2009.04.12-文章分享Fish Cheeks改寫

以下這篇文章
是由中山女中人文資優班白易玄同學
改寫自三民版英文課本第三冊第十課"Fish Cheeks"
(SN註記:原文可以在文章作者Amy Tan的書The Opposite of Fate中找到,或是看下面.)
以下為文章原文.
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Fish Cheeks

Amy Tan

 

            I fell in love with the minister's son the winter I turned fourteen.  He was not Chinese, but as white as Mary in the manger.  For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose.

            When I found out that my parents had invited the minister's family over for Christmas Eve dinner, I cried.  What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas?  What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners?  What terrible disappoint-ment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?

            On Christmas Eve I saw that my mother had outdone herself in creating a strange menu.  She was pulling black veins out of the backs of fleshy prawns.  The kitchen was littered with appalling mounds of raw food:  A slimy rock cod with bulging eyes that pleaded not to be thrown into a pan of hot oil.  Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges.  A bowl soaking dried fungus back to life.  A plate of squid, their backs crisscrossed with knife markings so they resembled bicycle tires.

            And then they arrived – the minister's family and all my relatives in a clamor of doorbells and rumpled Christmas packages.  Robert grunted hello, and I pretended he was not worthy of existence.

            Dinner threw me deeper into despair.  My relatives licked the ends of their chopsticks and reached across the table, dipping them into the dozen or so plates of food.  Robert and his family waited patiently for platters to be passed to them.  My relatives murmured with pleasure when my mother brought out the whole steamed fish.  Robert grimaced.  Then my father poked his chopsticks just below the fish eye and plucked out the soft meat.  "Amy, your favorite," he said, offering me the tender fish cheek.  I wanted to disappear.

            At the end of the meal my father leaned back and belched loudly, thanking my mother for her fine cooking.  "It's a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied," explained my father to our astonished guests.  Robert was looking down at his plate with a reddened face.  The minister managed to muster up a quiet burp.  I was stunned into silence for the rest of the night.

            After everyone had gone, my mother said to me, "You want to be the same as American girls on the outside."  She handed me an early gift.  It was a miniskirt in beige tweed.  "But inside you must always be Chinese.  You must be proud you are different.  Your only shame is to have shame."

            And even though I didn't agree with her then, I knew that she understood how much I had suffered during the evening's dinner.  It wasn't until many year later – long after I had gotten over my crush on Robert – that I was able to fully appreciate her lesson and the true purpose behind our particular menu.  For Christmas Eve that year, she had chosen all my favorite foods.

 

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接下來的這篇是白易玄同學依據此文,寫出題目"If the story was told in mother's point of view, what would it be like?"
以下為文章
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It would probably change differently. It might be a sad and heart-broken story, about a mother observing her own lovingly girl who didn't understand the meaning and value to be a Chinese, and the love the mother tried to express to her.

Christmas was just around the corner, Amy's father and I decided to invite the minister and his family over for Christmas Eve dinner. Just several days ago before we made the decision, I observed the change of Amy when we went to church; with my mommy-intuition, I could almost guarantee that my girl has got a crush on the minister's son, Robert.

At first, I thought it was fine for us to invite the family, and the boy's presence might surprise Amy as a Christmas gift, but as soon as seeing Amy's face after we told her the news, I recognized I was definitely wrong. Amy had always wanted to be an American girl which she is not. It was easy to see that she had never been proud of being a Chinese. When it comes to the Chinese customs, she had always acted disapprovingly. She might think the Christmas meal we were going to offer them may make our guests feel silly and uncomfortable. I didn't know if our decision was right or wrong, but since the invitation couldn't be taken back, I started to prepare the meal and hoped everything could be just fine.

Discovering Amy's depression, I think it was time for her to learn the lesson that things couldn't be always perfect and it was also the time for her to understand being a Chinese is not only her duty but also her glory. But from a mother's love, I decided to make the lesson not that hard. I went to supermarket to choose all the food Amy favoured: big umbrella-like mushrooms, stacks of tofu as soft as pillow. The squids al dente, the fresh and flexible prawns…, mounds of materials were prepared and waiting to be the delicacy on the table.

Amy didn't leave her room until the first door bell rang. Her dad kept asking her to say hello to all her dear relatives, though everyone could feel her cold unwillingness that could probably freeze the house. Finally, the minister came with his family- the blonde-hair boy, Robert, as we've expected, was included. He said hello to everyone with a shy smile. Instead of waving back, Amy just stood there with her head turning away.

All our family enjoyed the meal; and actually, I myself did enjoy the dinner as much as they did, except Amy, especially when her father burped after the meal for thanking me cooking the fine dinner. I knew how much it would torture the little girl who only cared about her image in front of a boy whom she had appreciated for a couple of days and a girl who had always wanted to be American that could hardly accept any customs from her real homeland.

After everyone had left the house, I took the miniskirt which I bought several weeks ago in a department store as a Christmas present for Amy, looking for her. A few minutes later, I found her in the bathroom with her eyes red and swollen. 「You want to be the same as American girls on the outside,」 I handed her the package. She murmured 「Thank you,」 and unwrapped the paper. 「But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud that you are different. Your only shame is to have shame.」 After that, I left her there thinking about my words. At the moment, I knew she wouldn't regard these words as a precious lesson a Chinese mother wanted to teach her daughter, but someday she will realize.
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文筆真的是非常好阿......
不是我在說=P


由於文章並沒有用到太難的單字
要ㄧ個ㄧ個的翻譯也很累人
所以我就不另外註記啦!
如果有個別單字看不懂的可以留言
我會再回覆



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S.N註記:以上文章片段引用以下兩個網址的資料,如有侵犯版權請盡速通知我謝謝.((照理說是不會啦...
http://www.peninsula.wednet.edu/classroom/robisonp/fish_cheeks.htm
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/vanity3388/7117756




以上囉!

S.N筆