I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistan’s next to last summer of peace and?anonymity. Things between Baba and me were already cooling off again. I think what started it was the stupid comment I’d made the day we were planting tulips, about getting new servants. I regretted saying it—I really did—but I think even if I hadn’t, our happy little?interlude?would have come to an end. Maybe not quite so soon, but it would have.
anonymity noun： the?situation?in which someone's?name?is not given or?known
匿名；無名；不公開姓名
The?police?have?reassured?witnessesthat they will be?guaranteedanonymity.警方已讓那些可能害怕站出來作證的目擊證人放心，保證不公開他們的姓名。
interlude noun： a?short?period?when a?situationor?activity?is different from what comes before and after it
插曲，間歇
The?musical?interludes don't really?fitin with the?rest?of the?play.穿插的音樂片段與這部劇的其他部分并不協調。
By the end of the summer, the?scraping?of spoon and fork against?the plate had replaced dinner table?chatter?and Baba had resumed?retreating to his study after supper. And closing the door. I’d gone?back to?thumbing?through H?fez and Khayyám ,gnawing?my nails?down to the?cuticles, writing stories. I kept the stories in a?stack?under my bed, keeping them just in case, though I doubted Baba?would ever again ask me to read them to him.
scrape verb： ?to?remove?an?unwantedcovering?or a?top?layer?from something,?especially?using asharp?edge?or something?rough
去除；刮；擦
Scrape?your?boots?cleanbefore you come in.進來前先把靴子擦干凈。
chatter noun： conversation?about things that are not?important
喋喋不休的談話；嘮叨
I can't?concentrate?with Ann'sconstant?chatter.安一直嘮嘮叨叨，我沒法集中精力。
thumb through?something： to look through a book,?magazine?etc quickly
gnaw verb： to?bite?or?chew?somethingrepeatedly, usually making ahole?in it or?graduallydestroying?it
咬，嚙，啃（通常指啃出孔洞或逐漸啃壞）
Babies like to gnaw hard?objectswhen they're?teething.嬰兒在長牙時喜歡啃咬硬物。
cuticle noun： the?thin?skin?at the?base?of thenails?on the?fingers?and?toes
（指甲或趾甲根部的）角質層
stack noun： a?pile?of things?arranged?one on?top?of another
（碼放整齊的）堆，疊，摞
He?chose?a?cartoon?from the stack of DVDs on the?shelf.他從架子上的一摞錄像帶中挑了盤卡通片。
Baba’s?motto?about throwing parties was this: Invite the whole?world or it’s not a party. I remember scanning over the invitation?list a week before my birthday party and not recognizing at least?three-quarters of the four hundred–plus Kakas and Khalas who?were going to bring me gifts and congratulate me for having lived?to thirteen. Then I realized they weren’t really coming for me. It?was my birthday, but I knew who the real star of the show was.
motto noun：a short sentence or phrase thatexpresses a belief or purpose
座右銘，格言，箴言
Her motto is "Work hard,?play?hard".她的座右銘是“努力工作，痛快玩樂”。
For days, the house was teeming with Baba’s hired help. There?was Salahuddin the butcher, who showed up with a?calf?and two?sheep in?tow?, refusing payment for any of the three. He slaughtered the animals himself in the yard by a poplar tree. “Blood is?good for the tree,” I remember him saying as the grass around the?poplar?soaked red. Men I didn’t know climbed the oak trees with?coils of small electric bulbs and meters of extension cords. Others?set up dozens of tables in the yard, spread a tablecloth on each.
calf noun： ?a?young?cow, or the?youngof?various?other?largemammals?such as?elephantsand?whales
小牛，牛犢；（象、鯨等大型哺乳動物的）幼崽，幼獸
tow noun： to?pull?someone's?vehicleusing a?rope?or?chain?tied?toyour?vehicle
拖，拉
When my?car?broke?down, apolice?car?gave me a tow to thenearest?garage.我的車拋錨后，一輛警車把我的車拖至最近的汽車維修站。
poplar noun ： a tall tree with branches thatform a thin pointed shape
白楊樹
a?tall?row?of poplars一排高大的白楊樹
The night before the big party Baba’s friend Del-Muhammad,?who owned a?kabob?house in Shar-e-Nau, came to the house with?his bags of spices. Like the butcher, Del-Muhammad—or Dello,?as Baba called him—refused payment for his services. He said?Baba had done enough for his family already. It was Rahim Khan?who whispered to me, as Dello?marinated?the meat, that Baba had?lent Dello the money to open his restaurant. Baba had refused?repayment until Dello had shown up one day in our driveway in a?Benz and insisted he wouldn’t leave until Baba took his money.
shish kebab noun： a?dish?consisting of?smallpieces?of?meat?and?vegetablesthat have been put on a?long,thin?stick?or?metal?rod?andcooked?together
烤肉串
marinate verb：to?pour?a marinade over?meator?fish; to be?left?in a marinade
在肉類肉或魚肉上澆些腌泡汁
Marinate the?chicken?in?white?wine?for a?couple?of?hours?before?frying.油炸之前，將雞肉放在白葡萄酒中腌幾個小時。
I guess in most ways, or at least in the ways in which parties?are judged, my birthday?bash?was a huge success. I’d never seen?the house so packed. Guests with drinks in hand were chatting in?the hallways, smoking on the stairs, leaning against doorways.
bash noun： a party
聚會
He had a?big?bash for his 18thbirthday.他舉辦了盛大的聚會慶祝自己的18歲生日。
They sat where they found space, on kitchen counters, in the?foyer, even under the?stairwell?. In the backyard, they?mingled?under the glow of blue, red, and green lights winking in the trees,?their faces illuminated by the light of kerosene torches propped?everywhere. Baba had had a stage built on the balcony that overlooked the garden and planted speakers throughout the yard.?Ahmad Zahir was playing an?accordion?and singing on the stage?over masses of dancing bodies.
stairwell noun： ?a?long,?vertical?passagethrough a?building?around which a set of?stairs?is?built
（建筑物內的）樓梯井
mingle verb： ?to?mix?or?combine, or be?mixed?or?combined
（使）混合；（使）相混
The?excitement?of?starting?a new?jobis always mingled?with?a?certainapprehension.剛開始一份新工作時興奮中總是摻雜著些許擔憂。
accordion noun：a box-shaped?musicalinstrument?consisting of afolded?central?part?with akeyboard,?played?by?pushingthe two?ends?towards each other
手風琴
I had to greet each of the guests personally—Baba made sure?of that; no one was going to gossip the next day about how he’d?raised a son with no manners. I kissed hundreds of cheeks,?hugged total strangers, thanked them for their gifts. My face?ached from the strain of my?plastered?smile.?I was standing with Baba in the yard near the bar when someone said, “Happy birthday, Amir.” It was Assef, with his parents.
plastered adjective ： extremely drunk
爛醉的
They went out to the?bars?and?gotplastered.他們去酒吧喝了個爛醉。
Assef’s father, Mahmood, was a short,?lanky?sort with dark skin?and a narrow face. His mother, Tanya, was a small, nervous?woman who smiled and blinked a lot. Assef was standing between?the two of them now, grinning,?looming?over both, his arms resting on their shoulders. He led them toward us, like he had?brought them here. Like he was the parent, and they his children.
lanky adjective： tall?and?thin?and often?movingawkwardly?as a?result
瘦高的，細長的
I was?your?typical?lanky?teenager.以前我和你們一樣，是典型的又瘦又高的少年。
loom verb： ?to?appear?as a?large, oftenfrightening?or?unclear?shape?orobject
（令人驚恐地）隱約顯現；赫然聳現
Dark?storm?clouds?loomed?on thehorizon.天邊隱約出現了一團團的烏云。
A wave of dizziness rushed through me. Baba thanked them for?coming.?“I picked out your present myself,” Assef said. Tanya’s face?twitched and her eyes flicked from Assef to me. She smiled,?unconvincingly, and blinked. I wondered if Baba had noticed.
“Still playing soccer, Assef jan?” Baba said. He’d always?wanted me to be friends with Assef.?Assef smiled. It was?creepy?how?genuinely?sweet he made it?look. “Of course, Kaka jan.”
creepy adjective： strange?or?unnatural?and making you?feel?frightened
怪異的，令人毛骨悚然的；讓人起雞皮疙瘩的
a creepy?film令人毛骨悚然的電影
genuinue adjective： ?If?people?or?emotions?are genuine, they are?honest?andsincere.
真誠的；誠實的；真心的
He's a very genuine?person.他為人很真誠。
“Right wing, as I recall?”
“Actually, I switched to center forward this year,” Assef said.
“You get to score more that way. We’re playing the Mekro-Rayan?team next week. Should be a good match. They have some good?players.”
Baba nodded. “You know, I played center forward too when I?was young.”
“I’ll bet you still could if you wanted to,” Assef said. He favored
Baba with a good-natured wink.?Baba returned the wink. “I see your father has taught you his?world-famous flattering ways.” He elbowed Assef’s father, almost?knocked?the little fellow down. Mahmood’s laughter was about as?convincing as Tanya’s smile, and suddenly I wondered if maybe,?on some level, their son frightened them. I tried to fake a smile,?but all I could manage was a feeble upturning of the corners of?my mouth—my stomach was turning at the sight of my father?bonding?with Assef.
knock verb： to?repeatedly?hitsomething,?producing?a?noise
（反復地）敲，擊，打
She knocked?on?the?window?to?attracthis?attention.她敲敲窗想引起他的注意。
bonding noun： the?process?by which a?closeemotional?relationship?isdeveloped
親密關系的形成
Much of the bonding between?motherand?child?takes?place?in those earlyweeks.母子之間的親密關系大都是在早期幾周里形成的。
Assef shifted his eyes to me. “Wali and Kamal are here too.?They wouldn’t miss your birthday for anything,” he said, laughter?lurking just beneath the surface. I nodded silently.
“We’re thinking about playing a little game of?volleyball?tomorrow at my house,” Assef said. “Maybe you’ll join us. Bring Hassan?if you want to.”
volleyball noun： a game in which two teamsuse their hands to hit a largeball backwards and forwardsover a high net withoutallowing the ball to touch theground
排球（運動）
“That sounds fun,” Baba said, beaming. “What do you think,?Amir?”
“I don’t really like volleyball,” I muttered. I saw the light wink?out of Baba’s eyes and an uncomfortable silence followed.
“Sorry, Assef jan,” Baba said, shrugging. That stung, his apologizing for me.
“Nay, no harm done,” Assef said. “But you have an open invita-?tion, Amir jan. Anyway, I heard you like to read so I brought you a?book. One of my favorites.” He extended a wrapped birthday gift?to me. “Happy birthday.”
He was dressed in a cotton shirt and blue?slacks?, a red silk tie?and shiny black?loafers?. He smelled of?cologne?and his blond hair?was neatly combed back. On the surface, he was the?embodiment?of every parent’s dream, a strong, tall, well-dressed and wellmannered boy with talent and striking looks, not to mention the?wit to joke with an adult. But to me, his eyes betrayed him. When?I looked into them, the?facade faltered, revealed a glimpse of the?madness hiding behind them.
slacks?[?plural?]： a?pair?of?trousers, that are not?part?of a?suit
寬松長褲
loafer noun： a?type?of?leather?shoe?without afastening, that a person's?footslides?into
懶漢鞋，平底便鞋（一種不用系帶的皮鞋）
cologne noun： a?type?of?perfume?(=?liquid?with a?pleasant?smell, used on theskin)
科隆香水，古龍香水
embodiment noun： someone or something thatrepresents?a?quality?or anidea?exactly
（某種品質或思想的）化身，體現，典型
He was the embodiment of theEnglish?gentleman.他是典型的英國紳士。
fa?ade?noun： a?false?appearance?that makes someone or somethingseem?more?pleasant?or?betterthan they really are
假象，虛假的外表
We are?fed?up with this fa?ade ofdemocracy.我們厭倦了這種民主的幌子。
falter verb： to?lose?strength?or?purpose?andstop, or?almost?stop
衰弱；動搖；猶豫；畏縮
The?dinner?party?conversation?faltered for a?moment.晚宴上的談話出現了一會兒冷場。
“Aren’t you going to take it, Amir?” Baba was saying.
“Huh?”
“Your present,” he said?testily. “Assef jan is giving you a present.”
testy adjective： easily annoyed and not patient
“Oh,” I said. I took the box from Assef and lowered my gaze. I?wished I could be alone in my room, with my books, away from?these people.
“Well?” Baba said.
“What?”
Baba spoke in a low voice, the one he took on whenever I?embarrassed him in public. “Aren’t you going to thank Assef jan??That was very considerate of him.”
I wished Baba would stop calling him that. How often did he?call me “Amir jan”? “Thanks,” I said. Assef’s mother looked at me?like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t, and I realized?that neither of Assef’s parents had said a word. Before I could?embarrass myself and Baba anymore—but mostly to get away?from Assef and his grin—I stepped away. “Thanks for coming,” I?said.
I?squirmed?my way through the?throng?of guests and slipped?through the wrought-iron gates. Two houses down from our?house, there was a large, barren dirt lot. I’d heard Baba tell Rahim?Khan that a judge had bought the land and that an architect was?working on the design. For now, the lot was bare, save for dirt,?stones, and weeds.
squirm verb： to?move?from?side?to?side?in anawkward?way because ofnervousness,?embarrassment, or?pain
（因緊張、尷尬或疼痛）動來動去，來回扭動
Nobody?spoke?for at least fiveminutes?and Rachel squirmed in herchair?with?embarrassment.至少有5分鐘誰也沒說話，雷切爾尷尬地在椅子上扭來扭去。
throng noun： a?crowd?or?large?group?ofpeople
人群；群眾
A?huge?throng had?gathered?around the?speaker.演講者周圍聚集了一大群人。
I tore the wrapping paper from Assef’s present and?tilted?the?book cover in the moonlight. It was a biography of Hitler. I threw?it amid a tangle of weeds.?I leaned against the neighbor’s wall, slid down to the ground. I?just sat in the dark for a while, knees drawn to my chest, looking?up at the stars, waiting for the night to be over.
tilt verb： to (cause to) move into asloping position
（使）傾斜
He tilted his?chair?backwards?and put his?feet?up on his?desk.他把椅子向后傾，雙腳擱在寫字臺上。
“Shouldn’t you be entertaining your guests?” a familiar voice?said. Rahim Khan was walking toward me along the wall.?“They don’t need me for that. Baba’s there, remember?” I said.?The ice in Rahim Khan’s drink clinked when he sat next to me. “I?didn’t know you drank.”
“Turns out I do,” he said.Elbowedme playfully. “But only on?the most important occasions.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
He tipped his drink to me and took a sip. He lit a cigarette,?one of the unfiltered Pakistani cigarettes he and Baba were always?smoking. “Did I ever tell you I was almost married once?”?“Really?” I said, smiling a little at the notion of Rahim Khan?getting married. I’d always thought of him as Baba’s quiet alter?ego, my writing mentor, my pal, the one who never forgot to bring?me a souvenir, a saughat, when he returned from a trip abroad.?But a husband? A father?
He nodded. “It’s true. I was eighteen. Her name was Homaira.?She was a Hazara, the daughter of our neighbor’s servants. She was?as beautiful as a pari, light brown hair, big?hazel?eyes ...she had?this laugh . . . I can still hear it sometimes.” He?twirled?his glass. “We?used to meet secretly in my father’s apple orchards, always after?midnight when everyone had gone to sleep. We’d walk under the?trees and I’d hold her hand . . . Am I embarrassing you, Amir jan?”
hazel adjective： (especially?of?eyes) greenish-brown or yellowish-brown incolour
（尤指眼睛）綠褐色的，黃褐色的
twirl verb： to (cause?to) give a?suddenquick?turn?or set of?turns?in acircle
（使）旋轉；（使）轉動；（使）纏繞
She?danced?and twirled?across?theroom.她在房間里轉著圈跳舞。
“A little,” I said.
“It won’t kill you,” he said, taking another?puff?. “Anyway, we?had this fantasy. We’d have a great, fancy wedding and invite family and friends from Kabul to Kandahar. I would build us a big?house, white with a?tiled patio?and large windows. We would plant?fruit trees in the garden and grow all sorts of flowers, have a lawn?for our kids to play on. On Fridays, after namaz at the mosque,?everyone would get together at our house for lunch and we’d eat in?the garden, under cherry trees, drink fresh water from the well.?Then tea with candy as we watched our kids play with their?cousins . . .”
puff noun： a?small?amount?of?smoke,air, or something that can?riseinto the?air?in a?small?cloud
一小口（煙霧），一小股（空氣）
Sean?blew?a puff?of?smoke?at hisreflection?in the?mirror.肖恩朝鏡中的自己噴了一口煙。
tiled adjective： (of a?surface)?covered?with?tiles
（表面）鋪瓦的，鋪磚的
The?kitchen?has a tiled?floor.廚房地面鋪了地磚。
patio noun： an?area?outside?a?house?with asolid?floor?but no?roof, used in good?weather?for?relaxing,eating, etc.
院子，天井；露臺，平臺
In the?summer?we have?breakfast?outon?the patio.夏天我們在外面露臺上吃早飯。
He took a long gulp of his scotch. Coughed. “You should have?seen the look on my father’s face when I told him. My mother?actually fainted. My sisters splashed her face with water. They?fannedher and looked at me as if I had?slit?her throat. My?brother Jalal actually went to fetch his hunting rifle before my?father stopped him.” Rahim Khan barked a bitter laughter. “It?was Homaira and me against the world. And I’ll tell you this,?Amir jan: In the end, the world always wins. That’s just the way?of things.”
slit verb： to make a long, straight,narrow cut in something
撕裂，切開；在…上開狹長口子
He slit?open?the?envelope?with aknife.他用刀將信封裁開。
“So what happened?”
“That same day, my father put Homaira and her family on a?lorry and sent them off to Hazarajat. I never saw her again.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Probably for the best, though,” Rahim Khan said, shrugging.
“She would have suffered. My family would have never accepted?her as an equal. You don’t order someone to polish your shoes one?day and call them ‘sister’ the next.” He looked at me. “You know,?you can tell me anything you want, Amir jan. Anytime.”
“I know,” I said uncertainly. He looked at me for a long time,?like he was waiting, his black?bottomless?eyes hinting at an unspoken secret between us. For a moment, I almost did tell him.
bottomless adjective： without a limit or end
無底的；極深的；深不可測的；無限的
The?generosity?of the?local?people?is bottomless.當地人熱情無比。
Almost told him everything, but then what would he think of me??He’d hate me, and rightfully.
“Here.” He handed me something. “I almost forgot. Happy?birthday.” It was a brown leather-bound notebook. I traced my fingers along the gold-colored?stitching?on the borders. I smelled the?leather. “For your stories,” he said. I was going to thank him when?something exploded and bursts of fire lit up the sky.
stitch verb： to sew two things together, or to repairsomething by sewing
縫；縫合；縫補This?button?needs?to be stitched backonto?my?shirt.這粒紐扣得縫回到我的襯衫上。
“Fireworks!”
We hurried back to the house and found the guests all standing in the yard, looking up to the sky. Kids?hooted?and screamed?with each crackle and whoosh. People cheered, burst into?applause each time flares?sizzled?and exploded into?bouquets?of?fire. Every few seconds, the backyard lit up in sudden flashes of?red, green, and yellow.
hoot verb： to make a?short?loud?highsound
發出短促響亮的聲音
She hooted her?horn?at?the?dog?in theroad.她向路中間的那條狗按響了喇叭。
sizzle verb： to make a?sound?like?foodcooking?in?hot?fat
發出（油炸食物般的）咝咝聲
The?sausages?are sizzling in the?pan.香腸在平底鍋里發出咝咝聲。
bouquet noun： a?group?of?flowers?that have been?fastened?together and attractively?arranged?so that they can be given as a?presentor?carried?on?formal?occasions花束
a bouquet?of?flowers一束花
In one of those brief bursts of light, I saw something I’ll never?forget: Hassan serving drinks to Assef and Wali from a silver platter. The light winked out, a hiss and a crackle, then another?flicker?of orange light: Assef grinning,?kneading?Hassan in the?chest with a knuckle.
Then, mercifully, darkness.
flicker noun： a?situation?in which a?light?is sometimes?bright?and sometimes?weak
（光的）搖曳，閃爍
the?soft?flicker of?candlelight燭光的輕輕搖曳
knead verb： to?press?something,?especiallya?mixture?for making?bread,firmly?and?repeatedly?with thehands?and?fingers
揉，捏（尤指面）
Knead the?dough?until?smooth.把面團揉勻為止。
這兒應該為像揉捏面團一樣肆意揉捏Hassan
Summary
Amir really regretted, but he used wrong ways to deal with.
Many may believe that it was the incidence in the corner that broke these beloved friends. From my perspective, the harassment was just the beginning of their inevitable alienation. What he had done after the harassment contributes to their tragic ending.
In fact, Hassan did not blame Amir. From the descriptions Hassan was still consistent with his loyalty and great care to Amir. But poor Amir, who could not overcome his weakness from his negative act, in turn became even more passive. How he wished Hassan stop taking so care about him so that his compunction could ease a little. He used ripe pomegranate to hit Hassan, sending him a message that your master was a bad person who did not deserve you to show this much respect. Nonetheless, Hassan was still not fight back.
It was Hassan’s purity and constant love that makes Amir fail to forgive himself. If Hassan had fought back or stopped being so nice to Amir, maybe Amir would carry less burden. But the fact is they could not go back to their earlier stage anymore.
