美国国家公共电台 NPR They Came To America And Found Love. But First, They Found 'Love' In A Dictionary

They Came To America And Found Love. But First, They Found 'Love' In A Dictionary

play pause stop mute¹ unmute max volume 00:0002:54repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: 

Time now for StoryCorps. This week, a story about immigrants that has nothing to do with walls or border security - it's a love story. It starts in 1989 when a woman named Tabinda took a job as a housekeeper³ in a New York City hotel. She had recently come to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. She caught the eye of Tariq Sheikh, who worked at the front desk. He's from Pakistan and, like Tabinda, was a recent immigrant himself.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Do you remember the first time you saw me?

TARIQ SHEIKH: You have yellow gloves on, and I could not say, hello, hi - nothing.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Oh, I thought he was rude and mean. I said, oh, my God, this guy don't even say hi. You are just staring at me (laughter).

TARIQ SHEIKH: Yeah because you was the girl who was in my dreams.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Yeah, but I didn't have that dream.

TARIQ SHEIKH: You remember I ask you, do you want to go with me for coffee? You gave me answer after two days.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Because I didn't know how to speak English.

TARIQ SHEIKH: I remember you have a small dictionary in your pocket, a Spanish-to-English. And on, like, a paper...

TABINDA SHEIKH: Napkin.

TARIQ SHEIKH: ...Napkin, you write, OK, yes.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Language is not a barrier for the love (laughter).

TARIQ SHEIKH: After that, I bought a yellow cab. I was a driver, you know? One day I said, you know your address where you live. Let me drop you your home. You say, I live in New Jersey⁴ - just New Jersey.

TABINDA SHEIKH: (Laughter).

TARIQ SHEIKH: I say, oh, my God, today I going to have a long night. When I went there, it was YMCA. I say, why you don't tell me you live in YMCA? You say, I don't know. YMCA's, like, a famous thing (laughter).

TABINDA SHEIKH: I didn't have no family here. He didn't have no family here.

TARIQ SHEIKH: Yeah.

TABINDA SHEIKH: And when I call back home and I say, I am in love; I have a gordito. They say, gordito? Chubby⁵ man? You don't like fat men.

TARIQ SHEIKH: I was not that fat, just chubby, yes.

TABINDA SHEIKH: I know, sweetheart. But for us, this was fat.

TARIQ SHEIKH: Yeah. So I was working, like, 72 hours continuously. I was very tired. And I remember there was a park over there nearby. We went, and there was a bench. And I put my head on your leg, and I slept.

TABINDA SHEIKH: I don't even want to move. If I move, he's going to wake up. It was beautiful looking the moon, the stars.

TARIQ SHEIKH: I woke up morning time, and you were still sitting there. And I said, what? That was the moment I fell in love with you.

TABINDA SHEIKH: Love is a wonderful thing. This is my man, and we're going to be married 23 years now.

TARIQ SHEIKH: She's telling me it's 23 years. For me, it's like yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MONTAGNE: That's Tariq Sheikh with his wife, Tabinda Sheikh, at StoryCorps in New York City. Their conversation is archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and featured on the StoryCorps podcast.

1 mute   

n.哑子，默音字母，弱音器；adj.哑的，无声的，沉默的；vt.减音，减弱；vi.（鸟）排泄

参考例句：

• He is mute on the subject of social system.他对社会制度的问题保持沉默。
• Her daughter was mute after a serious illness.她的女儿在一场重病之后失去了说话能力。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 chubby   

adj.丰满的，圆胖的

参考例句：

• He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。
• The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。