PBS高端访谈:移民眼中的距离感

AMNA NAWAZ: This year, your holiday table is probably looking very different from last. Maybe there's fewer people at the table. Maybe there's an iPad or a laptop, so loved ones can Zoom¹ in from far away. The fact is, separation over the holidays is a tradition for many. Tonight, Nadia Owusu shares her Humble² Opinion on how immigrant families already know how to bridge these holiday distances.

NADIA OWUSU, Author, "Aftershocks: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Identity": I know, that for many people, the prospect³ of spending the holidays apart from their families feels like too much to bear, especially after this challenging year. But staying home is the right thing to do. Considering the immigrant experience can help put that sacrifice in perspective. All my life. I have lived far away from many of the people I love most. My Ghanaian father was a United Nations official. And for his job, we moved back and forth⁴ between Europe and East Africa. At 18, I moved to New York for university, and I have lived here my whole adult life. Members of my immediate⁵ family live in Ghana and the United Kingdom. Many of my close friends in New York are immigrants from all around the world. And we commiserate⁶ about missing important moments and celebrations such as anniversaries, milestone⁷ birthdays, and weddings. We have supported each other through worry and grief when our loved ones have fallen ill or passed away and we have not been able to travel home. We miss going to the market with our grandmothers or watching soccer games with our siblings⁸. But my immigrant friends and I also share stories about how we manage to nurture⁹ deep relationships across great distances. We create rituals. A friend of mine and her mother in Mexico City regularly prepare meals together over the phone from the same recipes. Every Christmas, my cousin Laura in London chooses a different 1990s hip-hop song and writes Christmas lyrics¹⁰ to it. All of us around the world watch her perform it over Skype on Christmas Eve. This holiday season, we will find time on New Year's Day to make a toast and share resolutions.

Throughout the year, over the phone and Internet, we're intentional¹¹ about coming together as a family to tell stories and imagine and plan our next in person reunion. The immigrant experience reminds us that there are many people who endure much longer separations from loved ones than are currently being called for by public health experts. So, stay home, and just know that not traveling does not have to mean canceling the holidays. It doesn't have to mean being alone.

阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：今年，你的假日餐桌看起来可能和去年大不相同也许桌上的人少了。也许有一台iPad或笔记本电脑，这样爱人就可以从远处放大。事实上，假期分居是许多人的传统。今晚，纳迪娅·奥乌苏分享了她的“拙见”，主题围绕移民家庭如何弥补节假日距离展开。

《余震：来自身份前沿发出的讯息》的作者纳蒂亚：我知道，对许多人来说，离开家人过假期的前景让人难以忍受，尤其是在今年充满挑战的一年之后。但呆在家里是正确的。考虑移民的经历有助于正确看待这种牺牲。我的一生。我住的地方离我最爱的人都很远。我的加纳父亲是一名联合国官员。为了他的工作，我们在欧洲和东非之间来回奔波。18岁时，我搬到纽约上大学，我成年后一直住在这里我的直系亲属住在加纳和英国。我在纽约的许多密友都是来自世界各地的移民。我们对错过重要时刻和庆祝活动表示同情，比如周年纪念日、里程碑式生日和婚礼。当我们所爱的人生病或去世，我们无法回家时，我们相互支持，度过了忧虑和悲伤。我们怀念和祖母一起去市场或和兄弟姐妹一起看足球赛。但我和我的移民朋友也分享了我们如何在很远的距离内培养深厚关系的故事。我们创造仪式。我的一个朋友和她在墨西哥城的母亲经常通过电话用同样的食谱一起做饭。每年圣诞节，我在伦敦的表妹劳拉都会选择一首不同的90年代嘻哈歌曲，并为之写圣诞歌词。我们全世界的人都在平安夜通过Skype观看她表演。

在这个假期里，我们将在元旦抽时间举杯并分享决心。整个一年，我们会通过电话和网络联系，我们有意作为一个家庭聚在一起讲故事，想象和计划下一次面对面的团聚。移民的经历提醒我们，有许多人忍受着更长时间的分离，比目前公共卫生专家所呼吁的要多。所以，呆在家里，要知道不旅行并不意味着取消假期。不一定要一个人。

1 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 commiserate   

v.怜悯，同情

参考例句：

• When I lost,he commiserated with me.我落败的时候，他向我表示同情。
• I commiserated with her on the loss of her job.她失去了工作，我很同情她。

7 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

8 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

9 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

10 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。

11 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。