The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Expressions

1. He ignores the barb.

barb: 1. (箭、钩的)倒钩，倒刺

2. a remark that is meant to hurt sb's feelings 挖苦的话，带刺的话

barbed: (a.) 有倒钩的；挖苦的

a barbed comment on his appearance

2. They make me feel totally inadequate.

inadequate:形容人的时候指“不胜任的；缺乏信心的”

I felt totally inadequate as a parent.

3. Well, you must have really done a number on him.

do a number on sb/ sth: to hurt or damage sb or sth badly

Tod really did a number on the old house. I don't envy the new tenants.

4. The response strikes Amelia as overly businesslike, dismissive.

dismissive: refusing to consider sb or sth seriously 鄙视的，不屑一顾的

Some historians have been dismissive of this argument.

Cath spread both hands in a dismissive gesture.

复习: cock a snook at sb/ sth

5. By then, A.J. feels sure his little crush will have gone away or at least resolved itself into a more tolerable dormancy.

resolve:溶解；解决(问题)

resolve (itself) into sth: formal, to gradually change into sth else

The argument resolved itself into an uneasy truce.

dormancy: ['dɔ:mənsɪ] 冬眠；蛰伏；休眠

dormant: 休眠的；静止的

6. You don't want her to end up stunted.

stunt: 之前比较熟悉的是它“特技”的意思，这里是(v.)，指 to prevent sb/ sth from growing or developing as much as they should be 阻碍生长/阻碍发展

The constant winds had stunted the growth of plants and brushes.

His illness had not stunted his creativity.

7. He does not talk to her like she is a simpleton just because she is a child.

simpleton: (n.) [ˈsɪmpltən] a person who is not very intelligent and can be tricked easily 头脑简单的人；容易上当受骗的人

Thoughts

今天读到一句话与昨天的感想不谋而合。在这一章里，Lambiase警官说了这样一句话：“Pretty much every bad thing in life is a result of bad timing, and every good thing is the result of good timing.” 今天本来预约了一节西班牙语课，想重新捡起被自己抛掷已久的知识，但却被外教放鸽子了，也算是一种学习外语的bad timing吧。言归正传，今天真正想写的话题是"passion"。在这一章里，Amelia与A.J.见面了，虽然两人都暗生情愫但介于Amelia已经有了未婚夫而互相不表露自己的情感，直到Amelia告诉A.J.她已经与未婚夫分手，两人才有了第一次真正的约会。Amelia说，她与A.J.的聊天让她意识到与未婚夫缺乏共同点因而找不到激情(passion)。最近一直在为工作的事情暗自烦恼着。不是工作缺乏前途，而是觉得那并不是自己喜欢做的事情。想到自己几年甚至十几年的岁月都要从事眼前的工作感觉很疲累甚至恐怖。快乐与不快乐真的只有自己才真正知道。有些人从事某种事业，也许别人会觉得很辛苦又没有丰腴的收入，然而他本人却会觉得很快乐很满足，这样的人生才是真正让人羡慕的。而有些选择，却仿佛是为了让别人觉得自己很快乐或者很成功，但到头来，无数个在黑夜里辗转难眠、每天以一种糟糕又无奈的心情开始一天的工作，这种悲凉的心情只有自己能体悟。追逐梦想、追逐自己的热情，是一件并不容易的事。机遇的缺乏、家人的反对或者现实生活的其他种种框架都能够成为阻碍我们去寻找自己passion的阻力。然而不管如何，还是希望有一天能打破现在的牢笼，可以满怀热情地去做自己喜欢做的事，希望能拥有这样的幸运。