•In the midst of Hardship于艰难中

•At dawn they returned home黎明时分，他们回到家

•their soaky clothes torn他们的潮濕的衣服已撕裂

•and approached the stove•然後把它接近炉

•their limbs marked by scratches•四肢擦伤

•their legs full of wounds•他们的腿充满伤口

•but on their brows•但他们的眉毛（眼神）

•there was not a sign of despair•没有一个绝望的迹象

•The whole day and night just passed

•they had to brave the horrendous flood

•in the water all the time

•between bloated carcasses

•and tiny chips of tree barks

•desperately looking for their son’s

•albino buffalo that was never found

•整个白天和黑夜刚过

•他们勇敢地面对可怕的洪水

•在水中渡過所有的时间

•在動物屍體中渡過（有危險性）

•堅硬树皮和微小芯片

•拼命地寻找自己的養大的儿子

•化水牛而从来没有找到

•They were born amidst hardship

•and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

•now they are in the kitchen, making

•jokes while rolling their ciggarete leaves

•他们出生於困苦之中

•和成长于一个没有叹息或投诉

•现在他们在厨房里，

•說笑话及抽煙

Answer these Questions

•1 Why had they been away from home the whole day and night (line 8)?

• They had been searching for their son's albino buffalo.

•2 How do we know the flood was terrible?

•Many animals had been killed and their carcasses were floating around.

•3 What had made them strong?

•The hardship in which they had grown up.

•4 Why do you think they were making jokes (line 18)?

•It was their way of coping with the disappointments.

•5 Briefly ex-plain how they managed to cope with disappointments?

•Their life had been full of hardship but they had learnt not to sigh or complain

•6 Was their son important to them? How do you know this?

•Yes he was. That is why they sacrificed a whole night and day searching for the albino buffalo that belonged to their son.

•7 Explain why they were in the water all the time (line 10).

•Since the place was flooded, they were in the water all the time as they searched for the albino buffalo.

•8 Which line tells you they were not rich people?

•'They were born amidst hardship'

•9 What was their response to the hardship?

•They accepted it - they neither sighed nor complained.

•10 What was the disappointment that they had to cope with in this poem?

•The disappointment of not finding the albino buffalo.