PART 1 Summary

As the only light-colored child in a black family, Trevor enjoyed some perks. A case in point: he once accidentally perforated the eardrum of his cousin but got away with it as his grandmother did not know how to treat a "white" child. He was also differentiated and given privilege in social occasions like a funeral.  However, the difference in color did not lend itself to getting along with people from different backgrounds. Trevor contrived to bridge the race gap by replying to people in their language, whether it was English, Xhosa, Zulu or Afrikaans. 

Trevor soaked up the environment of Maryvale, an elite private school which treated kids of different colors equally. At the age of eleven, he left Maryvale to go to H. A. Jack Primary, a government school. It transpired that in Jack Primary, children of color were segregated from the whites. A handful of white kids made up the majority of the smart classes, the A classes, while almost all black kids were reckoned as underdogs and arranged in the B classes. Trevor talked to some black kids in African languages during a recess and they clicked straight away. Despondent about the racial segregation, Trevor went to the school counsel and asked for a switch to the B classes where he had a sense of belonging.

PART 2 Expressions

1. It was pandemonium.

pandemonium: [ˌpændəˈmoʊniəm] SYN chaos, commotion, a situation in which there is a lot of noise because people are angry, confused or frightened

When the verdict was read pandemonium broke out in the courtroom.

2. If you’re black in South Africa, speaking English is the one thing that can give you a leg up.

a leg up: a position of advantage,

Because of the advertising campaign, we had a leg up on the competition.

give sb a leg up: the act of assisting someone, giving someone a boost. This usage alludes to helping a person get on a horse by getting a foot in the stirrup.

Studying with Jane, who knows French history well, will give you a leg up for the final exam.

3. If you’re standing in the dock, English is the difference between getting off with a fine or going to prison.

in the dock: 这里不是“码头”的意思，而是指“刑事法庭的被告席”

Three defendants stood in the dock.

dock

4. I could hear them talking to one another about how they were going to mug me.

mug: (v.) to attack sb or rob them in a public place

A lot of people won't go out alone at night because they're afraid of being mugged.

mug （n.）在美式口语里有流氓、歹徒的意思

5. I had a wide berth to explore myself.

berth: （船或车的）卧铺； 船舶的停泊位；引申为“安全距离"

Goldring booked a berth on the first boat he could.

give sb/ sth a wide berth: to avoid sb or sth 对...敬而远之

More experienced hands in the Mission had given Miss Pickerstaff a wide berth that morning.

She gives showbiz parties a wide berth.

6. He took me under his wing, the Artful Dodger to my bewildered Oliver.

take sb under one's wing: to help and protect sb who is younger or less experienced than you are

be waiting/ lurking in the wings: ready to do sth or be used when the time is right

Several junior managers are waiting in the wings for promotion.

7. So the fact that I did speak African languages immediately endeared me to the black kids.

endear sb to sb: to make sb popular and liked

endear oneself to sb

The emperor saw an opportunity to endear himself to the Athenians.

endearing (a.)   Shyness is one of her most endearing qualities.

endearment: actions or words that express your love for sb

nicknames and other terms of endearment

PART 3 Thoughts

"Look, she said, "You're a smart kid. You don't want to be in that class."

"But aren't the classes the same? English is English. Math is math."

"Yeah, but that class is... those kids are gonna hold you back. You want to be in the smart class."

"But surely there must be some smart kids in the B class."

"No, there aren't."

"But all my friends are there."

"You don't want to be friends with those kids."

读着这一段话的时候不禁想起自己初中时的一段经历。我初中前两年读的是一所私立学校，学校入学前就要求考试并按照入学考的成绩分班和排学号，你是第一名还是最后一名根据学号就可知晓，每次大考的时候座位按照学号从前到后坐，而监考老师通常都只在后面一半转悠。我虽然是班里老师青睐有加的一号，但是那种分别化的制度却带给我很多痛苦的经历。被疏远、被抽屉里塞垃圾，每次有同学被老师批评都会认为是我去打的小报告虽然我一次都没有做过，每次成绩没考好得到的不是同学的安慰还是当面的冷嘲热讽。两年之后我转到了一所公立学校，在那里我不再被特殊化，也结交了很多朋友。很多年后曾经的一位初中同学联系到了我，她发微信对我说，她一直很愧疚，那时的她不是真的讨厌我，只是把自己学习上的压力都发泄到了我身上。那时我忽然明白，像我这样被欺凌的对象也好，那些曾经的欺凌者也好，都过地并不开心，我们都不过是那种病态的教育体制下的牺牲品而已。那所私立学校创造了很多公立学校所难以望其项背的成绩，但是那种教育体制下的孩子却失去了更多有价值的东西，比如友情。最近热播的《那年花开月正圆》里的怀先，一个被家人认为调皮捣蛋、不学无术的“坏孩子”在周莹的教育下成为里一个懂事孝顺、聪明好学的“好孩子”。个人认为，没有天生的“好孩子”、“坏孩子”或者“聪明孩子”、“笨孩子”，每一个孩子都有无限的可能和潜能，而将孩子差别化的等级制度，不管是出于种族歧视，还是功利化的成绩主义，都只会使孩子往畸态的方向发展。