Roadside

时间：2023-12-21 08:00:08

（单词翻译:单击）

Roadside
Esteban Rodríguez
 
Mexico rises into view like a textbook description of a dead civilization;
its silhouette1 piercing the scaled soil, the streaks2 of afternoon mirages3,
the caliche billowing across the windshield as my mother pulls into a roadside
stand. Still a few miles away, and I already see how poverty mimics4
the effects of age, how it wears the fragmented skyline with corrosion5,
subtracts layers of durability6 off a building’s frame; how the city mirrors
the black-and-white photos of abandoned war zones; how a fence can lose
its purpose, become symbolic7, while the river below it bleeds a history
of unsuccessful bodies no one ever claims. Before we cross over, graze
the peripheries8 of those who haven’t tried their hand at an exodus—
the barefooted boys selling Chiclets, the old and toothless women seated
on the bridge, the sleeping infants strapped9 in serapes to their mothers’ chests—
we weave, like we do every weekend, through rows of shoulder-high water
      fountains,
pattern-painted pots, and ceramic10 statues of Aztec gods ready for someone’s
      yard,
each a variation of mud-brown and red, and as hot as stove-grates when I run
my fingertips along their rims11, note the way my mother does the same.
She doesn’t pull back though, doesn’t squeal12 or flinch13, her endurance for pain
callused on her hands like the callused face of the old woman on a lawn chair
beneath a tarp, where they begin to make small-talk in their muffled14
Mexican tongues. Behind them sits the woman’s Chevy, whitewashed15
and windowless, its bed stacked with the inventory16 she didn’t take down,
and I recall those playground jokes about how in spite of the small space
they have, Mexicans can fit anything inside a car; a punchline17 that whether I
      find
funny or not, I imagine she’ll embody18 when she towers her ceramics19 back
      inside
her truck, aware that even as my mother scans the worn-out price tags
of each pot, we aren’t going to buy a thing. And as they exchange a few nods
like outdated20 currency, I watch the old woman’s hand reach out and touch
our shadows the way old women touch everything that isn’t theirs, feeling
the indifference21 with which we slip between her grip, how the sunlight cracks
our skin like pottery22 as it breaks.

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1 silhouette SEvz8     
n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓
参考例句：
  • I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
  • I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。
2 streaks a961fa635c402b4952940a0218464c02     
n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹
参考例句：
  • streaks of grey in her hair 她头上的绺绺白发
  • Bacon has streaks of fat and streaks of lean. 咸肉中有几层肥的和几层瘦的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 mirages 63707d2009e5715d14e0761b5762a5e7     
n.海市蜃楼，幻景( mirage的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • Through my half-closed eyelids I began to see mirages. 透过我半睁半闭的双眼，我看到了海市蜃楼。 来自辞典例句
  • There was for him only one trustworthy road through deceptions and mirages. 对他来说只有一条可靠的路能避开幻想和错觉。 来自辞典例句
4 mimics f8207fb5fa948f536c5186311e3e641d     
n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似
参考例句：
  • Methods:Models were generate by CT scan,Mimics software and Abaqus software. 方法：采用CT扫描，Mimics软件和Abaqus软件的CAD进行三维有限元模型的创建。 来自互联网
  • Relaxing the mind and body mimics the effect that some blood-pressure pills would have. 放松身心会产生某些降压药才能产生的效果。 来自辞典例句
5 corrosion boHzd     
n.腐蚀，侵蚀；渐渐毁坏，渐衰
参考例句：
  • Corrosion is not covered by the warranty.腐蚀不在保修范围之内。
  • Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。
6 durability Orxx5     
n.经久性，耐用性
参考例句：
  • Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。
7 symbolic ErgwS     
adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的
参考例句：
  • It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
  • The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。
8 peripheries bd33fa9b7ac21e3b57550fc53bca9d68     
n.外围( periphery的名词复数 )；边缘；周围
参考例句：
  • The peripheries are lined by respiratory epithelium. 表面是线性排列的呼吸道上皮。 来自互联网
9 strapped ec484d13545e19c0939d46e2d1eb24bc     
adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带
参考例句：
  • Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 ceramic lUsyc     
n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺
参考例句：
  • The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
  • Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。
11 rims e66f75a2103361e6e0762d187cf7c084     
n.（圆形物体的）边( rim的名词复数 )；缘；轮辋；轮圈
参考例句：
  • As she spoke, the rims of her eyes reddened a little. 说时，眼圈微红。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
  • Her eyes were a little hollow, and reddish about the rims. 她的眼睛微微凹陷，眼眶有些发红。 来自辞典例句
12 squeal 3Foyg     
v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音
参考例句：
  • The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
  • There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。
13 flinch BgIz1     
v.畏缩，退缩
参考例句：
  • She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
  • We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。
14 muffled fnmzel     
adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）
参考例句：
  • muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
  • There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 whitewashed 38aadbb2fa5df4fec513e682140bac04     
粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
  • The wall had been whitewashed. 墙已粉过。
  • The towers are in the shape of bottle gourds and whitewashed. 塔呈圆形，状近葫芦，外敷白色。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
16 inventory 04xx7     
n.详细目录，存货清单
参考例句：
  • Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
  • We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。
17 punchline punchline     
n.（笑话、故事等的）结尾警语，点睛之笔
参考例句：
  • Even then,the magical pause can strengthen the punchline.即使这样，有魔力的停顿依然可以增强笑点。
  • A good joke or a mystery novel has along wind up to the final punchline.好的笑话或神秘小说都是一路曲折，直至最后的笑料或真相。
18 embody 4pUxx     
vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录
参考例句：
  • The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
  • Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。
19 ceramics 0a6d841bb40f677207869b9f856b3b21     
n.制陶业；陶器
参考例句：
  • an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
  • The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。
20 outdated vJTx0     
adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时
参考例句：
  • That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
  • Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。
21 indifference k8DxO     
n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎
参考例句：
  • I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
  • He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
22 pottery OPFxi     
n.陶器，陶器场
参考例句：
  • My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
  • The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

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