17 My Family History

Do you know about your ancestors? They are people in your family who lived long ago. (You say it like this: ANN-sess-terz.) Isn't that a great fancy word?

你知道你的祖先是什么吗？ 他们是你家族里很久很久以前生活过的人。 （这个词的读音是：ANN-sess-terz。） 这难道不是个超棒的高级词吗？

We are writing ancestor reports in class. Bree is writing about her great-grandfather. He is ninety. He was a war hero. Robert's great-grandmother is one hundred! She came to America on a ship. It almost sank.

我们正在课堂上写关于祖先的报告。 布莉正在写她的曾祖父的故事。 他今年九十岁了。 他曾经是位战斗英雄。 罗伯特的曾祖母已经一百岁啦！ 她当年是坐船来到美国的。 那艘船当时差点就沉了。

"You are both lucky," I tell my friends. "You know your ancestors. All of mine are deceased. That's fancy for dead." That night my grandpa calls. He is coming to visit soon. His parents are my great-grandparents. So I ask, "Were they famous? Did they have adventures?"

“你们俩都好幸运呀，”我对朋友们说。 “你们都知道自己祖先的故事。 我的祖先全都过世了。 过世就是“去世”的高级说法哦。” 那天晚上爷爷打来了电话。 他很快就要来看我们啦。 他的爸爸妈妈就是我的曾祖父母。 于是我问：“他们是不是很有名呀？ 他们有没有过什么冒险经历呀？”

Grandpa says no. "They were nice, ordinary people." Ordinary? That's like plain. I wish I had fancy ancestors.

爷爷说没有。 “他们都是很和善的普通人。” 普通？ 就是平平无奇的意思呀。 我也好想有厉害的特别的祖先呀。

Later that night, Grandpa sends a photo of my great-grandfather. Grandpa's email says, "My dad was kind and honest. He only lost his temper once. I broke a teapot and blamed my sister. My dad wasn't upset about the teapot. He was upset that I lied."

当天晚些时候，爷爷发来了一张我曾祖父的照片。 爷爷的邮件里写着：“我爸爸既善良又诚实。 他这辈子只发过一次脾气。 当时我打碎了茶壶，还把错推到了我妹妹身上。 我爸爸不是因为茶壶碎了生气。 他是因为我撒谎才生气的。”