Growing Up in Brooklyn1布鲁克林成长记

We lived on the third floor of a five-storey walk-up in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn in 1919， from which I date my first fairly clear childhood recollections. “Shapiro” was of Aramaic origin. My father explained that our family name was actually Kaliarski， but that when his parents first came to New York， they lived on the top floor of a cold-water tenement. Unfortunately， nearly all the other occupants were Russian and Polish immigrants， and their names also ended in “ski.” When the mailman delivered letters he would stand at the bottom the stairwell， blow his whistle and shout out the names. By the time the sounds floated up to the top floor only the “ski” could be heard clearly.

1919年，我们家住在布鲁克林博罗公园小区一幢没装电梯的五层楼的第三层，我童年比较清晰的记忆便是从这儿开始的。Shapiro这个姓氏源自阿拉姆语。父亲说我们家本姓Kaliarski，但这个姓在他父母初来纽约住在只供冷水的廉价公寓楼顶层时就改了。当时整栋楼的其他住户几乎都是从俄罗斯和波兰移民过来的，这很麻烦，因为他们的姓也都叫什么ski。每次邮差送信来，都会在一楼吹声哨子，然后大喊收信人的姓名，但等声音传到顶楼，能听清的只剩下ski了。

My grandparents grew tired of running down six flights of stairs in vain， and then having to climb up again. They therefore changed Kaliarski to Shapiro， which they considered a “good American name.” My father was always joking， so I’m inclined to take that tale with a grain of salt.

从六楼跑下来却空手而归，这让祖父母不胜其烦。他们觉得Shapiro是个“不错的美国名字”，于是就把Kaliarski改成了Shapiro。我父亲爱开玩笑，所以我对他的话也半信半疑。

I was only mildly curious about my European background. What little I heard of it sounded fusty and dreary. My grandparents had left Russia voluntarily， gladly， and had come to America with a dream of a new and better life. To a certain extent they found it. From the Lower East Side of New York City， where they and many of their fellow refugees had settled， they worked their way up into the ranks of the lower middleclass. It was the vibrant present that counted， not the past.

我对自己的欧洲身世并不太感兴趣，听说的那一点点东西也是些陈芝麻烂谷子2的事儿。祖父母当时离开俄国是自愿的，也很开心，带着开启崭新美好生活的梦想来到美国。从一定程度上说他们已经实现了梦想。他们和很多难民一起，从纽约的下东区一路打拼，终于奋斗到中下阶级。过去的已经过去，重要的是有滋有味的当下。

It was this kind of environment in which I was raised. My pretty mother by the time I was born was able to give up her job as a typist and devote herself entirely to household chores， and to my father and to me. Pop had satisfied the ideal of his immigrant parents， who at great financial sacrifice had put him through college， and had become a “professional man，” a lawyer. His dream was for a constantly rising income， a happy home， success in his career as an attorney， and to be a respected member of the community.

我就是在这样的环境长大的。3我出生后，家里的境况足以让我漂亮的母亲辞掉打字员工作，一心一意操持家务、相夫教子4。父亲没有辜负祖父母作为一代移民的期望。祖父母在经济上全力支持，供他读完大学并成为“专业人士”——一名律师。收入持续增长，家庭幸福美满，律师生涯顺畅，深受邻里敬重——这就是父亲的人生理想。5

I was then only a child， and as yet had no lofty dreams. But as I grew older I could see that Pop’s dream wasn’t mine. While I agreed with his aims， and even embraced them， I sensed that for me they were not enough. There was a vague desire gnawing within me which I couldn’t identify. I knew only that I wanted more， that I should do more. But what，and how，and where？ I had to travel thousands of miles， all the way to China， to find the answer.

那时我还是个孩子，没什么崇高的理想。但再大一点，我就懂得，父亲的理想并不是我的理想。虽然我觉得他的人生理想没什么错，甚至欣然接受，但我知道自己想要的远不止于此。内心深处，一直有个无可名状的念想，一点一点啃噬我，但我搞不清那是什么。我唯一知道的是自己想要更多，也应该做更多。但是做什么，如何做，在哪儿做？我必须远渡重洋，跨越千山万水，到中国找寻答案。

By the time I was 12， in 1927， we reached new heights in our imagined affluence. The market continued in its upward trend. You could buy stock on very small margins. Optimism reigned supreme. We reached the Nirvana of middle class Brooklyn Jews—a home of our own in Flatbush.

1927年，我12岁。那年，我们家家境殷实，尽如人意。市场持续向好，人们可以买点儿股票赚点儿小钱，处处洋溢着乐观的气氛。身为中产阶级的犹太人，我们在布鲁克林区的弗拉特布什有了自己理想的小康之家6。

Our street was new and raw， equipped with only temporary sewers. Heavy rains would flood our finished basement and create a small lake stretching from the top of the terraces on our side of the road to terraces on the other. We slim young lads were able to heighten the Venetian atmosphere by poling around on two-by-six boards， singing like happy gondoliers.

我们家这条街是新建的，缺少配套设施，只有临时的下水道。碰上7暴雨，雨水会淹没已经完工的地下室，漫过露台，从我们这边的露台上端延伸至马路对面的露台，形成一个小湖。我们这些精瘦的小伙子可以一边在大约两寸厚半尺宽的木板上撑篙，一边像贡多拉船夫那样欢快歌唱，颇有几分置身威尼斯的感觉。8

I graduated from P.S. 197 in the summer of 1928， and started in James Madison High School that autumn. It was much bigger than my primary school， and seemed to me to be filled with brilliant and beautiful students. Perhaps because I was just entering my teens， but Madison did indeed produce many attractive graduates.

1928年夏天，我从197公立小学毕业;同年秋天，进入詹姆斯·麦迪逊中学继续学业。这所中学比我的小学大多了，而且，对我来说，这里的学生个个才华横溢、一表人才。我有这样的感觉或许是因为刚进入青春期，不过麦迪逊中学的确培养了一大批优秀毕业生。

My father enjoyed a brief flurry representing clients going down in bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosures. Pop said there was a place for me in his office if I later decided to join him. After graduating from high school， I had put in two years in a pre-law course in New York’s St. John’s University， mainly because I didn’t see prospects of any other jobs available.

我爸那段时间接了一些客户破产和抵押止赎的案子，忙忙碌碌但乐在其中。他说，要是我日后决定子承父业，他的律师事务所会给我留着位置。中学毕业后，我在纽约圣约翰大学读了两年法律预科，主要是因为那时除了法律工作，我想不到还有什么别的机会。