Gruel is a thin, hot food made by cooking oats — or sometimes another grain — in water or milk. It is poorer and more watery than the porridge many families eat now.

Gruel稀粥 a thin, hot food made by cooking oats — or sometimes another grain — in water or milk是用燕麥——或有時候別的穀物——加水或牛奶煮成的一種稀稀、熱熱的食物。It它 than比 the porridge many families eat now現在很多家庭吃的粥 is poorer and more watery更簡陋、更稀。

In the past, in Britain especially, poor people, prisoners, and children in hard charity homes lived on it because it was cheap and filled the stomach. The boy in the Dickens story who asks for more is asking for more gruel.

In the past, in Britain especially,以前，尤其在英國， poor people, prisoners, and children in hard charity homes窮人、囚犯，還有在嚴苛慈善收容所裡的小孩 lived on it靠它過活 because it was cheap and filled the stomach因為它便宜又能填飽肚子。The boy in the Dickens story who asks for more狄更斯故事裡那個要求再來一點的男孩 is asking for more gruel要的就是再來一碗gruel（稀粥）。

Today almost nobody in a comfortable country eats it as a daily meal, so the word often feels old, hungry, and a little sad.

Today現在 almost nobody in a comfortable country在富裕的國家幾乎沒有人 eats it as a daily meal把它當日常三餐吃，so the word often feels所以這個字常常給人 old, hungry, and a little sad一種老舊、飢餓又有點悲傷的感覺。

There is an old verb to gruel, meaning to wear a person out; you will rarely see that verb, but you will see gruelling, which grew from it.

There is有 an old verb to gruel一個古老的動詞to gruel，meaning to wear a person out意思是把人搞得筋疲力盡；you will rarely see that verb這個動詞你很少會看到，but you will see gruelling但你會看到gruelling which grew from it，這個字是從它演變出來的。