My mother wanted each of us to be somebody too. "Your challenge is to be everything you can. Mine is to help," she always said.
　 母親也希望我們每個(gè)人將來(lái)都有所作為。她總是說(shuō)：“對(duì)你們的要求就是將來(lái)要大有作為。而我則是幫你們?nèi)?shí)現(xiàn)。”

　　She read to us every day and used homemade flash cards to teach us phonics. She bolstered our confidence, praising even our most ordinary accomplishments. When I was ten, I painted a stack of wooden crates white and nailed them together to make a wobbly bookcase. "It's wonderful!" Mama exclaimed. "Just what we need." She used it for many years.
　 她每天給我們讀書(shū)，還用自制的卡片教我們學(xué)語(yǔ)音。她激勵(lì)我們，對(duì)我們做成的一般小事也要贊揚(yáng)一番。在10歲那年，我把一些板條木箱漆成白色，然后把它們訂成了一個(gè)搖搖晃晃的書(shū)柜。“棒極了!”母親贊嘆道。“我們正好用得著。”這書(shū)柜她一用就是好多年。

　　In the dining room are two paint-by-number pictures that my sister Gloria and brother Leo did as kids. Several years ago, Leo commented that the pictures weren't very good and offered to take them down. But Mama wouldn't hear of it. "They are there to remind you how much you could accomplish even as children," she said.
　　在我們家餐廳里掛著兩張按數(shù)字涂顏色的畫(huà)，那是姐姐格羅麗亞和哥哥利歐小時(shí)候的作品。幾年前，利歐說(shuō)這兩張畫(huà)不怎么樣，主動(dòng)要取下來(lái)。可媽媽反對(duì)。她說(shuō)：“畫(huà)掛在那里可以讓你們記得，你們自打小時(shí)候就有多能干了!”

　　From the very beginning, she urged us to think big. One day, after visiting our grandparents on the South Side, she made Dad detour past the Prudential Building construction site. Mama explained that when finished, the 41-story building would be Chicago's tallest. "Maybe someday one of you can design a building like this," she said.
　 從一開(kāi)始，母親就教導(dǎo)我們要胸懷大志。一天，在看望了住在芝加哥南區(qū)的外祖父母后，母親要爸爸繞道帶我們經(jīng)過(guò)普魯?shù)窍柎髲B的施工場(chǎng)地。媽媽說(shuō)，這座41層高的大廈建成后將是芝加哥市最高的。“也許將來(lái)有一天你們中有個(gè)人也能設(shè)計(jì)出這樣的高樓呢。”她如是說(shuō)。

　　Her confidence in us was infectious. When my sister Carla was 12, she announced she was going to be a lawyer.
　　她對(duì)我們的信心使我們深受感染。當(dāng)姐姐卡拉12歲時(shí)，便雄心勃勃地宣布她將來(lái)要當(dāng)律師。

　 You can do that," Mama said. You can do anything you put your mind to."
　 "你行的!"媽媽說(shuō)。"只要你用心去做，你什么都能干好!"

　　Tour Guide. To Mama, education was a key part of her blueprint for success. Four of us went to a nearby, one-room schoolhouse. My mother made up for its shortcomings by getting us educational toys, talking to us about history, politics and current events, and helping with home-work . The best part of getting a good report card was her unstinting praise.
　 人生向?qū)?在媽媽看來(lái)，她描繪的成功藍(lán)圖的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵因素是教育。我們兄妹四個(gè)在附近一所學(xué)校上學(xué)，學(xué)校只有一間教室。母親就給我們找一些有教育意義的玩具，跟我們談歷史、政治和時(shí)事，并給我們布置家庭作業(yè)，以彌補(bǔ)學(xué)校的不足。我們?nèi)〉昧藘?yōu)異成績(jī)她便大加贊揚(yáng)。