My Jewish Auntie and Her Muslim Neighbors

by Helen Stone

My Jewish Auntie and Her Muslim Neighbors

by Helen Stone

Track 6

一个是百岁犹太老人，一个是信奉伊斯兰教的穆斯林大家庭，奇妙的缘分让他们在伦敦成为了邻居。不同背景下的他们会擦出怎样的火花呢？让我们来好好感受一下这个故事里无处不在的温情。

My mother’s first cousin, always known to me as Auntie Lilly, turned 105 in March. She received her second birthday card from the Queen. Lilly came here as a1)Jewish2)refugee from Germany in March,1939. She lived in the same house in Willesden Green, north-west London, for the past 54 years. Since her husband Joe died, she has lived on her own.

When she was ninety-nine and a half, she fell and broke her hip. Everyone thought she would have to make a big change in her lifestyle; she would certainly need to go into a3)nursing home. Auntie Lilly, however, had other ideas. After quite a long time of4)rehabilitation, she returned to her own house and was once again climbing the stairs to her bedroom.

Her only child, Regina, married to an American, lives three thousand miles away and visits her mother several times a year. She often brings other family members with her.

When Lilly was5)pottering one day in her front garden, she soon got chatting to the new neighbors who had just moved in next door. They were a large Pakistani family of fourteen. The parents had first come to England in 1977. They were highly6)observant Muslims who7)prayed five times a day. An important part of their8)religious belief was a lot of respect for elderly people, no matter what their9)religion is. The youngest member of the Muslim family, a little girl of about two,10)took to Lilly at once and began to call her “grandma.” From that day, they became good friends.

1) Jewish ['dʒuːɪʃ] adj. 犹太人的

2) refugee [refjʊ'dʒiː] n. 逃亡者，难民

3) nursing home 养老院

4) rehabilitation ['riːhəˌbɪlɪ'teɪʃən] n. 复原

5) potter ['pɒtə] v. 闲逛, 闲荡

6) observant [əb'zзːvənt] adj. 严格遵守的

7) pray [preɪ] v. 祈祷

8) religious [rɪ'lɪdʒəs] adj. 宗教的

9) religion [rɪ'lɪdʒən] n. 宗教

10) take to 喜欢

The Muslim family would1：FaceTime是苹果公司所生产的一系列产品里内置的一款视频通话软件。1)pop in12)frequently to do13)odd jobs in the house or just to chat over a cup of tea. They would bring food they had cooked every day. They would also14)keep in regular touch with Regina to15)reassure her that Lilly was being well looked after. At Lilly’s 100th birthday party which was held in a restaurant, her Pakistani neighbors were16)treated as17)honored guests.

Until just before her 105th birthday, Lilly was still18)independent and19)managing to cook and look after herself, even if she did20)complain of being a little slower than21)previously. When I visited her, I would take my grandchildren and she would watch with22)delight as they played in her garden. Her23)daily routine was a regular one and she was always happy, positive and interested in the lives of her visitors.

Recently, she began to find life more difficult. Her wonderful neighbors started to come every morning to help her to wash and dress herself and then in the evening to help her to get to bed. When she became too weak to climb the stairs, two of the girls managed to move her24)double bed downstairs to the front room, settled her in it and then called Regina on FaceTime1：FaceTime是苹果公司所生产的一系列产品里内置的一款视频通话软件。to show her.

When Lilly became more poorly, Regina stayed to look after her, but it was a job for more than one person. So the Muslim family took it25)in turns to help her every day, as they had done before. With the love, care and respect they had for Auntie Lilly, they are simply the best neighbors who have become close and valued friends.

Auntie Lilly died on 26thMarch, 2015. She passed away peacefully in her own home with her daughter beside her. At the service, the Muslim family dressed in white clothes. Lilly’s Iraqi neighbors also attended, wanting to26)mark their special relationship too.

In a world in which we hear much about27)conflicts and differences, this story of a truly loving relationship between my Auntie Lilly and her Muslim neighbors has succeeded in lifting my spirits and renewing my28)faith in the kindness of human beings.

11) pop in 突然出现

12) frequently ['friːkwəntlɪ] adv. 时常发生的，频繁的

13) odd job 零星的工作

14) keep in touch with 与……保持联系

15) reassure [riːə'ʃʊə] v. 使……安心

16) treat [triːt] v. 款待

17) honored guest 贵宾

18) independent [ɪndɪ'pendənt] adj. 独立的，自立的

19) manage to 设法做到

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20) complain [kəm'pleɪn] v. 抱怨，埋怨

21) previously ['priːvjəslɪ] adv. 以前

22) delight [dɪ'laɪt] n. 喜悦

23) daily routine 日常生活

24) double bed 双人床

25) in turns 依次，轮流

26) mark [mɑːk] v. 标志

28) faith [feɪθ] n. 信念，信任

我的妈妈有位大表姐，我一直称她为莉莉表姨。三月的时候，她迈入了105岁，而她已经第二次收到英女王寄来的生日贺卡。1939年3月，莉莉表姨以犹太难民的身份从德国来到英国。54年来，她一直住在位于伦敦西北部的威尔斯登格林的屋子里。自从她的丈夫乔去世，她就一直独自生活。

在她99岁半的时候，莉莉表姨摔断了自己的髋骨。所有人都认为她必将在生活方式上做出巨大改变，她理所应当地要到养老院里接受看护。然而，莉莉表姨有着不一样的想法。经过相当长一段时间的康复治疗后，莉莉表姨回到了自己的屋子，又开始了爬楼梯到楼上卧室休息的日常生活。

她的独生女里贾娜嫁给了一个美国人，住在距离莉莉表姨有三千英里远的地方。每年，里贾娜会带上其他家庭成员来探望几次莉莉表姨。

有一天，莉莉表姨在她的前院漫步，她一下子就跟刚刚搬进隔壁屋子的新邻居聊上了。她的新邻居是一个有着14人的巴基斯坦大家庭。1977年，他们首次来到英格兰。他们是十分虔诚的穆斯林教徒，每天都会祈祷五遍。在他们的宗教信仰里，其中重要的一点就是要给予老年人极大的尊重，无论老年人的宗教信仰是什么。这个穆斯林家庭最小的成员—一个约两岁的小女孩，很快就喜欢上了莉莉表姨，并开始叫她“奶奶”。自那天起，他们就成为了好朋友。

这个穆斯林家庭常常会到莉莉表姨家帮忙做些琐碎的家事或是品茶闲聊。他们每天都会将煮好的食物带给表姨。他们还会定期和里贾娜联系，让她知道莉莉表姨得到了很好的照顾，让她安心。莉莉表姨的百岁寿辰庆祝会是在饭店里举行的，她的巴基斯坦邻居们也作为贵宾参加了这个庆生会。

在莉莉表姨的105岁生日到来之前，她依旧能够自理生活、料理三餐，即便她会抱怨动作比以前稍显迟钝了。每次我去探望她时，都会带上我的孙辈，而她会欢乐地看着他们在花园里玩耍。莉莉表姨作息规律，一直保持着积极快乐的心态，对来访者的生活也很关心。

最近，她开始觉得生活越来越困难。每天早上，她的好邻居们都会过来帮她洗漱、穿衣服。而到了晚上，他们又会扶她到床上休息。当莉莉表姨身体虚弱得连楼梯都爬不动时，邻居家的两个女孩就设法把表姨的双人床搬到了楼下的前厅。将表姨安顿好后，她们就用FaceTime联络里贾娜，给她看看表姨的新房间。

再后来，当莉莉表姨的身体状况每况愈下，里贾娜就留下来照顾她，但里贾娜一个人实在是忙不过来。于是，这个穆斯林家庭就像往常一样，每天轮流过去帮忙。带着他们的关爱与尊重，他们已经成为了莉莉表姨最棒的邻居以及珍贵的密友。

2015年3月26日，莉莉表姨在女儿的陪伴下，在家中安祥地离世了。她的穆斯林邻居身穿白衣出席了葬礼。她的伊拉克邻居们也出席了葬礼，同样想要缅怀他们之间那特别的情谊。

我们听到过世上太多的冲突和差异。而莉莉表姨与她的穆斯林邻居建立起真诚友爱的邻里关系的故事，成功地振奋了我的精神，使我对人类的善良有了更大的信心。

我的犹太表姨和她的穆斯林邻居

翻译：常青