The Bird's Nest

The Bird's Nest. Written by Jessica Malordy. Illustrated by Gabor Utomo. Focus question. What is the importance of bird nests in this story?

《鸟巢》 杰西卡·马洛迪 著 加博尔·乌托莫 绘 思考问题 鸟巢在这个故事里有什么重要意义呢？

It's Saturday, and Reema is watching cartoons. I'm bored, Reema complains to her mother. This show is boring. So change the channel, her mother says. TV will help you learn English faster. As soon as those words are out of her mother's mouth, Reema braces herself for the words she knows will follow. Because this is our home now,

今天是周六，蕾玛正在看动画片。 "我好无聊呀，"蕾玛跟妈妈抱怨道。 这个节目一点都不好看。 那就换个频道呀，妈妈说。 看电视能帮你更快学英语哦。 妈妈话音刚落，蕾玛就猜到接下来要说什么，做好了心理准备。 因为这里现在是我们的家了，

This time last year, when Rima was eight, home was a tent surrounded by other tents. The year before that, home was the side of the road, a storm -tossed boat, a stranger's basement. It was wherever they happened to lay their heads at night. The year before that, though, when Rima was six, home was a house in a city called Aleppo, in the country of Syria. Home had a big window in the kitchen, where black and white -tailed birds came to roost. It had a carpet in the living room that smelled of honey and flower, and a bedroom with a

去年的这个时候，八岁的蕾玛，家就是一顶挤在众多帐篷中的帐篷。 再往前一年，家是路边、暴风雨里飘摇的小船、陌生人的地下室。 哪儿能容她们过夜，哪儿就是家。 不过再往前，六岁那年，蕾玛的家在叙利亚阿勒颇市的一栋房子里。 家里厨房有一扇大窗户，常有黑白尾鸟过来停驻栖息。 客厅的地毯闻着有蜂蜜和花香，还有一间卧室，

What is a refugee? A refugee is a person who is forced to leave his or her country to seek safety in another country. The term comes from the word refuge, which means a safe place, the very thing that refugees are in search of. Refugees flee their country to escape danger, natural disaster, or trouble that they face because of their ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. Refugees usually leave behind their family and friends, homes and communities, and even their culture. In the case of Reema and her mother, they left Syria because of civil war. Since 2011, millions of Syrian families have fled their country and become refugees all over the world.

什么是难民？ 难民就是被迫离开祖国，去别的国家寻求安全的人。 这个词来源于“避难”，意思就是安全的处所，这正是难民们在寻找的东西。 难民逃离祖国，是为了躲避危险、天灾，或是因为种族、宗教、政治信仰遭受的灾祸。 难民通常不得不抛下亲人朋友、家园故土，甚至自己的文化。 蕾玛和妈妈就是这样，因为内战离开了叙利亚。 从2011年起，数百万叙利亚家庭逃离祖国，成为流落到世界各地的难民。

Now home is here, a tiny apartment in America with a mother who speaks in a hushed voice whenever she mentions Syria. Reema wishes she wouldn't tiptoe around the reality. War came to Aleppo long before they left and it has only gotten worse. They are never going back. There is nowhere to go back to. Rima, come here, calls her mother, and Rima does. The kitchen counter is covered with baking sheets, a sack of sugar, pistachios. We're going to bake today? Rima asks. After a week at school learning English, it feels good to speak Arabic. Tomorrow, there will be a bake sale at the community center, Rima's mother explains. Bake sale? Rima asks. What's that? Those of us who are new here will bake our favorite sweets from Syria, her mother says. Americans will come to buy them and try sweets from our homeland.

现在家就在这里，是美国的一间小公寓，妈妈每次提起叙利亚都只会轻声说话。 蕾玛其实希望妈妈不用回避现实。 早在她们离开前，阿勒颇就爆发了战争，现在情况只会更糟。 她们再也回不去了。 也没有地方可以回去了。 "蕾玛，过来一下，"妈妈喊道，蕾玛走了过去。 厨房台面上摆满了烤盘、一袋糖和开心果。 "我们今天要做烘焙吗？" 蕾玛问道。 在学校学了一周英语，能说阿拉伯语真舒服。 "明天社区中心要办烘焙义卖活动，"妈妈解释道。 "烘焙义卖？" 蕾玛问道。 "那是什么呀？" "我们这些新来这儿的人，会做我们家乡叙利亚最爱的甜点，"妈妈说。 美国人会来买，尝尝我们祖国的甜点。

Her mother opens the refrigerator and pulls out a box of filo dough noodles. Rima grabs a handful of pistachios and begins to crush them into smaller pieces. They haven't baked together in forever, and they are making bird's nest baklava. When they are done, the chopped pistachios will sit inside the pastry, just like little eggs in a doughy nest. Rima is delighted. She begins to hum an old song she loves from home.

妈妈打开冰箱，拿出一盒菲罗面皮。 蕾玛抓了一把开心果，开始把它们碾碎。 她们好久没一起做烘焙了，这次要做鸟巢蜜饼。 做好之后，碎开心果会放在面皮中间，就像小鸟蛋待在面团做的鸟巢里。 蕾玛开心极了。 她开始哼起一首家乡的老歌，那是她最爱的歌。