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Lizzie-s diary from Antarctica (南极洲)

Day 3: Tuesday   December 2

    We planned to go to Rothera that morning. We'd be staying there for the next two weeks. Because Antarctica is the windiest place on earth, sometimes you can't fly at all.

    We had a nervous wait over breakfast to find out if we'd be leaving that day. People have to stay in Stanley for weeks while the pilots wait for good weather.

    It turned clear at 9:30 and we took off at 10:30 on a little red plane called a Dash-7. But even when we were in the air, there was still a chance we wouldn't be able to fly the whole day.

Day 4: Wednesday   December 3

    After waking up in the Antarctic for the first time today I can understand why everybody who comes here falls in love with the place. It is really beautiful.

    We're staying at Rothera Survey base with mountains of ice all around. It s about minus 2⁰C today, which for me is very cold, but the regulars(常客) here are often seen walking around in T-shirts !

Day 5: Thursday  December 4

    I woke up to another beautiful sunny day here in the Antarctic. I'm told it's a bit colder today, about minus 5℃ , but it's not very windy so it feels warmer. Those of us who are new to the bas have to do a spccial training course before we're allowed to go off base to other stations or to go snowboarding over the nearby hill.

Day 7: Saturday  December 6

    Not a cloud in the sky and it's warm enough to sit outside (in a jacket).

    The most amazing thing about this place is how the scenery (风景) changes every day. At first I thought I was going mad. I'd step outside in the morning and think, "I'm sure that big mountain of ice wasn't there yesterday." It's because the sea ice is always moving—slowly thankfully !

宁波人家的水磨粉

    ①我小的时候正值“文革”期间，在“过一个革命化春节”的号召下，所有的年俗礼节都被冲掉了，只有年前家家人家磨水磨粉时，还能让孩提时代的我们，跟在大人后面，无比的兴奋，感受到一些年味。

    ②这项“活动”的前奏是从拿着购粮证去米店购买春节配给每户的糯米开始的。等到离春节只有两三个礼拜的时候，母亲就开始与邻居们商议借石磨的事了。石磨往往是转了好几层关系，从较远的街区用黄鱼车驮来的。说好借磨的日期后，还要根据邻里间用磨的户数，确定使用的天数。一般来说，一架石磨上午、下午、晚上，能供三家使用。当时借磨不用花钱，也不用书面登记。母亲与阿姨、婶婶们串联后一合计，掐着手指，就把各家的使用时间定下了，从来也不会发生争先恐后的事情。

    ƒ我家那时楼下开了个烟杂店，店后的客堂间在弄堂里是最大的，石磨借来后就放在那里，左邻右舍依次拎着用水浸好的糯米来用磨。母亲只要没事，都会待在客堂里，热情地招呼大家。那几天，客堂间里磨声不断，伴着欢声笑语，拉开了过年的序幕。

    ④母亲是正宗的宁波人，她对磨水磨粉这事特别讲究。临磨一周前，她就让我姐姐把糯米淘干净，用水浸在家里那只翠绿色的瓷缸里。轮到我家用磨时，她会带领我们兄弟姐妹全体出动，像完成一件大工程。她先舀几勺清水从磨孔里倒下，推着石磨空转上几圈，用水把磨道冲洗干净，最后用一只大缸盛在磨道的下面预备接米浆。正式开磨时，母亲会让我们朝磨孔里舀入带水的糯米，她亲自推着磨柄，不紧不慢地推着磨转动，感受一下磨盘转动的节奏。不一会，雪白的浆液从磨缝间渐渐流了出来，母亲用手指沾起米浆，慢慢地捻几下，笑着说：“老细腻额，迭只磨灵光额。”然后她就指挥我们谁舀米、谁推磨，自己则笑眯眯地在旁边看着，不时捻捻米浆，觉得粗了，就“警告”我们推得慢一些。有一年，我们叫舅姆的那家磨完水磨粉后，他们拎着盛水磨粉的搪瓷桶刚要走，不慎被那叫“阿三”的儿子给打翻了。后来母亲与在客堂间磨水磨粉的几家一合计，每家都匀了一些出来，才救了急。

    ⑤水磨粉磨好后，存放在阴凉处。这时，母亲就到处去觅优质的猪板油了。我家按宁波人传统，包的全是称为黑洋酥的猪油芝麻馅的小汤圆。这个馅做起来挺讲究，先把黑芝麻炒熟后放在石臼里抳成极细的细末，然后把生的猪板油一丝一丝撕下来，不允许有一丁点儿杂质，放进芝麻细末里不断地揉，再加上绵白糖，一直揉到三样东西完全互相渗透为止。这个活儿要求比较高，完全是由母亲一手完成的，几个姐姐只能给她做下手。

    ⑥除夕前一天，母亲会把水磨粉舀在一只白布口袋里，吊起口袋，沥出春节里包汤圆所用粉团的量。沥好，每年她都要嘱咐姐姐拿上一大块湿粉团与芝麻猪油馅，送给住在过街楼的“老宁波”的遗孀，从不间断。她说，这是她答应过“老宁波”的。

    ⑦年三十晚上，拖完地板，洗好手，母亲就静静地坐在桌边，伴着窗外的鞭炮声，慢慢地包出一排排雪白的小汤圆，供全家在新年早晨享用。有一次，我从外面放鞭炮回来，推开门就看见她坐在窗前的美丽的侧影，衬着外面五彩的礼花，桌上还有汤圆，玉一般的，简直就是一幅油画。那画面从此一直定格在我的心里———在当时的年代里，母亲身上散发出来的那种温柔与善良是我们成长的最大的庇护。因为有她在，生活才是有希望的，是欢乐的。