讀點好英文:The House on Mango Street 芒果街上的小屋

所屬教程:英語漫讀

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2022年04月07日

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The House on Mango Street 芒果街上的小屋

[美]桑德拉·希斯內(nèi)羅絲（S.Cisneros）

《芒果街上的小屋》由幾十個短篇組成，一個短篇講述一個人、一件事、一個夢想、幾朵云、幾棵樹或幾種感覺，語言清澈如流水，點綴著零落的韻腳和新奇的譬喻。所有的講述都歸于一個敘述中心：居住在芝加哥拉美移民社區(qū)芒果街上的女孩埃斯佩朗莎（埃斯佩朗莎，是西班牙語里“希望”的意思）。生就對弱的同情心和對美的感覺力，她用清澈的雙眼打量周圍的世界，用美麗稚嫩的語言講述成長，講述滄桑，講述生命的美好與不易。

Hairs

Everybody in our family has different hair. My Papa's hair is like a broom, all up in the air.And me, my hair is lazy.It never obeys barrettes or bands.Carlos'hair is thick and straight.He doesn't need to comb it.Nenny's hair is slippery—slides out of your hand.And Kiki, who is the youngest, has hair like fur.

But my mother's hair, my mother's hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty because she pinned it in pincurls all day, sweet to put your nose into when she is holding you, holding you and you feel safe, is the warm smell of bread before you bake it, is the smell when she makes room for you on her side of the bed still warm with her skin, and you sleep near her, the rain outside falling and Papa snoring. The snoring, the rain, and Mama's hair that smells like bread.

Darius&the?Clouds

You can never have too much sky. You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad.Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky.Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful.Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.

Darius, who doesn't like school, who is sometimes stupid and mostly a fool, said something wise today, though most days he says nothing. Darius, who chases girls with firecrackers or a stick that touched a rat and thinks he's tough, today pointed up because the world was full of clouds, the kind like pillows.

You all see that cloud, that fat one there?Darius said, See that?Where?That one next to the one that look like popcorn. That one there.See that.That's God, Darius said.God?somebody little asked.God, he said, and made it simple.

Four?Skinny?Trees

They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them.Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine.Four who do not belong here but are here.Four raggedy excuses planted by the city.From our room we can hear them, but Nenny just sleeps and doesn't appreciate these things.

Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground.They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger.This is how they keep.Let one forget his reason for being, they'd all droop like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around the other.Keep, keep, keep, trees say when I sleep.They teach.

When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at trees. When there is nothing left to look at on this street.Four who grew despite concrete.Four who reach and do not forget to reach.Four whose only reason is to be and be.

頭發(fā)

我們家里每個人的頭發(fā)都不一樣。爸爸的頭發(fā)像掃把，根根直立往上豎起。而我，我的頭發(fā)挺懶惰，它從來不聽發(fā)夾和發(fā)帶的話?？逅沟念^發(fā)又直又厚，他不用梳頭。蕾妮的頭發(fā)滑滑的——會從你手里溜走。還有奇奇，他最小，茸茸的頭發(fā)像毛皮。只有媽媽的頭發(fā)，媽媽的頭發(fā)，好像一朵朵小小的玫瑰花結(jié)，一枚枚小小的糖果圈兒，全都那么卷曲，那么漂亮，因為她成天給它們上發(fā)卷。當(dāng)她摟你時，把鼻子伸進去聞一聞吧，這時，你覺得是那么安全，聞到的氣味又那么香甜。是那種待烤的面包暖暖的香味，是那種她給你讓出一角被窩時，和著體溫散發(fā)出的芬芳。你睡在她身旁，外面下著雨，爸爸打著鼾。哦，鼾聲、雨聲，還有媽媽那聞起來像面包的頭發(fā)。

大流士和云

你永遠不能擁有太多的天空。你可以在天空下睡去，醒來又沉醉。在你憂傷的時候，天空會給你安慰?？墒菓n傷太多，天空不夠，蝴蝶也不夠，花兒也不夠，大多數(shù)美的東西都不夠。于是，我們?nèi)∥覀兯苋。煤玫叵碛谩?/p>

大流士，不喜歡上學(xué)的他，有時很傻，幾乎是個笨人，今天卻說了一句聰明的話，雖然大多數(shù)日子他什么都不說。大流士，喜歡用爆竹，用碰過老鼠的小棍子去追逐女孩，自以為很了不起的他，今天卻指著天空，因為那里有滿天的云朵，樣子像枕頭的云朵。

你們都看到那朵云了嗎，那朵胖乎乎的云？大流士說，看到了嗎？哪里？那朵看起來像爆米花的旁邊的那朵。那邊那朵。看，那是上帝。大流士說。上帝？有個小點的孩子問道。上帝。他說。簡潔地說。

四棵細瘦的樹

它們是唯一能夠懂我的。我是唯一懂得它們的人。四棵跟我一樣有著細手肘的樹。不屬于這里但到了這里的四棵樹。市政栽下這四棵殘次樹，只是用來充數(shù)的。從我的房間里我們可以聽到它們的聲音，可蕾妮只是睡覺，不能領(lǐng)略這些。

它們的力量是個秘密，它們在地底下猛烈地生根，它們往下往上長，用頭發(fā)一樣的腳趾緊攥著泥土，用牙齒粗暴地撕咬天空，怒氣從不懈怠。這就是它們堅持的方式。假如有一棵忘記了它存在的理由，它們就全都會像玻璃瓶里的郁金香一樣耷拉下來，手挽著手。堅持，堅持，堅持。樹兒在我睡著的時候說，它們教會我。

當(dāng)我太悲傷、太瘦弱，無法堅持再堅持的時候，當(dāng)我如此渺小卻要對抗這么多磚塊的時候，當(dāng)街上沒有別的東西可看的時候，我就會看著樹兒。這四棵不畏混凝土而生長的樹，從不忘記伸展的四棵樹。唯一的理由是存在的四棵樹。

What makes life dreary is the want of motive.

——George Eliot

沒有目的，人生就暗淡無光。

——艾略特