The Bird’s Nest
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
It’s Saturday, and Rima is watching cartoons.
今天是星期六,
“I’m bored,” Rima complains to her mother.
Rima向母亲抱怨,
“This show is boring.”
“这个节目很无聊。 “
“So change the channel!”
“所以改变频道!”
her mother says.
她的母亲说。
“TV will help you learn English faster.”
“电视将帮助你更快地学习英语。 “
As soon as those words are out of her mother’s mouth, Rima braces herself for the words she knows will follow.
当这些话从她母亲的口中流出时,里玛会为她所知道的话而自证其情。
“Because this is our home now,” Rima’s mother says.
Rima的母亲说,
“You know that, don’t you, habibti?”
“你知道的,不是吗,Habibti? “
“I know, Mama,” Rima sighs.
“我知道,妈妈,”里马叹气。
“I know.”
“我知道。 “
This time last year, when Rima was eight, home was a tent surrounded by other tents.
去年里玛八岁时的这个时候,家里是一个被其他帐篷所包围的帐篷.
The year before that, home was the side of the road, a storm-tossed boat, a stranger’s basement.
之前的一年,家是路边,被暴风雨淹没的船只,是陌生人的地下室.
It was wherever they happened to lay their heads at night.
在他们晚上碰巧下地盘的地方
The year before that, though, when Rima was six, home was a house in a city called Aleppo, in the country of Syria.
上一年,虽然,当里玛六岁时,故居是位于叙利亚国阿勒颇市的一栋房屋.
Home had a big window in the kitchen where black-and-white-tailed birds came to roost.
家厨房里有个大窗子 黑白相间的鸟儿都跑过来了
It had a carpet in the living room that smelled of honey and flour, and a bedroom with a perfect view of the moon.
它在起居室有毯子能闻到蜂蜜和面粉的味道,还有一个卧室能完美地看到月亮.
What Is a Refugee?
什么是难民?
A refugee is a person who is forced to leave his or her country to seek safety in another country.
难民是指被迫离开本国到另一国寻求安全的人。
The term comes from the word refuge, which means a safe place—the very thing that refugees are in search of.
这个词来自“避难所”一词,意思是安全的地方——难民正在寻找的地方。
Refugees flee their country to escape danger, natural disaster, or trouble that they face because of their ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs.
难民逃离本国是为了逃避危险、自然灾害或因族裔、宗教或政治信仰而面临的麻烦。
Refugees usually leave behind their family and friends, homes and communities, and even their culture.
难民通常留下家人和朋友、家园和社区,甚至文化。
In the case of Rima and her mother, they left Syria because of civil war.
就里玛和她的母亲而言,他们因内战而离开叙利亚.
Since 2011, millions of Syrian families have fled their country and become refugees all over the world.
自2011年以来,数百万叙利亚家庭逃离了祖国并成为了世界各地的难民.
AFRICA EUROPE ASIA Aleppo Syria Jordan Israel Iraq Turkey Mediterranean Sea Damascus Saudi Arabia Now home is here: a tiny apartment in America, with a mother who speaks in a hushed voice whenever she mentions Syria.
非洲-亚洲 阿勒颇叙利亚 约旦 伊拉克 土耳其 地中海 大马士革海域 沙特阿拉伯 现在的家就在这里: 一个在美国很小的公寓, 母亲每当提到叙利亚时, 都会用阴沉的声音说话。
Rima wishes she wouldn’t tiptoe around the reality.
Rima希望她不会在现实中转身。
War came to Aleppo long before they left, and it has only gotten worse.
战争早在他们离开之前就来到了阿勒颇,而战争却只变得更糟.
They are never going back.
他们再也不会回去了
There is nowhere to go back to.
无所可回.
“Rima, come here,” calls her mother, and Rima does.
“Rima,来到这里,” 打电话给她的母亲,Rima确实如此。
The kitchen counter is covered with baking sheets, a sack of sugar, pistachios.
厨房柜台上布满了烘焙床单 一袋糖 活塞
“We’re going to bake today?”
“我们今天要烤? “
Rima asks.
里马问.
After a week at school learning English, it feels good to speak Arabic.
在学校学习英语一周后,说出阿拉伯语感觉很好.
“Tomorrow there will be a bake sale at the community center,” Rima’s mother explains.
Rima的母亲解释道,
“Bake sale?”
“面包销售? “
Rima asks.
里马问.
“What’s that?”
" 这是什么? “
“Those of us who are new here will bake our favorite sweets from Syria,” her mother says.
她母亲说,“我们这些新来此的人将烤出我们最喜欢的叙利亚甜品。”
“ Americans will come to buy them and try sweets from our homeland.”
“美国人会来购买它们,从我们的家园来尝尝甜品。 “
Her mother opens the refrigerator and pulls out a box of phyllo dough noodles.
她妈妈打开冰箱取出一盒面条
Rima grabs a handful of pistachios and begins to crush them into smaller pieces.
里玛抓住了一小撮活塞活塞并开始将其压入更小的碎片.
They haven’t baked together in forever—and they are making bird’s nest baklava!
他们没有永远一起烤,
When they are done, the chopped pistachios will sit inside the pastry, just like little eggs in a doughy nest.
当它们完成后,被切碎的活塞会坐在糕点内,就像小鸡蛋被放入花果窝里一样.
Rima is delighted.
里玛很高兴
She begins to hum an old song she loves from home.
她开始在家里哼起一首她喜欢的老歌
The next day, the community center is crowded and noisy.
第二天,社区中心拥挤而吵闹.
Syrian families unpack their baked goods on folding tables.
叙利亚家庭在折叠的桌子上整理出烤面包。
Everywhere Rima turns, she sees the sweets of her childhood.
无论里玛转身,她都会看到她童年的甜点.
and beyond them, a long line of American families waiting.
在他们之外,还有一长串美国家庭等待。
What if they don’t like Syrian baking?
如果他们不喜欢叙利亚烘焙呢?
Their customers ooh and ahh, though, pointing at the trays.
他们的顾客对着托盘
“What are these called?”
“这些叫什么来着? “
with pride.
以骄傲为荣。
Rima and her mother return the next week, and the next.
丽玛和她的母亲下个礼拜就回来了 下个礼拜就回来了
Their bird’s nest baklava are the bake sale’s star treat.
他们的鸟巢 Baklava 是烤肉销售的明星招待。
“What’s your secret ingredient?”
你的秘密成分是什么? “
another family asks.
另一个家庭问。
But there is none—just the joy Rima and her mother share in the kitchen.
但除了Rima和她母亲在厨房里分享的欢乐,
Joy and peace after three years living as refugees, never settled or safe enough to bake together.
在作为难民生活了三年之后,欢乐和安宁从未安顿或安全到足以一起烘烤.
One week, a boy named Andy from Rima’s school stops by her table with his family.
一个叫Andy的男孩与家人在桌子旁停留。
“ At my house in Aleppo, birds built nests just like this outside our kitchen window,” Rima tells him.
“...... 在阿勒颇的我家, 鸟儿在厨房窗户外筑起这样的巢穴。
“Can we buy some, Dad?”
“我们能买一些吗,爸爸? “
Andy asks.
安迪问。
“Yislamou,” says Rima automatically when Andy hands her the dollar bills.
“Yislamou,”当Andy交出美元钞票时,Rima自动说出。
“Sorry,” she adds, blushing.
她补充说,“对不起”,脸红。
“Yislamou is how we say ‘thank you’ in Syria.”
“Yislamou是我们在叙利亚说`谢谢'的方式。
“Yislamou, then,” says Andy, lifting her baklava with a grin before taking a big bite.
“那么, 安迪,拿起她的baklava 用一笑前大吃一顿。
Thus begins a tradition.
由此开始了传统。
They don’t talk at school—he plays during recess with the other boys, and Rima spends half the day learning English.
Rima一天半学习英语。
But every weekend, Andy and his family return to the bake sale.
但每个周末,安迪和他的家人都回到了烘焙销售.
Each time, Andy asks Rima how to say something new in Arabic: hello, goodbye, you’re welcome, how much does this cost?
每次都这样 Andy问Rima如何用阿拉伯语说新话:你好,再见,欢迎你,
Rima says the words clearly and slowly.
里玛说得清楚而缓慢.
Andy’s accent is awful, but she knows not to poke fun.
Andy的口音很糟,但她知道别玩了。
Rima doesn’t like it when the kids at school tease her about her English.
Rima不喜欢学校孩子嘲笑她英文。
One day, Rima tells Andy all about how, when she was little, she would pick pistachios straight from her grandparents’ tree.
有一天,里玛告诉 Andy在小的时候会从祖父母的树上直接取出活塞。
“You must miss it there,” Andy says, and suddenly Rima’s eyes fill with tears.
Andy说, “你一定怀念那里,” 突然里马的双眼满是泪水。
Ashamed, she ducks her head.
羞愧地,她鸭出她的头。
If he notices, though, he doesn’t let on.
但是,
Instead, he just smiles—a kind smile, Rima thinks—and waves goodbye.
相反,他只是微笑——一种Rima所想的善良的微笑——并挥舞着告别.
Afterward, as they pack up, Rima’s mother says, “Habibti.
之后,Rima的母亲在收拾行李时说:“Habibti。
Who is that boy who always talks to you?
那个总是跟你说话的男孩是谁?
A friend?”
一个朋友? “
“No,” Rima mumbles.
"不","里玛喃喃".
“Just a boy from school.”
“只是一个来自学校的男孩。 “
That week during recess, Rima is reading on a bench when somebody taps her on the shoulder.
休息那个星期里玛在长凳上看书 有人拍她肩膀
She turns, shielding her eyes from the sun.
她转过身来 挡住她的眼睛
It’s Andy!
这是安迪!
“I want to show you something,” he says.
他说:“我想给你看样东西。”
“Okay,” Rima says.
Rima说:“好吧,”
It takes a moment for her brain to shift from reading in Arabic to speaking English.
她的大脑需要一点时间从阿拉伯语的阅读转向英语.
He points to the woods behind the school, and the two walk toward them together.
他指向学校后面的树林 两人一起走向他们
“Look,” Andy says and points again.
Andy说,
Rima gasps.
里马喘息。
Nestled in some blackberry brambles is a bird’s nest.
在黑莓花丛中被放入鸟巢。
The two of them look more closely: inside the nest sit four perfectly speckled eggs.
二人相貌更相近: 在巢内坐着四个完美的斑点卵.
“Wow,” Rima breathes.
"哇,"里马呼吸。
Andy nods.
安迪点头。
“They really do look just like your baklava,” he whispers.
他低声说,
“I wonder if they will all live close to home once they hatch,” Rima says, “or fly far away to somewhere new.”
Rima说,“或者飞去新的地方。 “
“Birds of a feather flock together,” Andy says.
Andy说,
Rima has never heard the saying before.
里玛以前从没听过这句话
“What does that mean?”
“这是什么意思? “
she asks.
她问。
“It means—it means when you’re friends with someone, you spend time together.”
“这意味着——这意味着当你与某人是朋友时,你们在一起度过时光。 “
Andy shoves his hands in his pockets.
安迪把双手塞入口袋
“Rima?”
“里马? “
he says.
他说。
“I know you’re sad to have left your first home behind.
“我知道你伤心地离开了你的第一个家。
But I want you to know that here in your new home, you are.
但我想让你知道 在你的新家,你是。
He pauses shyly.
他害羞地暂停。
“You are my sadiq,” he says, at last.
他终于说:“你是我的悲哀者。”
“Did I say that right?
“我这样说对吗?
Sadiq?”
萨迪克? “
Rima grins.
丽玛笑了
“Of course,” she tells him— and though his Arabic sounds as awkward as ever, she means the words with all her heart.
" 当然, " 她告诉他,尽管他的阿拉伯语听起来像以往一样尴尬,但她全心全意地说这些话。
“There’s no wrong way to say friend.”
“没有说朋友的错误方法。 “
GLOSSARY Arabic (n.)
格洛萨里阿拉伯语 (n.
the language originally of the Arab people, now widely spoken in the Middle East and Northern Africa (p.
原为阿拉伯人民的语言,现为中东和北非地区广泛使用的语言(p.
6) baklava (n.)
6）果仁蜜饼（名词）
(n.)
(无)
Mediterranean cooking (p.
地中海烹饪(p.
7) pistachios (n.)
7) 活塞活塞 (n.
(n.)
(无)
Syria (n.)
叙利亚(不详)
a country in the Middle East that is on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea (p.
位于地中海东部边缘的中东国家(p.
4) tradition (n.)
4)传统 (n.