英闻天下——60 Jason Pym: New Dali Citizens

 　　"I'd love it if you call me an artist, but I am not quite there yet. But that's what I want to do."

 

　　This is Jason Pym, a Brit who has been pursuing² his dream of being an artist in China for 12 years. He and his wife also own a 60-square-meter café in the old town of Dali, Yunnan Province.

 

　　When I met him for the first time, he was giving English lessons to three Chinese primary school students at his café, which looks more like a bookstore.

 

　　Xiong Manshu, one of the students, said she likes to learn English with Uncle Jason, because she has so much fun during the lessons. Xiong Manshu's father says he has to pay only 40 yuan an hour for his daughter to take lessons here, far less than what other training centers charge, as Jason teaches not for the money but to do something good for the neighborhood.

 

　　"I want to provide my daughter lessons by native language speakers. The learning³ atmosphere here in Jason's café is very good, as Jason can speak both English and Chinese. I am a physics teacher, and I appreciate Jason's way of teaching⁴."

 

　　Mr. Xiong says he hopes his daughter keeps taking lessons from Jason for a long while. But Jason says he is too busy to provide lessons every week, because he needs time for his painting and helping⁵ his Chinese wife, Cecilia, with running their cafe.

 

　　Jason has been in China for 12 years. He met Cecilia when he worked in Shanghai. They moved to Dali after they got married.

 

　　"After we got married, Shanghai life became too hectic⁶ with overtime⁷ and working on weekends—everything. So we went on holiday to Dali, and then decided⁸ to move here. So we went back, quit our jobs and moved everything here."

 

　　Jason and Cecilia have been living in Dali for seven years. Now their son, Xiao Long, is already five years old. Jason says their life here is totally different from what it had been in the big city.

 

　　"Because Dali is so small, you are always running for someone you know every day, and you'll say hello and have a chat. And for many meals during the week will end up eating at someone's house, café or hostel⁹ or whatever, so it's a very nice community feeling. Everybody has the same idea about things. We look after their kids for one day, and someone else will take them the next day. It's a warm feeling. Nothing is like it was in the city."

 

　　Jason says nowadays many Chinese also are moving to Dali from other places, giving up good jobs and nice houses in the city. They are essentially¹⁰ choosing to give up metropolitan¹¹ life. Some of them are here for their children; others simply move here to enjoy life.

 

　　"As for Shanghai life, I think if you work there when you are in your 20s, it is lots of fun. But then after while, the long hours, everything, is not so nice. And when we wanted to start a family, we thought the big city was not good for a child as well. When we came here, it seemed to have everything. Five minutes from my house you can go walking up the river in the woods, and you have lots of friends, a nice community as well, nice bookshops. There is pretty much anything I want."

 

　　In the café, there are thousands of English books both for borrowing and for sale. Jason says he hopes they can be one of the highlights¹² of their cafe.

 

　　"The books will be a draw for people, hopefully. Before we left Shanghai, we went to lots of those secondhand¹³ markets. So we just bought like thousands of books from these markets. We got these here."

 

　　Jason spends most of his time now painting the landscapes and people of Dali. He says he hopes to make a living from painting pictures in the future. But now his family mainly depends on the café, which is mostly run by Cecelia.

 

　　"Our lifestyle right now in Dali is what we expected the most. We can do what we want to do and whatever we are interested in. The living cost in Dali is not that high. We lead a very comfortable life here."

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan¹.

1 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

2 pursuing   

v.继续( pursue的现在分词 )；追求；进行；追捕

参考例句：

• He has accused the media of pursuing a vendetta against him. 他指责媒体长期跟他过不去。
• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies. 他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

7 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

12 highlights   

n.头发挑染部分；全球知名儿童刊物及相关产品的发行和销售商的名称、商号及商标

参考例句：

• The report highlights the major problems facing society today. 报告特别强调了当今社会所面临的主要问题。
• The report highlights a number of instances of injustice. 这篇报道重点列举了一些不公正的实例。

13 secondhand   

n.二手货；旧货

参考例句：

• I bought a secondhand chair which is as good as new.我买了一把二手货椅子，它如同新的一样。
• Is this camera new or secondhand?这架照相机是新的还是旧的？