万花筒 2009-05-22&05-23 我不做大哥好多年

"I was a gang member. I was a drug dealer¹. I turned out the worst at all my brothers, you know, gangbanging , jail."
There was a time these men couldn’t be together on the same Los Angeles street corner.
Two years ago, could you have seen yourself working side by side like this?
No.
Why?
We have come from different backgrounds. So …
Different gangs?
Different gangs.
Today, former gang rivals, Richard Reyes, Cesar Cruz and Rudolpho Marquez carpool together to  their job, and work side by side installing home solar systems.
We treat each other like normal human beings, get along, great.
Are you guys gonna run it all the way up?
Albert Ortega learned the trade by taking solar installation classes paid for by Homeboy Industries, a community organization that’s been working with parolees and former gang members for more than 20 years.
Nice, we’ve got voltage.
The classes offered Albert a chance to break into alternative energy programs, Homeboy Industries led by Father Gregory Boyle pays the class fee about 130 dollars, and eight dollars an hour to attend the 10-week program. He says it’s a lot cheaper than incarceration², which costs tax payers 45,000 dollars a year.
What’s your alternative to not trusting them though, you know, I mean on one hand, this is the thing that actually helps keep our street safe, this is what you called smart on crime.
"It just opened my eyes, you know, to so many things. You know, like this man right here, believes in us so much, and I mean if you see his logo, I means his motto is, you know, guns not jail, nothing stops a bully³ like a job."
Which one you think is easier?
After spending ten years behind bars, and missing the births of his daughters, Valerie and Vanessa, Richard Reyes now has homework duty, and says he’s finally learning what it means to be a father.
I just thought making baby, was, was being a father but that's not a father, a real father is somebody who takes interests in your kids.
How hard is it?
It’s hard, that’s, that’s one of the hardest things in life, ah, being a parent.
Before he was more immature⁴, now he knows what his responsibilities are.
“Now,” Richard says, “it’s all about his kids.”
What do you want for your daughter’s future?
I want her to become somebody in this world.
He says for the first time he’s looking to the future with confidence. He’s up for a promotion⁵ at work, and Richard says he knows he can support his family.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
 

1 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

2 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

3 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

4 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。