【导读】《小妇人》这部小说以家庭生活为描写对象，以家庭成员的感情纠葛为线索，描写了马奇一家的天伦之爱。
马奇家的四姐妹中，无论是为了爱情甘于贫困的梅格，还是通过自己奋斗成为作家的乔，以及坦然面对死亡的贝思和以扶弱为己任的艾美，虽然她们的理想和命运都不尽相同，但是她们都具有自强自立的共同特点。
Little Women (excerpt)
“Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents，”grumbled Jo，lying on the rug.
“It's so dreadful①to be poor！” sighed Meg，looking down at her old dress.
“I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things，and other girls nothing at all，”added little Amy，with an injured sniff.
“We've got Father and Mother，and each other，”said Beth contentedly from her corner.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened②at the cheerful words，but darkened again as Jo said sadly，“We haven't got Father，and shall not have him for a long time.”She didn't say “perhaps never，”but each silently added it，thinking of Father far away，where the fighting was.
Nobody spoke for a minute；then Meg said in an altered③tone，“You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone；and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure，when our men are suffering so in the army.We can't do much，but we can make our little sacrifices，and ought to do it gladly.But I am afraid I don't，”and Meg shook her head，as she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.
“But I don't think the little we should spend would do any good.We've each got a dollar，and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that.We agree not to expect anything from Mother，but I do want to buy Undine and Sintran for myself.I've wanted it so long，”said Jo，who was a bookworm.
《小妇人》(节选)
“没有礼物圣诞节怎么过？”乔躺在小地毯上咕哝。
“贫穷真可怕！”梅格发出一声叹息，低头望着身上的旧衣服。
“有些女孩子拥有荣华富贵，有些却一无所有，我认为这不公平。
”艾美鼻子轻轻一哼，三分出于轻蔑，七分出于嫉妒。
“但我们有父母姐妹，”坐在一角的贝思提出抗议。
这句令人愉快的话使炉火映照下的四张年轻的脸庞明亮起来。
“我们没有父亲，很长一段时间都将没有，”乔伤心地说。
听到这句话，大家的脸又暗淡下去。
她虽没说“可能永远没有”，但每个人心里都把这句话悄悄说了一遍，同时想起远在战场的父亲。
大家一时无言。
一会梅格换了个声调说：
“你们知道妈妈为什么建议今年圣诞节不派礼物吗？因为寒冷的冬天就要来了，而我们的男人在军营里受苦受难，我们不应该花钱寻乐。
虽然我们能力有限，但可以在这方面做出一点小小的牺牲，而且应该做得高高兴兴。
不过我可并不高兴。
”梅格摇摇脑袋。
想到那些梦寐以求的漂亮礼物，她感到遗憾不已。
“我看我们那丁点儿钱也帮不上什么忙。
我们每人只得到一美元，献给部队也没多大用处。
我们不要期待妈妈给我们什么礼物，不过我真的很想买一本《水中女神》，那本书我早就想买了，”乔说。
她是个书虫。
[知识积累]
1．dreadful adj.可怕的；糟糕的
2．brighten v．(使)快活起来
3．alter v t.改变；更改
[文化链接]
作品内涵解读
文化不同，意识各异，但勇敢、自立、逐梦却是各个文化的共性。
一颗勇敢的心，自立自强的品格，追逐梦想的意识是实现自我价值的不二选择。