Back in the 1980’s, I used to hang around with a guy who would “order a ‘burger and fries’” no matter where we went. I thought he just enjoyed “burgers and fries” a LOT.

上世纪80年代的时候，我曾经有个朋友无论去哪吃饭，只点“汉堡薯条”。我以为他只是特别喜欢吃“汉堡薯条”。

Then I found out something that had been ‘hidden from view’ which I found absolutely astounding:

后来我发现了让我震惊的“幕后真相”。

HE WAS ILLITERATE. He “knew the alphabet”, but was never actually taught to read nor write. He was from Tennessee. His dad had been a miner, who died of black lung. I had no IDEA that this guy couldn’t read. At. ALL. I was pretty amazed but never said anything to him about it. I can’t even imagine the embarrassment that he faced in life.

他不识字。他“认识字母”，但从来没学过读、写。他来自田纳西州，父亲是一个旷工，由于黑肺病去世了。我从来都不知道他竟然不识字，但虽然感到吃惊，我并没有跟他提起过。我实在无法想象他在生活中面临的种种尴尬、难堪。