游乐场女孩的剑桥之路

Marco Werman

Interviewer： Nomads， by definition， get around a lot. They move so much that their whole lives are defined by being on the road. Nomadic families， in turn， dont follow the same rhythms and patterns of life that many of us do. Take Zoah Hedges-Stocks. She comes from a family thats part of a unique nomadic culture in England， Britains community of travelling showmen. Im talking about families that have been part of travelling carnivals across the country for centuries； “1）carnies，” basically. But Zoah is breaking the mold.

And Zoah， you are the first member of your family to go to university， and not just any university. Youve graduated from Cambridge. You studied or read， as they say， history with the top grade in that field， so congratulations.

Zoah： Thank you very much， Marco.

Interviewer： So I just want to understand how significant an achievement this is， and we really should understand how big a mold youre breaking. How far back does your family go in the carnival business？

Zoah： Well， Ive studied history so I take a keen interest in my familys background， and Ive traced it back personally to 1821， and thats where records get a bit hazy， because a lot of people were illiterate， and obviously we were travelling around.

Interviewer： So what are the kind of carnivals that you guys do？ Describe them. Are they at all like American carnivals？

Zoah： Well， for instance， my mother and I sell 2）candy floss， cotton candy， and candy apples. My uncle has a set of， er， 3）dodgems， and we have the sort of big funfair rides and games that you see travelling from town to town. Interviewer： So how did your childhood differ from most British children？

Zoah： Basically from April to September I was away from school， living in a 4）trailer， travelling from town to town each week and working on the fair.

Interviewer： So how did you go to school and when did you go to school？

Zoah： In the winter months my family have lived in the same small town for 50 years， so I would do the first two terms of the， at school， then my teachers would send me away with a big pile of books， and I would study at home in the summer.

Interviewer： So， Zoah， tell me what inspired you to study at Cambridge？

Zoah： Well， I enjoyed going to school and learning， so I really enjoyed history at school， and teachers said that I was doing quite well and that I should consider university. And Id always gone to Cambridge with the funfair every year at the 5）Midsummer Fair， so it was the only university I knew. And then I realized that actually it was one of the best in the world after Harvard， and that actually it would probably be quite difficult to get there. If I was going to do it， if I was going to break from tradition and do something entirely new for my family， I was going to do it as well as I could.

Interviewer： What was it like when， you know， youve gone through the…the years at university and suddenly youre graduating. How did your parents react？

Zoah： My mother was most worried about whether or not she ought to wear a hat. My mother decided that she wouldnt wear 6）mascara， because she would just spend the whole day crying.

Interviewer： Oh， gosh. Ive gotta ask you this， and its something my own Dad asked me after I graduated with a degree in history. What are you gonna do now？

Zoah： Ive got a place on a journalism course with the Press Association in London in January. Between now and then I will be working on the funfair， because my mother would shoot me if I didnt help， and Im also working on my first novel.

Interviewer： Well， Zoah Hedges-Stocks， its been great meeting you and to speak with you. Thanks so much.

采访者：从定义上看，游牧者经常四处游走。他们迁徙得如此频繁，以至于他们的整个生活状态可以被定义为“在路上”。因此，游牧家庭的生活节奏和生活模式跟我们大多数人不一样。就以左娅·海其斯-斯多克斯为例。她出身的家庭属于英国一种独特的游牧文化——英国的游艺人群体。在英国，流动游艺节有着数百年的历史，我在这里所说的家庭正是这种流动游艺节的重要组成部分，说白了，他们就是经营流动游乐场的人。但左娅打破了这种传统。左娅，你是你们家族第一个上大学的，而且上的还不是普通的大学，你毕业于剑桥大学。你学的是，或者说，读的是历史专业，还是这个专业的尖子生，真是可喜可贺。

左娅：非常谢谢你，马可。

采访者：我很想知道，你从剑桥毕业这件事情是一件多大的壮举呢？我们确实应该知道你打破了一个多么传统的生活模式。你们家族从事游艺这一行有多长时间了？

左娅：呃，我学的是历史，所以我对自己的家庭背景非常感兴趣，我自己追溯了一下我的家族历史，可以追溯到1821年，再往前历史记录就有点模糊了，因为那时候很多人不识字，而且我们又到处游走。

采访者：你们办的是什么样的游艺节？请描述一下。跟美国的嘉年华有什么相似的地方吗？

左娅：呃，比如说，我和我妈妈卖棉花糖，还有糖衣苹果。我的叔叔有一套碰碰

车，我们还有那种大型的游乐场设施和游戏，就是你们看到的从一个地方搬到另一个地方那些。

采访者：那你的童年跟大多数的英国孩子有什么不同呢？

左娅：最根本的不同就是从四月到九月我不上学，而是住在拖车里，每个星期从一个城镇去到另一个城镇，在游乐场做事。

采访者：那你是怎样接受学校教育的呢？你什么时候去上学？

左娅：在冬季的那几个月我们家会待在一个小镇里，我们在那里住了50年了。那时我就可以在学校上前两个学期的课，然后我的老师们就会给我一大堆书让我带着离开学校，夏季的时候我就在家自学。

采访者：左娅，能不能跟我谈谈你是怎么想到要去剑桥大学读书的呢？

左娅：呃，我喜欢上学，喜欢学习，我上学的时候很爱学历史，老师们都说我学得很不错，应该考虑上大学。而且我每年都会去剑桥大学，那里有个夏季游艺会，所以那是我唯一知道的一所大学。后来我发现剑桥原来是世界上最顶尖的大学之一，仅次于哈佛大学，而且还非常难进。如果我要去那里上学，要打破传统，做些我们家族从来没做过的事情，我就要尽我所能去做好。

采访者：你上了几年大学，现在忽然间你就要毕业了，这是一种怎样的感觉？你父母对此有什么反应？

左娅：我妈妈非常纠结她要不要戴顶帽子去参加我的毕业典礼。她决定不涂睫毛膏，因为她会哭一整天。

采访者：哦，天哪。我还要问你一个问题，我自己从历史专业毕业拿到学位的时候，我父亲也问过我这个问题。你现在打算做什么？

左娅：我报读了英国报业协会一月份在伦敦开的新闻课程。在那之前我会在游乐场做事，因为我不帮忙的话我妈会杀了我的，还有，我在写我的第一本小说。

采访者：左娅·海其斯-斯多克斯，很高兴能跟你见面和聊天。谢谢。

Travelling Funfair and Travelling Showmen

A travelling funfair （UK English） or carnival （North American English） is a small to medium sized travelling show where people pay to ride on various machines for amusement or try to win prizes in games. A travelling funfair contains a mixture of attractions， usually including adult or thrill rides， childrens rides， sideshows and sidestalls offering various games or food.

Funfairs derive from fairs for goods trading in the Middle Ages. Throughout the centuries， the trade arm diminished as the amusement side increased. In the UK， many larger towns host travelling fairs at specific times of the year. There are some ancient and famous fairs， such as Kings Lynn Mart， Nottingham Goose Fair， Mop Fairs， etc.

The people who organize and operate the traveling funfair， known as traveling showmen， usually take it from one place to another. The showmens sense of community is strong. They are proud of their heritage and have their own language. The community is closely knit and somewhat insular（孤立的）. This by definition makes running fairgrounds a family business passed down through the generations.