My secret life as an undocumented immigrant

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精彩導讀

外面的世界很精彩，外面的世界很無奈。國外的生活貌似光鮮亮麗，但隱藏其背后的不僅有引人注目的繁華，還有無盡的眼淚，難言的屈辱，以及為爭取成為合法公民的不懈奮斗。本文即以一位移民者的身份敘述了其自幼移民加州，經過20多年的憂慮、恐懼和奮斗最終“登堂入室”成為美國公民的艱辛歷程。多處細節的描述令人動容，引人感嘆：要生存，先把淚擦干！

I was speaking to my mom the other day when she said, “Maybe this place isn't safe for us any longer.”The birds were singing,but I had no idea what she was talking about.

“But we're citizens now,we don't have to worry,”I said.

“But to them we'll always be immigrants,not Americans”she replied.

My pregnant mother,my then three-year-old brother,and I came to this country from the Philippines in 1985 when I was 4.I don't remember much about arriving in California,except that everything seemed much larger than what I had been used to.The streets were wide and open,and the mountains surrounding the valley were taller than those I had ever seen.

We shared a narrow room.My grandpa lived there too,along with my teenage cousin.In addition to visiting my aunt and uncle,my mom wanted to help my grandfather land his citizenship.Our six months came and went,yet we stayed.My sister was born,and my mother began attending night school to get her nursing certificate.

My father remained in the Philippines until I was 9 years old.We wrote letters,and tried to speak on the phone at least once or twice a month,though the cost was prohibitive.As time wore on,my father started to feel like a pen pal—a person you know exists,but who you'll probably never meet.When my father finally joined us in California,I found myself wondering who this stranger of a man was.The first time my sister met our father she was 4,the same age I was when we left.

In staying longer than we were allowed,we never took for granted the privilege it was to live here smoothly,nor did we forget the risk and fear that came with living as undocumented immigrants.We lived quietly to not attract too much attention，praying that one day my mom and grandpa's accents would just disappear，and hoping that we could look and sound like any other Ameri-can family.The first time I ate Hamburger Helper at a friend's house,I didn't ask where the rice was or why we were eating with forks instead of spoons.I just pretended that it was something I ate all the time.

When it came to protecting ourselves,the basic lesson was that we could trust no one outside the family.However，my biggest fear was that my little sister,a citizen,would grow up alone—that one day she would wake up alone because the immigration office had taken us in the middle of the night.

As I grew into my teenage years,I learned that I could not afford to make any mistake.I could not fail at school.I could not attend a protest that my church youth group was holding.My dad warned me， “They could be arresting people,and that can't happen to you.”So my family and I tried to be good citizens and contribute to this country during the years we lived here illegally.

When I finally became a U.S.citizen at 28 in 2009,it was an unforgettable moment.I studied hard for my citizenship test.I could leave nothing to chance.I cried when the judge said,“Welcome to the United States of America！ ”as if I hadn't been calling this country home since I was 4.I could finally believe my voice;it was finally okay to be heard.I could vote and stand up for my beliefs without worrying about being asked to leave the country that I called home.I could finally feel safe.

But now I'm not so sure.We'll always be immigrants,as my mom said.

Reading check

閱讀短文，從每題所給的A、B、C和D四個選項中，選出最佳選項。

1.What country did the author come from according to the text？

A.Mexico. B.Vietnam.

C.The Philippines. D.South Africa.

2.We can learn from Paragraph 5 that_______

A.the author and her family lived a very tough life in the beginning.

B.the author's mother attended night school for her certificate as a housekeeper.

C.the author lived with her grandpa in the same narrow house to decrease the rent.

D.the author's grandfather was a documented immigrant when he came to America.

3.The underlined word in Paragraph 6 can be best replaced by _______.

A.affordable B.expensive C.bearable D.steady

4.Why didn't the author ask a single question the first time she ate at a friend's house？

A.Because she was afraid that she would be laughed at.

B.Because she was unable to express herself in English.

C.Because she would give her identity away for her accent.

D.Because she had eaten what was on the table before that.

5.The author's biggest concern as an undocumented immigrant was that _______.

口語交際是指交際者出于某種社交需要，運用連貫標準的有聲語言傳遞信息、表情達意的社會活動。口語交際作為一種有目的的、有實效的人與人之間的語言溝通活動，其實質是一種雙向的社會活動。它以人類的語言能力為前提，強調實際情境中交際對象之間的交流與互動， 在動態的語境中運用口頭語言接收對方信息，同時把自己的思想情感傳遞給對方的過程。

A.her family would be sent back to their country for illegal living

B.she made a mistake and was arrested by the immigration office

C.she failed in an examination at school and was seriously punished

D.her little sister would grow up with no relatives keeping her company

Language study

Ⅰ.熟詞生義

文中詞條 基本含義 引申含義 生義例句l a n d 著陸；落地s m o o t h l y 光滑地 順利地；順暢地獲得；贏得H e l a n d e d a s e n i o r e d i t o r i a l j o b.他得到了一份高級編輯的工作。I f a l l g o e s s m o o t h l y,w e s h o u l d a r r i v e b y 9 o'c l o c k.如果一切進展順利，我們應該9點之前就能到。

Ⅱ.熱詞復現

1.in addition to除……之外；除了；除……外

Eg.In addition to what he said at the meeting,there was something else about the matter.除了他在會上所說的之外，關于這個問題還有些弦外之音。

2.wear on消逝；緩慢地進行；時間消逝

Eg.As the hours wore on,though,discomfort might be worse then if they had chosen tea or water instead.盡管隨著時間慢慢過去，他們要比喝茶或喝水之后感覺更加不舒服。

3.take...for granted想當然

Eg.It's an awful thing to live in the dark,unable to see what others take for granted.生活在黑暗之中，看不見別人習以為常的事物，是件可怕的事情。

4.contribute to捐助；給……投稿；有助于；促成；貢獻

Eg.Don't argue with Frank any longer.You are only wasting your breath trying to get him to contribute to the Red Cross.不要與弗蘭克再爭下去了，你要他給紅十字會捐款只不過是白費口舌而已。

5.leave nothing to chance萬無一失；不留下任何漏洞

Eg.We'll plan everything very carefully and leave nothing to chance.我們將非常周密地籌劃一切，決不

留任何紕漏。

Ⅲ.美句賞析

1.When my father finally joined us in California,I found myself wondering who this stranger of a man was.最后，當父親在加州加入到我們中間時，我發現，我竟然不知道這個陌生的男人是誰。

點撥：“found myself wondering”使用的是“find+賓語+賓補”的結構，賓補可以由形容詞、介詞短語、現在分詞，以及過去分詞充當。

When I woke up，I found myself lying in a bed in my friend's house.當我醒來的時候，我發現自己躺在了朋友家的床上。

微練：句式仿寫

當男子到達峽谷時，他發現自己被芬芳的（fragrant）鮮花環繞著。

2.In staying longer than we were allowed,we never took for granted the privilege it was to live here smoothly,nor did we forget the risk and fear that came with living as undocumented immigrants.在居住超過允許期限的時期，我們從來不敢理所當然地認為我們有權利在這兒居住得風平浪靜，我們也沒有忘記伴隨著作為無證移民生活而來的風險與恐懼。

點撥：“neither/nor+助動詞+主語”用于否定的倒裝，表示“同樣也不……”；肯定的倒裝要用“so+助動詞+主語”，意為“……也是如此”。

I will not tell you the secret，neither/nor will John.我不會告訴你秘密，John也是一樣。

微練：將下列句子變為倒裝句。

（1）Tom is good at maths.His sister is good at maths，too.

（2）Jack didn't pass the exam.Mary didn't pass the exam，either.

3.When it came to protecting ourselves,the basic lesson was that we could trust no one outside the family.當談到保護我們自己時，基本的教訓就是除了家人之外，我們沒有人可以信賴。

點撥：that引導的是一個表語從句；句型 “when it comes to...”意為“當談到……時”，其中的to為介詞。When it comes to dealing with cloze test，many students consider it to be the toughest in the examination.當談到處理完形填空時，許多的學生認為它是考試中最難的。

微練：句式仿寫

當談到學習英語語法時，很多學生說他們根本不喜歡它。

Instant drills

完成句子

1.除英語外，他還要學第二外語。

________ _______ ________ _English,he has to study a second foreign language.

2.當晚的時間過得很慢,她越來越緊張了。

As the evening _______________,she became more and more nervous.

3.我們通常把我們應該感謝的事視為理所當然。

We often _____________________the things that we should give thanks for.

4.吸煙會導致肺癌嗎?

Does smoking ______________lung cancer?

5.做實驗時，我們要萬無一失。

In the experiment,we____________________________.

6.我們在火車上睡著了，醒來時發現已經錯過了目的地。

We fell asleep on the train and woke up to______________ ________ _English,he has toour destination.

7.我不知道，也不關心他出了什么事。

I didn't know what happened to him，________________ _______ ________ _.

8.當談及到幫妻子做家務活這件事的時候，他從來不抱怨。

He never complains____________________________helping his wife with the house work.