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LESSON 61 The widow's lamp
第六十一课 寡妇的灯
Once there was a poor widow who lived on a hill near the sea-shore.
从前，在海边的一座小山上有一位生活很拮据的寡妇。
She had no children, and she passed a lonely life.
她没有孩子，过着孤苦无依的生活。
She was so poor that she had to work hard every day.
生活不富裕，所以每天都得辛苦工作。
But one night as she sat at her work the widow said to herself,
一天晚上海风呼呼的刮着，海浪拍打着岩石，
while the winds blew and the waves dashed on the rocks,
寡妇坐在她的工作台前
"I wish I could be of some use in the world.
自言自语“我希望成为一个对世界有用的人。
Can I not do good to some one besides myself?"
难道我不能为身边的人做些什么吗？”
At last she bethought her that ships were sometimes wrecked on the coast near her house,
最后她想到了有的船只晚上不小心撞上她家附近的海岸，
as there was no light-house to warn them of their danger at night.
经常会因为没有灯塔的指引
From her window she could look out on the sea.
而她的窗户可以直接看到大海。
Why might she not keep a lighted lamp at the window every night,
为什么不每天晚上在窗户边拿着油灯
so as to warn the poor sailors when their ships came near to the rocks on the coast.
为那些开船到附近的水手们指引方向呢？
The widow felt glad when the thought flashed through her mind.
这个念头闪过她的脑海时她不禁高兴起来。
She found that, if she worked an hour later each night,
她想着，如果每天晚上多工作一小时，
she could earn enough to pay for the oil to feed the lamp.
那她就可以挣到足够的钱来买灯油。
So she sat up and earned money to buy the oil;
想到这她又直起身来做工，努力赚买灯油的钱，
and then she trimmed the lamp, and placed it at the window each night, and in this way she saved many lives.
她拨了拨灯芯并每晚将油灯放置到窗前，就这样她挽救了很多人的生命。
She had been doing this for five years without reward,
五年来不求回报，默默无闻；
or the hope of reward; but good deeds, even in this world, are often found out.
好在她的付出慢慢得到回报。
The sailors whose lives had been saved now began to send gifts to her from far-off lands.
被她油灯所救的水手经常把从遥远的地方带来的礼物送给她。
They sent her tea from China and shawls from India, silks from France and grapes from Spain.
比如说中国的茶叶，印度的披肩，法国的丝绸和西班牙的葡萄。
But the poor widow did not need these gifts to make her happy.
但真正让寡妇开心的不是这些礼物。
She used to give many of them to the poor and the sick.
她把大多数礼物送给了穷人和病人。
She was happy with the thought that she was doing good;
只要想到自己在做善事，她就很开心。
and so, as long as she lived, she lit her lamp each night, and put it at the window.
因此，只要她活着，她就会将窗前的油灯点燃。
