: Could I be his wife? 我能成为他的妻子吗?
: How long could I live in a little apartment on a poor street? 我能在这穷巷小屋住多久呢?
: He''s an artist. He doesn''t think about money, but I do. 他是个艺术家, 他不在乎钱的问题. 但是我在乎,
: I like life''s little luxuries. 我喜欢一点奢华的生活,
: I like to buy pretty things -- new dresses and jewelry. 我喜欢买一些漂亮的东西 -- 新的衣服, 珠宝等.
: I could live without them, I guess, but... do I want to? 没有这些固然可以生活, 我想; 但是我希望这样子吗?
: I guess I could always find a job. I could work in an office or I could teach Portuguese. 我想我随时可以找到工作, 我可以在公司里工作, 或教教葡萄牙文.
: Or could I? 我能吗?
: Maybe Mama is right. Maybe I couldn''t live on 88th Street. 或许妈妈是对的, 说不定我无法在八十八街过下去,
: It''s a long way from home in Brazil. 从这里到巴西太远了,
: Paulo wants to stay here, but Mama is going to go home soon. 保罗希望留在这里, 只是妈就要回家了.
: She misses Papa and her life there. 她怀念爸爸和在那里的生活,
: And what about me? 而我呢?
: We could live six months here and six months there. 我们可以在这里住个半年, 在那边住半年,
: No. That''s ridiculous. 不行, 那太荒唐了,
: What am I going to do? 我该怎麽办呢?
: I love his eyes. Who knows? 我喜欢他的见解, 谁知道?
: We all grow and change. Anything could happen. 我们都会长大而改变的, 任何事情都可能发生.
: It''s not easy to be the mother of four children, take care of a house, and go to work. 当个有四个孩子, 又要照料家务, 又要出去工作的母亲是不简单的,
: I''m not complaining, though. Really I''m not. 可是我不抱怨. 真的, 我不会抱怨.
: Bill has a good job, and he always works overtime to make as much as he can. But we can always use some extra money. 比尔有好工作, 他时常尽可能的加班, 而我们也时常需要额外的钱,
: Four children eat a lot of food. 四个孩子要吃的东西是很多的.
: I didn''t go to college. What could I do? 我没读大学, 我能做什麽呢?
: I was a mother at nineteen. 我在十九岁的时候当了妈妈.
: I didn''t see much of the world then. 因此我对这世界看到的并不多.
: The children are all in school now, and I want to do something new. 现在孩子们都上学去了, 我希望做些新的事情,
: I''m not old yet. I want to live and learn and grow as much as I can. 我还不老, 我要尽我所能的生活、学习和成长.
: This is my first job in eighteen years, and I love it. 这是我十八年以来的第一个工作. 我喜欢它,
: I love to work with flowers. I want to learn about the business, too. 我喜欢跟花一起工作, 我也要学习有关做生意的事.
: Someday, I''m going to own a shop like this one. 有一天, 我自己将会拥有一间像这样的店.
: You know my brother, Ali, but you don''t know me. 你知道我弟弟阿里, 但不认识我,
: I am Hussein M. Nikzad. I''m nine and a half. 我是胡辛 M?尼克萨德, 我九岁半,
: I am very strong for my age, and I''m very smart in school. 我很健壮, 在学校里也相当聪明,
: All my teachers say so. 我所有的老师都这麽说.
: I do my homework, and I pay attention to my teachers. 我做我的功课, 也听我的老师们的话,
: I like books. I read all the time. 我喜欢书, 所有的时间都在看书,
: I can add, subtract, multiply and divide. 我能加、减、乘、除,
: I can read and write English and Farsi, 我能读与写英文和波斯语.
: and I know all about the heroes of my country. 我晓得我的国家所有英雄的事,
: I am going to be famous, too. 我也要成为著名的人物,
: I am going to build cities and roads and bridges and everything. 我打算建造城市、道路、桥梁, 以及一切的一切.
: Ali is a strange kid. 阿里是个奇怪的孩子,
: He thinks everyone is a Martian and ice cream vendors are secret agents. 他认为每一个人都是火星人, 以为贩卖冰淇淋的人是密探.
: Why does he eat ice cream all the time? 为什麽他老是吃冰淇淋?
: Sometimes I think Father is right. Ali acts like a child all the time. 有时候我认为父亲是对的, 阿里的行为始终像个小孩,
: He never could sit still. 从来不曾安静下来过,
: He doesn''t listen to anyone. 他不听任何人的话,
: He''s forgetting Farsi, too. 他也逐渐忘了波斯语.
: What is he going to do next year in Iran? 明年在伊朗他将做些什麽呢?
: Ali hates me. It''s not my fault. 阿里憎恨我, 那并非我的错,
: He hates me because I''m bigger and smarter, and I''m Father''s favorite. 他恨我是因为我长得比较大也比较聪明, 而且我是爸爸所疼爱的,
: Father doesn''t say that, of course, but I know it. 爸虽然不说, 但是我了解,
: And Ali knows it, too. 当然, 阿里他也知道.
: But Ali''s okay, really. 不过阿里真的也还好,
: Sure, sometimes he does crazy things, 当然, 他有时候会做些疯狂的事来,
: but he''s not a bad kid. 但是他不是个坏孩子.
