美国国家公共电台 NPR His Love For Books Reads Like Poetry

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today's StoryCorps is a love letter to the written word. Alagappa Rammohan has amassed¹ thousands of books. Rammohan immigrated² from India to the United States in 1962. He came to StoryCorps in Chicago with his daughter.

PARU VENKAT: When I think of my earliest memories, I think of asking you homework assignments and you looking at my textbooks and falling in love with the textbook, and reading it almost from cover to cover and only answering my question hours later. So where does that come from?

ALAGAPPA RAMMOHAN: When I was young - I'll give you an incident, how I am hooked³ into this book business. When I am 9 or 8, when my parents give me one rupee - which is, like, $1 - you know what I do with that? I don't buy candy or anything. I just go to a stall⁴ where they sell children books. And I like all of them. So I asked what this one rupee can buy. So once I get eight books then I would come home. You know what I'd do? Even today I do this. I don't start reading the first page. I smell it.

VENKAT: I know you do. I remember that.

RAMMOHAN: You've seen it many times.

VENKAT: I've seen you do that many, many times.

RAMMOHAN: The fresh book, printed from the press, untouched, unopened. (Sniffing). I smell it.

VENKAT: Right.

RAMMOHAN: That's my connection with the book. The book became my friend. Better than my friends. You know, human friends. I feel that the author is talking to me, in person. Now, if I go and ask him for wisdom, he's a big guy. He might not talk to me. But now he's coming to me. And he says, I'm here. I'm talking. Listen to me. The book could be written in any language. It can say anything. It's a transfer⁵ of knowledge from one person to the other. It doesn't force you to read, but it is there. That book, in my point of view, is very sacred. You have to read all books...

VENKAT: Keeping an open mind.

RAMMOHAN: Open mind. Next time, you'll think, wait a minute. There is another viewpoint⁶ there. If you want to give anybody something, the very best, give a book. It opened, for me, how to live.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: Alagappa Rammohan and his daughter, Paru Venkat. Plans are underway to build a library in his hometown, where his 10,000 books will go when he dies. Their conversation is archived at the Library of Congress⁷.

1 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

3 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

4 stall   

n.摊位，铺子，售货亭

参考例句：

• She sells fruits at a market stall.她在市场的货摊上卖水果。
• He has a stall that sells designer ripoffs.他开了个铺子卖仿冒设计师品牌衣服。

5 transfer   

n. 迁移, 移动, 换车; v. 转移, 调转, 调任

参考例句：

• He has been kicking against this transfer for weeks. 几周以来他一直反对这次调动。
• I intend to transfer the property to my son. 我想把这笔财产转给我儿子。

6 viewpoint   

n.观点，看法，见解

参考例句：

• He explained his viewpoint that taxes should be increased.他解释了他认为应该增加税收的观点。
• My viewpoint is in coincidence with you.我的观点与你的一致。

7 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。