美国国家公共电台 NPR--For some in the Gaza Strip, summer tastes like a baby watermelon cooked over flames

For some in the Gaza Strip, summer tastes like a baby watermelon cooked over flames

Transcript¹

It's a summertime delicacy² — unripe³ baby watermelons are cooked over flames in the Gaza Strip.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

What does summer taste like around the world? For a lot of us, it's watermelon. And in the Gaza Strip, there's a watermelon delicacy that NPR's Daniel Estrin wanted to try. He sent us this postcard.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁴: There's an aura of intrigue⁵ surrounding this dish. I visited a family that cooks it on a fire next to their house.

It is nighttime and, oh, my gosh, there is this plate of little...

MOHAMMED QUDAIH: Ajer.

ESTRIN: Ajer - little, baby unripe watermelons.

It's made only for a short time in summer in the southern part of Gaza, traditionally associated with Bedouin desert culture. Palestinians from around Gaza take field trips here to see how it's done. So did food legend Anthony Bourdain. And we took our own pilgrimage. Mohammed Qudaih is tending the fire and speaks through an interpreter.

M QUDAIH: (Through interpreter) It's truly, like, representing the simplicity⁶ of, like, having some veggies. It's very simple, and to make it for a delicacy.

ESTRIN: This vegetarian⁷ dish goes by many names - fatet ajer, laseema, qursa. But the main ingredient is tiny, little watermelons about the size of oranges, grown in the sandy soil and picked early, before they turn sweet and red.

Wow, you just cracked open that baby watermelon with your bare hands, like a karate⁸ chop. It smells like a pumpkin⁹. It's completely white.

You roast them whole over an open fire, along with eggplants, then wash off the charcoaled¹⁰ outsides to get to the fleshy insides.

OK, what's going on over here on this side of the house? We've got an enormous, enormous clay pot, completely full of hot peppers, tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, dehydrated sheep milk. And they're grinding all of that into a pulp¹¹. The flesh of those baby watermelons are being thrown into that mush.

This dish takes a village, from the little kids to a dozen male cousins and neighbors. Family elder Yousef Qudaih sits in his plastic chair, wearing an embroidered¹² gray gown and a Nike baseball hat.

YOUSEF QUDAIH: I want to tell you about our land before, how the land - our land is pure.

ESTRIN: This dish reminds him of the old days when people subsisted¹³ off the natural bounty¹⁴ of the land before modern diets brought diabetes¹⁵, before a new road was paved right here through his open field, before Gaza became crowded, squeezed into tight borders.

Y QUDAIH: And the people coming, coming, coming, coming, coming.

ESTRIN: The population is growing.

Y QUDAIH: It's - we lose the land.

ESTRIN: Meanwhile, the fire has died down. I can see the Big Dipper. And now he's covering the dough¹⁶ with the embers.

The last step - baking flat, round bread, then tearing it up into the veggie mush with a healthy pour of olive oil. And then we grab spoons and circle around a large dish.

That's lovely. It's like a big, chunky mix of baba ghanoush, a little spicy¹⁷ kick and that watery¹⁸, kind of juicy feeling of that baby watermelon.

It was only when we left that I learned that the 20 unripe watermelons that they had just roasted for us were the last of their homegrown stock. They'd been saving them for a special occasion.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.

(SOUNDBITE OF ZAKIR HUSSAIN'S "ENCORE: MAKING MUSIC REVISITED (LIVE)")

1 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。

2 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

3 unripe   

adj.未成熟的；n.未成熟

参考例句：

• I was only ill once and that came of eating an unripe pear.我唯一一次生病是因为吃了未熟的梨。
• Half of the apples are unripe.一半的苹果不熟。

4 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。

5 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

6 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

7 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

8 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

9 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

10 charcoaled   

vt.用木炭画（charcoal的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

11 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。

12 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

13 subsisted   

v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Before liberation he subsisted on wild potatoes. 解放前他靠吃野薯度日。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Survivors of the air crash subsisted on wild fruits. 空难事件的幸存者以野果维持生命。 来自辞典例句

14 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

15 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

16 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

17 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。

18 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。