美国国家公共电台 NPR 'We Were Lucky': Kids Of Holocaust Survivors Learned Their Parents' Life Philosophy

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And it's time now for StoryCorps. This is Holocaust¹ Remembrance Week, and this morning, we have a story about resilience. After surviving the war, Judel and Pauline Schuster resettled in Buffalo², N.Y., to start a family. At StoryCorps, two of their children, Abe and Esther, sat down to remember their parents, including a time they went head-to-head with Abe's math teacher.

ABE SCHUSTER: Dad said, so Mrs. Dinwoodie, how is mine Abey (ph) doing in the math class? And she said, well, he sleeps a lot in class. He stares out the window. He doesn't do his homework. And he doesn't seem to be paying attention very well. And Dad said, you know, Mrs. Dinwoodie, you should be ashamed³ of yourself. My Abey has jobs. He works⁴ after school. He knows a lot of friends and has fun in the evenings. So of course, he's going to be sleepy. And probably, you are boring him.

ESTHER SCHUSTER: We could do no wrong in their eyes. You know, I would be upset because I'd get an 89. And they'd go 89 - that's wonderful - you did the best you could. The other thing they would always say to us was the only thing that's important is you learn how to do something that you can make a living at because, really, they knew that that was survival⁵.

When did you first realize that we were kids of Holocaust survivors⁶?

A SCHUSTER: I knew they were from Europe. I knew they'd lost their family. But I think the first time, Esther, I really figured it out was in eighth grade. You know, in history class, we saw these movies - these Holocaust horror⁷ movies. And I think that's the first time I actually realized what happened to our grandparents and aunts and uncles.

E SCHUSTER: Part of it was even just our names. We knew we were named after people who died too soon, who there was a lot of pain about. You know, like, Mom always used to say, you're my mother. You're my mother. And I'm so glad to have you because you're my mother. I think that we had this vision⁸ of life and death that was maybe different from other kids our age. But they also taught us the pleasure in small things.

A SCHUSTER: They never were kids. They never played. So sometimes, you can make up for things later.

E SCHUSTER: I remember when we would go to Crystal⁹ Beach and there was that little store on the corner. And we would stop. We'd get an orange soda¹⁰.

A SCHUSTER: Absolutely.

E SCHUSTER: And, you know, Mom - you would've thought somebody bought her a diamond ring.

A SCHUSTER: And all the neighborhood kids who would go to the pool and swim in the summer - and dad went with me.

E SCHUSTER: Uh-huh.

A SCHUSTER: Smoking¹¹ - big, old belly¹².

E SCHUSTER: Yeah.

A SCHUSTER: And he climbed up and he went down the slide.

E SCHUSTER: (Laughter).

A SCHUSTER: And everybody is looking at him. And I'm like, yeah, that's my dad...

E SCHUSTER: (Laughter).

A SCHUSTER: ...And whatever. But that's how he was. He was like a kid.

E SCHUSTER: We were lucky. We were very lucky to have them as parents. Despite their suffering, despite their pain, they were able to teach those lessons of live now, love hard and appreciate everything.

(SOUNDBITE OF ENDING SATELLITES¹³' "WE'RE FROM NEAR AND FAR")

GREENE: Abe and Esther Schuster for StoryCorps in Birmingham, Ala. That interview will be archived along with hundreds of thousands of others at the Library of Congress¹⁴.

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

3 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation.公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

8 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

9 crystal   

n.水晶，水晶饰品，结晶体；最好的玻璃器皿

参考例句：

• It used to be a crystal stream.那曾是条清澈见底的小溪。
• Those fine wine glasses are made of crystal.那些漂亮的酒杯是用水晶做的。

10 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

11 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

12 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

13 satellites   

n.卫星( satellite的名词复数 )；人造卫星；卫星国；附庸国

参考例句：

• Many countries have sent up man-made satellites to circle the earth. 许多国家已经发射人造卫星围绕地球运转。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。