美国国家公共电台 NPR A Mother And Daughter Reflect On Over 2 Years Of Homelessness

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now time for StoryCorps. Ten years ago, Sandy Baker¹ left her troubled marriage, scraped together what money she could and checked into a motel with her teenage daughter, Ashley. They were homeless for the next 2 1/2 years. Recently, they came to a StoryCorps booth in Dallas to talk about that time.

SANDY BAKER: One of the first places that we lived was a InTown Suites² hotel, and there was nothing sweet about it.

ASHLEY BAKER: (Laughter).

S BAKER: It was crazy bad.

A BAKER: I woke up the next day, and it was my 16th birthday. And, you know, I really tried to make the best of it.

S BAKER: Our food budget was about $12 every two weeks. And I remember seeing your spine³ and...

A BAKER: My ribs⁴.

S BAKER: ...And your ribs. And twice a day, Sam's Club and Costco would have samples. And so we would get a shopping cart, and we would pretend like we were shoppers.

A BAKER: Shopping.

S BAKER: And we would go anywhere from three to five times a week.

A BAKER: And I would get dirty looks.

S BAKER: Yeah.

A BAKER: Like, why are you coming back? You already had some.

School was rough. My parents were divorced. I was homeless. Everything just came crashing down. I wanted to die.

S BAKER: Yeah. We'd stayed in the hotel for about nine months, but we ended up living in a tent. And trying to put up the tent that first night...

A BAKER: The ground was hard as concrete. Trying to put it up...

S BAKER: Trying to drive those stakes in the ground...

A BAKER: It's just getting later and later. I said, mama, I could sleep in the car if I had to. And you went, no. We are doing this.

S BAKER: We are doing this. I felt like this was not going to be my moment that I failed. I was going to provide shelter for you that night, and we were going to get it done. And the rest we would figure out. And we did.

A BAKER: I can't believe that we've made it through - what? - 10 years later. It's definitely humbled⁵ me.

S BAKER: When everything's taken away from you, what you're left with is...

A BAKER: What really matters.

S BAKER: ...What you need. What really matters.

A BAKER: The people that love us the most.

(SOUNDBITE OF BRYAN COPELAND'S "ELEGIAC MIX")

MARTIN: That was Ashley Baker talking with her mother, Sandy Baker, in Dallas, Texas. Ashley and Sandy now have their own apartment. This year, Ashley graduated from college, and Sandy now works to provide housing for others in need. And if you're spending time with loved ones this Thanksgiving weekend, don't forget to record a family conversation using the StoryCorps app. Details are at thegreatlisten.org.

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

3 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

4 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

5 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。