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Unit 6 Lesson 4 Dream houses The House on Mango Street We didn't always live on Mango Street.Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler Street. Before Keeler Street it was Paulina Street,and before that I can't remember. But what I remembered most is moving a lot.Each time it seemed there'd be one more of us. By the time we got to Mango Street we were six – Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me. The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don't have to pay rent to anybody,or share the yard with the people downstairs,or be careful not to make too much noise,and worried about the landlord being angry. But even so, it's not the house we thought we'd get.We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick.There were worms in the wooden walls.Then the water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn't fix them because the house was too old. He had no mercy so we had to leave fast.We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over.And everything in the flat was damp. That's why Mama and Papa looked for a house,and that's why we moved into the house on Mango Street, far away, on the other side of town. They always told us that one day we would move into a house,a real house that would be ours so we wouldn't have to move each year. And our house would have running water and a bathtub and pipes that worked.And inside it would have real stairs, like the houses on TV. And we'd have a basement and at least three washrooms so when we wanted the bathe we wouldn't have to tell everybody. Our house would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence. This was the house Papa talked about when he dreamed of being rich and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed. But the house on Mango Street is not the way they described it at all. It's small and red with narrow steps in front and windows so small that you'd think they were holding their breath. There is no front yard, only four little trees the city planted on the side of the street. Out back is a small garage for the car we don't own yet and a small yard that looks smaller between the two buildings on either side. There are stairs in the house, but they're ordinary stairs, and the house has only one washroom.Everybody has to share a bedroom- Mama and Papa, Carlos and Kiki, me and Nenny. 第四课 梦之屋 芒果街上的房子 我们不是一直住在芒果街。在那之前我们住在Loomis的三楼，再之前我们住在Keeler街。 在Keeler街之前，我们住在Paulina街，而再之前的我也记不住了。 但是我记得最多的就是搬了很多次家。 似乎每次搬家我们之中又多了一个人。 在这次搬去芒果街时，我们有六个人妈妈、爸爸、卡洛斯、基基、我的妹妹内妮和我。 芒果街上的房子是属于我们自己的，我们不用再向任何人交房租，或同楼下的人共用一个院子， 或小心不制造太多噪音，担心房东会生气。 但是即使这样，这也不是我们所期望的房子。 我们不得不迅速离开Loomis的公寓。木墙里有很多虫子。水管破了，房东修不好，因为房子太老了。 他没有同情心，我们得赶快离开。 我们一直在使用隔壁的卫生间，两边接水。公寓里的所有一切都是潮湿的。 这就是为什么爸爸妈妈要找房子，为什么要搬到在城镇另一边的遥远的芒果街上去了。 他们经常告诉我们总有一天我们将会搬进属于我们自己的房子，我们将不用每年都搬家了。 我们的房子里会有自来水、浴缸，水管也是好的。 在里面会有真正的楼梯，就像电视里的房子一样。 我们会有一个地下室，至少三个卫生间，这样我们洗澡时就不用对每个人说了。 我们的房子将会是白色的，树木环绕，有一个长满草的大院子，没有栅栏。 这就是爸爸梦想有钱时对我们所说的房子，或是妈妈在我们睡觉前讲故事时构想的房子。 但是芒果街上的房子完全不是他们所描述的那样。 它很小，是红色的，门前是狭窄的台阶，窗户如此小以至于你会认为它们在屏住呼吸。 这儿没有前院，只有市民种在路边的几棵小树。 出门往后院走有一间小车库，但现在我们还没有车，还有一个小院子，夹在路两边的高楼中显得更小。房子里有楼梯，但是普通的楼梯， 房子只有一间卫生间。所有人得共用一间卧室—妈妈和爸爸、卡洛斯和基基、我和内妮。 |
