常春藤解析英語 36 Finding Himself印度之旅

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by Marcus Maurice

In the rural city of Kochi in Kerala, India, Michael Cheng felt that he wasn't experiencing the real India. He was far away from the comfort and technology of his home in Taiwan. Yet, he was staying at a house that had a car and a driveway. These are luxuries that only a few can afford in India. He kindly asked the family he was with if he could live as most Indians live.

They consented to his request and Michael got to live with a new family who made a living by fishing. Every day, Michael would go with them to work and do what they did, catching and cleaning fish. He would bathe in the river because that was the only water they had. When he had the soap on his body, a lot of small fish would come bite him and Michael said it felt like a massage.

Inside their house, everyone slept on mats that were on a dirt floor. However, there was one thing that looked out of place—a big recliner in the middle of the living room. Michael asked one of the kids, "Why do you have such a nice chair when all of the other things in the house are old?" One of the sons answered, "My father said that we have to have something nice in case we ever have a visitor. Would you please honor our family and sit in the chair?" At that moment, Michael learned that in India, a guest is a god.

單字小鋪

1. rural a. 鄉(xiāng)下的

urban a. 城市的

2. experience vt. 體驗

3. comfort n. 安逸，舒適 & a. 舒適的

4. driveway n. 私人車道

5. luxury n. 奢侈

luxurious a. 奢侈的

live a luxurious life　　過著奢侈的生活

6. bathe vi. 洗澡

7. massage n. 按摩

8. mat n. 墊子;草席

9. dirt n. 泥，土

10. recliner n. 躺椅

= reclining chair

精解字詞詞組

1. afford vt. 負擔得起

注意:

afford 其前通常與助動詞 can 或 can't 并用，而不可單獨使用，其后則可接名詞或不定詞作受詞。

can/can't afford + N/to V　　負擔得起∕不起(做)……

例: After working for months, I can finally afford that scooter I want.

(工作幾個月后，我終于買得起想要的那輛機車了。)

2. consent to + N/V-ing　　同意∕答應……

consent vi. 同意

例: Lily's father consented to letting her borrow his car for the weekend.

(莉莉的父親同意讓她在周末開他的車。)

3. make a living by V-ing　　靠……維生

= earn a living by V-ing

例: Though he's rich now, Mr. Jones once made a living by collecting garbage.

(雖然瓊斯先生現(xiàn)在很有錢，他曾靠撿垃圾維生。)

4. feel like + N　　感覺像……

feel like + V-ing　　想要做……

例: The passing train made the building shake so much that it felt like an earthquake.

(駛過的火車讓大樓劇烈搖晃，感覺就像地震一樣。)

例: I feel like going out for dinner tonight.

(今晚我想出去用餐。)

5. out of place　　不適當?shù)?格格不入的

例: Jim felt out of place among all the girls in the dance class.

(吉姆在一整班都是女生的舞蹈課中感到很不自在。)

6. in the middle of...　　在……中央∕中間

例: There is a small island in the middle of the lake.

(那座湖中央有座小島。)

7. in case + S + V　　萬一∕倘若……;以防……

例: Katie always carries a camera in case she sees something interesting.

(凱蒂總是隨身攜帶相機，以備看到任何有趣的事情。)

8. honor vt. 使增光;對……表示敬意

例: There will be a party tonight to honor our retiring English teacher.

(今晚的派對是為了向即將退休的英文老師表示敬意。)

中文翻譯

在印度喀拉拉的鄉(xiāng)村小鎮(zhèn)科欽里，麥可(鄭錫懋)覺得自己體驗的并非真正的印度生活。他雖然遠離臺灣老家的舒適與科技，然而他寄住的卻是一個有私人轎車和車道的家庭。在印度，這是少數(shù)人才能負擔得起的奢華。他客氣地詢問寄宿家庭自己能否去過大多數(shù)印度人的生活。

他們同意他的要求，于是麥可寄宿在一個以捕魚維生的家庭。麥可每天和他們一同去工作，做他們每天做的事情：捕魚并清潔漁獲。他在河里洗澡，因為那是他們唯一的水源。當他涂上肥皂，很多小魚都會游過來咬他的身體，麥可說那就好像按摩一樣。

在屋子內，每個人都睡在鋪在泥地的墊子上。不過有件東西看起來非常突兀，那就是客廳中央的一張大躺椅。麥可問其中一名孩子：『為什么房里其它東西都那么舊，卻有一張這么好的椅子呢?』其中一個兒子回答：『爸爸說要有一張好椅子，以備有客人來。您愿不愿意賞臉坐在這張椅子上呢?』在那一刻，麥可了解到對印度人來說，賓客至上。