Born A Crime - (1-5)Summary

Vocabulary:

1. have a blast:  have an enjoyable and exciting experience

原文：I always had a blast at mixed church.

2. give you a leg up:  to help sb succeed in their job

原文：speaking English is the one thing that can give you a leg up

3. Needless to say:  不必说;当然，不用说;

原文：Needless to say, my parents committed that crime.

4. be (well) versed in doing: to know a lot about a subject, method etc

原文：I was well versed in Xhosa threats

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Summary:

Run:  Trevor describes the childhood filled with church, the very Tom and Jerry relationship between himself and his mom, a lucky escape from a killing.

Born A Crime: Trevor's mother pretended to be a prostitute in order to do the job she wanted. Trevor was born a crime when she lived in an illegal flat and met Trevor's father.

Trevor, Pray: Trevor grew up in a world run by women and these woman often went around the circle praying and singing. Trevor's prayers were considered as the best prayers since he prayed in English.

Chameleon: Trevor understood that people's different colors are the same as different chocolate. He spoke corresponding language when meeting different people like chameleon. When he was asked to choose one side between the white and the black at school, he classified himself as the black because his family members were black.

The Second Girl: Trevor's mom is the second girl, who has less value in her family. But she tried to get rid of her family's control and burden, and to belong to herself completely. She also gave Trevor best education (English & books) and ideas about life.

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Reflection:

"You can only dream of what you can imagine." I happened to see this sentence in another passage, yesterday. At that moment, I did not understand it. But now, I see. In this book, Trevor just described how his childhood was. But I have a deeper and better understanding of the life under apartheid and how great his mom is. Trevor's mom tried to do what she wanted no matter how other people thought. And she also kept an optimistic attitude all the time. She taught these to Trevor, and helped Trevor know the real world. So I can see this impressive book now.

PS.其实我想表达的就一句：眼界决定格局，决定未来呀！