a small white-headed boy with a sunburnt face appeared at the door, 只见一位脸上晒得黝黑，长着一头淡黄色头发的小男孩闪身出现在门口。

　　and, stopping there to make a rustic bow, came in and took his seat upon one of the forms. 他停下脚步，土里土气地鞠了一躬后走进来，找到自己年级的座位坐了下来。

　　He then put an open book, astonishingly dog's-eared, upon his knees, 他拿出一本没有封皮的书放在膝盖上，

　　and, thrusting his hands into his pockets, began counting the marbles with which they were filled; 令人惊讶的是书的页脚折了起来，之后他两手插进衣袋，开始数里面装的弹子；

　　displaying, in the expression of his face, a remarkable capacity of totally abstracting his mind from the spelling on which his eyes were fixed. 他把玩着，脸上现出与他的眼神迥然不同的神情。

　　Soon afterward, another white-headed little boy came straggling in, 不一会儿，另一位长着一头淡黄头发的小孩也晃晃悠悠地走进教室，

　　and after him, a red-headed lad, and then one with a flaxen poll, 跟在他后面的是一位留着一头红发的小女孩，之后进来的孩子手里提着一只淡黄色投票箱。

　　until the forms were occupied by a dozen boys, or thereabouts, with heads of every color but gray, 大约十二个男孩子按照所属年级陆续坐好，这些孩子头发的颜色除了灰色以外，什么颜色都有，

　　and ranging in their ages from four years old to fourteen years or more; 按顺序排列年龄从四岁到十四岁，

　　for the legs of the youngest were a long way from the floor, when he sat upon the form; 最小的孩子坐下时双腿与地板隔了很大一块距离；

　　and the eldest was a heavy, good-tempered fellow, about half a head taller than the schoolmaster. 年龄最大的是个块头很大，性情颇为温和的孩子，要比老师足足高出半头。

　　At the top of the first form—the post of honor in the school—was the vacant place of the little sick scholar; 在一年级座位的把头——学校的荣誉座位——是专为生病的小学者留的空座位；

　　and, at the head of the row of pegs, on which those who wore hats or caps were wont to hang them, one was empty. 在高年级那一排座位的把头，坐的是那些戴帽子或习惯戴软帽的孩子，其中有一个没戴帽子。