少年派的奇幻漂流 Chapter 18

Chapter 18,Islam followed right behind, hardly a year later. I was fifteen years old and I was exploring my hometown. The Muslim quarter wasn't far from the zoo. A small, quiet neighbourhood with Arabic writing and crescent moons inscribed ¹ on the facades ² of the houses.,I came to Mullah Street. I had a peek ³ at the Jamia Masjid, the Great Mosque ⁴, being careful to stay on the outside, of course. Islam had a reputation worse than Christianity's - fewer gods, greater violence, and I had never heard anyone say good things about Muslim schools - so I wasn't about to step in, empty though the place was. The building, clean and white except for various edges painted green, was an open construction unfolding around an empty central room. Long straw mats covered the floor everywhere. Above, two slim, fluted ⁶ minarets ⁷ rose in the air before a background of soaring coconut ⁸ trees. There was nothing evidently religious or, for that matter, interesting about the place, but it was pleasant and quiet.,I moved on. Just beyond the mosque was a series of attached single-storey dwellings ⁹ with small shaded porches. They were rundown and poor, their stucco walls a faded green. One of the dwellings was a small shop. I noticed a rack of dusty bottles of Thums Up and four transparent ¹⁰ plastic jars half-full of candies. But the main ware ¹¹ was something else, something flat, roundish and white. I got close. It seemed to be some sort of unleavened bread. I poked ¹² at one. It flipped ¹³ up stiffly. They looked like three-day-old nans. Who would eat these, I wondered. I picked one up and wagged it to see if it would break.,A voice said, "Would you like to taste one?",I nearly jumped out of my skin. It's happened to all of us: there's sunlight and shade, spots and patterns of colour, your mind is elsewhere - so you don't make out what is right in front of you.,"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't see you!" I burst out. I was just about ready to run away.,"Don't worry," he said calmly. "It will feed a cow. Have another one.",He tore one in two. We ate it together. It was tough and rubbery, real work for the teeth, but filling. I calmed down.,"So you make these," I said, to make conversation.,"Yes. Here, let me show you how." He got off his platform and waved me into his house.,The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》,Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面 。 来自互联网