精美英文欣赏:世界上最大的家庭(下)

Mrs. Albina now has 16 more girls, including the twins who are 15 months old.

阿宾娜太太现在有16多个女儿，包括5个月大的双胞胎。

The oldest Albina children are in their 30s and 40s. They're on their own now,

阿宾娜年纪最大的孩子已经有三、四十岁了，他们自食其力，

but 18 of the kids still live with their parents in a two-room hut¹.

但有18个孩子仍然和阿宾娜夫妇住在一套两居室的小屋里。

The hut has electricity but no toilet or running water.

小屋有电，但没有厕所和自来水。

Obviously² the Albinas don't have enough money and food for the big family.

显然，阿宾娜没有足够的钱和食物支撑这个大家庭。

Why, then, do they continue to have children?

那么为什么他们还继续生孩子呢？

The Albinas do not use birth control because it is against their religion.

阿宾娜夫妇不使用避孕措施，因为这有违他们的宗教信仰。

They could let other people take care of their kids,

他们本可以让别人照顾他们的孩子，

but Mrs. Albina doesn't allow it.

但它太太阿宾娜不允许。

"When my two brothers and I were babies," she says,

“当我的两个兄弟和我还是婴儿的时候，”她说，

"our mother left us at an orphanage³ and never returned.

“我们的母亲把我们丢在孤儿院，再没回来过。

Then a couple adopted my brothers, and I was left behind. I was heartbroken.

然后一对夫妻领养了我的兄弟，我被留下。我很伤心。

I promised myself that when I became a mother I would never give my children away."

我曾暗自许诺，当我成为一个母亲时，我不会遗弃我的孩子。”

So the Albina family continues to grow.

所以阿宾娜家庭的人口继续增长。

They have so many kids that they run out of names for them all

他们有这么多的孩子以致于都没有新名字来命名所有的孩子了，

and had to give some children the same name.

不得不叫一些孩子同一个名字。

There are three Susannas, three Miriams, two Estrellas, and two Soledades.

有三个叫苏珊娜，三个叫米里亚梅，两个叫埃斯特雷拉，还有两个叫孤独。

Will the family stop at 53 kids, or will there be more?

家里孩子数量是停止在53个，还是会继续增加？

Mr. Albina is 77 years old, and Mrs. Albina is 59. "I'm getting old,"

阿宾娜先生已经77岁了，

she says with a smile. "I would like God to think of me and consider my age.

59岁的阿宾娜太太笑着说：“我希望上帝眷顾我，并考虑到我的年纪。

But if God sends more children to me, yes, there will be more."

但是如果上帝让我有更多的孩子，那么，家里的人口数量是会增加的。”

1 hut   

n.棚子；简陋的小房子

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• The poor old man lived in a little wooden hut.那个贫穷的老人住在一间小木屋内。

2 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

3 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。