密歇根新闻广播 二战幸存者Erna的人生故事

Erna Roberts has had a full life. As a survivor¹ of the WWII Nazi² takeover of her homeland, Latvia, as well as two separate Russian occupations, still living on her own at the age of 97 is the least of her feats³.

Her experiences are the subject of "Erna's Life," a new biography⁴ written by Janice Whelan and Erna Roberts.

Whelan describes Roberts' life growing up as something of a fairy tale, surrounded by forest, flowers, and castles where she grew up in the country. Her father was a successful businessman with woodworking factories.

Roberts says she can still recall⁵ the first Russian takeover. She remembers standing⁶ on the university steps, about to go home, and watching Russian tanks pass by.

Her mother greeted her when she got home by telling her that they didn't have a country anymore.

Roberts' father's construction business was taken away and he was only allowed to visit without any other involvement.

Then, her mother, grandfather, and brother were sent to Siberia. A Russian solider empathized with her situation because he had not been able to see his family for years, so he allowed her to say goodbye to them.

When Germany took over, Roberts' father was allowed to take back his business, but his land wasn't returned.

Roberts' journey to America happened by luck. She says to this day she does not know how her husband's uncle in America was able to locate where they were, but he sent a message saying that he would pay their way to the United States.

Whelan was a childhood friend of Roberts’ daughter and was shocked when she was told her story.

Whelan says she came to realize, "Everyone lives in their own reality and we assume⁷ everyone's reality is ours."

In the beginning, Roberts says she kept her story secret, telling none of her coworkers at one of her first jobs.

Her boss eventually discovered her past when a salesman shared a newspaper story with him that included a write-up on her father's death that outlined his legacy⁸ as a Latvian millionaire, and their family's story.

When he asked her why she never told anyone she replied, "Why should I? I'm just like every other employee here."

1 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

4 biography   

n.个人经历，传记

参考例句：

• He is now collecting material for a biography of Tao Yuanming.他正在为写陶渊明传记搜集材料。
• Boswell wrote a famous biography of Dr.White.鲍斯韦尔为怀特博士写过一本著名传记。

5 recall   

n.回忆，召回，取消；vt.回想起，召回，与...相似，恢复

参考例句：

• As you may recall, he was in the army then.你可能记得当时他正在从军。
• We demand that you recall your army from our border.我们要求你们撤回在我们边境的部队。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 assume   

vt.假装；假定，设想；承担；呈现，采取

参考例句：

• I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
• We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。

8 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。