It was living in America that gave him an ulcer.
1.ul‧cer /ˈʌlsə $ -ər/ noun [countable]
a sore area on your skin or inside your body that may bleed or produce poisonous substances
stomach ulcers
—ulcerous adjective
Examples from the Corpus
ulcer
• The finding of enhanced fasting gastrin concentrations in H pylori positive subjects and in duodenal ulcer disease can not easily be explained.
• There are many models of duodenal ulcer - do we need a new one?
• Treatment failure was defined as evidence by endoscopy of a recurrent duodenal ulcer crater.
• In our previous study, the ratio of gastric to duodenal ulcers was 1.69 in Kinki district where Kyoto Prefecture is located.
• From these findings, it can be suggested that pepsinogen genes are involved in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer.
• Nevertheless, the data suggest that if levels were more accurate they would have been lower in the peptic ulcer group.
• a stomach ulcer
imitation:
It was living in China that gave her a cancer.
He’d count them off on his fingers: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel. “The rest of them—” he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound “—they’re like gossiping old women.”
1*comment
details desciption, the author wrote it in a humorous and ironic way.
“Maybe I’ll spell ‘cat’ and the teacher will give me a glittery little star so I can run home and show it off to you,” he’d grumble.
2.grum‧ble /ˈɡrʌmbəl/ verb
1 [intransitive, transitive] to keep complaining in an unhappy way SYN moan
grumble about/at
Farmers are always grumbling about the weather.
grumble that
A few passengers grumbled that their cabins were too small.
‘This is boring, ’ Kathleen grumbled.
see thesaurus at complain
2 [intransitive] to make a low continuous sound SYN rumble
Thunder grumbled overhead.
3 → mustn’t/can’t grumble
—grumble noun [countable]
the usual grumbles about pay
→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
grumble
• She grumbles a bit about me waking her up, but I don't think she minds all that much.
• She was grumbling about having to work so late.
• The people standing beside me were grumbling about not being able to find a place to park.
• Slaves mumble, workers grumble and students mutter.
• The old man turned away, grumbling as he went.
• I remember now Mrs Maybury grumbling because she'd had to do it all herself.
• Thunder grumbled in the distance.
• Although she grumbles that T.S. Eliot does so much, she is all game for it herself.
• That they exist is something of a miracle, so one should not grumble that the lines are often inaudible.
• Mrs Archer grumbled to Janey, the only witness of her slight lapses from perfect sweetness.
grumble that
• Company executives grumble that analysts are obsessed with short-term performance at the expense of long-term growth and profitability.
• The spectator wandered off grumbling that Jamie had dented his ladder.
• But there are still grumbles that much insider dealing goes unpunished.
• One morning he grumbled that she had told him the night before that he was the worst President since Jimmy Carter.
• His parishioners had grumbled that streetwalkers propositioned them after his sermons.
• Although she grumbles that T.S. Eliot does so much, she is all game for it herself.
• That they exist is something of a miracle, so one should not grumble that the lines are often inaudible.
• Class divisions have reappeared: private entrepreneurs grumble that ungrateful workers have forgotten how bad things were a year ago.
2*comment
war made them closer than before.
After I’d made him promise he wouldn’t go back in, I returned to the store and apologized to the Nguyens. Told them my father was going through a difficult time.
3*comment
Amir was mature than he used to be and more responsible.
Baba was like the widower who remarries but can’t let go of his dead wife. He missed the sugarcane fields of Jalalabad and the gardens of Paghman. He missed people milling in and out of his house, missed walking down the bustling aisles of Shor Bazaar and greeting people who knew him and his father, knew his grandfather, people who shared ancestors with him, whose pasts intertwined with his.
4*comment
the past is too good to let go, like the empire Lee yu in Tang dynasty, missed the old time and adjusted to move on.
3.sug‧ar‧cane /ˈʃʊɡəkeɪn $ -ər-/ noun [uncountable]
a tall tropical plant from whose stems sugar is obtained
Examples from the Corpus
sugarcane
• On return voyages, he could transport rum and sugarcane.
• After the failure of the vines in 1852, the area of sugarcane increased.
4.bus‧tling /ˈbʌsəlɪŋ/ adjective
a bustling place is very busy
bustling with somebody/something
The flower market was bustling with shoppers.
Examples from the Corpus
bustling
• Even the bustling atmosphere of the 550 building itself seemed not to have invaded the Hugo Varna floor.
• The bustling downtown area of Chicago is dotted with massive new office developments.
• It wasn't the bustling energy she objected to, but the impersonality.
• It is situated close to the resort's centre and the colourful bustling market, yet only 150 yards from the beach.
• a small bustling Mexican restaurant
• The old market is a busy, bustling place, full of local colour.
• The once bustling riverside is now a quiet street, with many of the old buildings well preserved.
• It is surrounded by bustling shops, bars and entertainment, and close to the well-equipped sandy beach.
• Craigendarroch is the perfect base for discovering the surrounding countryside with its bustling towns, and picturesque villages.
5.aisle
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Related topics: Transport, Building
aisle /aɪl/ noun [countable]
1 a long passage between rows of seats in a church, plane, theatre etc, or between rows of shelves in a shop
Would you like a window seat or an aisle seat (=seat next to the aisle)?
2 → go/walk down the aisle
→ be rolling in the aisles at roll1(20)
Examples from the Corpus
aisle
• An aisle of steps ran through the room, front to back.
• We paraded down the aisle, tapping loudly with our canes and shouting and whistling to the crowd.
• Last year the musical had the audience dancing in the aisles so tickets are selling fast.
• Across the bleachers, the Oregon band puts down its instruments and starts dancing in the aisles.
• Primo waves his hand at his own reflection and that of the empty seat on the opposite side of the aisle.
reached across the table and put my hand on his. My student hand, clean and soft, on his laborer’s hand, grubby and calloused. I thought of all the trucks, train sets, and bikes he’d bought me in Kabul. Now America. One last gift for Amir.
5*comment
compared with father's hand, Amir's was cleaner, life was hard at that time, but Baba, had tried hard to lead a happy life for his son.
Baba dozed off on the way, snoring like a jackhammer. I smelled tobacco on him and alcohol, sweet and pungent.
6.pun‧gent /ˈpʌndʒənt/ adjective
1 having a strong taste or smell
pungent smell/aroma/odour etc
the pungent odour of garlic
2 formal pungent speech or writing is clever and direct, and usually criticizes someone or something strongly
He expressed some fairly pungent criticisms.
—pungently adverb
—pungency noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
pungent
• The onion smell still lingered, sharp and pungent.
• Saturated hydrocarbons can burn to aldehydes, alcohols to organic acids, and aromatics to unsaturated compounds which are pungent and irritating.
• Garlic has a pungent aroma.
• Borsky made several pungent comments about the government.
• The rider delivered some loud, bitter and pungent comments, and people shook their heads at the girl.
• Pungent diesel fumes poured from the back of the truck.
• The squid is tender and dressed in a pungent fishy sauce with a hint of nuttiness.
• Oregano is a pungent herb, overpowering if used alone.
• A pungent metallic smoke filled the air.
• The pungent oil smoke wafts across the grandstand.
• the pungent smell of onions
• And I smelled the pungent stickiness of the glue when I pasted the labels on the matchboxes, table, and chairs.
pungent smell/aroma/odour etc
• My favourite was the lightly spiced Cape Malay Rooibos Chai which had a pungent smell and dark colour.
• A fox earth can be located from a considerable distance downwind by the pungent smell given off.
• Woodsmoke and the pungent aroma of apples and Michaelmas daisies spiced the dusk.
• They couldn't detect the smell of cocaine through the more pungent odour of coffee.
• It was a creepy spot with a strong pungent smell of garlic and there was always a feeling of tension and foreboding.
• Candles flickered, incense burned in an unsuccessful attempt to cover the pungent smell of marijuana.
• Singed needles only add to the celebration because they crackle like sparklers and give off the pungent aroma of the evergreen woods.
• The room smelt stale and musty with the pungent odour of the fat tallow candles placed on the desk.
6.*comment
what a pity that Baba used to drink wine but now alcohol. who could tell what happen in the next minute, wish life could be better soon.
“Padar jan, you forgot your tea.” A young woman’s voice. She was standing behind us, a slim-hipped beauty with velvety coal black hair, an open thermos and Styrofoam cup in her hand. I blinked, my heart quickening.
7*comment
Amir fell in love the monent he saw the girl.
Lying awake in bed that night, I thought of Soraya Taheri’s sickle-shaped birthmark, her gently hooked nose, and the way her luminous eyes had fleetingly held mine. My heart stuttered at the thought of her. Soraya Taheri. My Swap Meet Princess.
8*鉴赏
窈窕淑女，寤寐求之。
summary:
After landing America, Baba found a labour job, and Amir became a student, Baba started to be pround of him, while both of them recalled Hassan and life in Kabul. Especially when Baba was asked to show ID in the store. They all missed the easy and comfortable life, people trusted each other, everyone seemed friendly.
And I met the one of my life who I loved and would marry to.
Question:
Why Baba did not start his bussiness again?
