2007年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-The Little Brother Who Made the World Big

And it's Friday morning which means it is the time again for Story Corps¹. This project has been capturing the stories of people all across America. And today we have the memories of a fallen marine², shared with us by his 2 older sisters.

I'm Jenny Francis.

I'm Rebecca Fuller.

We are here to remember our brother, First Lieutenant³ Travis John Fuller who was killed in Iraq.

He was born immature⁴, as he would put it, he was born premature⁵. And he was always a little guy. Even in the marines, we'd get pictures of him. And, oh these 6-foot marines and there he was, you know, 5. 7.

Even though he was the younger brother, we are the older sisters. We are always looking up to Travis, trying to win his approval. When I knew Travis was coming to visit, the first thing in my head was always: we have to do something cool. But he didn't care. No, no, he would make a good time wherever he was. It didn't matter. He would have a friend there in minutes.

When mom and dad went to one of his graduations, he took the time to introduce mom and dad to the janitor⁶ who played the piano and the cooks in the kitchen. He took the time to notice the people around him.


How did you feel when you found out that Travis had enlisted⁷ in the marines?

I actually remember this very clearly. And it's one of the things that, ur(er), I regret the most. He came home and he had some pamphlets⁸, talking about the marines, and I just gave him a real hard time about it. And he got up and stormed out of the room and went down to the basement, and it was then that I realized how dedicated⁹ he felt about joining the marines. And I went down and talked to him, and let him know that, I may not understand his choice but I'm still gonna love him and be proud of him. And I always hoped that it wasn't the memory of him running down to the basement that he thought of, but of all the other things that I tried to do to let him know that I was proud of him for everything.

We found out that Travis had been killed in a helicopter crash in January 2005. It was probably the worst day of my life. My parents found out the news first and, then, ur(er), the next morning came out to get me and, ur(er), then we drove up to see you, to, you know, deliver the unfortunate news in person. And, and we were sitting upstairs in this pretty small room.

And it suddenly hit me that our whole family fit in this tiny little room. And it was just us. That was it, that was everybody. And along with losing him, we were losing what our family could be in the future, too. We were losing the wife that he might have, our new sister-in-law. We were losing any children that he might have to add to our family. Everyone was in that room and it was so small.

Rebecca Fuller with her sister Jenny Francis remembering their brother First Lieutenant Travis John Fuller. Two years ago today Lieutenant Fuller and 30 others were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed in a sandstorm. This Story Corps conversation like all the others will be archived at the Library of Congress and you can schedule your interview by going to NPR. org.

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

5 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

6 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

7 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 pamphlets   

n.小册子( pamphlet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Distribute these pamphlets among them before you leave, will you? 请你在离开之前把这些小册子发给他们好吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He fell under suspicion for distributing seditious pamphlets. 他因散发反政府传单而遭到怀疑。 来自辞典例句

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。