Home 家 by 张悦然

“Qiu Luo had always anticipated that she would have insomnia¹ on the final night. This, however, was not the case…” Set in 2008, Home tells the story of a confused, middle class young couple living in Beijing. The two partners deserted² each other coincidentally on the same day, without notifying each other or anyone else of their departures, embarking³ on their respective journeys of self-exploration. They unknowingly left their home to their maid, a young woman from Sichuan, the Chinese province that was hit by a devastating⁴ earthquake later that year. It remains⁵ to be seen how this bewildering story of suspense⁶ and coincidence unfolds… Home has been written by Zhang Yueran, one of the most famous Chinese writers born in 1980s. Translated by Geng Song, the short story has been selected from the book The Sound of Salt Forming – Short Stories by the Post-'80s Generation in China, published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 2016.

1 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 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。

6 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。