Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 53 · A Story Told in Two Languages
Audio track 53
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
My grandmother told me a story about the day she moved to this town. She began in Japanese, then switched to English when she described the neighbor who had welcomed her.
“She said, ‘Come in whenever you need a cup of tea,’” Grandmother recalled. I tried to translate it word for word. Grandmother stopped me. “It meant more than tea. She was saying I did not have to be alone.”
We wrote the story together for a family album. I kept the English sentence and added a short note in Japanese about what it meant to her. A sentence can be translated, but a person's reason for remembering it may need an extra story.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
祖母给我讲她搬到这座镇上的那一天。她先用日语讲，讲到欢迎她的那位邻居时，又换成了英语。
‘她说：你什么时候想喝杯茶，都可以进来。’祖母回忆道。我想把这句话逐字翻译出来，祖母却叫住我：‘那说的不只是茶。她是在告诉我，我不必一个人待着。’
我们一起把故事写进家庭相册。我保留了那句英语，又用日语加了一小段注释，说明这句话对祖母意味着什么。句子可以翻译；一个人为什么记住它，有时还需要多讲一段故事。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- switch to
- 换成；祖母从日语转用英语。
- describe
- 描述；讲述邻居欢迎她的事。
- neighbor
- 邻居；向新搬来的人伸出友谊。
- welcome
- 欢迎；邀请祖母进门喝茶。
- whenever
- 无论何时；表示邀请随时有效。
- recall
- 回忆；祖母重述当年说的话。
- word for word
- 逐字逐句；主人公最初的翻译方法。
- mean more than
- 不止意味着；喝茶还意味着陪伴。
- family album
- 家庭相册；两人共同记录故事。
- add a note
- 加注释；说明原话对祖母的意义。
Background notes (Chinese)
邻居说的‘随时来喝茶’是一种欢迎与陪伴的邀请。逐字翻译能传达字面意思，却未必能传达祖母当时感受到的善意；补充背景能让读者理解得更完整。