美国国家公共电台 NPR From Afghanistan To U.S., A Lesson In Love — One Thanksgiving At A Time

From Afghanistan To U.S., A Lesson In Love — One Thanksgiving At A Time

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

It is Friday, time for StoryCorps. And we have a story about giving back. Saboor Sahely grew up in Afghanistan with a large extended family. In 1978, he decided³ to move to the United States. And here he talks with his youngest daughter, Jessica, about coming to America and the Afghan traditions he brought with him.

SABOOR SAHELY: I vividly⁴ remember there was a lot of happiness and joy in eastern Afghanistan. If there was a wedding, the entire villages would show up. And you felt very welcome to going to each other's homes. And we knew who had what for dinner every night. And if we didn't like what we had for dinner, we always went to the neighbor's house.

JESSICA SAHELY: (Laughter).

SAHELY: So the summers are very, very hot. Everyone slept on the rooftop. And I vividly remember this old lady next door to us that would talk every night about her grandson, a student in the United States. That's when I heard the name of a country called America.

I kept thinking, you know, I'm going to figure out a way to get to this far-away, magic land someday. Then Afghanistan basically plunged⁵ into a long civil war. And my father wanted me to leave the country because he knew that things are going to get worse.

SAHELY: So what did you do for work here?

SAHELY: One Sunday, I came to this restaurant. I walk in there. And the dishwasher hadn't shown up. And the manager asked me, when can I start? And I said, right away. I did that for a few months. And he moved me on, as I became a cook and then assistant manager.

After that, we opened the restaurant. And we've treated every single customer as if they were part of our family. We have many regulars that eat three meals a day in our restaurant. And if they don't show up, we call them to make sure they're OK. We go to their funerals. We go to their weddings. These people have put shoes on my children's feet. And they deserve the best.

So we should turn around and give something back every single chance we get. You know, my grandmother - she knew that most of the village did not have enough to eat. So whatever we had for dinner every night - she'd made sure that you had a plateful that I had to carry to different homes.

So when I was in a position to give something back, we thought, on Thanksgiving Day, we're going to open our doors to anybody and everybody. Last year, for instance, we had over 800 people that come to the door. We're very, very lucky. And I don't take that for granted at all.

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INSKEEP: That's Saboor Sahely and his daughter Jessica in Logan, Utah. This is the 26th year they provided free Thanksgiving dinner to their community. Their StoryCorps conversation will be archived at the Library of Congress.

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 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。

4 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。