2005年NPR美国国家公共电台十二月-Ingenuity, Not Money, Keeps Families War

The cold means that many of us will be turning on our heaters more and more and that means big bills for natural gas, home heating oil and electricity. In some places, the price of natural gas is up 70% over last year and heating oil is up 30%. In upstate New York, where commentator¹ Jill Vaughan lives, the cold can be especially intense. For her and her neighbors, who don't have much money -- keeping warm this winter will mean more than paying a higher bill once a month.

"I was a little intimidated² by my daughter's new house. The sunlight glowed and hardwood floors, that kind of beauty doesn't come cheap, when I toured the family room, I was struck, it had a fireplace. There was plenty of room here for a small table, a microwave and a bed. I thought this is their winter room, I shared my thoughts with my daughter, she rolled her eyes, I know what she was thinking. My calculations belong to a different world than the one she lives in now. I felt foolish, but I know she remembers her childhood when one room was all we could afford to heat."

"I spent most of my life keeping warm on a shoestring³, it's second nature to scan any house for its winter possibilities. Somethings are obvious, stack hay bales around the foundations, staple⁴ plastic over the windows, nail blankets up over the leakiest windows and doors, cold shrinks the boundaries of the house, only one or two rooms are used, in the main room the kerosene⁵ heater glows and we circle bodies around that nucleus⁶. Hot dogs heat in a pot on top of the heater, kids do homework in blanket cocoons⁷. Years ago, we built a raised bunk⁸ bed for the living room to take advantage of the warmer air, kids slept down at the sideways, stacked like cordwood. The heater shut off at night, but the orange flame flickers⁹ early in the morning. Oatmeal cooks on it, to stoke the children's furnaces against the cold wait for the schoolbus. We bring car batteries in to warm. People with central heat don't know what cabin fever means, dim light from blanketed windows and a crowded room gets old after a few months."

"For some of us, the government has a heating assistance program. This year, prices are so high. The allowance doesn't cover enough fuel to make companies willing to deliver around here. Child-protective services takes warm seriously, babies whose calories go to keep in warm instead of gaining weight might be taken, which makes heat-seeking parents desperate. I see neighbors or people on my caseload loading fallen branches into their trunks the day after a windstorm for fuel. Their kids are folklore¹⁰ trolls in layers and snowsuits. The calculus¹¹ of keeping warm is second nature to the poor. It's an outdated¹² skill if you can do the same thing by cranking a thermostat¹³ up. We can't. We want our families warm physically¹⁴ and emotionally, and will use our energy and ingenuity¹⁵ to do it, anyway we can."

Jill Vaughan is a job counselor¹⁶, she lives in M, New York.

1 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

2 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 shoestring   

n.小额资本；adj.小本经营的

参考例句：

• In the early years,the business was run on a shoestring.早年，这家店铺曾是小本经营。
• How can I take the best possible digital pictures on a shoestring budget?怎样用很小投资拍摄最好的数码照片？

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

6 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

7 cocoons   

n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

8 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

9 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

10 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

11 calculus   

n.微积分；结石

参考例句：

• This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题，微积分一点也用不上。
• After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后，你们就能够解这些数学题了。

12 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

13 thermostat   

n.恒温器

参考例句：

• The thermostat is connected by a link to the carburetor.恒温控制器是由一根连杆与汽化器相连的。
• The temperature is controlled by electronic thermostat with high accuracy.电子恒温器，准确性高。

14 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

15 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

16 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。