美国国家公共电台 NPR School bullies told him to speak English. His mentee showed him he already belonged

 

School bullies¹ told him to speak English. His mentee showed him he already belonged

Transcript²

From left, Luis Paulino and Angel Gonzalez are pictured together after their StoryCorps recording³ in New York last month.

StoryCorps

When Luis Paulino started eighth grade at a new school in a new country, he was made to feel like he didn't fit in.

Paulino, who arrived in New York from the Dominican Republic in 2006, remembered being bullied⁴ for his differences.

Unlike his new classmates, Paulino didn't speak English and he wore baggy⁵, drab clothes. As a Spanish speaker placed in strictly⁶ English-speaking classes, he struggled in school.

"Most of the bullying⁷ happened at lunch. They would always tell me to speak English," Paulino, now 28, told his friend Angel Gonzalez, 26, during their StoryCorps conversation last month. "I was scared to speak up for myself because I believed that they're right. I didn't belong."

But some of the workers at his school cafeteria made him feel otherwise. They welcomed the 13-year-old by bringing him milk and pizza, his favorite lunch options.

One woman in particular, a fellow Dominican named Lillian who spoke⁸ his language, made an impression on Paulino.

She gave him "a small red dictionary that translated words from Spanish to English," he recalled. "And I would carry that dictionary."

By 2010, Paulino was no longer the new kid in school. He was a tutor in algebra⁹ class, where he first met Gonzalez, another Spanish speaker who had just moved from the Dominican Republic.

Paulino, a high school senior at the time, saw himself in Gonzalez, a sophomore¹⁰.

"You had just arrived from my country and the way you spoke, the way you looked, reminded me of when I first arrived to the United States," he told Gonzalez.

At the time, Gonzalez had been frustrated¹¹ while learning math in English. But Paulino was there to explain the subject when Gonzalez got stuck.

"You were the person to me that you wanted to have when you were in my position," Gonzalez told him. "By the time that I met you, you were already someone to look up to, you know?"

Gonzalez returned the inspiration.

He convinced Paulino to audition¹² for a school musical, Aida, with him.

At first, Paulino was nervous. "I was scared to let everything out of me and show the world, you know, who I am," Paulino told his friend.

But with Gonzalez's support, he went for it.

"I was avoiding the high note because I just didn't want to be heard," he said. "Then, I kept looking at you. And I was like, 'You know what? I don't have nothing to lose, you're next to me.' And when I finally hit the note, that was truly a turning point in my life."

Singing in the musical alongside his friend helped Gonzalez find his voice, too.

"It was a very good way for me to learn the language," he said. "I sang the chorus. Did I know what it meant? Absolutely not. I just memorized the lyrics¹³ and how it sounded, and I just kept singing it again and again."

They both landed big parts: Paulino played Zoser, the antagonist¹⁴ of Aida; Gonzalez was one of the soldiers.

Gonzalez is now a paralegal, and Paulino works to support immigrants with legal services at the same organization that helped his family when they first arrived in the U.S.

Audio produced for Morning Edition by Eleanor Vassili.

StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy¹⁵ for future generations. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org.

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1 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 algebra   

n.代数学

参考例句：

• He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
• The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。

10 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

13 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

14 antagonist   

n.敌人，对抗者，对手

参考例句：

• His antagonist in the debate was quicker than he.在辩论中他的对手比他反应快。
• The thing is to know the nature of your antagonist.要紧的是要了解你的对手的特性。

15 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。