2006年VOA标准英语-Author Shares Inspiring Childhood Story of Surv

By Shally Zomorodi
Los Angeles, California
11 December 2006
 
watch The Little Man

 
Abbas Kazerooni as a young boy
A young boy forced to live on his own by his parents. That's the story author Abbas Kazerooni shares in his new book, "The Little Man." But rather than being a tale of cruelty and sadness, it is a story of hope and love.

Imagine that you are only seven years old. For many, life is about playing at the park or hanging out with your friends. It is hard to imagine a young boy taking care of himself, living kilometers away from both his parents. It is almost unimaginable, that is until you meet Abbas Kazerooni.

Kazerooni re-lives his childhood in his book titled "The Little Man." "It is about the loss of a son by their parents and loss of parents by a son,” says the author. “And that heartbreak and overcoming challenges at such a young age -- when you are so innocent¹ and being exposed to so much. Living in an adult world where the world is going over 200 kilometers an hour and it seems so much bigger than it is. And writing this journey for people who can understand and read it can relate to it some way or another. I learned² so much.”

 
Abbas Kazerooni, The Little Man
Like thousands of other Iranians, Kazerooni's parents wanted him to leave Iran for a chance at a better life. But unlike many of them, Kazerooni, who was seven at the time, was forced to flee to Turkey, all by himself. No father, no mother -- just a 7-year-old boy. As he explains, he survived in an unfamiliar³ country because he used the only thing he had to his advantage.

"He is the kind of kid who irritates⁴ you but you can't hate him. He is constantly bugging⁵ you and bugging you and pulling your shirt saying, 'Can we play? Please, please, please?’ But there is something in his cheeky smile that you can't say 'no' to and believe it or not I was actually a quite cute kid."

He explains in his book how using his cute face helped him secure⁶ jobs to earn money in any way a seven year old could. And just like a seven year old, hanging onto that money was a challenge.

"That kind of drove me. I was only eating one meal a day. I was eating bread and cheese or bread, yogurt, and cheese and bottled water."

A hard thing for a young child to do but Kazerooni says he was following the directions of his father and living to one day again see his mother. 

"She is my hero. She is my everything and I wanted to do something in her memory, something that the world can remember her by."

Whether Kazerooni ever reunited with his family and how he left Turkey is revealed⁷ among all his memories of that time in his book. But he does share what he learned at such a young age.

"You have to believe in your hope. If I could just give that to one person I think I have changed their life for them and that's just the way it is. It doesn't matter where you are; I honestly believe you can overcome it. It's all up in the mind and that's what I want to portray⁸ to people."

1 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

4 irritates   

使发怒( irritate的第三人称单数 )； 使急躁； 使感到不适； 使疼痛

参考例句：

• The way she puts on that accent really irritates me. 她故意操那种口音的样子实在令我恼火。
• This excess fungal yeast irritates the scalp, causing overproduction of skin cells. 这过量的真菌酵母刺激皮肤产生了过多的皮肤细胞。

5 bugging   

[法] 窃听

参考例句：

• Okay, then let's get the show on the road and I'll stop bugging you. 好，那么让我们开始动起来，我将不再惹你生气。 来自辞典例句
• Go fly a kite and stop bugging me. 走开，别烦我。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

6 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

7 revealed   

v.显示( reveal的过去式和过去分词 )；揭示；泄露；[神学]启示

参考例句：

• They revealed to me that the experiment had failed. 他们向我透露试验失败了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His insincerity is revealed by the quick goggle of his eyes. 他眼睛的快速转动泄露了他的不诚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？