everyday-use-for-grandmama.doc

查看文章Lesson 4 Everyday Use for Your Grandmama 32008-09-26 13:01习题全解 I . 1)In real life the mother was a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. 2)Dee like her mother to have a slender figure and a fair skin, glistening hair and a quick and witty tongue. 3)When she meets a strange white man, she always avoids looking him in the eye and is ready to go away. 4)Maggie is an innocent, timid and kind-hearted girl. 5) Because they were more seriously looked down upon by white men at that time, and they were not as awaken as they are today. 6)Because Dee doesnt like her friends to see the poor state her family is in, which she thinks is shameful. This tells us that Dee is somewhat a snob. Another instance to prove this is that she wants nice things. 7)Because it was old and stitched by hand instead of by machine. So that she could use them for decoration showing to the people she was associated with. 8)Maggie wanted the quilt because she could remember her grandma better, who taught her to do needle work. 9)Because she wanted to get some valuable heritages of the family, mainly out of her vanity. 10)At first the mother liked Dee because of her beauty, taste, and education. But with the development of the story, her love was transferred to a dislike because of Dees egotism, which was obviously revealed when she insisted on taking the quilts while her sister Maggie gave up keeping it willingly to satisfy her desire. 11)Its implied that the story is written in honor of the grandma mentioned in it and that the ordinary old thing may be something precious for the young. . 1)She thinks that her sister has a firm control of her life. 2)She could always have anything she wanted, and life was extremely generous to her. 3)The popular TV talk show star, Johnny Carson, who is famous for his witty and glib tongue, has to try hard if he wants to catch up with me. 4)It seems to me that I have talked to them always ready to leave as quickly as possible. 5)She imposed on us lots of falsity. 6)imposed on us a lot of knowledge that is totally useless to us 7)She is not bright just as she is neither good-looking rich. 8)Dee wore a very long dress even on such a hot day. 9)You can see me trying to move my body a couple of seconds before I finally manage to push myself up. 10)Soon he knows that wont do for Maggie, so he stops trying to shake hands with Maggie. 11)As I see Dee is getting tired of this, I dont want to go on either. In fact, I could have traced it far back before the Civil War along the branches of the family tree. 12)Now and then he and Dee communicated through eye contact in a secretive way. 13)If Maggie put the old quilts on the bed, they would be in rags less than five years. 14)She knew this was Gods arrangement. See the translation of the text.IV. 1)inelegant 2)a stupid person/a simpleton 3)tightly curled 4)expressed or worded well/felicitous 5)say (used to describe dialogue) 6)as if shake hands in a fancy and elaborate way 7)I knew you couldnt trace it further back 8)mispronounced, failed to pronounce it correctly 9)people who bred and fatten cattle for meat 10)talked much and rapidlyV. 1)Dee, however, is not like me. 2)I could never carry a tune. 3)It was like the reaction you have when you see the wriggling end of a snake just in front of your foot on the road. 4)Dee comes out of the car next. She is wearing a dress long enough to touch the ground, in spite of this hot weather. 5)Her earrings are gold，too，and they are hanging down to her shoulders 6)No，Mama，”she says My name is not Dee now，it has changed into Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!” 7)“Why shouldnt I call you by your new name? 8)Those people were always too busy： 9)Did Uncle Buddy whittle that one, too?” asked the barber 10)“Imagine that she did all the stitching by hand!” she breathed again，clutching them to her bosom 1)my complexion had a smooth and creamy texture 2)uncomfortably and nervously，wanting to get away as soon as possible 3)the quick and great humor that would make everybody laugh immediately 4)He wasted no time in marrying a contemptible city girl from a family of ignorant ostentatious and vulgar people 5)move her feet in great discomfort 6)Maggies brain is very slow，”Wangero said, laughing 7)slightly sunken areas 8)Mama，”Wangero said in an extremely sweet voice 9)She breathed suddenly in painful surprise 10)For us colored people。this is a new era。and we must seize our opportunities 1)extended意为“加长的”、“加大的”；large指空间大，宽敞。 2)hopelessly指没有希望或指望；helpless指没人帮助或保护；ashamed指因为自卑感而感到卑微或尴尬；embarrassed指感到不自在，举止失态。 3)of this sort带有贬义，暗示这种电视节目质量低劣，档次不高；like this one无贬义。 4)limousine是大型豪华轿车，由一专职司机驾驶，有一玻璃板把司机与乘客隔开；car可指各种汽车。 5)furtive 俩。指做事偷偷摸摸，心中有鬼；sly指长于欺骗，玩弄伎俩。 6)dangling意为在空中摇荡；hanging指把东西挂起来。 7)trunk指存放东西或旅行用的大箱子，用木头或别的材料做成；suitcase指放衣服的旅行箱，常由皮革类材料制造。rifling意为抢劫或掠夺(在这里是一种夸张，说明母亲Dee的行为很不满)；search是一个通用的词，不带感情色彩。 8)breathe意思是轻声地说，低语；breathe again是固定词组,意为如释重负，松了一口气。 1)A pleasant surprise，of courseThis is much better than a situation in which the parent and child came on the show only to curse out and insult each other 2)None of the Johnsons had a quick tongue 3)I could never possibly look a strange white man in the eye. 4)1 know you hated the house and so you are very glad to see the house being burnt down 5)You may take one or two of the other quilts 1)cropped up 2)put up 3)keep up with 4)brought up 5)brought together 6)hanging about 7)hung back 8)hung 9)hanging down 10)handed down 11)by hand 12)out of style 13)with a style 14)by hand 15)stuck to 16)carried back 1)hog猪2)bull calf小公牛 3)dog狗4)cow奶牛 5)mule骡子6)snake蛇7)sheep羊8)lizard蜥蜴 9)fish鱼 lO)cattle牛Since she never had an education herself，she tended to use simple words，fragmented sentences and other ungrammatical sentencesTo give one example。she used “like” to introduce a clause instead of “as”XII 1)A big fire burned to the ground more than 300 homes in the slum neighborhood. 2)If you are upright and not afraid of losing anything, you will be able to look anyone in the eye. 3) Despite the flood, the losses in agricultural production were not that serious. 4) This blouse doesnt match the color or the style of the skirt. 5)Lets talk about the matter over a cup of coffee. 6)I cant imagine you doing disgraceful things. 7)He couldnt imagine why people were opposed to his suggestions. 8)Stepping off from the car, the official was confronted by two terrorists. 9)As long as we stick to these principles, we will surely be successful. 10)She was shocked at the news, but before long she recomposed herself. ll)It is very difficult to trace this quotation to its source. 12)Their way of life could be traced to the ancient traditions handed down to them by their ancestors more than one thousand years ago.XlII. Omitted.XlV. My Family Ours is a big family. My father is a worker who lives in a lo-cal city. Both my oldest uncle and second uncle set up house-keeping in the countryside. My youngest uncle is a teacher and lives far from us. Great changes have taken place in my family since the beginning of the reform and opening policy. In the late 1970s, our big family had a get-together and discussed the problem of my grandmas residence. Those were hard times. No one took the initiative to live with her. Each family had a skeleton in the cupboard. Oldest uncle had room only e-n0ugh to shelter them from the wind and rain. He had to tighten his belt to keep the family pot boiling. Second uncle had nothing but four bare walls to face and led a dogs life. Youngest uncle was said to be living in a dormitory and couldnt even afford a trip back. My father lived in a bungalow which was a dolls house thing and had to eke out our livelihood. But it was better anyway. My grandma lived on with us. Such was my family at that time. Each family of the big ex-tended family was in financial straits. In the early 1990s, my big clan held another family meeting and still my grandmas residence was discussed. But great changes had occurred. Each smaller family was fighting for the chance to live with grandma. The meeting began in a merry atmosphere. My father started, The government has established a system of floor wages and ceiling working hours. We have a steady income and regular leisure time. Besides, we have a well-furnitured apartment. Oldest uncle hastened, The state has legalized us to be engaged in household sideline production, so I have set up a small but rather profitable poultry farm. Moreover, there is more spacious room. Second uncle wouldt fall behind, I have contracted to run a large stretch of land and engage many farm hands. I profit a lot from it. I have more leisure time. Eventually, as regards the peace in the country-side, my grandma moved to second uncle, youngest uncle took a flight back and told us he had just bought a flat. That was my family about 10 years later. Each smaller family lived in abundance. Now, oldest uncle is manager of a large-scale poultry farm and second uncles farm has been mechanized. To sum up, the spring wind of the reform and opening policy has led to great changes and my family is well on the way toprosperity.第四课外婆的日用家当艾丽斯沃克尔 我就在这院子里等候她的到来。我和麦姬昨天下午已将院子打扫得干干净净，地面上还留着清晰的扫帚扫出的波浪形痕迹，这样的院子比一般人想象的要舒服，它不仅仅是一个院子，简直就像一间扩大了的客厅。当院子的泥土地面被打扫得像屋里的地板一样干净，四周边缘的细沙面上布满不规则的细纹时，任何人都可以进来坐一下，一边抬头仰望院中的榆树，一边等着享受从来吹不进屋内的微风。 麦姬在她姐姐离去之前将会一直心神不定：她将会神情沮丧地站在角落里，一面为自己的丑陋面孔和胳膊大腿上晒出的累累疤痕而自惭形秽，一面怀着既羡慕又敬畏的心情怯生生地看着她姐姐。她觉得她姐姐真正是生活的主人，想要什么便能得到什么，世界还没有学会对她说半个“不”字。 你一定从电视片上看到过“闯出了江山”的儿女突然出乎意料地出现在那跌跌撞撞从后台走出来的父母面前的场面。（当然，那场面必定是令人喜悦的：假如电视上的父母和儿女之间相互攻击辱骂，他们该怎么样呢？）在电视上，母亲和儿女见面总是相互拥抱和微笑。有时父母会痛哭流涕，而那发迹了的孩子就会紧紧地拥抱他们，并隔着桌子伸过头来告诉他们说若没有他们的帮助，她自己就不会有今日的成就。我自己就看过这样的电视节目。 有时候我在梦里梦见迪伊和我突然成了这种电视节目的剧中人。我从一辆黑色软座垫大轿车上一下来，立刻被人引进一间宽敞明亮的屋子里。屋里有许多人，其中一个身材高大威武，满面微笑，有点像著名电视节目主持人约翰尼.卡森的美男子迎上来和我握手，并对我说我养了个好女儿。然后，我们来到台前，迪伊热泪盈眶地拥抱着我，还把一朵大大的兰花别在我的衣服上，尽管她曾对我说过兰花是很低级的花。 在现实生活中，我是一个大块头、大骨架的妇女，有着干男人活儿的粗糙双手。冬天睡觉时我穿着绒布睡衣，白天身穿套头工作衫。我能像男人一样狠狠地宰猪并收拾干净。我身上的脂肪是我在寒冬也能保暖。我能整天在户外干活儿，敲碎冰块，取水洗衣。我能吃从刚宰杀的猪体内切下来、还冒着热气、而后在明火上烧熟的猪肝。有一年冬天，我用一把大铁锤击倒一头公牛，锤子正大在小牛两眼之间的大脑上。天黑之前，我把牛肉挂起来凉着。不过，这一切当然都没有在电视上出现过。我的女儿希望我的样子是：体重减去一百磅，皮肤像下锅煎之前的大麦面饼那样细腻光泽，头发在炽热耀眼的灯光下闪闪发亮。而且，我还是一个伶牙俐齿的人，说起话来妙语连珠，就连约翰尼.卡森也望尘莫及。 可是，这是个错误，我还没醒来之前就知道了。谁听说约翰逊家的人士伶牙俐齿的？谁能想象我敢直视一个陌生的白人？和他们讲话时，我总是紧张不安，随时准备溜走。我的头总是转到离他们最远的方向。不过，迪伊就不这样。她对任何人都不畏惧。犹豫不决可不是她的本性。 “我看上去怎么样啊，妈妈？”麦姬的声音传来。她那瘦小的身躯几乎被一件粉红色裙子和大红罩衫全遮住了，人有躲在门背后，身子给门遮去一大半，我好容易才看出她来。 “快出屋到院子里来，”我说。 你有没有见到过一个跛了腿的动物，比如说一只狗，被一个粗心莽撞的有钱买得起汽车的人压伤后侧着身子向一个愚昧的对它表示关切的人走去时的样子？我的麦姬走路时就是那个样子。自从那次大火烧跨房屋之事发生后，她一直是这个样子，下巴贴近胸口，眼盯着地面，走路拖着脚。 迪伊生的比麦姬白一些，头发也好看一些，身材也丰满一些。她现在已是一个成年女子了，不过我经常忘记这一事实。那座房屋被火烧毁是多久以前的事？十年？十二年？有时候我似乎还能听见燃烧的火焰发出的呼呼的响声，可以感觉到麦姬用手紧紧抓住我，看到她的头发冒烟，她的衣服烧成黑灰一片片脱落的情景。当时她的眼睛瞪得大大的，亮亮的，反射出闪烁着的火苗。还有迪伊，我远远看见她站在她经常从其中挖树胶的那棵香枫胶树底下，望着屋上最后一块烧成灰黑色的木板朝着烧红了的滚烫的砖砌烟囱方向塌下来时，她脸上呈现出一幅非常专注的神色。你干吗不在那堆废墟上跳个舞？我当时像这样问她。她对那所房屋恨得要命。 过去我以为她也讨厌麦姬。但是那是在教堂和我筹钱送她到奥古斯塔上学之前的事。那时她常给我们读点什么，读时毫无同情之心，将文字、谎言、别人的习惯以及整个生活强加于我俩。我和麦姬毫无办法，一无所知地困坐在那里，她的声音凌驾于我们之上。她对我们灌输一大堆编造出来的事物以及我们不需要掌握的知识。她严肃地强迫我们听她读书，把我们两人看成傻瓜一样，刚有点似懂非懂的时候又把我们挥之而去。 迪伊好打扮。中学毕业时她要一件黄色玻璃纱连衣裙穿着去参加毕业典礼；为了与她用别人送我的一套旧衣服改制的绿色套服配着穿，她又要了一双黑色浅口皮鞋。她要什么东西时总是不顾一切地拼命地要，不达目的不罢休，她可以一连好几分钟不眨眼地死瞪着你。我常常是费了好大的劲才克制住自己没把她抓着使劲摇抖。到十六岁时她的言谈举止开始形成自己的风格，她也知道什么叫时髦。 我自己从未受过教育。我上完小学二年级时，学校关门了。别问我为什么：1927年时有色人种不像现在问这么多问题。有时麦姬给我读点东西。她温厚地、结结巴巴地读者，因为她看不清楚。她知道自己不聪明。正如姣好的相貌和金钱一样，机敏也没有光顾她。不久她就要嫁给约翰.托马斯（他有一张诚实的面孔和一口像长了苔的牙齿）。麦姬结婚后，我将闲坐在家里，也许只对自己唱唱教堂歌曲，尽管我从来唱不好，总是走调，我对于男人活儿倒是更在行。我一向喜欢挤牛奶，直到1949年我的肋部被牛顶伤了为止。母牛生性恬静、动作缓慢，不会伤害人，除非你挤奶时动作不得法。 我故意背对这房子。这房子有三个房间，除屋顶是锡皮的外，其他方面都与被烧掉的那所房屋一样。现在再也找不到做木瓦屋顶的了。房子没有真正的窗户，只是侧面墙上挖了几个洞，有点像船上的舷窗，但又不是圆的，也不是方形的。窗格子向外开，用生牛皮悬吊起来。这房子也像那所被烧的房子一样建在一个牧场上。毫无疑问，只要迪伊看见这所房子，她一定又要毁掉它。她曾写信告诉我说，无论我们“选择”何处定居，她都会设法来看我们，但却不会带她的朋友上门。麦姬和我对这话考虑了一会，麦姬突然问我：“妈妈，迪伊什么时候有过朋友的呀？” 她有过几个朋友的。有的是在洗衣日放学后到处闲荡得穿着粉红衬衣的鬼鬼祟祟的男孩子；有的是从来不笑一笑得神经质的女孩子。他们为她所吸引，并崇拜她的得体的言语、她的漂亮身材以及她那像碱水里的起泡一样的尖酸幽默。她还为他们读书。 她在追求吉米的那段日子里便没有时间来管我们的闲事，而是把她的全副挑刺儿的本领全部用在他的身上。可他很快娶了一个很差劲儿的、出身于愚昧而俗气的家庭的城市姑娘。当时她难过得很，冷静不下来。 她到这儿来时我要去迎接但他们已经到了。麦姬拔腿就要往屋里跑去，但我第一眼看见从车上下来的那条腿就知道那是迪伊。她的腿看起来总是那么齐整，好像是上帝亲自为她特意定做的似的。从车子的另一边走下来一个矮胖的男人，他满头的头发都有一英尺长，从下巴颏上垂下来，像一只卷毛的骡子尾巴。我听见麦姬吸气的声音，听起来像是“呃”音，就像你路上突然发像一条蛇尾巴在你脚尖前蠕动时发出的声音。“呃。” 接着我便看见了迪伊。这样大热天里，她竟穿着一件拖地长裙。裙子的颜色也花哨的耀眼，大块大块的黄色和橙色，亮得可以反射太阳的光线。我感到我的整个脸颊都被它射出的热浪烫的热烘烘的。耳环也是金的，并且直垂到肩膀上。臂上还带着手镯，当她举起胳臂去抖动腋窝部衣服上的皱褶时，臂上的手镯叮当作响。衣裙长大宽松，迎风飘荡。当她走近时，我觉得挺好看。我听见麦姬又发出“呃”声，这次是为她姐姐的发型而发的。她姐姐的头发向羊毛一样挺得直直的，像黑夜一样乌黑，边上扎着两根长辫子，像两条小蜥蜴，左盘右绕在耳朵后面。 “瓦-苏-左-提-诺！”她一边说着，一边拖着长裙步态轻盈飘然而至。随着她的一句“阿萨拉马拉吉姆，我母亲和妹妹！”那位头发垂至肚脐眼的矮胖男人也笑着走上前来。他作势要拥抱麦姬，但麦姬下的往后退，直到我的椅子背挡住她的退路为止。我感觉到她身子在发抖，抬头一看，只见汗水从她的下巴上直往下滴。 “别站起来，”迪伊说道。因为我长的肥胖，站起来颇需费点劲。你瞧，我身子要挪动挪动才站得起来。她转身往汽车方向走回去。我可以透过她穿的凉鞋看到她的白生生的脚后跟。接着他拿起一架“拍立来”照相机瞄过来。她很快蹲下去抢拍了一张又一张的照片，选取的镜头都是我坐在屋前，而麦姬缩成一团躲在我背后。她每拍一张照片总要认认真真地选好镜头把屋子拍进去。当一头奶牛走过来在院子边啃青草时，她立即抢镜头把它和我和麦姬、房子一起拍了一张照片。然后，她将照相机放在汽车的后排座位上，跑过来吻了吻我的前额。 与此同时，阿萨拉马拉吉姆正在努力拉着麦姬的手行礼。麦姬的手像鱼一样软弱无力，恐怕也像鱼一样冷冰冰的，尽管她身上正在出汗。而且她还一个劲儿地把手往后缩。看起来阿萨拉马拉吉姆是想同她握手，但又想把握手的动作做的时髦花哨一点。也许是她不晓得正当的握手规矩。不管怎么说，她很快就放弃同麦姬周旋的努力了。“喂，”我开口道。“迪伊。” “不对，妈妈，”她说。“不是迪伊，是万杰罗.李万里卡。克曼乔！” “那迪伊呢？”我问道。“她已经死了，”万杰罗说。“我无法忍受照那些压迫我的人的名字个我取名。” “你同我一样清楚你的名字是照你迪茜姨妈的名字取得，”我说。迪茜是我的妹妹，她名叫迪伊。 迪伊出生后我们就叫她“大迪伊”。 “但她的名字又是依照谁的名字取得呢？”万杰罗追问道。 “我猜想是照迪伊外婆的名字取得，”我说。 “她的名字又是照谁的名字取得呢？”万杰罗逼问道。 “她的妈妈，”我说。这是我注意到万杰罗已经开始感到有点厌烦了。“再远的我就记不得了，”我说。其实，我大概可以把我们的家史追溯到南北战争以前。 “噢，”阿萨拉马拉吉姆说，“您已经说到哪儿了？” 我听到麦姬又“呃”了一声。 “我还没有呢，”我说，“那是在迪茜来到我们家之前的事，我为什么要追溯到那么远呢？” 他站在那儿咧着嘴笑，目光朝下，用人们检查A型轿车的眼神打量着我。他还和万杰罗在我的头顶上空频递眼色。 “你这名字是怎么念的来着？”我问。 “您若不愿意，就不必用这个名字来叫我，”万杰罗说 “我干吗不叫？”我问。“如果你自己喜欢用那个名字，我们就叫那个名字。” “我知道这名字起初听起来有点别扭，”万杰罗说。 “我会慢慢习惯的，”我说，“你给我再念一遍吧。” 就这样，我们很快就不再提名字发音问题了。阿萨拉马拉吉姆的名字有两倍那么长，三倍那么难念。我试着念了两三次都念错了，于是他就叫我干脆称呼他哈吉姆阿巴波就行了。我本想问他究竟是不是开巴波(理发)店的，但我觉得他不像是个理发师，所以就没有问。 “你一定属于马路那边的那些养牛部族，”我说。那些人见人打招呼也是说“阿萨拉马拉吉姆”，但他们不同人握手。他们总是忙忙碌碌的：喂牲口，修篱笆，扎帐篷，堆草料，等等。当白人毒死了一些牛以后，那些人便彻夜不眠地端着枪戒备。为了一睹这种情景，我走了一英里半的路程。哈吉姆阿巴波说，“我接受他们的一些观念，但种田和养牛却不是我干的事业。”(他们没有告诉我，我也没开口去问，万杰萝(迪伊)究竟是不是同他结婚了。) 我们开始坐下吃饭，他马上声明他不吃羽衣甘蓝，猪肉也不干净。万杰萝却是猪肠、玉米面包、蔬菜，什么都吃。吃红薯时她更是谈笑风生。一切都令她高兴，就连我们仍在使用着当初她爸爸因为买不起椅子而做的条凳这种事情也令她感兴趣。“啊，妈妈!”她惊叫道。接着转头向着哈吉姆阿巴波。“我以前还从来不知道这些条凳有这么可爱，在上面还摸得出屁股印迹来，”她一边说着，一边将手伸到屁股下面去摸凳子。接着，她叹了一口气，她的手放在迪伊外婆的黄油碟上捏拢了。“对了!”她说。“我早知道这儿有些我想问您能不能给我的东西。”她离桌起身，走到角落处，那儿放着一个搅乳器，里面的牛奶已结成了酸奶。她看了看搅乳器，又望了望里面的酸奶。“这个搅乳器的盖子我想要，”她说。“那不是巴迪叔叔用你们原有的一棵树的木头做成的吗?” “是的，”我说。 “啊哈，”她兴高采烈地说。“我还想要那根搅乳棒。” “那也是巴迪叔叔做的吗?”巴波问道。迪伊(万杰萝)仰头望着我。“那是迪伊姨妈的第一个丈夫做的，”麦姬用低得几乎听不见的声音说。“他的名字叫亨利，但人们总叫他史大西。” “麦姬的脑袋像大象一样，”万杰萝说着哈哈大笑。“我可以将这搅乳器盖子放在凹室餐桌中央做装饰品，”她一边拿一个托盘盖在搅乳器上，一边说道。“至于那根搅乳棒，我也会想出一个艺术化的用途的。” 她将搅乳棒包裹起来，把柄还露在外头。我伸手将把柄握了一会儿。不用将眼睛凑近去细看也可以看出搅乳棒把柄上由于长年累月握着搅动而留下的凹陷的握痕。那上面的小槽子很多，你可以分辨出哪儿是拇指压出的印子，哪儿是其他手指压出的印子。搅乳棒的木料取自大迪伊和史大西住过的庭院中长的一棵树，木质呈浅黄色，甚是好看。晚饭后，迪伊(万杰萝)走到放在我床脚边的衣箱那儿，开始翻找起来。麦姬在厨房里洗碗，故意延挨着不愿早出来。万杰萝忽然从房里抱出两床被子。这两床被子是迪伊外婆用一块块小布片拼起来，然后由迪伊姨妈和我两人在前厅的缝被架上绗缝而成的。其中一床绘的是单星图案，另一床是踏遍群山图案。两床被子上都缝有从迪伊外婆五十多年前穿过的衣服上拆下来的布片，还有杰雷