Vocabulary
screech v. 尖声喊出；
I loved it for the soft pattering of snow against my window at night, for the way fresh snow crunched under my black rubber boots, for the warmth of the cast-iron stove as the wind screeched through the yards, the streets.
这里的主语是风，谓语用了screech。英语中的拟人可以说是司空见惯，中国学习者常常当作多个词义记，其实就是真正的含义就是一个，只不过用得“活”。
horde n. 熙攘、纷扰的一大帮人，一大伙人；
The chase got pretty fierce; hordes of kite runners swarmed the streets, shoved past each other like those people from Spain I’d read about once, the ones who ran from the bulls.
Excerpt
雪景描写
The sky is seamless and blue, the snow so white my eyes burn. I shovel a handful of the fresh snow into my mouth, listen to the muffled stillness broken only by the cawing of crows. I walk down the front steps, barefoot, and call for Hassan to come out and see.
seamless adj. 无缝的，无伤痕的。
my eyes burn 这里理解起来不难。但要注意这里的burn用得很微妙，雪是无论如何也不会burn到他物的，burn到眼睛的是雪的光芒。可见颜色的纯洁，也反衬阳光强，天气晴朗。
The reason was simple: They shut down school for the icy season. Winter to me was the end of long division and naming the capital of Bulgaria, and the start of three months of playing cards by the stove with Hassan, free Russian movies on Tuesday mornings at Cinema Park, sweet turnip ‘qurma’ over rice for lunch after a morning of building snowmen.
为什么喜欢冬天？比起每个人都能想到的我那些陈词滥调，作者的答案显得有趣的很。
理由很简单：每当天寒地冻，学校就停课了。于我而言，冬天意味着那些复杂的除法题目的结束，也不用去背保加利亚的首都，可以开始一连三个月坐在火炉边跟哈桑玩扑克，星期二早晨去电影院公园看免费的俄罗斯影片，早上堆个雪人之后，午餐吃一顿甜芜青拌饭。
除此之外，the end of和the start of 相呼应。
风筝
For kite runners, the most coveted prize was the last fallen kite of a winter tournament. It was a trophy of honor, something to be displayed on a mantle for guests to admire. When the sky cleared of kites and only the final two remained, every kite runner readied himself for the chance to land this prize. He positioned himself at a spot that he thought would give him a head start. Tense muscles readied themselves to uncoil. Necks craned. Eyes crinkled. Fights broke out. And when the last kite was cut, all hell broke loose.
coveted 垂涎的，梦寐以求的
a trophy of honor 荣誉的奖赏
ready oneself for 摩拳擦掌
Tense muscles readied themselves to uncoil.
绷紧的肌肉蓄势待发。
Necks craned. Eyes crinkled. Fights broke out.
排比句：脖子抬高，眼睛微眯，一触即发。
Thoughts
Baba是个好人，他对孩子一视同仁，对什叶派和逊尼派的人一视同仁。每当孩子问到父亲关于宗教的问题，父亲的答案都是比较平和的，反对极端主义。虽然Ali是家中的仆人，但Baba一直把Ali当成自己的兄弟，把Hassan当成自己的孩子。
正是这样的一视同仁让Amir嫉妒，他觉得爸爸对他和对别的孩子一样，他在他父亲心里并非举足轻重，导致父亲的看似公平的一举一动都是对他的不公。
Notes
冬天是Amir最喜欢的季节，没有繁重的功课，可以整日和Hassan玩耍，也不需要参加“自愿补习班”，和爸爸的沟通也多些，还能和小伙伴玩他最喜欢的游戏——斗风筝。大家比赛用自己的风筝切断别人风筝的线，最后唯一留在空中的风筝就是胜者。阿富汗人斗风筝没有太多的规则，整个过程轻松简单。追风筝也是一项极大的乐趣，孩子们追逐被割断线的风筝，哪怕危险重重也毫不在乎，谁能追到最后一个掉落的风筝，那将是至高无上的荣誉。
Hassan是追风筝的好手，Amir是斗风筝的好手。为了向Baba证明自己，Amir竭尽全力希望在冬季巡回赛中夺第一，像从未失败的父亲一样取得胜利。
Summary
Baba was born in the year of 1933 when Zahir Shah became king of Afghanistan. His father, a local renowned judge, adopted Ali, whose parents died in a car accident. Ali and Baba grew up as playmates. Their ethnic and religious differences exclude the possibility of their becoming real friends. Similarly, Amir never thinks of Hassan as a friend out of the same reason. Even so, Amir often reads to Hassan stories, among which Rostam and Sohrab is their favourite.
One day, Amir tries to make up his own story while reading to Hassan. Hassan applauds it, saying it is one of the best stories Amir has read. That night, Amir writes his first short story and shows it to Baba. Talking with Rahim Khan, however, Baba pays no attention to his son. Rahim Khan reads the story and encourages Amir in a note praising his talents and saying he will be a great writer.
That night, booming and gunfire erupt in the street. Ali, Hassan, and Amir huddle together until morning, after which Daoud Khan takes over the government. Afghanistan soon becomes a republic. Days later, Amir and Hassan go out to climb a tree and run into Assef and two other boys. Assef is a thug who rules with his pair of brass knuckles. He ridicules Ali relentlessly, calling him Babula, and he hates all Hazaras. Assef threatens to beat up Amir for hanging around with a Hazara. Bravely, Hassan uses his slingshot to stop him. After Daoud Khan's coup, life goes back to normal. The following winter, on Hassan's birthday, Baba asked Dr. Kumar to fix Hassan's cleft lip. After a successful surgery, Hassan's cleft lip turns into a faint scar, but his warm smile has rarely appeared again ever since.