THERE CAN BE MIRACLES
When I was six years old, my mother moved my brother and me into a tiny, nondescripthouse in Northport, Long Island. It sat sadly atop a stack of long, winding¹ concrete steps.
The dull little structure had a few tiny rooms running along either side of a steep,creaky staircase, which led up to even smaller rooms. My mother was often working orout at night, so Morgan was left to babysit me. He had no skills to look after a little girl.
He would leave me alone and go run wild with his teenage friends. One night, while leftalone, I was watching a special on 20/20 about children being kidnapped — totallyinappropriate for a six-year-old. And it so happened that at that moment, some kids in theneighborhood decided² to throw rocks at the window. Their voices broke through the darknight, chanting, “Mariah, we’re gonna get you!” I was terrified by the news, by the kids,by the night, by the house, by my absolute aloneness.
I wanted my brother to love me. I was impressed by his strong energy, but it alsoscared me. This little house couldn’t possibly bear the weight of all of our pain and fear—especially my brother’s. It was such a raw time. I was a scared little girl, my mother wasprofoundly heartbroken, and my brother—well, let’s just say he was more than simply anangry teen, especially in high school. He’d outgrown³ anger by middle school and hadgraduated to full-on rage. As a young teen, my brother was bursting with creative andathletic promise. But earlier in his life he had been bullied⁴ and beat up for having adisability and being a mixed-race kid. The visible difference he wore on his skin alwaysdistanced him from the white boys in Long Island and made him a target. Children can bemean, but when ordinary meanness is combined with racism⁵, it takes on a peculiarbrutality, one very often sanctioned by (and learned from) adults. My brother most likelycaught some hell from the Black kids too. I’m sure his distance from their kind ofdetectable Blackness, the kind that gets you roughed up by the cops for nothing, stirred upa resentment6

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1 winding
n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈
参考例句：
A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。 The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 outgrown
长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过
参考例句：
She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。 The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。

4 bullied
adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。 The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 racism
n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)
参考例句：
He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。 Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

6 resentment
n.怨愤，忿恨
参考例句：
All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。 She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

7 demons
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念
参考例句：
demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼 He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 outrage
n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒
参考例句：
When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。 We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

10 outdated
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。

11 inadequate
adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的
参考例句：
The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。 She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

12 catastrophe
n.大灾难，大祸
参考例句：
I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。 This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

13 tuned
adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调
参考例句：
The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。 The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 blur
n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚
参考例句：
The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。 If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

15 punctuated
v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物
参考例句：
Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。 The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 escalated
v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大
参考例句：
The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。 The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

17 hurled
v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂
参考例句：
He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。 The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

19 crossfire
n.被卷进争端
参考例句：
They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。 When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

20 mere
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。 It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

21 electrified
v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋
参考例句：
The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。 The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 stiffened
加强的
参考例句：
He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。 She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

23 fixed
adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
参考例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？ Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

24 disarm
v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和
参考例句：
The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。 He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

25 rigid
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。 The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

26 eternity
n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷
参考例句：
The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。 Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

27 collapsed
adj.倒塌的
参考例句：
Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。 The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

28 crumpled
adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。 She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

29 stomped
v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲，重步走出办公室。 She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门，暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句

30 eerie
adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的
参考例句：
It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。 I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

31 scurried
v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。 It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 gush
v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发
参考例句：
There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。 There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

33 realization
n.实现；认识到，深刻了解
参考例句：
We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。 He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

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