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昨天我親身经历了一场停车场火灾，交通堵塞了几个小时；今天早上，我又被各种汽笛声叫醒，好像发生了什么紧急事件；这里的公共交通方便实惠，但到处张贴着“逃票”违法的标语，公交车上都安有摄像头，广播也不断提醒乘客注意可疑人员；我居住的社区大多是行动缓慢的老年人，大街小巷到处都是超重的胖子；让人触目惊心的违规驾驶者、长期患有精神疾病的临时室友……回到自己的国家，我反而不适应了……
I hear loud horns and sirens blaring intermittently throughout the day.1 Morning calm is shattered2. The interruptions of nature’s peaceful reverie announce man’s emergencies far off creeping closer.3 Possible accidents are not from people being unable to find food or places to eat. Yesterday a car was burning， plumes of black smoke choked the parking lot air of Maryland’s Motor Vehicle station where I had ventured.4 Motors were stalled5 for almost two hours. Traffic jams are a common sight at certain hours of the day.
I am surprised that public transportation is so efficient. The Silver Springs area where I now live， supports the needs of several posh resort looking retirement and assisted living communities.6 Boarding a METRA7 bus， I swipe my card-pass only once （$1.75）， no need to swipe when exiting. However， posted signs warn that “fare evasion8” is a criminal offense. City buses are monitored by internal police surveillance cameras9. In addition， an audio recorded voice reminds passengers to report any odd or suspicious behavior. The warning voice says， “If you see anything strange， report it immediately！”
My new community is composed mostly of seniors. They are noticeably slow， steadily walking down long quiet carpeted hallways. They sit alone watching hour after hour of televised programming. Or， gather in the large community room waiting for something or someone to pass by with words of contact. Several are car owners and shuffle hesitantly once a week， or on alternate days， to their parked vehicles before departing from this self-imposed incarceration.10 Perhaps some have part-time jobs or volunteer interests elsewhere. I have noticed there are a few regulars who pace around the outside garden and park areas surrounding the compound.11 Some even stubbornly push their walkers12 and wheelchairs on the smooth paved sidewalks to catch real fresh air and sunshine. Others， like my roommate， hibernate13 in the apartment.
Most people in this community， as well as， pedestrians14 moving about in the city are overweight. This striking fact is hard to overlook.15 In almost every direction I look， random figures of all cultures， colors， and girth， seem like obese misplaced buffalo roaming the concrete plains， in the shadows of asphalt spaces and box-like buildings instead of shrubbery.16 However， this scene clearly contrasts with the thick forest area with curving17， hilly roads， I have walked along for 20 minutes in order to reach Y-2， Y-7， and Y-8 bus station with routes taking me directly into the city.
“Good afternoon！ How are you today？”
“Be careful！ There might be snakes in that tall grass！”
The small， walnut-colored woman， with short-cropped gray hair， has answered my greetings on two afternoons in a row with a similar response.18 She seems genuinely afraid that slimy vipers will slither out of the tall grass along this quiet road to make unprovoked attacks.19 I call her the snake woman. Earlier that morning I spied at least seven large black birds， vultures， feasting on the carcass of what looked like the skeletal remains of a mid-sized deer.20 Drivers and pedestrians alike， must be on the alert for the unexpected in this area.
Food variety in the region is basically an international mix of cultures. Bars and cafes dot the area ranging from Irish， Vietnamese， Mexican， Ethiopian， Indian， Chinese， Jamaican，21 Thai， and The Big Greek food place. Temptation for me to sample and eat even more， is nursed by the Dunkin’ Donut， Subway， and Taco Bell shops everywhere.22 McDonald’s and various competing chicken franchises also clog virtually every long street or strip mall.23 I worry that sooner or later， I will become an automatic member of the American FAT SQUAD， another number added to the obese army of hypnotized citizens， waddling between Television， couch， fridge， and fast food outlets.24
Our driving teacher lectures and shows short videos of drivers violating Maryland state laws. Drivers texting carelessly on mobile phones， reading messages， or speeding in traffic pose25 immediate dangers. I am clearly the older， senior citizen， in this groups of young people ranging from 18—27 years of age. Our teacher， an attractive， dark skinned woman from the Dominican Republic26， is humorous and dynamic. Her husband is a light skinned Puerto Rican27 from New York City， and they have two sons in mid-twenties. This is a family-run business. The Silver Spring Driving School has been in operation since 2005， providing excellent preparation for people intent on passing rigorous written and behind-thewheel state mandated driving tests.28 The teacher has a great sense of cultural anxieties held by foreign students， so none are bored by stories she shares. Most of these students hail from29 other countries， or are of mixed cultural heritages. It is comforting to hear our teacher talk about her own personal frustrations dealing with the American culture. She empathizes with first-timers unfamiliar with rules of the road and cultural customs.30 Our teacher is emphatic that students understand the serious responsibilities attached to the privilege of driving on U.S. highway system.31 Careless， distracted drivers， risk losing the privilege of sharing the roads with civic-minded32 citizens. 23. franchise： 特许经营权，专卖店；clog：（使）堵塞；strip mall： 指路边由一排商店组成的小型购物中心（通常前面有大的停车场）。
24. squad： 小队；hypnotized： 被催眠的；waddle： 蹒跚；outlet： 商店。
25. pose： 造成。
26. Dominican Republic： 多米尼加共和国，北美洲加勒比海国家。
27. Puerto Rican： 波多黎各人。
28. intent on doing sth.： 下定决心做某事；rigorous： 严格的；behind-the-wheel： 坐在驾驶位的（指路考）；state mandated： 各州指定的。
29. hail from： 出生在，來自（某地）。
30. empathize： 同情，产生共鸣；first-timer：新手。
31. emphatic： 强调的；privilege： 特权。
32. civic-minded： 讲公德的。
33. ill-at-ease： 局促不安的；interact with：与……交流，互动。
34. 白人和其他种族之间的暴力不断升级、不良的警民关系日趋紧张、新美国政府屡出伤人的浮夸言辞和政策，这都让气氛变得十分可怕。escalating： 加剧的；abrasive：伤人感情的，生硬粗暴的；rhetoric： 虚华辞藻；espouse： 支持；dread： 恐惧；laden：（用于构成形容词）充满……的，装载……的。
35. stiff： 僵硬的；stern： 严厉的；evasive： 闪避的，含糊其辞的。
36. salutation： 打招呼的话；reciprocate：// 交换，互给。
37. 一般来说，除非是对游客，人们似乎明显地收起了他们的礼貌和接纳。
38. stretch： 一段距离（或路程）。
39. sorely： 强烈地；compensate： 抵消。
40. leery： 提防的。
41. misdeed： 恶行；cloak： 伪装；in the guise of： 假借，以……为幌子。
42. harbor： v. 长期怀有。
43. squeal： 长而尖的声音。
44. prone to： 倾向于；lash out：责骂；assault： 攻击，抨击；paranoia： 妄想狂，多疑症。
45. irritation： 恼怒。
46. squeaky： 发出尖利声音的；grate： 使恼火。
47. juicy： 有吸引力的，令人满足的。
48. variance： 变化。
49. nestle： 位处，坐落（于安全、隐蔽之处）；prevalence： 流行，普遍；understatement：保守的说法，不充分的叙述。
I hear loud horns and sirens blaring intermittently throughout the day.1 Morning calm is shattered2. The interruptions of nature’s peaceful reverie announce man’s emergencies far off creeping closer.3 Possible accidents are not from people being unable to find food or places to eat. Yesterday a car was burning， plumes of black smoke choked the parking lot air of Maryland’s Motor Vehicle station where I had ventured.4 Motors were stalled5 for almost two hours. Traffic jams are a common sight at certain hours of the day.
I am surprised that public transportation is so efficient. The Silver Springs area where I now live， supports the needs of several posh resort looking retirement and assisted living communities.6 Boarding a METRA7 bus， I swipe my card-pass only once （$1.75）， no need to swipe when exiting. However， posted signs warn that “fare evasion8” is a criminal offense. City buses are monitored by internal police surveillance cameras9. In addition， an audio recorded voice reminds passengers to report any odd or suspicious behavior. The warning voice says， “If you see anything strange， report it immediately！”
My new community is composed mostly of seniors. They are noticeably slow， steadily walking down long quiet carpeted hallways. They sit alone watching hour after hour of televised programming. Or， gather in the large community room waiting for something or someone to pass by with words of contact. Several are car owners and shuffle hesitantly once a week， or on alternate days， to their parked vehicles before departing from this self-imposed incarceration.10 Perhaps some have part-time jobs or volunteer interests elsewhere. I have noticed there are a few regulars who pace around the outside garden and park areas surrounding the compound.11 Some even stubbornly push their walkers12 and wheelchairs on the smooth paved sidewalks to catch real fresh air and sunshine. Others， like my roommate， hibernate13 in the apartment.
Most people in this community， as well as， pedestrians14 moving about in the city are overweight. This striking fact is hard to overlook.15 In almost every direction I look， random figures of all cultures， colors， and girth， seem like obese misplaced buffalo roaming the concrete plains， in the shadows of asphalt spaces and box-like buildings instead of shrubbery.16 However， this scene clearly contrasts with the thick forest area with curving17， hilly roads， I have walked along for 20 minutes in order to reach Y-2， Y-7， and Y-8 bus station with routes taking me directly into the city.
“Good afternoon！ How are you today？”
“Be careful！ There might be snakes in that tall grass！”
The small， walnut-colored woman， with short-cropped gray hair， has answered my greetings on two afternoons in a row with a similar response.18 She seems genuinely afraid that slimy vipers will slither out of the tall grass along this quiet road to make unprovoked attacks.19 I call her the snake woman. Earlier that morning I spied at least seven large black birds， vultures， feasting on the carcass of what looked like the skeletal remains of a mid-sized deer.20 Drivers and pedestrians alike， must be on the alert for the unexpected in this area.
Food variety in the region is basically an international mix of cultures. Bars and cafes dot the area ranging from Irish， Vietnamese， Mexican， Ethiopian， Indian， Chinese， Jamaican，21 Thai， and The Big Greek food place. Temptation for me to sample and eat even more， is nursed by the Dunkin’ Donut， Subway， and Taco Bell shops everywhere.22 McDonald’s and various competing chicken franchises also clog virtually every long street or strip mall.23 I worry that sooner or later， I will become an automatic member of the American FAT SQUAD， another number added to the obese army of hypnotized citizens， waddling between Television， couch， fridge， and fast food outlets.24
Our driving teacher lectures and shows short videos of drivers violating Maryland state laws. Drivers texting carelessly on mobile phones， reading messages， or speeding in traffic pose25 immediate dangers. I am clearly the older， senior citizen， in this groups of young people ranging from 18—27 years of age. Our teacher， an attractive， dark skinned woman from the Dominican Republic26， is humorous and dynamic. Her husband is a light skinned Puerto Rican27 from New York City， and they have two sons in mid-twenties. This is a family-run business. The Silver Spring Driving School has been in operation since 2005， providing excellent preparation for people intent on passing rigorous written and behind-thewheel state mandated driving tests.28 The teacher has a great sense of cultural anxieties held by foreign students， so none are bored by stories she shares. Most of these students hail from29 other countries， or are of mixed cultural heritages. It is comforting to hear our teacher talk about her own personal frustrations dealing with the American culture. She empathizes with first-timers unfamiliar with rules of the road and cultural customs.30 Our teacher is emphatic that students understand the serious responsibilities attached to the privilege of driving on U.S. highway system.31 Careless， distracted drivers， risk losing the privilege of sharing the roads with civic-minded32 citizens. 23. franchise： 特许经营权，专卖店；clog：（使）堵塞；strip mall： 指路边由一排商店组成的小型购物中心（通常前面有大的停车场）。
24. squad： 小队；hypnotized： 被催眠的；waddle： 蹒跚；outlet： 商店。
25. pose： 造成。
26. Dominican Republic： 多米尼加共和国，北美洲加勒比海国家。
27. Puerto Rican： 波多黎各人。
28. intent on doing sth.： 下定决心做某事；rigorous： 严格的；behind-the-wheel： 坐在驾驶位的（指路考）；state mandated： 各州指定的。
29. hail from： 出生在，來自（某地）。
30. empathize： 同情，产生共鸣；first-timer：新手。
31. emphatic： 强调的；privilege： 特权。
32. civic-minded： 讲公德的。
33. ill-at-ease： 局促不安的；interact with：与……交流，互动。
34. 白人和其他种族之间的暴力不断升级、不良的警民关系日趋紧张、新美国政府屡出伤人的浮夸言辞和政策，这都让气氛变得十分可怕。escalating： 加剧的；abrasive：伤人感情的，生硬粗暴的；rhetoric： 虚华辞藻；espouse： 支持；dread： 恐惧；laden：（用于构成形容词）充满……的，装载……的。
35. stiff： 僵硬的；stern： 严厉的；evasive： 闪避的，含糊其辞的。
36. salutation： 打招呼的话；reciprocate：// 交换，互给。
37. 一般来说，除非是对游客，人们似乎明显地收起了他们的礼貌和接纳。
38. stretch： 一段距离（或路程）。
39. sorely： 强烈地；compensate： 抵消。
40. leery： 提防的。
41. misdeed： 恶行；cloak： 伪装；in the guise of： 假借，以……为幌子。
42. harbor： v. 长期怀有。
43. squeal： 长而尖的声音。
44. prone to： 倾向于；lash out：责骂；assault： 攻击，抨击；paranoia： 妄想狂，多疑症。
45. irritation： 恼怒。
46. squeaky： 发出尖利声音的；grate： 使恼火。
47. juicy： 有吸引力的，令人满足的。
48. variance： 变化。
49. nestle： 位处，坐落（于安全、隐蔽之处）；prevalence： 流行，普遍；understatement：保守的说法，不充分的叙述。