两个月前我来到纽约,和另外两位也是来自德国的朋友合租了一个阴暗破旧的房间。我们当时既没有钱又没有固定职业,全靠做点临时工维生。房东叫莫菲,是一位身材肥胖、脾气暴躁的爱尔兰人。莫菲是个鳏夫,独自带着五个小孩,吉米是最小的一个。我们住的房子位于南曼哈顿一个落后贫穷又拥挤的社区,社区里有许多像这样的大型租赁住宅。 I came to New York two months ago and shared a shabby, shabby room with two other friends from Germany. We had neither money nor a permanent job at the time, and we had to rely on temporary workers for their work. The landlord Murphy, is a fat, grumpy Irishman. Murphy is a widower, with five children alone, Jimmy is the smallest one. The house we live in is a poor, crowded neighborhood in South Manhattan with many large rental homes like this.