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AngelaPatton_2012X-_父女之舞…在狱中_
I was sitting with my girls, and Joy said, " Dang , I wish he'd get off my back . 我和女孩儿们坐在一起 Joy说, “该死！我真希望我爸爸别再唠叨我了。
Dang:int.讨厌;见鬼(等于damn); off my back:不再烦扰;
My daddy, he calls me all the time." 他老是对我讲个不停。”
'"Lucky for you he calls at all," said Jasmine. Jasmine说:“能有他的唠叨是你的幸运,
'"I haven't heard from my dad in years." 我已经好多年没有我爸爸的消息了。”
At this moment, I knew the girls needed a way to connect with their fathers. 这让我明白女孩儿们需要一种方法 来跟自己的父亲建立沟通。
At Camp Diva , my non-profit organization , we have these types of conversations all the time as a way to help girls of African descent prepare for their passage into womanhood . 在我的非营利组织（non-profit organization ）Camp Diva里, 这样的对话每天都在发生。 我们通过这种方式帮助非洲血统的女孩儿们 为成为一名真正的女性做好准备。
Diva:n.女主角;女歌唱家(尤指歌剧女主角); non-profit:adj.非营利的; organization:n.组织;机构;体制;团体; descent:n.下降;血统;袭击;vt.除去…的气味;使…失去香味; womanhood:n.女人;女人气质;女子成年期;
These girls just needed a way to invite their fathers into their lives on their own terms. 她们需要的只是 一种以她们的意愿 来让父亲进入自己生活的方式。
So I asked the girls, "How can we help other girls develop healthy relationships with their fathers?" 因此我问她们, “我们怎样才能其他人 与父亲建立起健康的关系？”
'"Let's have a dance," one girl shouted, and all the girls quickly backed her up. 一个女孩儿喊出:“我们可以跳舞！” 其他女孩儿很快表示支持。
They started dreaming about the decorations , invitations , the dresses they were going to wear, and what their fathers could and could not wear. (Laughter) 她们开始想像装饰品是什么样的, 用什么样的邀请卡,她们要穿的衣服, 以及父亲们会穿什么,不会穿什么。（笑声）
decorations:n.装饰品;装饰图案;装饰风格;(decoration的复数) invitations:n.邀请;获得邀请;请帖;(invitation的复数)
It was off and running before I could even blink my eyes, but even if I could have slowed down those girls, 整件事儿发生得太快了,我甚至没来得及眨眼。 但尽管我本可以告诉女孩儿们慢慢来,
blink:vt.眨眼;使…闪烁;vi.眨眼;闪烁;n.眨眼;瞬间;闪光;
I wouldn't have, because one thing that I have learned from over a decade of working with girls is that they already know what they need. 我却没有。 因为我从十多年与女孩儿们 共处的时光里学到的一件事就是 她们早就知道她们需要什么了。
The wisdom lives inside of them. 她们的聪慧与生俱来,
wisdom:n.智慧;明智;才智;学问;
As long as they have infrastructure , mentorship and resources , they can build what they need, not only to survive, but to thrive . 只要有最基本的东西, 合理的指导和资源, 她们就能获得需要的一切, 而这绝不仅仅只为了生存,更为了好好地生活。
As long as:conj.只要;长达;如果;既然; infrastructure:n.基础设施;公共建设;下部构造; mentorship:n.导师制,辅导教师;师徒制; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); thrive:v.繁荣;茁壮成长;蓬勃发展;兴旺发达;
So we had a dance, and girls and their fathers came in multitudes . 所以我们办了个舞会, 女孩儿和父亲们挤满了舞厅,
multitudes:n.众多;大量;群众;民众;人群;(multitude的复数)
They were dressed to the nines. 他们盛装打扮,
They acted sweet. 举止优雅。
(Laughter) （笑声）
They acted silly. 尽管看上去笨笨的,
They really enjoyed each other's company. 他们真的很享受彼此的陪伴。
It was a huge success. 舞会获得了巨大的成功。
And the girls decided to make it an annual event. 女孩儿们决定每年都举办一次。
annual:n.年报;年鉴;年刊;adj.每年的;年度的;一年的;
So as the seasons changed, and it was time to plan the dance again, one girl named Brianna spoke up, and she said, "My dad can't come to the dance, and this whole thing is making me sad." 随着时间的推移, 又到了举行舞会的时间, 一个叫Brianna的女孩儿 她说, “我爸爸不能来跳舞了, 我好难过。”
'"Why not?" the girls asked. 别的女孩问:“为什么？”
'"Because he's in jail ," she bravely admitted. “他坐牢了。”她勇敢地承认。
jail:n.监狱;监牢;拘留所;v.监禁;下狱; bravely:adv.勇敢地;华丽地;
'"Well, can he just get out for a day?" one of the girls asked. (Laughter) “他就出来一天不行吗？”一个女孩儿问。（笑声）
'"And come in shackles ? “戴着脚镣？”
shackles:n.[法]手铐,[法]脚镣;塞古;
That's worse than not having him here at all." “那还不如不让他出现在这儿。”
At this moment, I saw an opportunity for the girls to rise to the occasion and to become their own heroes. 这时,我感觉到了一个机会, 让女孩儿们抓住时机, 成为自己的英雄。
rise to the occasion:应付自如;
So I asked, "What do you think we should do about this? 所以我问:“你们觉得我们该怎么办？
We want every girl to experience the dance, right?" 我们想让每个女孩儿都参加舞会,对不对？“
So the girls thought for a moment, and one girl suggested, "Why don't we just take the dance in the jail?" 女孩儿们思索了一会儿, 一个女孩提了个建议, ”为什么不把舞会设在监狱里？“
Most of the girls doubted the possibility of that, and said, "Are you crazy? 大多数女孩儿表示怀疑, 说:”你疯了？
Who is going to allow a bunch of little girls, dressed up — " (Laughter) 谁会允许一群小姑娘 穿着漂亮的衣服——（笑声）
a bunch of:一群;一束;一堆;
'" — to come inside a jail and dance with their daddies in Spongebob suits?" ——在监狱里跟穿着海绵宝宝衣服的父亲跳舞？“
Spongebob:n.海绵宝宝(动画片名);
Because that's what they called them. 女孩儿们是这样形容自己的父亲的。
I said, "Girls, well, well, you never know unless you ask." 我说:”好啦好啦,姑娘们, 如果不问,你永远都不知道行不行。“
you never know:(非正式)很难说,不可预知;
So a letter was written to the Richmond City Sheriff , signed collectively by each girl, and I would have to say, he is a very special sheriff. 所以我们给Richmond市治安官写了封信, 每个人都签了名。 我必须要说,他是个特别的治安官。
Richmond:n.里士满(美国弗吉尼亚首府); Sheriff:n.州长;郡治安官;执行吏; collectively:adv.共同地,全体地;
He contacted me immediately and said, whenever there is an opportunity to bring families inside, his doors are always open. 他立刻联系了我,说, 无论何时有让家庭在监狱里团聚的机会, 他都愿意促成,他的大门都会打开。
contacted:v.联系,联络(如用电话或信件)(contact的过去分词和过去式)
Because one thing he did know, that when fathers are connected to their children, it is less likely that they will return. 因为他知道, 当父亲和孩子感情相通, 他们就减少了重返犯罪的可能。
So, 16 inmates and 18 girls were invited. 所以, 16名罪犯和18个女孩儿受到了邀请。
inmates:n.被收容者;居民(inmate的名词复数);
The girls were dressed in their Sunday best , and the fathers traded in their yellow and blue jumpsuits for shirts and ties. 女孩儿们穿上最漂亮的衣服, 父亲们脱下黄色和蓝色的连身衣, 换上西装,扎起了领带。
Sunday best:最好的衣服;礼拜服; jumpsuits:连衣裤(jumsuit的复数);
They hugged. 他们拥抱。
They shared a full catered meal of chicken and fish. 他们享受了一顿带鸡肉和鱼肉的美味大餐。
catered:v.提供饮食,承办酒席;迎合;(cater的过去分词和过去式)
They laughed together. 他们开怀大笑。
It was beautiful. 那场景太美了。
The fathers and daughters even experienced an opportunity to have a physical connection, something that a lot of them didn't even have for a while . 父亲和女儿们甚至拥有了 好多人以前片刻都没有体验过的 身体上的 一种联系。
physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; for a while:adv.片刻;暂时;一会儿;一时;
Fathers were in a space where they were able to make their daughters play, and pull out her chair and extend his hand for a dance. 父亲们终于能够扮演一个 能让自己的女儿展示自己的能力, 为她们拉开椅子,伸出手,邀请她们跳舞的角色。
extend:vt.延伸; vi.延伸;
Even the guards cried. 连警卫都感动落泪。
But after the dance, we all realized that Dad still would be in jail. 但舞会结束后, 我们意识到父亲还要继续在监狱里生活,
So we needed to create something that they could take with them. 所以我们得做出一些 他们可以随身携带的东西。
So we brought in Flip cams , and we had them look at the Flip cams and just interview each other -- their messages, their thoughts. 所以我们用带来的便携摄像机, 用镜头纪录下他们的 互相采访—— 讲讲自己的消息和想法。
Flip:n.浏览;空翻;轻抛;捻掷;v.迅速翻动;按(开关);按(按钮);开(或关)(机器等); cams:n.凸轮(cam的复数); interview:n.接见,采访;面试,面谈;v.采访;接见;对…进行面谈;
This was going to be used as a touchstone so when they started to miss each other and feel disconnected , they could reconnect through this image. 这将成为维持感情的纽带, 一旦他们想念彼此, 感到孤独, 就可以通过影像重新得到心灵上的相通。
touchstone:n.试金石;(检验)标准; disconnected:adj.分离的; v.切断(煤气、水或电的供应); (disconnect的过去式和过去分词) reconnect:v.使再接合;
I'll never forget that one girl looked in her father's eyes with that camera and said, "Daddy, when you look at me, what do you see?" 我永远都不会忘记,一个女孩儿拿着摄像机, 直视父亲的眼睛,问: ”“爸爸,当你看我的时候,你看到了什么？“
Because our daddies are our mirrors that we reflect back on when we decide about what type of man we deserve , and how they see us for the rest of our lives. 因为父亲就是一面镜子。 当我们回顾自我, 思索我们该与什么样的男性共度余生, 他们又如何看待我们时。我们看到的是父亲折射出的影子。
reflect:v.反映;映出(影像);反射;表明,表达; deserve:vi.应受,应得;
I know that very well, because I was one of the lucky girls. 对此我再清楚不过, 因为我个是幸运的女孩儿,
I have had my father in my life always. 我的父亲 一直在我的生命中不曾离开。
He's even here today. 今天他甚至来到了现场。
(Applause) （掌声）
And that is why it is extremely special for me to make sure that these girls are connected to their fathers, especially those who are separated because of barbed wires and metal doors. 这也是为什么 确保这些女孩儿和父亲间建立起精神纽带 对我来说如此重要, 特别是那些 被带着倒钩的铁网和铁门隔开的父女。
extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; barbed:adj.有倒钩的;挖苦的;伤人的;带刺的;
We have just created a form for girls who have heavy questions on their heart to be in a position to ask their fathers those questions and given the fathers the freedom to answer. 我们已经建立起一种 让有着沉重问题的女孩儿们 向自己的父亲问出问题, 并留给父亲回答的自由的方式。
Because we know that the fathers are even leaving with this one thought: 因为我们知道这些父亲 心中也有一个问题,
What type of woman am I preparing to put in the world? ”我要把一个什么样的女性留在这个世界上？“
Because a father is locked in does not mean he should be locked out of his daughter's life. 因为一位被锁在牢房里的父亲 不应该 也被禁锢在女儿的生活之外。
(Applause) （掌声）