One day something happened which might seem unimportant，but which had a great effect on O liver’s future. Noah was in a particularly bad mood one dinner-time，and so he tried to make O liver cry by hitting him，pulling his hair，and calling him horrible names. This was all unsuccessful， so he tried personal insults．
一天，发生了一件本来看起来好像不很重要的事，可这事对奥利弗的未来却产生了很大的影响。晚餐时，诺厄的心情特别不好，他成心想弄哭奥利弗，就打他，揪他的头发，用各种坏话骂他，但这都无济于事。他便对他进行人格侮辱。

解析：unimportant 不重要的、无关紧要的，是由否定前缀un-和important（重要的）组成
否定前缀还有很多，例如dis-,il-,in-,ne-等等
eg: We should cut out the unimportant details.
我们该把不重要的细节删掉。

effect 影响；效果；作用
常用短语：have effect on 对……产生影响
eg: Your eating habbits have effect on your health.
你的饮食习惯对你的健康有影响。

‘Workhouse，how’s your mother？’ he asked．
“济贫院，你妈妈呢？”他问道。

‘She’s dead，’replied O liver，his face going red with emotion．
“她死了，”奥利弗回答说，由于感情激动，他的脸变红了。

解析：emotion 情感；情绪
eg: Jealousy is a natural emotion.
嫉妒是一种自然情绪。

Noah hoped that O liver was going to cry， so he continued． ‘What  did  she  die  of， Workhouse？’
诺厄想让奥利弗哭出来，就接着问：“她是怎么死的，济贫院？”

解析：die of/from 死于……，因……而死
eg: You may die of alcohol poisoning.
你可能会因为酒精中毒而死。

‘Of a broken heart， I was told．’And a tear rolled down O liver’s  cheek.
“有人告诉我她是伤心死的。”一颗泪珠从奥利弗的脸上滚落下来。

‘Why  are  you  crying，Workhouse？’
“你怎么哭了，济贫院？”

O liver remained silent，and Noah grew braver. You know，I feel very sorry for you，Workhouse，but the truth is your mother  was  a  wicked  woman．’
奥利弗不吭声，诺厄胆子大了，更加得寸进尺：“你知道我很同情你，济贫院，但你妈妈其实是个坏女人。”

O liver seemed suddenly to wake up. ‘What did you say？’
奥利弗好像猛一激灵。“你说什么？”

 ‘She was so bad it was lucky she died， or she would have ended up in prison，or hung.’
“她太坏了，所以死了倒是件好事，否则她最后会被关进监狱或处以绞刑的。”

解析：end up 结束，最后
eg: The chairman finally ended up his speech.
主席终于结束了他的演讲。