The Lessons Begin:
課程開始了（一）
"I'll pay you 10 cents an hour. "
“我每小時付給你10美分”。
Even by 1956 pay standards, 10 cents an hour was low.
即使以1956年的報酬標準看，10美分一小時也是極低的。
Michael and I met with his dad that morning at 8 o'clock. He was already busy and had been at work for more than an hour. His construction supervisor was just leaving in his pickup truck as I walked up to his simple, small and tidy home. Mike met me at the door.
邁克和我在那天上午8點和他爸爸會面了。他仍然很忙而且會面前已經工作了1個多小時了。他的建築監理人剛坐着他的皮卡車離開，我就進了他那窄小而簡樸整潔的家，邁克站在門口迎接我。
"Dad's on the phone, and he said to wait on the back porch," Mike said as he opened the door.
“我爸正在打電話，他讓我們在走廊後面等着。”邁克邊說邊開門。
The old wooden floor creaked as I stepped across the threshold of this aging house. There was a cheap mat just inside the door. The mat was there to hide the years of wear from countless footsteps that the floor had supported. Although clean, it needed to be replaced.
當我舉步跨過這座老房子的門檻時，舊木地板發出“嘎嘎”的響聲。門內地板上有個廉價的墊子，這個墊子的磨損程度記錄了經年累月無數次踏上這個地板的腳步，雖然很乾淨，但還是該換了。
I felt claustrophobic as I entered the narrow living room, which was filled with old musty overstuffed furniture that today would be collector's items. Sitting on the couch were two women, a little older than my mom. Across from the women sat a man in workman's clothes. He wore khaki slacks and a khaki shirt, neatly pressed but without starch, and polished work books. He was about 10 years older than my dad; I'd say about 45 years old. They smiled as Mike and I walked past them, heading for the kitchen, which lead to the porch that overlooked the back yard. I smiled back shyly.
當我進入到狹小的臥室時感到有些害怕，這間臥室裏塞滿了陳舊發黴而厚重的傢俱，它們早該成爲收藏者的藏品了。在沙發上坐着兩個女人，她們的歲數比我媽大一些，她們的後面還坐着一個穿工作服的男人。他穿着卡其布的襯衫和外套，衣服燙得很平整，但沒有漿過，他手上拿着磨得發光的工作簿。他大概比我爸爸大10歲的樣子，我想大概45歲吧。
當我和邁克走過他們身邊時他們衝我們微笑着，我們朝廚房走去，穿過櫥房可以到後院。
我也有點靦腆地衝他們笑笑。
"Who are those people?" I asked.
“他們是什麼人？”我問邁克。
"Oh, they work for my dad. The older man runs his warehouses, and the women are the managers of the restaurants. And you saw the construction supervisor, who is working on a road project about 50 miles from here. His other supervisor, who is building a track of houses, had already left before you got here."
“噢，他們是給我爸幹活的。那個老點的男人負責管理貨倉，那兩個女人是餐館經理。
剛纔在門口你也看到建築監理人了；他在離這兒50英里遠的一個公路項目中工作。還有一些監理正在負責房屋建設的項目，不過他們在你到這裏之前就已經走了。”
"Does this go on all the time?" I asked.
“每天都是這樣的嗎？”我問。