我的童年 / My Childhood

我的童年像大名鼎鼎的中国作家鲁迅在《朝花夕拾》写的那样,“童年是一条河,荡漾着美好的回忆;童年是一幅画,描绘多彩的生活;童年是一首歌,欢唱难忘的幸福。噢,美好的童年!”

窗外淅淅沥沥地下着雨,窗内一个失意的我正在练习着与她心情格格不入的贝多芬写的钢琴曲–《欢乐颂》。下一秒,突然间倾盘大雨起来了,我终于因为沉淀了好长时间的难过而忍不住哭了。因为这次的英语考试把我弄得很不开心,而我又总是在学习上喜欢争强好胜。从此,我总是认认真真地预习,全神贯注地听着每一节课,坚持不懈地做每天的功课。考完三年级的期末考,我才亲身体会到“一分耕耘,一分收获“的道理。因为我不但英语单科成绩全班第一名,而且语文、数学和英语总分也是全班第一名。当我从容不迫地走上讲台领奖状的时候,听着同学们热烈的掌声,从老师的手里接过那一张张令我满意的奖状,心像是喝了蜜一样地高兴着。自这一刻起,我变得更加热爱学习。日复一日,年复一年,我觉得学习会给我带来一种快乐。这不仅仅是因为获得奖状和别人的掌声让我感到快乐,而是因为我每一次同完课后都学习到了新的知识,对这个世界有了新的认知而得到的快乐。在这些不断学习的日子里,我也不断地创造着我童年美好的回忆。

为了汲取更多的知识,我便喜欢上了阅读。记得我阅读完海伦·凯勒写的《假如给我三天光明》,我学会了珍惜自己健全的身体、与不断生活中的困难作斗争、感谢父母对的爱给我的生活带来的影响和如何在逆境中成长等等。当我阅读到曹雪芹的《红楼梦》里黛玉葬花的时候,被她感人肺腑的葬花诗句而深深地打动了。黛玉在大观园里看过花开花落的过程,然后联想到自己的身世才做了一首诗叫《葬花吟》。我最喜欢的两句是:“花谢花飞花满天,红消香断有谁怜?”和“一年三百六十日,风刀霜剑严相逼。”看到第一句,我被黛玉的才华横溢所折服了,也让我为这部文学作品中的女人们的各种悲惨命运而感到伤感和怜惜。当我读到《葬花吟》的第二句,我感受到她在贾家寄人篱下的生活的难过,这苦日子正在一天一天地摧残着她这朵花。她的《葬花吟》让我觉得有她具备着刘禹锡,“可以调素琴,阅金经”的高尚情操。我觉得是这首诗让我认识了更全面的黛玉。而《活着》这本书虽然有一些沉重,但是让我懂得了每个人的活法都不一样,存在着不一样的意义,也让我赋予了我活着的意义。正是这些阅读,让我体会到了童年生活的丰富多

彩。

再说,我的童年回忆充满了歌声。因为我喜欢聆听各种各样的歌曲并学会如何唱歌,感受它们给我童年生活带来不一样的享受。例如:我上音乐课学习的第一首歌曲《春天在哪里》让我感受到春天的美丽,学会善于从观察生活中,发现这其中的美。歌曲《让我们荡起双桨》,不仅让我感受到这歌词中描写的北海秀丽的风光,更让我体会到孩子们划船愉悦的心情,以及对国家的感激之情。还有就是在学习唱《茉莉花》的过程中,我既学会了热爱大自然的美,又学会了如何热爱生活。全是这些歌曲,使我体会到这幸福的生活。

我的童年,多么美好!这些由学习、阅读和唱歌组成的点点滴滴的童年回忆,让我每每想起,都恋恋不舍。童年像是一道彩虹,使我的脑海中充满了五颜六色的回忆;童年像是太阳,使我的人生充满温暖;童年像是天上的繁星,使我的人生更加闪耀。

Translation

My childhood is like the famous Chinese writer Lu Xun wrote in Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, “Childhood is a river, rippling with beautiful memories; childhood is a painting, depicting colorful life; childhood is a song, joyously singing of unforgettable happiness. Oh, sweet childhood!”

Outside the window, the rain fell gently, while inside, a frustrated me practiced Beethoven’s piano “Ode to Joy”, which was completely out of tune with my mood. The next second, suddenly, it began pouring rain, and I finally couldn’t help crying because of the sadness that had been accumulating for a long time. Because this English test made me very unhappy, and I always like to be competitive in my studies. From then on, I always previewed carefully, listened to each lesson with rapt attention, and persisted in doing my homework every day. After the final exam of the third year, I realized the truth of “no pain, no gain”. I was not only top of my  English class, but also ranked first in my year in Chinese, mathematics and English. When I walked calmly up to the podium to receive the awards, listening to the warm applause from the students, and receiving the satisfying certificates from the teacher one after another, my heart was as happy as drinking honey. From this moment on, I became more passionate about learning. Day after day, year after year, I felt that learning would bring me a kind of happiness. This was not only because I enjoyed receiving awards and applause from others, but also because,  with each class, I learned new knowledge and gained new understanding of the world. During these days of continuous learning, I was also constantly creating good childhood memories.

In order to acquire more knowledge, I fell in love with reading. I remember, after reading If You Give Me Three Days of Light by Helen Keller, I learned to cherish my healthy body, fight against constant difficulties in life, and thank my parents for their influence on my life. And also how to grow in adversity and so on. When I read about Daiyu burying flowers in Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber, I was deeply moved by her touching poems about burying flowers. Daiyu watched the process of flowers blooming and falling in the Grand View Garden, and then thought of her own life experience and wrote a poem called “The Song of Burying Flowers”. Two of my favorite lines are: “Flowers wither, flowers fly, and the sky is full of flowers, who will have pity when the red disappears?” and “Three hundred and sixty days a year, wind, knife, frost, and sword are fierce.” I was impressed by Daiyu’s brilliance, and it

also made me feel sadness and pity for the tragic fate of the women in this literary work. The second sentence made me feel the sadness of her life under the Jia’s family’s roof. Like a flower, these hard times are slowly destroying her day by day. Her “Burrying Flowers” made me feel that she has the noble sentiment of Liu Yuxi who “can tune the plain qin and read the golden scriptures”. I think this poem made me understand Daiyu more comprehensively. Although the book “To Live” is a bit heavy, it made me understand that everyone lives in their own way and has their own meaning of life, and helped me find new meaning in my own existence. It was through these readings that I came to appreciate how colorful my childhood life was.

In the end, my childhood memories are filled with songs and singing. Because I like to listen to all kinds of songs and learn how to sing, I feel they brought a different kind of enjoyment to my childhood life. For example: The first song I learned called “Where is Spring”, which I learned in music class, helped me feel the beauty of spring, and taught me to be adept at observing life and discovering it’s beauty. The song “Let’s Swing Our Oars” not only made me feel the beautiful scenery of the North Sea described in the lyrics, but also made me feel the joy of the children rowing and their gratitude toward the country. Also, in the process of learning to sing “Jasmine”, I not only learned to love the beauty of nature, but also learned how to love life. All these songs make me realize all the happiness in my life.

How wonderful my childhood was! These fragments of childhood memories composed of learning, reading and singing make me nostalgic every time I think of them. Childhood is like a rainbow, filling me with colorful memories; childhood is like the sun, filling my life with warmth; childhood is like stars in the sky, filling my life with its shining light.

Rose Snyder

Rose is a senior at WWU Graduating from the Chinese Language Program in 2023.

妈妈和女儿一起去购物 / Mother and Daughter Go Shopping Together

凯琳的妈妈刚才接了她,她们现在开车去购物中心购物。

妈妈:凯琳,大学上课怎么样?都还好吗?

凯琳:我两个语言课都很好,但是希腊神话课不太好。

妈妈:真的吗?为什么呀?

凯琳:因为在上课的时候,虽然老师说的我都听得懂,但是下课以后我已经忘了。所以我考试考得不太好。

妈妈:哦,那加油!我相信你!我知道你很聪明,不要紧张,好吗?

凯琳:好,谢谢妈妈。

妈妈:你说过你两门语言课都很好,难不难?

凯琳:都难,但是我觉得非常好玩。因为我学中文学了五年了, 这个中文课不太难。每天我学新的语法,还有上课的时候老师说很多中文。日文课比中文课难,因为我刚开始学,所以当然难, 但还是很好玩!

妈妈:太好了!

到了购物中心的时候。

凯琳:这个购物中心这么大!你想先去哪儿?

妈妈:这购物中心有很多名牌的店,像 Lululemon,Hollister,Altar’d State,什么的。我觉得我们应该先去 Lululemon。

凯琳:好!我喜欢 Lululemon。

在购物中心看衣服。

妈妈:凯琳,你看,这顶帽子好看!你觉得呢?

凯琳:嗯,真时髦!多少钱?

妈妈:帽子现在打八折,就三十块。我觉得价钱不错啊!

凯琳:这价钱是不错!我也喜欢这套运动服,样子,大小和质量都很合适。

妈妈:我同意,而且是纯棉的。我买给你,无论贵不贵,我都买。

凯琳:真的吗? 谢谢,你好厉害!

妈妈:不用谢!我是你的妈妈,送给你。你还想去哪个店?

凯琳:我想去 Converse 店!

妈妈:但你已经有这么多鞋子,你为什么要更多?

凯琳:因为我想要各个不一样颜色的鞋,然后我的鞋子和衬衫都搭配。

妈妈:哎,你好麻烦。Converse 店在这边,来吧。

凯琳:哇塞!有这么多鞋!这个Converse店是最大的。还有每个东西都大六折!

妈妈:你为什么喜欢 Converse?

凯琳:因为 Converse 鞋子的质量很好,而且又时髦又好看。哎!这双鞋子的颜色好看。

妈妈:我让你选两双鞋,好不好?

凯琳:好啊!那我想买蓝色的和绿色的。

妈妈:好。你想不想去Alter’d State?我知道你喜欢那个地方。

凯琳:我们可以去,我喜欢,但是找到合适的大小有点难。

妈妈:没事儿,我帮你。

凯琳:这条裙子好看呐!但是有点短。

妈妈:我觉得那条裙子太短。最近很冷,你得买长的裙子。要不然容易感冒。

凯琳:你说的对,那我不买裙子,就买暖和的衣服。

店员:请问你买衣服的标准是什么?

凯琳:我买衣服的标准第一是样子好不好,第二是髦不时髦,第三是质量怎么样,第四是舒不舒服。无论是不是名牌,还有贵不贵,我都不在乎。

店员:好,那这个夹克怎么样?

凯琳:夹克好看,还有颜色不错,质量也好,我买。

店员:太好!请来收银机。

妈妈:你要我买吗?

凯琳:不用,我自己买。

店员:夹克大九折,一共九十九块九毛九。付现金还是刷卡?

凯琳:我刷卡,谢谢。

Translation

Katelyn’s mother just picked her up, they’re driving to the mall.

Mom: Katelyn, how has college been going? Everything good?

Katelyn: My two language classes are going super well! But my Greek Mythology class, not so much.

Mom: Really?How come?

Katelyn: Because during class, even though I understand what the professor is saying, once class ends, I’ve already forgotten everything. So I don’t do too well on tests.

Mom: Oh, well good luck! I have faith in you. I know you’re very smart, don’t be nervous, ok?

Katelyn: Ok, thank you mom!

Mom: You said your two language classes were going well, are they hard?

Katelyn: Yeah they are hard, but I find them really fun! Because I’ve been studying Chinese for 5 years, this Chinese class is not too difficult. Every day I’m learning new grammar and during class the professor speaks a lot of Chinese! The Japanese class is harder than the Chinese class, since I just started learning Japanese, of course the class is difficult, but still fun!

Mom: That’s good! 

Arriving at the mall.

Katelyn: This mall is huge! Where do you want to go first?

Mom: This mall has a lot of famous brand stores like Lululemon, Hollister, and Altar’d State, etc. I think we should start at Lululemon.

Katelyn: Okay! I like Lululemon. 

Looking at clothes in the shopping center.

Mom: Katelyn, look, this hat looks great! What do you think?

Katelyn: Oh, very fashionable! How much is it?

Mom: It’s 20% off right now, only 30 bucks. I’d say that’s a pretty good price!

Katelyn: This price is pretty good! I also like this set of sportswear, the look, size, and quality are all very suitable.

Mom: I agree, plus it’s 100% pure cotton. I’ll buy it for you, it doesn’t matter how expensive.

Katelyn: Really? Thank you! You’re awesome!

Mom: No need to thank me, I’m your mom, I can buy things for you. Which shops do you still want to go to?

Katelyn: I want to go to the Converse store!

Mom: But you already have so many shoes, why do you need more?

Katelyn: Because I want various different colors of shoes, then my shoes and shirts can match.

Mom: You’re such a hassle. The Converse store is this way, come on.

Katelyn: Woah! There are so many shoes! This is the biggest Converse store! And everything is 40% off!

Mom: Why do you like Converse?

Katelyn: Because the Converse shoes are good quality, move over, they’re stylish and good looking. Hey! This pair of shoes are a good color!

Mom: I’ll let you choose two pairs of shoes, okay?

Katelyn: Okay! Then I want to buy the blue ones and the green ones.

Mom: Okay, do you want to go to Altar’d State? I know you like that place.

Katelyn: We can go, I do like it, but finding clothes of a suitable size is a little hard.

Mom: It’s okay, I’ll help you.

Katelyn: This skirt looks nice! But it’s a little short.

Mom: I think that skirt is too short. It’s been very cold lately, you should buy long skirts. Or else you’ll easily catch a cold.

Katelyn:You’re right. Then I won’t buy a skirt, I’ll just buy warm clothes.

Shop Clerk: Excuse me, what are your criteria for buying clothes?

Katelyn: My criteria for buying clothes are, firstly, how they look, secondly, whether they are fashionable or not, thirdly, the quality, and fourthly, how comfortable they are. Whether it’s a famous brand or not, and whether it’s expensive or not, I don’t care.

Shop Clerk: Okay, then what do you think of this jacket?

Katelyn: This jacket looks good, the color is pretty good too, and it’s good quality. I’ll get it!

Shop Clerk: Awesome! Please come to the cash register.

Mom: Do you want me to get it for you?

Katelyn: No need, I can buy it myself.

Store Clerk: The jacket is 10% off, all together it’s $99.99. Are you paying with cash or card?

Katelyn: I’ll use card, thank you!

Katelyn Widell

Katelyn Widell is a freshman at WWU and has been learning Chinese for 5 years. She is also starting to learn Japanese.

选择最好的专业 / Choosing The Best Major

Podcast Audio:

Audio Transcription:

玉兰:大家好,我是文玉兰,我在这儿跟我们的同学任立行。今天我们有不一样的活动:我们将一起辩论一下。
Hello everyone! I’m Wen Yulan [Maggie], here with our classmate Ren Lixing [Dalraj]. Today we have a different activity: we are going to debate a little.

立行: 对, 是的.
Right.

玉兰:那,我们的辩论是关于什么的?
Then, what are we going to debate about?

立行: 今天我们一起辩论的题目是:大学生应该学哪个专业?
Our debate topic today is: What major should college students study?

玉兰:很有意思,可能对一些同学会觉得有帮助。
That’s interesting, maybe some of our classmates will find it helpful.

立行: 你也许是对的。
You may be right.

玉兰:好啊,这是辩论题目:上大学的目的是为了在将来找工作有准备,所以念理工科学院、商学院才是最好的选择。你想辩论哪一方?
Ok, this is the debate topic: The purpose of attending college is to prepare you to find a career in the future, therefore studying in Science and Engineering or Management colleges are the best choices. Which side do you want to argue?

立行: 我的专业是会计, 而且我的父母从印度来的。 他们觉得工程和管理都很厉害。 所以我就会辩论赞成方。
My major is accounting, and also my parents are from India. They think that engineering and management are both great. So I’ll argue for.

玉兰:有道理。因为我会申请创意写作项目的研究生,所以我一定要辩论反对方。
Makes sense. Since I will apply to the graduate school creative writing program, I must argue against.

立行: 好。准备开始吧?
Ok, ready to get started?

玉兰:准备好了!你可以第一个说。
Ready. You can speak first.

立行: 我们都知道工程和管理工作最挣钱。如果你学人文学科, 那将来就少挣钱。有更多钱,我就能过更舒服的生活。
We all know that engineering and management jobs make the most money. If you study humanities, in the future you will make less. Having more money, I can experience a more comfortable life.

玉兰:这个,不见得是真的。为了挣一样多的钱,花在工作上的时间可能并不一样。
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. The amount of time spent working for the same amount of money might not be the same. 

立行: 你说的是什么意思?
What do you mean?

玉兰:理工科和商业管理的工作得长时间工作,常常加班,或者得跟同事一起合作。与这些工作相对,有的人文学科工作的日程比较灵活。有钱可是没有自由,怎么可能有舒服的感觉。
Jobs in science and engineering and business management require long work hours, often working overtime, or require working with colleagues. In contrast to these jobs, some jobs in the humanities have more flexible schedules. Having money but no freedom, how can you feel comfortable?

立行: 将来, 我觉得我在我的法拉利上坐着很舒服. 如果我挣更多钱, 我有更多自由,也可以去轻松度假。
In the future, I think I’ll feel pretty comfortable sitting in my Ferrari. If I make more money, I’ll have more freedom and can go on relaxing vacations.

玉兰:不过,如果你真的喜欢你的工作,而且不会给你太多麻烦,你还需要请假吗?在我看来,有一份可以一直喜欢的事业是最重要的。这样,一辈子可以慢慢挣钱,不用放弃幸福。
But if you really enjoy your job and it doesn’t give you much trouble, would you still need to go on vacation? In my opinion, having a career that you can always enjoy is the most important thing. In this way, you can slowly earn money throughout your life without giving up happiness. 

立行: 但是你需要找到一份你喜欢的工作,人文学科的工作比STEM的工作更难找到。
But you need to find a job you like, humanities jobs are harder to find than STEM jobs.

玉兰:在人文学科的技能很广泛,因此找工作并不像人们以为的那么难。比如说,现在我们在图书馆,图书管理员是人文学科的事业。
Skills learned in the humanities are broad, so finding a job is not as hard as people think. For example, we’re in the library right now, and librarians are a humanities career.

立行: 是的。但是图书馆是工程师做的, 不是图书管理员做的。
True, but libraries are built by engineers, not librarians.

玉兰:可是这所大学一开始是师范学校,教育也是一项人文学科的事业。没有老师、图书馆管理员和作家,就不会有工程师建造图书馆。
But this college was originally a normal school [teacher’s college], and education is also a humanities career. Without teachers, librarians, and writers, there wouldn’t be engineers to build the library.

立行: 行,行,除了图书馆,其他基础设施像路桥、网路、技术,什么的,都是工程师建造的。
Ok, ok, besides libraries, other infrastructure like roads, bridges, networks, technology, etc. are all built by engineers.

玉兰:这些东西是要很多人建造的,不是只是工程师。
It takes many people to build these things, not just engineers.

立行: 最终,工程师还是挣更多的钱。
But in the end, engineers still earn more money.

Maggie: 哎呀,你真麻烦。
Jeeze, you’re really troublesome.

立行: 对不起,我知道。 我们都知道每个人都有各自的意见。
Sorry, I know. We all know everyone has their own opinion.

玉兰:对,虽然理工科事业可能挣很多钱,但是如果你受不了就没用。
Right, although science and engineering careers can make a lot of money, if you can’t stand it then it’s no use.

立行: 比如说, 我的朋友的第一份工作是会计但是他受不了。 后来他换了工作去当DJ,现在他很高兴。
For example, my friend’s first career was accounting, but he couldn’t stand it. Later he changed careers to DJ-ing, and now he’s very happy.

玉兰:就是。好的,谢谢你今天跟我一起辩论。这个活动原来很有意思,很好玩儿。
Exactly. Ok, well thank you for debating with me today, this activity has turned out to be really interesting and fun.

立行: 你也是。 祝你创意写作越来越成功!
You too. I wish you more and more success in creative writing.

玉兰:也祝你会计事业顺利发展! 我们给大家一个”再见“吧。
I also wish you smooth development in your accounting career! Let’s give everyone a “goodbye”.

都:再见!
Bye!

Dalraj Romana & Maggie Wettergreen

Dalraj Romana and Maggie Wettergreen are students in the second year of the Chinese program at WWU. This debate dialog was written as part of a class assignment.