《Little Women》--《小妇人》一书是美国作家路易莎。梅。奥尔科特（Louisa May Alcott）写的一部长篇小说。首次出版于1868年。
《小妇人》是一本以女性角色为主，强调女权意识的半自传体小说。文中注重表现女性意识，宣扬美好品质。
这本书以美国南北战争为背景，以19世纪美国新英格兰地区的一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事为蓝本的带有自转色彩的家庭伦理小说。小说受到当时的大思想家爱默生的影响，强调了个人尊严与自立自律的观念；内容平实却细腻，结构单纯而寓意深远，富有强烈的感染力。
内容简介：
美国内战期间，马奇先生远赴战场做了随军牧师，四个女儿和母亲在家里过着清苦却坚强乐观的生活。她们虽贫穷却乐意帮助比她们更需要帮助的邻居赫梅尔一家。
在书中介绍的大女儿魅格生性爱美，对恋爱充满憧憬；二女儿乔独立自主，想要成为作家；三女儿贝思则是个传统女孩，很懂事；小女儿艾米则喜欢绘画。故事追随这四位女性由女孩成长为小女人的岁月，讲述了她们不羁的爱情经历及她们各自追寻不同理想与将来的过程。
原文摘选片段：（1）
While the snow fell quietly outside their New England home, the four March sisters stayed warm by the fire in their cozy living room.
”Christmas won't be the same without presents, ”grumbled fifteen-year-old Jo, lying on the rug.
Her old sister Meg sighed as she looked at her old dress. “It's not much fun being poor.”
”It's not fair that some girls have lots of pretty things, and other girls don't have any at all,” sniffed Amy, who at twelve was the youngest.
“But we've got a mother and a father who love us very much, and we're always got each other,”thirteen-year-old Beth said happily from her corner. Her words seemed to cheer up the others.
”Father's been gone for a long time, and we don't know when he'll be coming back,”said Jo.
Meg insisted, ”This is going to be a hard winter for everyone. We shouldn't be buying presents while so many men are suffering during the war. We should make sacrifices!" But even as she said these kind words. Meg still longed for pretty things at Christmas.
Jo said, '"We've only got a dollar each and that's not going to help the army much."She was the bookworm in the family and wanted to buy a new novel. Beth longed for music, and Amy dreamed of coloring pencils to help her draw.
Jo continued, "Mother wouldn't mind if we spent our dollars on ourselves and had a little fun. We work hard."
The chimes announced that it was six o'clock. Beth put a pair of her mother's slippers near the fire to warm. Jo noticed how old and worn they were . She said, 'We should get Marmee a new pair!'
When Beth said she was going to buy the slippers with her dollar, Jo insisted she should be the one to buy them because their father had told her to take special care of their mother while he was away. Meg thought that she should since she was the oldest.
Beth said, "I've got an idea! Let's all buy something for Marmee, and not for ourselves."
All the girls thought this was a wonderful idea. Meg said she would buy Marmee some gloves.
Jo exclaimed, "Satin slippers! The best I can get."
Beth chimed in, " Lovely hemmed handkerchiefs."
Amy thought for a minute as she pulled one of her blond curls. "I'll get Marmee a little bottle of perfume. This way I'LL still have something for myself."
Jo was excited. "I can't wait to surprise her!' She turned to her sisters. "We'll go shopping tomorrow. And remember, we've got to rehearse our Christmas play." Jo started marching around the living room. In a few minutes, the girls were laughing so hard they almost didn't hear their mother come in from the cold.
"Glad to see you girls are having so much fun,"Marmee said . "Did you all have a good day?"
As Marmee took off her wet clothes, put on her warm slippers, and sat down in front of the fire, the girls flew into action. Jo stoked the fire, Meg got dinner ready, Beth helped Meg, and Amy told everyone what to do and how to do it.
When all five of them were sitting down at the dining-room table, Marmee said, "I've got a treat for you girls after supper."
The smiles quickly spread. Jo threw her napkin in the air, crying, "It's a letter. Three cheers for Father!"
Marmee nodded. "Yes, it's a letter from your father. He's well and thinks the winter won't actually be that bad. He sends his love for Christmas, and a special message that I'll save until after dinner."
The girls hurried their meal. They couldn't wait to hear the letter. They missed their father terribly.
After dinner, the four girls cuddled with their mother near the fire. Marmee read, "Tell my girls I think of them all the time. Even though it'll be a long while before I see them, I know they'll act properly and not waste their days being silly. I know when I come home, I'll be prouder than ever of my little women."
The letter convinced the girls to be good while their father was away. Everyone was cheerful as they set about their evening sewing after Hannah had cleared away the plates. Mrs. March reminded the girls how they used to act out scenes from Pilgrim's Progress. The girls recalled running through the house with bags on their backs and escaping evil forces.
While it came time for bed, the girls sang, with Beth happily playing the piano. Each performed in her own way: Meg sounded like a flute, Am y chirped like a cricket, and Jo came in when she felt like it--bad timing and all. They had sung before bed since they were small, and even now they were never too old for familiar lullabies.
NEW WORDS:
Grumble: 发怨言
sniff：鼻子吸气发出的声音
long：在这里--是渴望的意思
bookworm：书迷
Chime: 钟敲
Chime in: 插话
hem: 滚边，折边
Handkerchisf: 手帕
cuddle：搂抱，拥抱
Pilgrim：朝圣者
lullaby: 催眠曲
待续
