Unit 7 Not on My Block 课文

People thought Ethel Armstead was crazy to stand up to the young men dealing drugs outside her house.  人们认为埃塞尔·阿姆斯特德准是疯了，竟然敢去面对那些在她房子外面贩**的年轻人。

But Ethel had had enough.  但埃塞尔已忍无可忍。

Summoning up her courage, she went out to talk to the gang. This is the story of what happened. 她鼓足勇气，走出去跟那帮人谈话。下面就是所发生的故事。

Not on My Block by Lynn Rosellini 离开我这个街区 琳恩·罗塞利尼

Ethel Armstead liked the gray row house right off.  埃塞尔·阿姆斯特德一下子就喜欢上了那栋灰色的联房。

It had an extra bedroom and a big backyard where her grandkids could play.  房子里多出了一间卧室，还有一个很大的后院，可以让她的小外孙和外孙女在那儿玩耍。

The marble stoop would be perfect spot to sit on summer evenings. 那个大理石的门廊将是夏天夜晚坐着乘凉的理想场所。

But when Armstead arrived home from work that first night after moving in, she found a bunch of tough-looking young men sitting on her front steps. 但搬进来后的第一个晚上，当阿姆斯特德下班回到家时，她却发现有一帮样子很凶的人坐在她家门前的台阶上。

Excuse me, she said, startled. "I live here." The group of seven young men rose reluctantly, staring at her with cold, hard eyes.  她大吃一惊，说道：“请原谅，我住在这儿。”那一帮七个年轻人不情愿地站了起来，用冷酷无情的目光盯着她看。

Once inside, Armstead locked the door and peered out the window.  一走进去，阿姆斯特德就锁上门，从窗口往外看。

She was surprised to see that the men had already reseated themselves on her steps.  她吃惊地发现那几个年轻人已经又坐在了她的台阶上。

In coming weeks, Armstead learned that her house, long vacant, was used by drug dealers, who hid their drugs under the front steps.  在以后的几个星期里，阿姆斯特德了解到她那栋房子过去长期空关时，曾被一些*品贩子用来在前台阶下面藏过*品。

As a steady stream of cars and foot traffic passed by, the dealers conducted business on the stoop.  当川流不息的车辆和行人经过时，*品贩子就在门廊上做生意。

Addicts shot up in the path behind the house and urinated in the backyard. 吸*成瘾的人就在房子后面的小路上注射*品，并在后院里随地撒尿。

Armstead had no illusions about the men who occupied her front steps.  阿姆斯特德对占用她门前的那些人不抱任何幻想。

Almost every night for the ten years she had lived in the tough Oliver neighborhood of East Baltimore, she lay in bed listening to the sound of gunshots as the drug wars raged.  在东巴尔的摩那个充满犯罪与暴力的奥利弗地区居住的十年间，几乎每个晚上，她都倒在床上听着*品战激烈进行时的枪击声。

But this house, with dealers hanging out on her stoop, was the worst. 但是这栋房子有*品贩子经常出没于她的门廊却是最糟糕的。

Sometimes she called the police several times a day, begging them to disperse the dealers.  有时候她一天要报警好几次，恳请他们把这些*品贩子驱散。

But once the police car disappeared down the street, the dealers drifted back. 但警车一旦开走在街头消失，那些*品贩子们又会陆陆续续地回来。

As a 50-something mother of grown children, Armstead had not imagined fighting this battle.  作为一个50多岁、子女已经长大成人的母亲，阿姆斯特德从未想像过要进行这场战斗。

But it wasn't the first time she'd risen to an unexpected challenge.  但这并不是她第一次奋起应付突如其来的挑战了。

Back in the mid-1990s, when her own daughter was addicted to drugs and her young grandchildren faced foster care,  在20世纪90年代中期，当她自己的女儿染上*瘾，她的小外孙和外孙女需要人领养时，

Armstead got custody of the three boys and one girl. 阿姆斯特德就把那三个男孩和一个女孩领来照管了。

One night in September 2000, about a month after she moved into her new house, Armstead prayed to God.  2000年9月的一个夜晚，在她迁入新居后大约一个月的时候，阿姆斯特德向上帝祈祷：

"I'm gonna talk to these guys tomorrow. Help me."  “明天我要跟那些家伙谈一谈。请帮助我。”

The next day, she confronted the leader of the group, a young man in jeans and a white T-shirt.  第二天，她直接找到那帮人的头，一个身穿牛仔裤、白色T恤衫的年轻人。

Armstead's insides were turning over, but she knew she couldn't show her fear. 阿姆斯特德的五脏六腑在翻滚，但她知道她绝不能露出恐惧的样子。

This is my space, she said calmly and quietly, keeping her face a mask.  “这里是我的地方，”她平静而温和地说，脸上一直挂着装出来的微笑。

"I shouldn't have to say ‘Excuse me' to get into my own house." “我本不需要在进自己家时还要说一声‘请原谅’。”

She told the young man that she didn't want him and his friends dealing drugs in front of her grandkids anymore.  她对那个年轻人说，她不希望他和他的朋友们再当着她小外孙和外孙女的面贩卖*品。

They were to stay off her property, off the vacant property next door, off the comer. 他们必须离开她的住宅，离开隔壁空关的住宅，离开那个街角。

The man was silent. Armstead's heartbeat rose into her throat. Then he nodded. The group left. 那人一声不响。阿姆斯特德的心已跳到喉咙口。随后那人点了点头。那伙人离开了。

But a few days later, they were back. Armstead repeated her request. She repeated it the next day. And the next. 但过了几天，他们又回来了。阿姆斯特德把她的要求重说了一遍。第二天、第三天又重说了一遍。

Then a funny thing happened. They began to listen. They moved down to the next block.  随后，一件有趣的事情发生了。那伙人开始听话了。他们转移到了下一个街区。

When winter came, they cleared snow from her walk and checked in on her when she was ill.  冬天来了，他们把她房前路上的积雪扫干净，她生病的时候，他们还来看望她。

Before long, they took to calling her "Mom." 不久，他们就开始喊她“大妈”了。

Her grandkids could play ball in the street now. Sometimes the young men played with them.  她的外孙、外孙女们现在可以在街上打球了。有时候，那些年轻人也和他们一起玩。

And if one of the kids were talking back, someone would say, "Don't you talk like that. That's your grandma!" 如果哪个孩子跟外婆顶嘴，某个年轻人就会说：“你不可以这样讲话。她是你外婆!”

Armstead kept "fussin'," warning of the dangers of fast money.  阿姆斯特德不停地“嘀咕”，警告他们轻易得来的钱有危险。

"You're gonna get yourselves killed!" She told them. "Do something positive!"  “你们会被杀头的!”她对他们说。“还是干点正经事吧!”

People told her she was crazy to talk to those thugs that way.  人们对她说，她跟那帮恶棍这样讲话真是太蠢了。

Especially after another mom who had taken a stand was killed just five blocks away.  尤其是在仅仅五个街区外另一个表明自己立场的大妈被杀之后。

Angela Dawson had waged her own battle against a different set of drug pushers — and lost.  这个大妈叫安吉拉·道森。她只身与另一伙*品贩子进行了一场战斗——结果失败了。

In a tragedy that made the national news, the Dawson house was set on fire and Angela, her husband, Carnell, and five of their children died.  道森家的房子被人放火烧了，安吉拉、她的丈夫卡内尔和他们的五个孩子都死了，这一悲剧成了震惊全国的新闻。

A neighborhood man was charged. Armstead didn't know Angela Dawson, but she knew her children.  邻近地区内的一名男子受到指控。阿姆斯特德不认识安吉拉·道森，但她认识她的孩子。

After the deadly fire, she was more cautious — but she didn't stop. And she didn't just talk.  在这场致死的大火后，她更加当心了——但她并没有停止。而且她不仅仅限于谈话。

She has been a driving force in the community organization BUILD (Baltimore United in Leadership Development).  她一直是社区组织巴尔的摩发展领导才能联合会(BUILD)的推动力。

Together they drove drug dealers off a vacant lot and built a playground.  他们一起把*品贩子从一块空地上赶走，在那里建了一个儿童游乐场。

They established an extended-day program at school to keep kids off the streets.  他们在学校里开办了一项放学后的校内活动，让孩子们不要到街上去。

They prompted the city and local churches to step up efforts to redevelop abandoned houses. 他们促使市里和当地的教堂加快了重建弃房的步伐。

Not long ago, Armstead ran into one of the men who used to hang out on her steps.  不久前，阿姆斯特德偶然碰见了过去常在她门前台阶上荡来荡去的那伙人中的一个。

"Hey, Mom!" he exploded, giving her a hug. He got a job, he told her, adding, "I want to thank you for all your fussing."   “嗨，大妈!”那人大喊了一声，一边紧紧地拥抱着她。他告诉她，他已经找到一份工作，接着又说：“我真要谢谢你当年给我们嘀咕的那些话。”

Armstead is modest about the impact she's had.  阿姆斯特德对她产生的影响很是谦虚。

She says simply, "It makes me fed good to know my message got through to at least one young man." 她只是说：“知道自己那番话至少说服了一个年轻人，这就让我很开心了。”