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本期领读嘉宾

Carine Girond'arc，她是来自美国星腾科教育的老师，是MTP深受学生喜爱的辅导老师，她的学生都亲切地称呼她“卡琳小姐姐”。

她本科毕业于美国TOP20的加州伯克利大学，在校主修比较文学、辅修教育等文学专业，她平时也喜欢阅读各种文学作品，是学校小有名气的小说收割女王。

她多年来一直辅导美国当地的华裔学生，以帮助他们提升阅读能力，改善阅读技巧，在这些方面很有经验。

本期推荐好书

《Little Fires Everywhere》（小小小小的火）是美籍华裔女作家 Celeste Ng（伍琦诗）的第二部畅销小说，对于这两个名字大家有可能没听说过，但是前几年火遍各大卖书网站占据畅销榜冠军的《无声告白》想必大家都有所耳闻，这是伍琦诗的第一部小说，而我们今天带给大家的这本《小小小小的火》是Celeste Ng的第二部长篇小说，讲述了一个幸福美满的美国中产家庭与她们房客的故事。通过展现两个截然不同的家庭日常，将友情、爱情、嫉妒、青春悸动、各种对立、冲突融合到整部作品之中，环环紧扣引人入胜。

Reading Schedule for Today

In today’s episode, we’ll explore the first four chapters of Little Fires Everywhere. I’ll summarize each chapter, read engaging excerpts, and share some thoughts about the chapters overall. 

Summary of Chapters 1-4

Chapter 1

The novel starts not at the beginning but rather at the end of the story, after a fire has destroyed the Richardson’s house. As firefighters try to put out the remaining flames, neighbors gossip about the cause of the fire, further establishing Shaker Heights as a close-knit（紧密的；严谨的；紧密结合着的） setting as Shaker Heights? The neighbors come up with their own theories of course. Celeste Ng writes:

Later people would say that the signs had been there all along: that Izzy [the last of the
Richardson children] was a little lunatic（疯狂的；精神错乱的；愚蠢的 n. 疯子；疯人） at the turn of events. Last night, she had been relieved to see her tenants -- Mia and Pearl Warren -- finally leave the neighborhood for good. Mrs.

Richardson had felt that everything was going to go back to normal, but now, she is at a loss. Luckily, her family is safe, as they had already left for the day. In fact, three of the four Richardson children are across the street, discussing the fire. Through their actions and comments, we learn more about their personalities and their unique family dynamics. Celeste Ng writes:

The three of them sat on the car’s roof in order, as they had in all the family portraits that
had once hung in the stairwell and were now reduced to ash. Lexie, Trip, Moody: senior,
junior, sophomore. Beside them they felt the hole that Izzy, the freshman, the black
sheep, the wild card, had left behind--though they were still certain, all of them, that this
hole would be temporary.

“What was she thinking?” Moody muttered, and Lexie said, “Even she knows she’s gone too far this time, that’s why she ran off. When she comes back, Mom is going to murder her.”

...The roof of the car was getting hot, and Trip stretched his legs down the windshield, poking the wipers with the toe of his flip-flop. Then he started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Lexie said.

“Just picturing Izzy running around striking matches everywhere.” He snorted（轻蔑或愤怒地发出哼声；喷出蒸汽声 vt. 喷出；发哼声；吸毒品 n. 喷鼻息；一小杯酒）. Not an accident.”

We all know she’s always been mental.” Trip leaned back against the car door.

“You’re all always picking on her,” Moody said. “Maybe that’s why she acts mental.”

“Someone should go over and stay with Mom,” Lexie said, but no one moved.

After a minute, Trip said, “When Mom and Dad find Iz, they are going to lock her up in a psych ward（精神病病房 精神病区）

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is a flashback to the previous June, when Mia Warren and her fifteen-year-old daughter Pearl become Mrs. Richardson’s new renters at the duplex（二倍的，双重的 n. 双工；占两层楼的公寓套房）of living in a duplex house--of renting, instead of owning--and allowed the city planners to preserve the appearance of the street, as everyone knew neighborhoods with rentals were less desirable.

Shaker Heights was like that. There were rules, many rules, about what you could and could not do, as Mia and Pearl began to learn as they settled into their new home...They learned that an unmowed lawn would result in a polite but stern letter from the city, noting that their grass was over six inches tall and that if the situation was not rectified（ 改正的，整流的；精馏过的 v. 调整；矫正；精馏（rectify的过去分词形式）） philosophy being that everything could--and should--be planned out, and that by doing so you could avoid the unseemly, the unpleasant, and the disastrous.

Shaker Heights is clearly a special neighborhood with high expectations of its inhabitants. It is into this traditional, affluent neighborhood that Mia and Pearl Warren venture. Mr. Richardson is a highly-paid defense attorney（被告辩护人、辩护律师）. Moody is quickly dazzled by Pearl’s self-sufficiency as she assembles her own bed, noting that he and his siblings have not learned real-life skills like this even though they’ve taken woodshop classes in school. Moody is further intrigued by Pearl’s vastly different lifestyle. She and her mother have moved around constantly, never having their own home. Pearl has never had her own room either. Pearl is greatly looking forward to staying in Shaker Heights, as her mother has promised that they will not move around anymore. As the two teenagers spend the afternoon together, Moody starts to have a crush on the free-spirited Pearl. Celeste Ng writes:

Moody sat down at the head of the bed, near [Pearl’s] feet. Wisps of grass stuck to her
toes and her calves（小牛；小腿；腓；呆子） to overachieve and a deep intolerance for flaws.

This stands in contrast to Mia and Pearl’s life, which is nomadic（游牧的；流浪的；游动的）, open-ended, and unconventional. Mia is a talented artist, but she is motivated by art for art’s sake, and not by earning enough money to live a comfortable suburban life. Mia’s life and job is her art. As such, Mia only works enough hours at a low-paying part-time job to ensure that she and her daughter have just enough money to live on. Pearl is not upset by this, as she is certain that her mother is brilliant and will be someday be just as appreciated as Andy Warhol and Georgia O’Keeffe. 

 Moody, of course, is fascinated by the Warrens. Celeste Ng writes:
 Their itinerant（巡回的；流动的 n. 巡回者；行商） for her enjoyment, for surely they could not always exist in this state of domestic perfection. There was Mrs. Richardson in the kitchen making cookies, of all things--something her own mother never did...There was Mr. Richardson, aminiature shaking charcoal（木炭；炭笔、vt. 用木炭画（过去式charcoaled，过去分词charcoaled，现在分词charcoaling，第三人称单数charcoals） into a shining silver grill. There was Trip, lounging on the long wrap-around sectional（部分的，节的；可组合的 n. 组合式家俱） Pearl and it fascinated her. Lexie would slide down off her stool and walk across the kitchen with the elegance of a dancer, barefoot on the Italian tiles. Trip swigged（牛饮；大喝特喝 n. 痛饮，大喝；牛饮 vt. 牛饮；大喝特喝，豪饮
[ 过去式 swigged 过去分词 swigged 现在分词 swigging ]） the last of his orange juice and headed for the stairs and the shower, and Pearl watched him, her nostrils quivering as she breathed in the scent of his wake: sweat and sun and heat.

Pearl is also drawn to Mrs. Richardson, who reminds her of the perfect TV mom. Mrs. Richardson is always warm and friendly to Pearl, frequently complimenting her on her academic performance, clothing, and manners. 

Pearl’s mother, Mia, is pleased at first. She is happy that Pearl finally seems to have made a good friend in Moody. However, Mia begins to worry that Pearl may be too in awe of（ 恐惧、敬畏）. Izzy locks herself in her room to practice violin. Lexie and Trip laugh at Izzy, saying that she takes everything too seriously. They think that she is stubborn and rebellious, and they joke that she might even end up on the Jerry Springer show one day. Moody defends Izzy, saying that her behavior is just impulsive and not truly crazy.

As they continue to watch Jerry Springer, Lexie asks Pearl if she has ever thought about trying to find her father. Pearl admits that she doesn’t even know who her father is, which leads Lexie to imagine that he might have abandoned Mia, gotten killed in an accident, had an affair, or even raped Mia. Trip defends Pearl at this last comment, which is in poor taste. However, Pearl is bothered by the idea that her mother was raped. When Pearl goes home, she confronts her mother. Celeste Ng writes,

Mia said nothing for such a long time that Pearl wasn’t sure if she’d heard. But after a long pause, Mia turned around, paintbrush in hand, and to Pearl’s amazement, her mother’s eyes were wet. Could her mother be crying? Her unflappable（镇定的，不慌张的）, indomitable（不屈不挠的；不服输的；不气馁的） the half-finished bicycle, the question she’d asked, the puddle of paint slowly forming a skin over the bristles of the brush.

The relationships that are forming between Pearl and the Richardson children, as well as the mystery of Pearl’s father, will end up contributing to the main conflict of the novel.

Character Song

As part of her writing process, Celeste Ng put together a playlist of contemporary music for each character in the novel. She carefully chose each song to match a particular character’s personality and tastes. So, to end each of our Reading Group episodes, we’ll play a bit of one song, and we’ll consider how it relates to that character.

First up is Lexie, the eldest of the Richardson children. Celeste Ng writes that the perfect song for Lexie is “Spin the Bottle(转瓶选择接吻对象的游戏；转瓶游戏)  Lexie’s  golden,  slightly  dizzy  view  of  life.” Enjoy

全文生僻词整理

thought-provoking adj. 发人深省的；引起思考的
are drawn to  被…所吸引
emigrate  vi. 移居；移居外国 vt. 移民
at length最后，终于；详细地
utopian  adj. 乌托邦的；空想的；理想化的 n. 空想家；乌托邦的居民
altruistic adj. 利他的；无私心的
close-knit  adj. 紧密的；严谨的；紧密结合着的
idyllic   adj. 牧歌的、田园诗的、悠闲的
lunatic  adj. 疯狂的；精神错乱的；愚蠢的 n. 疯子；疯人
bewildered adj. 困惑的；眩v. 使困惑（bewilder的过去分词）
black sheep  败家子；害群之马
snorted  vi. 轻蔑或愤怒地发出哼声；喷出蒸汽声 vt. 喷出；发哼声；吸毒品 n. 喷鼻息；一小杯酒
nutcase . 疯子
accelerant  n. 促进剂；触媒 adj. 促进的；加速的；催速的
psych ward  精神病病房 精神病区（歌曲名，Psych Ward）
aftermath  n. 后果；余波
duplex adj. 二倍的，双重的 n. 双工；占两层楼的公寓套房
stigma n. [植] 柱头；耻辱；污名；烙印；特征
rectified adj. 改正的，整流的；精馏过的 v. 调整；矫正；精馏（rectify的过去分词形式）
underlying adj. 潜在的；根本的；在下面的；优先的 v. 放在…的下面；为…的基础；优先于（underlie的ing形式）
defense attorney 被告辩护人、辩护律师
calves n. 小牛；小腿；腓；呆子（calf的复数）
propensity n. 倾向，习性；癖好，偏爱
nomadic adj. 游牧的；流浪的；游动的
Itinerant adj. 巡回的；流动的 n. 巡回者；行商
tableau n. 画面；活人画；戏剧性局面；生动的场面（复数tableaux）
miniature adj. 微型的，小规模的 n. 缩图；微型画；微型图画绘画术 vt. 是…的缩影
deftly adv. 熟练地；灵巧地；敏捷地
charcoal n. 木炭；炭笔、vt. 用木炭画（过去式charcoaled，过去分词charcoaled，现在分词charcoaling，第三人称单数charcoals
sectional adj. 部分的，节的；可组合的 n. 组合式家俱
unsettled adj. 未决定的；怀疑的；未处理的；不整齐的
swigged vi. 牛饮；大喝特喝 n. 痛饮，大喝；牛饮 vt. 牛饮；大喝特喝，豪饮
[ 过去式 swigged 过去分词 swigged 现在分词 swigging ]
in awe of  恐惧、敬畏
antics n. 滑稽动作；古怪姿态
unflappable adj. 镇定的，不慌张的
redoubtable adj. 可怕的；令人敬畏的
indomitable adj. 不屈不挠的；不服输的；不气馁的
contemplate vt. 沉思；注视；思忖；预期 vi. 冥思苦想；深思熟虑
Spin the Bottle转瓶选择接吻对象的游戏；转瓶游戏
Encapsulates vt. 压缩；将…装入胶囊；将…封进内部vi. 形成胶囊

 深度阅读 

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快戳阅读原文和美籍顾问1V1聊聊天~

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