VOA标准英语2012--Cambodian-American Photographer Chronicles Displaced

Cambodian-American Photographer Chronicles Displaced

Pete Pin, 30, is on a quest. The photographer is searching for his heritage amid the Cambodian enclaves of America. Along the way, he is documenting dislocation. 

Today, he has come to a Cambodian temple, in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. 

"This temple is the center of the Cambodian community, and it's very, very small as you can see," Pin notes. "There's only one monk¹ here. And it's carved out of the space here in this neighborhood where it's this backyard here, and right outside is someone else's backyard. There's a very amazing sense of community in the Bronx, but you see it in people's homes, and you see it isolated² in certain areas."

Isolation³ is a recurring⁴ theme in Pin's photographs - from California, where he grew up, to Philadelphia, New York and other corners of America. Another theme is disconnection:

"What's kind of beautiful about photography is that these things are just there, you know, they're always there… but the photos are a manifestation⁵ of my own generational, cultural and historical displacement⁶," Pin explains. 

Only a few hundred Cambodian families live in the Bronx. This temple is a main center of worship for them. It is the Cambodian New Year, and these boys are learning to write in Khmer, the language of their motherland.

These are the moments Pin seeks to capture, as he puts together a growing exhibition for Cambodians in America, for those back home, and for non-Cambodians who may not understand the difficulties Cambodian refugees have had in the US.

But Pin, whose parents survived the Khmer Rouge⁷, also shoots to find a part of himself.

"The name of the project is Displaced, and what that really means is that there's of course this physical displacement in terms of what it means to be a refugee," Pin adds. "I can't say myself that I'm physically⁸ displaced, because I'm not. I'm American, this is my home. But I am culturally displaced. I exist in this vacuum of identity, where I don't know what it means to be either fully⁹ American or Cambodian. And in addition to that, there's this legacy¹⁰ that I have in my heart and on my shoulders that was given to me at birth as a result of what my parents lived through. And I am trying for most of my adult life to really understand what that means.

Today what that means is a short language lesson of his own, once the camera is put away.  

1 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

4 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

5 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。