20.Water

Water

He is born that third night of storm.
That little creek¹, descended² from ancient lake, remembers its history and rises. At the first wet touch, the sleepers³ in the valley dream the same dream: Fish so thick they block the light. Sea grass taller than trees.
At the edge of the valley, on higher ground, Ma thrashes on a ruined mattress⁴. For six months Ba has praised the baby for its headstrong nature. For what made it a boy. Now he curses it. He takes Ma’s hand. She stares at him with eyes so shiny with pain, it looks like hate.
Ba leaves to fetch the doctor. After a look at Ma’s pulsing belly⁵, Sam leaves too. Saying something about gathering⁶ tools from the shed.
“Lucy girl,” Ma growls⁷ when they’re alone. Her eyes roll back, teeth a rictus. These are her first words since the jackals left, though her cheek healed so quick it’s as if it were never injured. “Talk to me. Distract me. Anything.” Her stomach ripples⁸. “Shuo!”
“It was me,” Lucy says before she can lose her nerve. “I took gold out of the house—just to show the teacher, for his research—I was going to bring it back—it was just a speck—and, and, I fell and I lost it.”
As she has countless⁹ times before, Ma holds Lucy’s secret in silence.
“I mean,” Lucy whispers into the terrible quiet, “I think those men who broke in took it. I saw someone. When I fell. It was all my fault, Ma.”
Ma starts to laugh. Laughter that’s closer kin¹⁰ to rage than joy, laughter like a consuming. Lucy thinks again of fire. But what’s being burned?
“Bie guan,” Ma says. She catches her breath, throat spasming as it did when she first took sick with the baby. “It doesn’t matter, Lucy girl. What does it matter who it was? They all hate us. Bu neng blame yourself for our bad luck. That’s what passes for justice in this gou shi piece of land.”
Ma points to the wrecked¹¹ door, and past—to the hills with faceless men lurking¹² in every house, from every lit window. Ma’s hate is big enough for all of it.
“I’m sorry,” Lucy says again.
“Hen jiu yi qian, I did worse without intending. When I was young, I thought I knew what was right for everyone. You remind me of myself. Bellyful of anger.”
But that’s Sam. Lucy’s not angry. She’s good.
“Gao su wo, Lucy girl, my smart one, why didn’t your ba listen to me when the men came? I’ve been trying to figure. Zhi yao give those men a few pouches¹⁴, they would’ve left us alone. I know their kind. Lazy. You heard me tell him, dui bu dui?”
Ma wrings¹⁶ Lucy’s hand. Lucy can only say, miserably¹⁷, “You spoke¹⁸ too quick, Ma. I didn’t understand you.”
Ma blinks. “You didn’t—understand me? Wo de nu er. My own daughter and she can’t understand me.”
Another wave of pain curls Ma’s body like a fist. When she loosens, her voice is less certain.
“Mei wen ti,” Ma pants. “Not too late to learn. Yi ding get you into a proper school. Back home.”
“Or—Ma, what if we went East instead? Teacher Leigh says there’s better schools there. It’s civilized²⁰. And I’ve already learned some of the books  .  .  .”
Lightning flashes. Once, twice in quick succession. When it passes, Lucy blinks dazzled eyes. The room is left dimmer, as Ma’s face is dimmer. Gone the anger. What remains²¹ is the sadness that stalks Ma’s beauty. The ache of her.
“It’s got its claws in you,” Ma says. Her fingers dig into Lucy’s hand. “This land’s claimed you and your sister both, shi ma?”
That’s what Ba says. The jackals and their law say different. How’s Lucy to know when she’s never lived any other place? She can’t answer.
“You’re hurting me, Ma.” Ma’s hand is smaller than Ba’s. Delicate when gloved. But its grip is stronger. “You’re hurting me!”
“Ni ji de, what you said when we went to visit your teacher?” Ma lets go of Lucy. She squeezes the pouch¹³ inside her dress. Though it must be empty now, though the jackals found nothing inside, Ma seems to draw from it some comfort. “You wanted to go alone. You said, you didn’t need—” Ma’s voice breaks. She brushes Lucy’s cheek. A touch so familiar that Lucy can, and will for years, call it up by closing her eyes. Ma holds Lucy a long moment, then lets go. They hear thudding from the toolshed.
“Go help Sam,” Ma says. “Li kai wo, nu er.”
Those are the last words she speaks to Lucy.
—
By the time Ba returns without the doctor, Ma has lost all words. Lucy and Sam kneel by the mattress, dampened with sweat and strange water, but Ma doesn’t see them.
Ba roars. He drags Lucy and Sam out to the shed and tells them to stay put. They fall asleep entangled²² for warmth. The wind shrieks²³ through their dreams, and Ma—
They wake to an impossible sun.
Lucy stands. The roof of the shed is missing. Below, the valley has birthed a lake. Gone the creek, gone the other miners’ shacks²⁵. On the South side only roofs poke¹⁹ up. People huddle²⁶ atop. Their shack²⁴, cut off from the rest, pushed to the edge of the valley on undesirable²⁷ land, is the only place untouched.
And then Ba is striding over, reaching down for them. His chest: a red smell. Mud, and blood.
“The baby was born dead. I buried him. And your ma—”
Lucy opens her mouth. This time Ba doesn’t call her da zui. Doesn’t tell her to hush²⁸. He claps a hand to her lips. Both of them go still as the lake water. His calluses scrape her teeth.
“Not another word. None of your damn questions. Ting wo?”
Ba leads them to the edge of the lake. His hands are hard as he pushes them into the water. There is panic on Sam’s face, a foamed²⁹ thrashing. Lucy floats easily; she is hollow. She helps Sam. Ba isn’t watching either of them. He himself stays under the water a long, long time, teaching some kind of lesson. About survival, most like. Or fear. Or waiting. He won’t ever say.
The Ba that surfaces at last, wet sluicing³⁰ off him, is a different man. Lucy won’t quite grasp it for a few weeks more, when the fists come out.
—
What they lose in that three-day storm:
The roof of the shed.
The dresses.
The baby.
The medicines.
The three storybooks.
Ba’s laugh.
Ba’s hope.
The prospecting³¹ tools.
The gold in the house.
The gold in the hills.
All talk of gold.
Ma.
And though they don’t know it for years, they lose Sam’s girlhood. Swept out, scoured³² clean. Disappeared the way Ma’s body disappeared. The Sam who swims out of the lake doesn’t wring¹⁵ that long hair dry, doesn’t brush it a hundred careful strokes. Sam cuts it. Mourning, Sam says, though Sam’s eyes glitter. The washed-clean sun fierce off Sam’s shorn head. One brother lost, another gained: that’s the night that Sam is born.

1 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 sleepers   

n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环

参考例句：

• He trod quietly so as not to disturb the sleepers. 他轻移脚步，以免吵醒睡着的人。 来自辞典例句
• The nurse was out, and we two sleepers were alone. 保姆出去了，只剩下我们两个瞌睡虫。 来自辞典例句

4 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

5 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 growls   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• The dog growls at me. 狗向我狂吠。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The loudest growls have echoed around emerging markets and commodities. 熊嚎之声响彻新兴的市场与商品。 来自互联网

8 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

9 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

10 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

11 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

12 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

14 pouches   

n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋

参考例句：

• Pouches are a peculiarity of marsupials. 腹袋是有袋动物的特色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under my eyes the pouches were heavy. 我眼睛下的眼袋很深。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 wring   

n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭

参考例句：

• My socks were so wet that I had to wring them.我的袜子很湿，我不得不拧干它们。
• I'll wring your neck if you don't behave!你要是不规矩，我就拧断你的脖子。

16 wrings   

绞( wring的第三人称单数 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• And so that interview Between Lucie and Sydney Carton has a pathos that wrings our hearts. 因此，露西和西德尼·卡登之间的会晤带有一种使我们感到揪心的凄楚的气氛。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The girl wrings her dress dry. 这个女孩子扭乾她的衣服。

17 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

20 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

21 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

22 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

25 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

26 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

27 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

28 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

29 foamed   

泡沫的

参考例句：

• The beer foamed up and overflowed the glass. 啤酒冒着泡沫，溢出了玻璃杯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The man foamed and stormed. 那人大发脾气，暴跳如雷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

30 sluicing   

v.冲洗( sluice的现在分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸

参考例句：

• The ship's crew was sluicing down the deck. 船员们正在冲洗甲板。
• An attendant was sluicing out the changing rooms. 一位服务员正在冲洗更衣室。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 prospecting   

n.探矿

参考例句：

• The prospecting team ploughed their way through the snow. 探险队排雪前进。
• The prospecting team has traversed the length and breadth of the land. 勘探队踏遍了祖国的山山水水。

32 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。