美国国家公共电台 NPR In A Family's First House, A Lasting Lesson: You Can Always Give

In A Family's First House, A Lasting¹ Lesson: You Can Always Give

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

And it's time now for StoryCorps, which we hear from each Friday. And today we have a conversation from Salinas, Calif. That's where Alicia Beltran-Castaneda grew up in the late 1960s. Her mother was an immigrant⁵ from Mexico. Her father worked at a food packing plant, and their family of seven lived in a trailer. At StoryCorps, Beltran-Castaneda told her daughter what it was like when the family was finally able to afford a house.

ALICIA BELTRAN-CASTANEDA: I remember watching my dad paint the walls and just thinking, this house is so huge. But your grandpa passed away when I was 13. So that meant that grandma had to raise five kids on her own, paying the mortgage⁶ by herself.

And I loved my room. And I had a nice full-sized bed and my pink cover and my dust ruffles⁷. But I remember I came home one day, and my bed was gone. And so when my mom got home, you know, I kind of gave her a little bit of attitude. Where's my bed? And she says, oh, Alicia, family came from Mexico, and they have nothing. And I'm all, you know, Mom, that's not my problem. And she says, it's not your problem? And I said, no. And she says, follow me.

She took me to the kitchen. She gave me some grocery bags. We started clearing out the cupboards - cans of peas, cans of corn. And I was putting them in the bag. And I said, what are we doing? And she says, be quiet, and fill the bag. So I kept filling the bag. We got in the car, and she took me to the house where my bed was. And it was a family of seven. And the woman had just had a baby, so she was in bed surrounded by her kids. And it was all a one-room house and a dirt floor.

I walked out of there crying because I was ashamed because I didn't realize just how much grandma gave us. You know, and these parents just want food, and they're the people that keep this whole area going because they're the farmworkers. And so I just felt like an ungrateful kid. You know, grandma had high standards in herself. And I cannot think of anybody more wise than grandma.

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 mute   

n.哑子，默音字母，弱音器；adj.哑的，无声的，沉默的；vt.减音，减弱；vi.（鸟）排泄

参考例句：

• He is mute on the subject of social system.他对社会制度的问题保持沉默。
• Her daughter was mute after a serious illness.她的女儿在一场重病之后失去了说话能力。

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

5 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

6 mortgage   

n.抵押，抵押贷款；vt.抵押

参考例句：

• He's having a lot of trouble paying his mortgage every month.他付每月的抵押借款利息有很大的困难。
• The bank refused to accept any mortgage on land.银行拒绝接受任何土地抵押。

7 ruffles   

褶裥花边( ruffle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You will need 12 yards of ribbon facing for the ruffles. 你将需要12码丝带为衣服镶边之用。
• It is impossible to live without some daily ruffles to our composure. 我们日常的平静生活免不了会遇到一些波折。