Ⅶ. 首字母填空
根据短文内容及首字母提示,在空格处填入一个适当的词使短文完整。
When I first set foot on Mexican soil, I spoke Spanish well. So when I asked a local taco seller for a taco, and he said "ahorita", which is directly 1. t
ranslated
into "right now", I took him at his word, believing that 2. i
ts
arrival was immediate.
I sat near his shop and waited. Half an hour passed and 3. s
till
no taco arrived, so I asked again about it. "Ahorita," he told me again. His face was a mix of confusion and maybe even embarrassment.
I was torn(犹豫的). Waiting longer wasn't pleasant, but I felt it was 4. i
mpolite
to just walk away, especially if the taco was now being delivered just for me. But finally, after 5. w
aiting
too long, I made a rush for the nearest bus to take me home. As I left, I signalled at my wrist and shrugged(耸肩) to the taco seller. Obviously I couldn't wait any longer and it really wasn't my fault. His face was, once again, one of total confusion.
This experience faded (褪去) from my memory 6. u
ntil
years later when I came back to live in Mexico. I discovered that understanding "ahorita" took not fluency(流利) in the language, but rather fluency in the 7. c
ulture
. When someone from Mexico says "ahorita", it should almost 8. n
ever
be taken literally; its meaning 9. c
hanges
greatly with context. As a linguist(语言学家) told me, "Ahorita could mean tomorrow, in an hour, within five years or never." It is even used as a polite way of saying "no, thanks" when 10. r
efusing
an offer.
"Ahorita Time" is a reflection of different cultural understandings of time. Since I moved to Mexico, my attitude towards time has changed dramatically. "Ahorita Time" has actually allowed me to live far more in the "right now" than I ever did before.