Chapter 37

At its best, life can be so simple and good. As it should be. On Saturday morning, Nana and I packed up the kids and we headed over to their favorite place in all of Washington, the huge and wonderful and occasionally elevating Smithsonian complex. We were all in agreement that the Smithsonian, or ‘Smitty’, as Jannie has called it since she was a very little girl, was where we wanted to be today.
The only issues were where to go first, and, ultimately, where to go during the day.
Since Nana would be there for only a few hours with little Alex, we let her pick out the day’s first stop.
‘Let me guess,’ Jannie said, and rolled her eyes, ‘The Museum of African Art?’
Nana Mama shook a finger at Jannie. ‘No, Ms Weisenheimer.  Actually, I’d like to go to the Arts and Industries Building. That’s my choice for today, young lady. Surprised? Shocked that Nana isn’t the creature of habit you thought she was?’
Damon piped up. ‘Nana wants to see the History of Black Photographers.  I heard about it at our school. They got cool black cowboy pictures. Isn’t that right, Nana?’
‘And much, much more,’ said Nana. ‘You’ll see, Damon. You’ll be proud and amazed, and maybe stimulated¹ to take a few more photographs than you do. You too, Jannie. And Alex as well. Nobody takes pictures in this family except me.’
So we went to the Arts and Industries Building first and it was very good, as it always is. Inside, the dull roar of air-conditioning and the cries of a gospel album mixed nicely. We saw the black cowboys, and also a lot of exceptional photos from the Harlem Renaissance².  We stood in front of a twelve-foot photo of ambitious-looking black men in suits, ties and top hats taken from a bird’s eye view. A stunning³ shot that would be hard to forget.
‘If I saw that scene on the street,’ Jannie said,/! would definitely take the picture.’
After Arts and Industries we appeased⁴ Jannie and returned to the Einstein Planetarium⁵, where we watched And a Star to Steer⁶ Her’for the fourth or fifth time, or maybe the sixth or seventh time, but who’s counting. Nana took little Alex home for his nap then, and we trekked⁷ on over to the Air and Space Museum. Now began the portion of our journey that Jannie called ‘Damon’s macho planes-and-trains trip’.
But even Jannie enjoyed Air and Space. The Wright Brothers’plane floated high above us, suspended by long wires, and it was magnificent light spruce beams and stretched white sheets of canvas. To its right, the Breitling Orbiter 3, another important page from aeronautic⁸ history - the first nonstop balloon flight around the world. And then - ‘one small step for man’ - the thirteen-thousand-pound Apollo 11. You can be cynical⁹ about all this or go with it. I choose to go with it. Makes life a lot easier and more rewarding.  After we had studied several of the aeronautic miracles, Damon insisted we catch Mission to Mir on the IMAX screen at the Langley Theater.
‘I’m going to outer space one day,’ he announced.
‘I have news,’Jannie said,’you’re already there.’
In honor of Nana, we stopped at the Museum of African Art and the kids got a kick out of the masks and ceremonial clothes, but especially the old currency exhibit - cowrie shells, bracelets¹⁰, and rings. It was incredibly quiet inside, spacious¹¹, colorful, cool as could be. The last stop of the day was to see the Dinosaur¹² House at the Museum of Natural History. But then both Jannie and Damon said we had to see the tarantula feeding at the Orkin Insect Zoo. There was a sign on walls painted to resemble a rain forest: ‘Insects won’t inherit the earth - they own it now.’
‘You’re in luck/Jannie teased her brother/Your kind rules.’ Finally, around six, we crossed Maryland Avenue to the Mall. The kids were quiet, tired and hungry by then - and so was I. We ate a picnic supper under spreading shade trees at the foot of the Capitol.  It was the best day I’d had in weeks.
No calls from anybody.

1 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

2 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

3 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

4 appeased   

安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争）

参考例句：

• His hunger could only be appeased by his wife. 他的欲望只有他的妻子能满足。
• They are the more readily appeased. 他们比较容易和解。

5 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

6 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

7 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

8 aeronautic   

adj.航空（学）的

参考例句：

• Something akin to panic swept the National Aeronautic and Space Agency. 一种近乎恐慌的心情席卷了国家宇航局。 来自辞典例句
• They are widely used in electronic instruments aeronautic instruments etc. 此类轴承在各类电子仪器中得以广泛运用。 来自互联网

9 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

10 bracelets   

n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The lamplight struck a gleam from her bracelets. 她的手镯在灯光的照射下闪闪发亮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On display are earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from jade, amber and amethyst. 展出的有用玉石、琥珀和紫水晶做的耳环、项链和手镯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

12 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。