时间:2018-12-09 作者:英语课 分类:2018年NPR美国国家公共电台11月


英语课

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)


STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:


It's Friday, which means 1 it's time for StoryCorps. Fifty years ago, Roy Daley was living in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. He was 23 when a friend offered him a job in the United 2 States. He hopped 3 a plane to Pennsylvania with little more than two shirts and a change of pants. And he came to StoryCorps with his wife, Ana, and his daughter Lucy to talk about his early days in America.


ROY DALEY: When we arrived, I step out of the plane. I look around, and I encounter 4 a monster. There was this moving step. How do you get on to a moving escalator when you've never done this? So eventually, I negotiated 5 - I'll just get on it. And as it was going up - it was a long escalator - how do I get off of this escalator?


(LAUGHTER)


DALEY: That was my first challenge 6 in the United States. We got to Pennsylvania about 10 o'clock, something like that. And so we went up to sleep. And I got up real early in the morning. Finally, I'm in America. I want to see what it looks like. I came downstairs, and I opened up the door. I was in the middle of nowhere. Guess what? There was no leaf on the tree. Nothing. Everything was dead, like if I landed on the moon. I start to wonder, did I make the right move? I came November 7, just before Thanksgiving. I have never seen a Thanksgiving. I've heard about it.


I was invited to dinner. And I was asked to bring a covered dish. So I went to the store, and I purchased the biggest dish with a cover, put it in a bag. When we got to the church, everybody brought all the food. I took out mine, and I hand it to the lady. And everybody started to laugh. And I had no idea what they were laughing about. So my friend translated, yes, plato cubierto - covered dish - means bring a dish with a cover. They did not say to bring food. In Honduras, if you wanted to bring food, you say, hey, bring a plate of food, you know?


(LAUGHTER)


ANA SMITH-DALEY: Here you are 50 years later. Last year was your 50th year of being in this country.


DALEY: Yes, celebrated 7 50 years. For the first year I celebrate Thanksgiving, I discover it was an opportunity to be thankful for all the blessings 8 you receive during the year. And ever since then, the biggest joy of my life is coming here by myself. And today, I have three children, five grandchildren 9 and a beautiful wife. So I'm truly blessed.


INSKEEP: Roy Daley and Ana Smith-Daley at StoryCorps in Austin, Texas. Their conversation will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress 10.



1 means
n.方法,手段,折中点,物质财富
  • That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
  • We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。
2 united
adj.和谐的;团结的;联合的,统一的
  • The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
  • The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。
3 hopped
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花
  • He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
  • He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车,向市区开去。
4 encounter
v.遇到,偶然碰到;遭遇;n.遭遇;意外的相见
  • It was a bloody encounter between the two armies. 这是那两军之间的一次激烈的遭遇战。
  • A fortunate encounter brought the two friends together after a long separation.两位老朋友长期分离这次才有幸相遇。
5 negotiated
谈判,协商,议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 ); 兑现(支票等); 通过,越过(险要路段)
  • The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
  • By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后,谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。
6 challenge
n.挑战;v.向...挑战
  • The job doesn't really challenge him.这项工作不能真正地考验他。
  • She looked at me with challenge.她带着挑战的目光看着我。
7 celebrated
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
8 blessings
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福
  • Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马,焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 grandchildren
n.孙子;孙(女),外孙(女)( grandchild的名词复数 )
  • He left a bequest to each of his grandchildren. 他给他的孙辈每人留下一笔遗产。
  • His grandchildren afforded him his greatest pleasure in his old age. 他的孙子和孙女们在晚年的时候给了他最大的欢乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 Congress
n.(代表)大会;(C-:美国等国的)国会,议会
  • There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
  • After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后,他打算告老还乡。