took a spoonful and ran from the table.
琼尽了最大努力，可土豆的中间还是硬的，蔬菜做得时间太长，变烂了，肉也给烧黑了。草莓还不能吃，她又把盐当成糖撒在了上面!不幸的是，直到罗瑞开始吃草莓这情况才被发现。他装做一切无恙，可艾米吃了一勺后从桌边跑开了。
’What’s wrong?’said Jo.
“怎么啦?”琼问。
Meg and Laurie told her.’Oh，no!’said Jo.Then she saw Laurie start to smile，and she began to laugh.Soon everyone was laughing with her.
麦格和罗瑞告诉了她。“噢，不!”琼说。然后她看见罗瑞笑了，她也开始笑。旋即每个人都和她一起笑了。
’What a terrible day!’said Jo，after they had cleared everything away.
“多糟的一天!”当她们把一切收拾走后，琼说。
Mrs March returned home later.’Have you enjoyed your week of all play and no work，girls，or do you want another week of it?’she said.
马奇太太很晚才回来。“你们喜欢这个只有玩乐没有工作的星期吗，孩子们?你们是不是还想再来一个这样的星期?”她问。
’I don’t!’said Jo.
“我不要了!”琼说。
’Nor do I!’shouted the others.
“我也不要了!”其他人都喊道。
’Mother，did you go out and leave us just to see how we would manage?asked Meg.
“妈妈，你是不是出门去就想看看我们会怎么办?”麦格问。
’Yes，’said Mrs March.’I wanted you to see that being comfortable depends on us all helping each other and not just thinking of ourselves.Isn’t it better to have time for play and time for work，and to make each day useful and enjoyable?’
“是的.”马奇太太说，“我想让你们知道舒适依赖于我们大家互相帮助，不要只想到自己。有时间玩乐，也有时间工作，使每天既有用又愉快不是很好吗?”
’Oh，it is，Mother，it is!’said the girls.
“噢，是的，妈妈，是的!”孩子们说。
Some days later，all four girls went on a picnic with Laurie and his tutor，Mr Brooke，and some other young people.Sallie Gardiner and her English friend，Miss Kate Vaughn，were among them.It was a sunny day and they had their picnic on a hill，under some trees.
几天之后，四个女孩子和罗瑞及他的家庭教师布鲁克先生，还有其他几个年轻人一起去野餐，萨丽加迪那和她的英国朋友凯特瓦格小姐也去了。那天阳光灿烂，他们在一个小山坡上的一些树下野餐。
After the meal，most of the young ladies and gentlemen played games，but Miss Kate sat under a tree and began to draw.Meg watched，while Mr Brooke lay on the grass beside her，with a book which he did not read.
餐后，大部分年轻姑娘和小伙子都去做游戏了，可凯特小姐却坐在一棵树下开始画画。麦格看着，布鲁克先生躺在她身旁的草地上，拿着一本书，但他并没有在看。
’I wish I could draw，’said Meg.
“真希望我会画画，”麦格说。
’Why don’t you learn?’replied Miss Kate.She was a little older than the other girls and was very much the fashionable young lady.
“你为什么不学呢?”凯特小姐问。她比其他的女孩稍大点，并且是最时髦的姑娘。
’I haven’t time，’said Meg.’I have a job，teaching four children in a family.’
“我没时间，”麦格说，“我有工作，给一家四个孩子教课。”
’Oh!’said Miss Kate，looking rather shocked.She said no more，but her face showed that she thought being a private teacher was little better than being a servant，and Meg’s cheeks quickly became red.
“噢，”凯特小姐说，看上去很吃惊。她什么也没说，可从她脸上的表情可以看出她认为做家庭教师仅仅比做仆人好一些。麦格的脸很快变红了。
’In America，young ladies prefer to work and earn money for themselves，’said Mr Brooke quickly，’and not expect others to pay for everything.’
“在美国，年轻的小姐喜欢为自己工作挣钱，”布鲁克先生很快地说，“她们不指望别人给她们掏钱。”
’I see，’said Miss Kate，coldly.Soon after，she took her drawing and moved away.
“是这样，”凯特小姐冷冷地说。一会儿，她拿起她的画走开了。
’There’s no place like America for us workers，Miss Meg，’said Mr Brooke，smiling.His brown eyes looked at Meg warmly，and she smiled back at him.
“没有其它地方像美国这样适合我们工作的人了，麦格小姐，”布鲁克先生笑着说。他棕色的眼睛温和地看着麦格，她也向他笑笑。
’I wish I liked teaching as much as you do，she said.
“我真希望像你一样喜欢教书，”她说。
’You would if you were teaching Laurie，’said Mr Brooke.’I’ll be sorry when he goes to college next year.But then I shall become a soldier.’
“如果你教的是罗瑞你就会喜欢教书的，”布鲁克先生说，“明年他要去上大学，我会感到很遗憾。可然后我就要去当兵了。”
’I think every young man wants to be a soldier，’said Meg，’but it’s hard for the family who stay at home.’
“我认为每个年轻人都想当兵，”麦格说，“可这对呆在家里的人来说是很难的。”
’I have no family，and not many friends to care if I live or die，’said Mr Brooke，sadly.
“我没有家，也没有许多朋友在乎我的死活，”布鲁克先生伤感地说。
’Laurie and his grandfather would care，’said Meg，’and we would all be very sorry if anything happened to you.’
“罗瑞和他祖父会在乎的，”麦格说，“如果你发生什么事，我们大家都会很悲伤的。”
’Thank you，’said Mr Brooke，cheering up immediately.
“谢谢你，”布鲁克先生说，立刻高兴起来。
核心语言点：
mind v. take cure of; feel objection to.留心;介意。add v.say further. 又说。 meal n.occasion ofeating.餐。headache n continuous pain in the head.头痛。cupboard n.碗橱;食橱。kitchenn.厨房。look after take care of. 照顾。vegetable n.蔬菜。strawberry n.草莓。spoonful n. as much as a spoon can hold.一匙之量。clear v. remove.清除。useful adj.helpful.有用的。picnic n.野餐。game n. form of play.游戏。private adj. for the use of, concerning,one person or group ofpersons.私人的。pay v. give money for goods, services，etc.付款。soldier n. member of an army. 士兵。coldly adv. state of being cold.冷淡地。
