美国国家公共电台 NPR For Palestinian Hikers In West Bank, A Chance To Enjoy Nature And Escape Tensions

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

It's springtime and hiking season. For Israelis, hiking has long been a popular pastime¹. It's an expression of national identity, exploring the land. Hiking is also gaining popularity² among Palestinians for similar reasons. NPR's Daniel Estrin recently spent the day with a Palestinian hiking group in the West Bank.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE³: I'm with a group of about 20 Palestinians ranging in age from their late-20s to 60s. They're wearing backpacks. Some have trekking⁴ poles and large cameras. It's about 7 a.m. on a Friday, which is a day off here, and they just stepped off the highway into the desert.

JUWANA RAFIDI: The main challenge is to get up very early in the morning on Fridays because Friday is my holiday. But when I do it, I feel I have energy for the rest of the week.

ESTRIN: Juwana Rafidi is a longtime member of this weekly hiking group called Shat'ha, Arabic for picnic. Four Palestinians started the group in 2006 to get some fresh air after the end of the violence of the Second Intifada. Rafidi says it feels great to get out of her crowded city.

RAFIDI: (Speaking Arabic).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Speaking Arabic).

ESTRIN: Rafidi directs us down a steep hill to a valley, where 28-year-old lawyer Ammar Jawdat warns about snakes. He says he loves escaping to nature where there are no Israeli military checkpoints.

AMMAR JAWDAT: To walk for three or four hours without any checkpoint, without seeing soldiers, something like this, this make you feel, somehow, you can feel some free.

ESTRIN: The group spots a badger⁵ dashing across the rocks. Somebody coos at it.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Cooing).

ESTRIN: Organized hiking has been big with Israelis for a long time - for fun and to strengthen their ties to the land. Now Palestinians are increasingly doing the same. Even out in nature, it's hard to escape the tug⁶ of war on this land. One Palestinian hiking group makes a point of carrying a Palestinian flag when hiking in the West Bank, which is still under the control of the Israeli military. And Israeli settlements often come into view. One of the Palestinian hikers spots Israelis trekking in the distance.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Cousins.

ESTRIN: Cousins, a nickname⁷ Palestinians sometimes use to refer to as Israelis and vice⁸ versa. Thafer Jarrar says he frequently sees Israelis on West Bank trails.

THAFER JARRAR: We see them sometimes but we don't interact⁹ with them. We don't talk to them. They don't talk to us.

ESTRIN: We reach a spring, where I see two young Israeli hikers. I start to approach them. Be careful, he's armed, a Palestinian tells me.

Like, a group that goes on hikes?

The armed man is a young Israeli who says he's originally from Florida. He's a soldier, and soldiers are required to carry their weapons even when off duty.

But do you feel safer armed when you're hiking in this area?

AVISHAI: Yeah, yeah. But, like, it's not like I expect anything to happen. It's more of just, like, a safety. But yeah, definitely I feel safer.

ESTRIN: He gives his name as Avishai before he sets off with his friend who's from an Israeli settlement nearby.

(CROSSTALK)

ESTRIN: The Palestinian group spreads a tablecloth¹⁰ on the ground for a picnic of grape molasses mixed with tahini, tomatoes with garlic and spicy¹¹ cheese. The group's rule is no Israeli products allowed. After the picnic, we hit the trail again and meet another Israeli who asks, where are you from? Jawdat, the lawyer, answers, Palestine.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, the West Bank.

1 pastime   

n.消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Playing chess is his favourite pastime.下棋是他最喜爱的消遣。
• Baseball is the national pastime.棒球是全民性的休闲运动。

2 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网

5 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

6 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

7 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

10 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。

11 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。