Lesson 4 Dream Houses
第四课 梦之屋
The House on Mango Street
芒果街上的房子
We didn't always live on Mango Street.
我们不是一直住在芒果街。
Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler Street.
在那之前我们住在Loomis的三楼，再之前我们住在Keeler街。
Before Keeler Street it was Paulina Street, and before that I can't remember.
在Keeler街之前，我们住在Paulina街，而再之前的我也记不住了。
But what I remembered most is moving a lot.
但是我记得最多的就是搬了很多次家。
Each time it seemed there'd be one more of us.
似乎每次搬家我们之中又多了一个人。
By the time we got to Mango Street we were six
在这次搬去芒果街时，我们有六个人
Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me.
妈妈、爸爸、卡洛斯、基基、我的妹妹内妮和我。
The house on Mango Street is ours,
芒果街上的房子是属于我们自己的，
and we don't have to pay rent to anybody, or share the yard with the people downstairs,
我们不用再向任何人交房租，或同楼下的人共用一个院子，
or be careful not to make too much noise,
或小心不制造太多噪音，
and worried about the landlord being angry.
担心房东会生气。
But even so, it's not the house we thought we'd get.
但是即使这样，这也不是我们所期望的房子。
We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick.
我们不得不迅速离开Loomis的公寓。
There were worms in the wooden walls.
木墙里有很多虫子。
Then the water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn't fix them because the house was too old.
水管破了，房东修不好，因为房子太老了。
He had no mercy so we had to leave fast.
他没有同情心，我们得赶快离开。
We were using the washroom next door and carrying water over.
我们一直在使用隔壁的卫生间，两边接水。
And everything in the flat was damp.
公寓里的所有一切都是潮湿的。
That's why Mama and Papa looked for a house,
这就是为什么爸爸妈妈要找房子，
and that's why we moved into the house on Mango Street, far away, on the other side of town.
为什么要搬到在城镇另一边的遥远的芒果街上去了。
They always told us that one day we would move into a house,
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，
a real house that would be ours so we wouldn't have to move each year.
我们将不用每年都搬家了。