EZCNN 易英网

当前位置：Home

英语教材

Intermediate English-2 (附英,中文講解)

Literature (文学)

Sherman Alexie’s Cultural Insights 泪中带笑的感人故事：《一个印第安少年的超真实日记》

详细资料: 创建于 2011年7月26日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2013年9月20日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：253

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

When most people hear the term, Native American, they think about the days of the Wild West when Indians lived in tepees and used bows and arrows to fight their enemies. Consequently, author Sherman Joseph Alexie is out to remind people that there is more to this ancient culture than the distant past. Through his stories, he is opening people’s eyes to what it’s like to be a Native American in modern-day America.

当多数人听到「美国原住民」一词时，脑海里所浮现的是大西部时代中，住在帐棚、用矛与弓箭袭击敌人的印第安人。但也因如此，作家薛曼．约瑟夫．亚历斯挺身而出提醒众人，古老的印第安古文化不仅是一段遥远的过去。亚历斯的故事使美国人见识到，在现今的美国，身为一名美国原住民是何种光景。

Alexie was born in 1966, on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. As a child, he turned to literature to escape from the harsh realities of reservation life. In his teens, Alexie decided to enroll in a high school off the reservation because it offered him a chance at a better education. Although he had trouble fitting in, Alexie excelled at academics and athletics. In college, he mapped out a career in medicine. But after receiving encouragement from his teacher in poetry class, he decided to become a writer.

亚历斯于1966年出生于华盛顿州的史伯坎印地安保留区。亚历斯年幼时埋首于文学中，以逃离保留区的残酷现实生活。青少年时期，亚历斯决定就读保留区外的高中，因为这提供他可以接受更优质教育的机会。虽然亚历斯无法融入同侪之中，但他在学业与运动方面表现优良。大学时亚历斯原计划投身医界，但受到教授《诗词赏析》的老师鼓励后，他决定成为一名作家。

His first collection of short stories The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Book of Fiction. Later, he penned The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a novel about native American’s childhood in contemporary U.S. society, and aimed at young adults. It was selected as one of the School Library Journal’s Best Books of 2007.

亚历斯的第一本短篇故事集《游骑兵与印第安人东托在天堂打架》赢得「美国笔会／海明威奖」之「最佳首部小说」。之后亚历斯以年轻读者为目标，撰写了一本名为《一个印第安少年的超真实日记》的小说。这本书被选为「2007年美国学校图书馆学刊最佳图书」之一。

Vocabulary

单词发音

insight [ˋɪn͵saɪt] n. 洞察力; 深刻的理解

tipi ['tipi] n. 美国印第安人的圆锥形帐篷

consequently [ˋkɑnsə͵kwɛntlɪ] adv. 因此 as a result; therefore

reservation [͵rɛzɚˋveʃən] n. 自然保护区

harsh [hɑrʃ] adj. 严酷的

excel [ɪkˋsɛl] v. 突出

academics [͵ækəˋdɛmɪks] n. 学业（尤指学识方面而非实践、技能上的）

fistfight [ˋfɪst͵faɪt]（尤指一时冲动）n. 光用拳头的殴斗

fiction [ˋfɪkʃən] n. 小说；虚构的事

Idiom

片语发音

enroll in 登记, 报名参加

fit in 相处融洽, 适应环境; 使适应 blend in or harmonize

map out 安排 to plan or design

课文朗读

课文讲解

The main character and narrator of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is Arnold “Junior” Spirit. After realizing the hopelessness of life on the reservation, like Alexie, he is forced to make a difficult decision. Junior chooses to enroll in a local public high school. Many Indians hate him for this, including his former best friend Rowdy, who brands Junior a traitor. Other children mock Junior by calling him an apple. This is a cruel metaphor that implies that although his skin is red, like other Indians, he is trying to be white on the inside.

《一个印第安少年的超真实日记》的主角与叙述者为阿诺．「二世」．祖灵。二世就如亚历斯一般，当了解到保留区毫无希望的生活后，他被迫去做出一个困难决定──选择就读当地一间公立高中。许多印第安人因而憎恨二世，包括他之前最好的朋友罗迪。罗迪将二世污名化为一名叛徒，其他小孩则残酷地以「苹果」来戏谑二世，指他的皮肤虽然像其他的印第安人为红色，但其内心思想却如白人一般。

Junior experiences culture shock in his new environment. He discovers that he’s the only Indian at his school – with the exception of the school mascot. Many of his classmates want nothing to do with him because of his race. To deal with his isolation and make sense of his surroundings, Junior draws cartoons. Many are comical and poke fun at the people he encounters. Yet others are more miserable and contrast the differences between American and Native American culture.

二世在新环境里体验到了文化震撼。他发现他与学校的吉祥物是学校唯二的印第安人。许多学生因为二世的种族而不与他来往。二世画漫画以排遣孤寂和探究其所处环境的意义。他画的许多卡通都很滑稽有趣，并取笑他所遇到的人。然而其他的漫画较为哀伤，并对白人与原住民文化的差异作出对比。

Junior’s situation improves after he’s selected as a starter for the school’s basketball team. The story comes to a head in the final game as Junior comes face-to-face with his past when he plays against his old school team on the reservation in the championship game.

当二世被选入篮球队先发后，他所处的情况有所改善。这篇故事在最后一场篮球赛达到高潮。在这场冠军赛里，二世面对自身的过去，与他原本在保留区的学校校队在冠军赛中对抗。

Vocabulary

单词发音

narrator [næˋretɚ] n. 叙述者，讲述者

brand [brænd] v. 〔某人〕加上不公的污名 to mark with disgrace or infamy; stigmatize

traitor [ˋtretɚ] n. 叛徒

mock [mɑk] v. 嘲弄，嘲笑

metaphor [ˋmɛtəfɚ] n. 隐喻（一种修辞法）

mascot [ˋmæskət] n. 吉祥物

isolation [͵aɪs!ˋeʃən] n. 隔离；孤立

comical [ˋkɑmɪk!] adj. 滑稽的；诙谐的

miserable [ˋmɪzərəb!] adj. 痛苦的；不幸的

contrast [kənˋtræst] v. 使对比，使对照; [ˋkɑn͵træst] n. 对比，对照

championship [ˋtʃæmpɪən͵ʃɪp] n. 锦标赛

Idiom

片语发音

culture shock 文化冲击

with the exception of 除了...外

make sense of 了解 to understand something

poke fun at (通常作贬义)开玩笑; 嘲弄; 嘲笑 to make fun of someone or something

come to a head 达到紧要关头 to reach a critical or crucial stage

课文朗读

课文讲解

Although the novel is a work of fiction, it is fueled by many of Alexie’s childhood experiences. The author hopes to open readers’ eyes to how bleak and depressing life is on many reservations across the U.S. Although Alexie does show reverence for the wisdom and traditions of Native American culture, he doesn’t shy away from darker elements either. He shows how issues such as poor education, alcohol abuse, and domestic violence are tearing apart the structure of Native American society.

虽然这本小说为虚构的故事，但里头因包含着许多亚历斯的童年回忆而变得妙趣横生。作者希望打开读者的眼界，使他们知道美国诸多保留区里的生活是何等令人沮丧与沈闷。虽然亚历斯在书里对于美国原住民文化的智慧与传统表示尊重，但他也不吝写出保留区生活的黑暗面。他指出教育贫乏、酗酒与家庭暴力等议题是如何正在将美国原住民社会的结构撕裂。

Alexie also examines how terrible poverty can destroy people’s psyche. At one point, Junior reflects, “You start believing that you’re poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you’re stupid and ugly because you’re Indian. And because you’re Indian you start believing you’re destined to be poor. It’s an ugly circle and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

亚历斯也对极度贫穷可以如何摧毁人们的心志做出省思。在书中的某个情节里，二世思索道：「你开始相信你贫穷的原因来自于你的笨与丑。接着，你相信你笨与丑的原因来自于你是一位印第安人。而因为你是一位印第安人，你开始相信你注定要贫穷。这是个丑陋的轮回，而你却无能为力。」

Another important theme is cultural assimilation. Junior’s friends on the reservation turn their backs on him because of his education. But at school, his white friends exclude him due to his race. This theme has hit home with many people in this age of globalization. Readers who come from mixed backgrounds or are minorities can relate to Junior’s struggles. By reading Alexie’s novel, young adults find some comfort in the fact that things can get better and that they are not alone.

书里另一个重要主题是文化融合。二世所受的教育使他在保留区里的朋友们不与他来往。但在学校里，二世的白人朋友们则因他的种族排挤他。文化融合的主题深深触动了身处全球化时代读者的内心。对出身于多元文化背景、或身为少数族群的一员的读者而言，对二世的挣扎应有很深的感触。年轻的读者能够藉亚历斯的小说找到慰藉，并发现事情会好转且他们其实并不孤单。

－by Jamie Blackler

Vocabulary

单词发音