1 A Young Boy

CHAPTER 1 A Young Boy Bruce Frederick Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949. He lived in Freehold, New Jersey, with his parents and two younger sisters, Virginia (called Ginny) and Pamela. Ginny was one and a half years younger than Bruce, but Pamela was much younger. Bruce was twelve when Pamela was born. Pamela was such a cute baby that Bruce didn't mind helping out. He liked playing with her or even giving her a bottle.

布鲁斯·弗雷德里克·斯普林斯汀出生于1949年9月23日。 他和父母以及两个妹妹——弗吉尼亚（名叫金妮）和帕梅拉——住在新泽西州的弗里霍尔德。 金妮比布鲁斯小一岁半，但帕梅拉要小得多。 帕梅拉出生时，布鲁斯12岁。 帕梅拉是个可爱的婴儿，布鲁斯不介意帮忙。 他喜欢和她一起玩，甚至给她一个奶瓶。

Freehold is a medium-size town located near the New Jersey shoreline, and about a ninety- minute drive from New York City. There were lots of farms and factories when Bruce was a boy. It was not a wealthy town. People in Freehold were mostly "blue collar" workers.

Freehold是一个中等规模的城镇，位于新泽西州海岸线附近，距离纽约市约90分钟车程。 当布鲁斯还是个孩子的时候，那里有很多农场和工厂。 这不是一个富裕的城镇。 Freehold的居民大多是蓝领工人。

Blue Collar Workers The name "blue collar" comes from the color of denim work shirts worn by men who have low-paying jobs—jobs in a garage or on a factory assembly line, for example. "White collar" describes workers who make more money. They work in offices where they need to dress up in shirts with white collars. Most of the jobs in Freehold were at the local factories. The biggest was Nestlé, which produced chocolate bars and coffee. While Bruce was growing up, one of the big employers, a rug

“蓝领”这个名字来源于从事低收入工作的男性所穿的牛仔衬衫的颜色，比如在车库或工厂装配线上的工作。 “白领”指的是赚更多钱的工人。 他们在办公室工作，需要穿白领衬衫。 Freehold的大部分工作都在当地工厂。 其中最大的是生产巧克力棒和咖啡的雀巢雀巢。 在布鲁斯成长的过程中，一个大雇主，一个小地毯

factory, left town. Jobs became harder to find. Bruce's mother, Adele, worked as a secretary for a lawyer. She had a good job. However, Bruce's father, Doug, had trouble finding steady work. For a while he drove taxis and trucks. At one point he was a prison guard. To make ends meet, the Springsteens moved in with Doug's parents after Bruce was born. They stayed for six years. Bruce's grandparents lived in a house that had cracked walls, windows that rattled, and just one kerosene heater to warm the house in winter. His grandparents didn't believe in a lot of rules for him. Bruce was allowed to stay up all night, watching television and playing with his toys.

工厂，离开了小镇。工作变得更难找了。 布鲁斯的母亲阿黛尔是一名律师的秘书。 她有一份好工作。然而，布鲁斯的父亲道格却很难找到稳定的工作。 有一段时间，他开出租车和卡车。 他曾经是一名狱警。 为了维持收支平衡，斯普林斯汀一家在布鲁斯出生后搬到了道格的父母家。 他们待了六年。 布鲁斯的祖父母住在一所墙壁开裂，窗户嘎嘎作响的房子里，冬天只有一个煤油加热器给房子取暖。 他的祖父母不相信他有很多规则。 布鲁斯被允许整晚不睡觉，看电视和玩玩具。