美国国家公共电台 NPR Living Among the Ruins In Aleppo, A Man Keeps Playing His Songs

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There's a photograph that's been seen around the world this week. It seems to hold both civilization and destruction in the same frame. The photo shows a white-haired man sitting on a bed in the midst of rubble¹. He sits in front of broad windows which have been shattered and gauzy white curtains which flap like wounded, white birds. There are deep gouges² in the walls. The man wears - can it be? - house slippers³ as he sits in the litter of debris⁴ and smokes - can this be? - a pipe. You see the ruins of what must have once been a splendid city apartment. White wicker furniture has been splintered and scorched⁵. White walls have been blasted into rubbish and dust. There is an old crank-up gramophone at the edge of the bed. There is a record on the turntable, and the needle is down. The man holds his pipe in contemplation.

A great photograph invites our minds inside the frame. This photograph might make you wonder - what is that man listening to? What does he think? Who does he miss?

The photograph was taken by Joseph Eid, an AFP photojournalist from Lebanon who's covered the war in Syria. He's photographed that man before. He is Mohammed Anis, who refused to leave Aleppo as government forces surrounded and besieged⁶ the city with bombs, mortar⁷, fire and starvation. Mohammed Anis has a collection of old vintage, American cars. He says he admires their durability⁸ and style. He's just returned to his apartment after the last push of the Assad regime obliterated⁹ so much of the city.

Joseph Eid and a crew from AFP went to find the man they remembered as so determined¹⁰; he still is. Many of his cars have been flattened¹¹. Mohammed Anis told the photographer that he will repair them. It's my home, he says of Aleppo. He wants his children to inherit those cars for their beauty and artisanship and the city that once bristled¹² with life.

When the photographer saw the phonograph had survived, Mohammed Anis told him - I will play it for you, but first, I have to light my pipe because I never listen to music without it. And this week, the photographer wrote on the AFP blog, (reading) Anis puffed¹³ on his pipe. He seemed to be somewhere else as well. He seemed to forget that we were there. He looked out the window, and he had a look on his face of a person watching a beautiful sunset. He sat there puffing¹⁴ on his broken pipe and staring out the window as the music floated over the ruins of his house and the city outside. After six years of war, the Syrians want life. They just want to let the music play.

(SOUNDBITE OF OUM KALSOUM'S "ANTA OUMRI")

1 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

2 gouges   

n.凿( gouge的名词复数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…v.凿( gouge的第三人称单数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Clegg and Rollins indicate that nonwrinkleresistant cotton fibers often exhibIt'surface gouges and fibrillation. 克莱格和罗林斯指出，未经防皱处理的棉纤维表面，通常有凿槽和微纤化现象发生。 来自辞典例句
• She didn't mind that we banged into the walls and put gouges in the door jambs. 她一点也不介意我们撞坏墙或是把门框碰出小坑来。 来自互联网

3 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

6 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 durability   

n.经久性，耐用性

参考例句：

• Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。

9 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

12 bristled   

adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

13 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》