ขาว — Page 4
Nipa set the table.
尼帕摆好了桌子。
Malee brought the dishes out.
玛丽把菜端了出来。
Khao lay near the top step, not underfoot but close enough to be part of the arrangement, and the evening light came through the garden in long warm columns and made everything look like something worth remembering.
考趴在最高的台阶旁,没有碍手碍脚,却近得足以融入这一切,傍晚的光线穿过花园,化作一道道温暖悠长的光柱,让一切都看起来值得铭记。
These were the ordinary days.
这些都是平凡的日子。
Nipa was nine years old and did not know yet that ordinary days were the ones that mattered — that she would one day try to recall exactly the angle of the porch light, the smell of her mother's cooking, the specific weight of a white dog against her feet under the dinner table.
尼帕那年九岁,还不明白平凡的日子才是最要紧的——她不知道,自己有朝一日会竭力追忆门廊灯光的角度、母亲饭菜的气味,以及一只白狗压在她脚背上的那份独特重量,那是在餐桌下面。
She was simply living inside it, the way you live inside the only life you have so far been given, without the distance required to see its shape.
她只是活在其中,就像人总是活在迄今为止所拥有的唯一一种生活里,没有足够的距离去看清它的轮廓。
Khao knew nothing of shapes or distances.
考对轮廓或距离一无所知。
He knew the porch and the gate and the garden, and he knew the people who moved through them, and that was the entire world, and the entire world was enough.
他熟悉门廊、大门和花园,熟悉穿行其间的人们,那便是整个世界,而整个世界已然足够。
Vocabulary
- 摆好
- bǎi hǎo — To arrange or set up neatly and properly.
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or change of state.
- 桌子
- zhuōzi — A table or desk used for various purposes.
- 把
- bǎ — Preposition marking the object of a disposal action.
- 菜
- cài — Dish, vegetable, or food prepared for a meal.
- 端
- duān — To carry or hold something level with both hands.
- 出来
- chūlái — To come out; directional complement indicating outward movement.
- 考
- kǎo — To take an exam; to test or examine someone.
- 趴在
- pā zài — To lie face-down on a surface.
- 最高
- zuì gāo — The highest; tallest in degree or position.
- 的
- de — Structural particle linking modifier to noun.
- 台阶
- táijiē — Steps or stairs leading up to an entrance.
- 旁
- páng — Beside; next to; at the side of something.
- 没有
- méiyǒu — To not have; indicates absence or negation of possession.
- 碍手碍脚
- ài shǒu ài jiǎo — To be in the way; obstructing others' movements.
- 却
- què — Yet, but; indicates contrast or unexpected turn.
- 近得
- jìn de — Close enough to; near to a sufficient degree.
- 足以
- zúyǐ — Sufficient to; enough to achieve a certain result.
- 融入
- róng rù — To blend into; to integrate or merge with something.
- 这一切
- zhè yīqiè — All of this; everything that is happening here now.
- 傍晚
- bàngwǎn — Evening; the time just before nightfall at dusk.
- 光线
- guāngxiàn — Light rays; beams of light illuminating a space.
- 穿过
- chuān guò — To pass through; to go across or penetrate something.
- 花园
- huāyuán — A garden where flowers and plants are cultivated.
- 化作
- huà zuò — To transform into; to become or change into something.
- 一道道
- yī dào dào — One beam after another; multiple streaks or strips.
- 温暖
- wēnnuǎn — Warm; giving a comfortable feeling of gentle heat.
- 悠长
- yōucháng — Long and leisurely; drawn out and unhurried in duration.
- 光柱
- guāngzhù — A column or pillar of light; beam of light.
- 让
- ràng — To let; to allow or cause something to happen.
- 一切
- yīqiè — Everything; all things without exception.
- 都
- dōu — All; both; an adverb of totality or inclusiveness.
- 看起来
- kàn qǐlái — To look like; to appear or seem a certain way.
- 值得
- zhídé — Worth; deserving of effort, attention, or remembrance.
- 铭记
- míng jì — To engrave in memory; to remember deeply and lastingly.
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; referring to a nearby group of things or people.
- 都是
- dōu shì — All are; everything or everyone is a certain thing.
- 平凡
- píngfán — Ordinary; common; lacking extraordinary or special qualities.
- 日子
- rìzi — Days; the course of daily life and living.
- 那年
- nà nián — That year; referring to a specific past year.
- 九岁
- jiǔ suì — Nine years old; the age of nine years.
- 还
- hái — Still; yet; also; an adverb indicating continuation or addition.
- 不明白
- bù míngbai — To not understand; to be unclear about something.
- 才是
- cái shì — Only then is; truly is; emphasizes what really matters.
- 最要紧
- zuì yàojǐn — Most important; of the greatest urgency or significance.
- 她
- tā — She; third-person singular feminine pronoun in Chinese.
- 不知道
- bù zhīdào — To not know; to be unaware of something.
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself; referring back to the subject of a sentence.
- 有朝一日
- yǒu zhāo yī rì — One day in the future; someday eventually.
- 会
- huì — Will; can; expresses ability or future likelihood.
- 竭力
- jié lì — To do one's utmost; to try with all one's strength.
- 追忆
- zhuī yì — To recall; to look back and remember past events fondly.
- 门廊
- méncháng — A porch or veranda at the entrance of a house.
- 灯光
- dēngguāng — Lamplight; the light produced by a lamp or lights.
- 角度
- jiǎodù — Angle; perspective from which something is viewed or considered.
- 母亲
- mǔqīn — Mother; one's female parent in a formal usage.
- 饭菜
- fàncài — Food and dishes; a meal with rice and side dishes.
- 气味
- qìwèi — Smell; scent or odor given off by something.
- 以及
- yǐjí — As well as; and also; connecting additional items in a list.
- 一只
- yī zhī — One (animal); a measure word for small animals.
- 白狗
- bái gǒu — A white dog; a dog with white-colored fur.
- 压在
- yā zài — To press down on; to weigh upon a surface.
- 脚背
- jiǎobèi — The top of the foot; the dorsal surface of the foot.
- 上的
- shàng de — On top of; located upon a surface (modifier particle).
- 那份
- nà fèn — That portion; that particular share or feeling of something.
- 独特
- dútè — Unique; distinctive; unlike anything else in character.
- 重量
- zhòngliàng — Weight; the heaviness of an object measured physically.
- 那是
- nà shì — That is; referring to something just described or implied.
- 在
- zài — At; in; to be located at a place or time.
- 餐桌
- cānzhuō — A dining table used for eating meals with others.
- 下面
- xiàmiàn — Below; underneath; the lower part or underside of something.
- 只是
- zhǐshì — Just; merely; simply; nothing more than what is stated.
- 活在
- huó zài — To live in; to exist within a time, place, or state.
- 其中
- qízhōng — Among them; within it; in the midst of something.
- 就像
- jiù xiàng — Just like; exactly as; used to draw a comparison.
- 人
- rén — Person; human being; people in general.
- 总是
- zǒngshì — Always; invariably; at all times without exception.
- 迄今为止
- qì jīn wéi zhǐ — Up until now; so far; to the present moment.
- 所
- suǒ — A particle used before verbs to nominalize an action.
- 拥有
- yōngyǒu — To possess; to own; to have something as one's own.
- 唯一
- wéiyī — The only one; sole; single and exclusive of all others.
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — One kind; a type or variety of something.
- 生活
- shēnghuó — Life; everyday living; the way one lives daily.
- 里
- lǐ — Inside; within; used as a locative particle.
- 足够
- zúgòu — Enough; sufficient in quantity or degree for a purpose.
- 距离
- jùlí — Distance; the space between two points or things.
- 去
- qù — To go; directional verb indicating movement away from speaker.
- 看清
- kàn qīng — To see clearly; to discern or make out distinctly.
- 它
- tā — It; third-person singular pronoun for objects or animals.
- 轮廓
- lúnkuò — Outline; contour; the defining shape or silhouette of something.
- 对
- duì — Correct; right; toward; regarding someone or something.
- 或
- huò — Or; either; used to connect alternative choices.
- 一无所知
- yī wú suǒ zhī — To know absolutely nothing; completely ignorant of something.
- 他
- tā — He; third-person singular masculine pronoun in Chinese.
- 熟悉
- shúxī — Familiar with; to know something well through experience.
- 大门
- dàmén — Main gate or front door of a building or compound.
- 和
- hé — And; together with; connecting nouns or noun phrases.
- 穿行
- chuānxíng — To pass through; to travel across or navigate a space.
- 其间
- qíjiān — In between; among them; within that space or period.
- 人们
- rénmen — People; human beings in general; the general populace.
- 那
- nà — That; referring to something distant or previously mentioned.
- 便是
- biàn shì — Then is; that is precisely; used for emphasis or conclusion.
- 整个
- zhěnggè — The entire; the whole; all of something without exception.
- 世界
- shìjiè — The world; the earth and all its inhabitants and affairs.
- 而
- ér — And; but; yet; a conjunction linking contrasting or related clauses.
- 已然
- yǐrán — Already; having already become so; used in literary contexts.
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