美国国家公共电台 NPR He Is Jewish, But Being Santa Is His Calling

 

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's Friday, which is when we hear StoryCorps. And today, we meet an out-of-the-ordinary Santa. His name is Rick Rosenthal, and he is Jewish¹ - Modern Orthodox², to be precise³. Santa Rick Rosenthal came to StoryCorps in Atlanta with his friend Adam Roseman to talk about how he found his calling.

RICK ROSENTHAL: I was always that guy who was out in left field. I - just the way I was. Everybody felt that way. My dad, God bless him, loved that part of me.

ADAM ROSEMAN: So when did you become an official Santa?

ROSENTHAL: My parents died two weeks apart seven years ago. When mom passed away, dad just gave up. He lost his partner, and in Judaism, you don't shave for 30 days when you lose a parent or a child. So when dad died, I just said, that's it. And I just let my beard grow.

That spring, I was at Home Depot⁴, and I hear this voice. And there was a father looking over, and his son had turned and saw me and was sure I was Santa. And I walk up to him, and I put my hands on my lips⁵. And I said, don't tell anybody that you saw Santa buying tools for the elves at Home Depot.

Being Santa really does make you a better person because he talks to children, gives them respect, he looks them in the eyes and he listens. And he treats them all the same, whether they're 4 or 94. It's not about being an adult or a child. It's about listening and communicating and providing hope.

ROSEMAN: I do recall⁶ some of the initial⁷ conversations with you planning to become Santa, and I do have to say or admit that I was skeptical⁸, but you are that person.

ROSENTHAL: Well, there are a couple people who think I'm crazy. And, you know, we don't live in a black-and-white world. The world is filled full of beautiful colors. Unfortunately, there are some people who are black and white. As Santa, you have to love people. And you just have to do whatever you can to make their lives better so that they can see the colors of the world.

INSKEEP: All right. Rick Rosenthal speaking with his friend Adam Roseman at StoryCorps in Atlanta. Rosenthal runs one of the largest Santa schools in the country. The interview will be archived along with hundreds of thousands of others at the Library of Congress⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF FABIAN ALMAZAN AND LINDA OH'S "PALOMA")

1 Jewish   

adj.犹太人的，犹太民族的

参考例句：

• The coin bears a Jewish symbol.硬币上有犹太标记。
• They were two Jewish kids;I was friendly with both of them.他们是两个犹太小孩；我同他们都很要好。

2 orthodox   

adj.正统的，传统的，惯常的

参考例句：

• They are orthodox Jews.他们是正统的犹太教徒。
• His ideas are very orthodox.他的思想非常合乎规范。

3 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。

4 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

5 lips   

abbr.logical inferences per second 每秒的逻辑推论n.嘴唇( lip的名词复数 )；（容器或凹陷地方的）边缘；粗鲁无礼的话

参考例句：

• Her lips compressed into a thin line. 她的双唇抿成了一道缝。
• the fullness of her lips 她丰满的双唇

6 recall   

n.回忆，召回，取消；vt.回想起，召回，与...相似，恢复

参考例句：

• As you may recall, he was in the army then.你可能记得当时他正在从军。
• We demand that you recall your army from our border.我们要求你们撤回在我们边境的部队。

7 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。