Tony and his mother got on a bus in the middle of the town. At first they drove through streets of small, grey houses. Then the bus left the town and drove along a country road.
The bus stopped in every village. Tony saw green fields and small, quiet villages. Every house had a garden. The smell of the flowers came in through the open windows of the bus.
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托尼和母亲在镇中心上了一辆公共汽车。起初，他们穿过一排排矮小的灰色房子，然后，汽车开出城外，开上了一条乡间小路。
公共汽车每到一个村子都会停下来。托尼看到绿色的田野和僻静的小村落。每座房子都带有花园，花香从开着的车窗透了进来。
At last the bus stopped. Tony could see a river and an old bridge. A small road ran across the bridge, through the fields and over a hill. "Come on, Tony," said his mother. They got out of the bus and walked two kilometres in the hot sun. There were white and yellow flowers at the side of the road. Tony did not know their names. He wanted to know more about them. He wanted to know more about the trees too. There were no flowers or trees in his street.
最后车停了下来。托尼看到一条小河和一座老旧的桥。一条小路越过小桥，穿过田野，延伸至一座小山丘的另一边。“来吧，托尼。”他的母亲说道。他们下了车，在热辣的阳光下走了两公里路。路边开着白色和黄色的花，托尼不知道它们的名字，他想更多地了解这些花，也想多了解了解那些树。在他住的那条街上，既没有花，也没有树。
He looked at the cows in the fields.
"I've never seen a real cow," he said to himself. He watched them moving very slowly through the long, green grass. They looked big and quiet.
Tony and his mother arrived at the farmhouse and walked through the farmyard. Chickens were looking for food. A fat white cat sat on a wall and watched them with sleepy eyes.
他看着田野里的奶牛。
“我还从没见过真正的奶牛。”他自言自语道。他看着奶牛在高高的绿草中缓缓地穿行。它们看起来既高大又安静。
托尼和母亲来到农场里的房子那儿，穿过房子前的庭院。小鸡正在四处觅食。一只胖胖的白猫坐在墙上，睡眼蒙胧地看着他们。
Mr Wood came to the door and spoke to Tony's mother. "Hullo, Betty. It's nice to see you again. Thank you for your letter. How are you?" They talked together like old friends.
Tony stood at the door. He felt lost and uncomfortable. But the farmer smiled at him.
"Is this your son, Betty?" he asked.
"Yes. This is Anthony - but we call him Tony at home. He left school two weeks ago. He's a good boy, and he's very strong. Please give him a job, Mr Wood. We need the money. We've got six children, you know."
The farmer looked at Tony. "How old are you, boy?" he asked.
"Thirteen, sir."
"Do you like the country?"
"Yes, sir," said Tony.
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伍德先生来到门口，对托尼的母亲说道：“你好啊，贝蒂，真高兴又见到你了。谢谢你的来信。你还好吗？”他们像老朋友一样交谈起来。
托尼站在门口，他有点不知所措，觉得不大自在。可农场主对他笑了。
“这就是你的儿子吧，贝蒂？”他问道。
“是的。这就是安东尼——可是我们在家里都叫他托尼。他是在两个星期前离开学校的。他是个好孩子，身体也很壮实。请您给他找点活干吧，伍德先生。我们需要钱，要知道，我们家里有六个孩子呢。”
农场主看着托尼。“你多大了，孩子？”他问道。
“13岁，先生。”
“你喜欢乡下吗？”
“喜欢，先生。”托尼答道。
"Would you like to work for me, Tony?" asked Mr Wood. "Would you like to be a farm boy?"
Tony thought about the factory and the shops. The shops were bad, but the factory was worse. When people came out of the factory in the evening their faces looked white and ill. "Nothing can be worse than that," he thought. He looked into the farmer's smiling red face. "Yes, sir," he said. "Yes, please."
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“你愿意替我干活吗，托尼？”伍德先生问道，“愿意做个在农场干活的乡下孩子吗？”
托尼想了想工厂，又想了想商店。商店的情况不怎么样，可是工厂就更糟。人们晚上走出厂门的时候，一个个面色苍白，一脸病容。“没什么会比那更糟了。”他想道。他注视着农场主那张红红的笑脸，说：“是的，我愿意，先生，我愿意替您干活。”
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