Vocabulary

screech v. 尖聲喊出；

I loved it for the soft pattering of snow against my window at night, for the way fresh snow crunched under my black rubber boots, for the warmth of the cast-iron stove as the wind screeched through the yards, the streets.

這里的主語是風，謂語用了screech。英語中的擬人可以說是司空見慣，中國學習者常常當作多個詞義記，其實就是真正的含義就是一個，只不過用得“活”。

horde n. 熙攘、紛擾的一大幫人，一大伙人；

The chase got pretty fierce; hordes of kite runners swarmed the streets, shoved past each other like those people from Spain I’d read about once, the ones who ran from the bulls.

Excerpt

雪景描寫

The sky is seamless and blue, the snow so white my eyes burn. I shovel a handful of the fresh snow into my mouth, listen to the muffled stillness broken only by the cawing of crows. I walk down the front steps, barefoot, and call for Hassan to come out and see.

seamless adj. 無縫的，無傷痕的。

my eyes burn 這里理解起來不難。但要注意這里的burn用得很微妙，雪是無論如何也不會burn到他物的，burn到眼睛的是雪的光芒。可見顏色的純潔，也反襯陽光強，天氣晴朗。

The reason was simple: They shut down school for the icy season. Winter to me was the end of long division and naming the capital of Bulgaria, and the start of three months of playing cards by the stove with Hassan, free Russian movies on Tuesday mornings at Cinema Park, sweet turnip ‘qurma’ over rice for lunch after a morning of building snowmen.

為什么喜歡冬天？比起每個人都能想到的我那些陳詞濫調，作者的答案顯得有趣的很。

理由很簡單：每當天寒地凍，學校就停課了。于我而言，冬天意味著那些復雜的除法題目的結束，也不用去背保加利亞的首都，可以開始一連三個月坐在火爐邊跟哈桑玩撲克，星期二早晨去電影院公園看免費的俄羅斯影片，早上堆個雪人之后，午餐吃一頓甜蕪青拌飯。

除此之外，the end of和the start of 相呼應。

風箏

For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament. It was a trophy of honor, something to be displayed on a mantle for guests to admire. When the sky cleared of kites and only the final two remained, every kite runner readied himself for the chance to land this prize. He positioned himself at a spot that he thought would give him a head start. Tense muscles readied themselves to uncoil. Necks craned. Eyes crinkled. Fights broke out. And when the last kite was cut, all hell broke loose.

coveted 垂涎的，夢寐以求的

a trophy of honor 榮譽的獎賞

ready oneself for 摩拳擦掌

Tense muscles readied themselves to uncoil.

繃緊的肌肉蓄勢待發。

Necks craned. Eyes crinkled. Fights broke out.

排比句：脖子抬高，眼睛微瞇，一觸即發。

Thoughts

Baba是個好人，他對孩子一視同仁，對什葉派和遜尼派的人一視同仁。每當孩子問到父親關于宗教的問題，父親的答案都是比較平和的，反對極端主義。雖然Ali是家中的仆人，但Baba一直把Ali當成自己的兄弟，把Hassan當成自己的孩子。

正是這樣的一視同仁讓Amir嫉妒，他覺得爸爸對他和對別的孩子一樣，他在他父親心里并非舉足輕重，導致父親的看似公平的一舉一動都是對他的不公。

Notes

冬天是Amir最喜歡的季節，沒有繁重的功課，可以整日和Hassan玩耍，也不需要參加“自愿補習班”，和爸爸的溝通也多些，還能和小伙伴玩他最喜歡的游戲——斗風箏。大家比賽用自己的風箏切斷別人風箏的線，最后唯一留在空中的風箏就是勝者。阿富汗人斗風箏沒有太多的規則，整個過程輕松簡單。追風箏也是一項極大的樂趣，孩子們追逐被割斷線的風箏，哪怕危險重重也毫不在乎，誰能追到最后一個掉落的風箏，那將是至高無上的榮譽。

Hassan是追風箏的好手，Amir是斗風箏的好手。為了向Baba證明自己，Amir竭盡全力希望在冬季巡回賽中奪第一，像從未失敗的父親一樣取得勝利。

Summary

Baba was born in the year of 1933 when Zahir Shah became king of Afghanistan. His father, a local renowned judge, adopted Ali, whose parents died in a car accident. Ali and Baba grew up as playmates. Their ethnic and religious differences exclude the possibility of their becoming real friends. Similarly, Amir never thinks of Hassan as a friend out of the same reason. Even so, Amir often reads to Hassan stories, among which Rostam and Sohrab is their favourite.

One day, Amir tries to make up his own story while reading to Hassan. Hassan applauds it, saying it is one of the best stories Amir has read. That night, Amir writes his first short story and shows it to Baba. Talking with Rahim Khan, however, Baba pays no attention to his son. Rahim Khan reads the story and encourages Amir in a note praising his talents and saying he will be a great writer.

That night, booming and gunfire erupt in the street. Ali, Hassan, and Amir huddle together until morning, after which Daoud Khan takes over the government. ?Afghanistan soon becomes a republic. Days later, Amir and Hassan go out to climb a tree and run into Assef and two other boys. Assef is a thug who rules with his pair of brass knuckles. He ridicules Ali relentlessly, calling him Babula, and he hates all Hazaras. Assef threatens to beat up Amir for hanging around with a Hazara. Bravely, Hassan uses his slingshot to stop him. After Daoud Khan's coup, life goes back to normal. The following winter, on Hassan's birthday, Baba asked Dr. Kumar to fix Hassan's cleft lip. After a successful surgery, Hassan's cleft lip turns into a faint scar, but his warm smile has rarely appeared again ever since.