人教版英语选修第四册 Unit 4 Reading and Thinking 2

17 April

4 月 17 日

Last weekend I made my first visit to a remote village, home to one of our students, Tombe.

上周末，我第一次去了一个偏远的村庄，我们的学生汤贝的家在那里。

Another teacher and I walked for two and a half hours to get there—first, up a mountain from where we had fantastic views, and then down a shaded path to the valley below.

我和另一位老师步行了两个半小时才到达那里。首先，爬上一座山，在山上我们看到了美妙的景色，然后沿着一条树荫遮蔽的小路走到下面的山谷。

When we arrived at the village, Tombe’s mother, Kiak, saw us coming and started crying “ieee ieee”.

我们到达村子时，汤贝的母亲齐亚克看见我们到来，就 “唉咿 —— 唉咿 ——” 地叫了起来。

We shook hands with all the villagers.

我们和所有的村民握手。

Everyone seemed to be related to Tombe.

每个人似乎都是汤贝的亲戚。

Tombe’s father, Mukap, a man with a strong jaw and a wrinkled forehead, led us to his house, a low, round bamboo hut with no windows, with a door just big enough to get through, and with grass sticking out of the roof—this shows it is a man’s house.

汤贝的父亲穆卡普，一位下巴结实、额头满是皱纹的男人，把我们带到他的房子前：一座低矮的圆形竹屋，没有窗户，门的宽度仅够单人穿过，屋顶伸出一簇茅草 —— 这表明这是一个男人的房子。

Such housing is dark inside so it took time for our eyes to adjust.

这样的房屋里面很暗，所以过了一会儿我们的眼睛才适应过来。

Fresh grass had been laid on the floor and there was a platform for Jenny and me to sleep on.

地上铺着新草，还有一个让我和珍妮睡觉的平台。

There was a fireplace in the centre of the hut.

屋子中央有个火炉。

The only possessions I could see were one broom, a few saucers, a kettle, cups, pans, and a couple of jars.

我能看到的物品只有一把扫帚、几个碟子、一个水壶，还有几个杯子、平底锅和罐子。

Mukap built a fire outside and laid stones on it to heat.

穆卡普在屋外生了火，然后把石头放在上面加热。

He then placed the hot stones in an empty oil drum with kau kau (sweet potato), ripe corn, and greens.

接着，他把热石头放入一个空油桶，里面有考考 (甘薯)、熟玉米和青菜。

He then covered the vegetables with banana leaves and left them to steam.

然后他用香蕉叶盖住蔬菜，把它们蒸上。

It smelled delicious.

食物闻起来很香。

We ate inside the hut sitting round the fire.

我们在屋内围着火炉吃饭。

I loved listening to the family talking softly to each other in their language, even though I could not participate much in the conversation.

我喜欢听这家人用他们的语言轻声地交谈，虽然我无法参与多少他们的谈话。

Luckily, Tombe interpreted for us.

幸好汤贝为我们做了解说。

Later, I noticed a can standing upside down on the grill over the fire.

后来，我注意到有一个罐子倒立在火炉上面的烤架上。

After a while, Tombe threw it out of the doorway.

过了一会儿，汤贝把它扔出门口去。

Tombe told me that the can was heated to dry out the leftover food.

他告诉我说，加热罐子是为了烤干剩菜。

His family believes that leftovers attract bad spirits in the night, so any leftover food is dried up in a can and the can is then thrown out of the hut.

他们家相信剩菜会在夜晚引来恶灵，所以所有的剩菜都放在罐子里烤干，然后再把罐子扔到屋外。

We left the village the next morning after many goodbyes and firm handshakes.

次日清晨，多次互道再见和紧紧握手之后，我们离开了村庄。

My muscles were aching and my knees shaking as we dragged ourselves down the mountain towards home.

当我们拖着沉重的步伐下山回家时，我浑身肌肉酸痛，双膝颤抖。

That evening I fell happily into bed.

那天晚上，我心满意足地一头栽倒在床上。

It was such a privilege to have spent a day with Tombe’s family.

与汤贝一家共度了一日，真是一种荣幸。

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