Words
forefather
ancestor 祖先
now and then
occasionally 偶尔；有时
heal
1. to become healthy again 使康复
2. to end or put an end to sth. 使结束
tend to
to be inclined to; have a direction 倾向于
Sometimes, they get bullied and insulted, and it is like a knife piercing my heart.
有时他们会受欺负、受侮辱，这让我心如刀割
infancy
1. early childhood；babyhood 婴儿期
2. the early stage of development 初创期
in spite of
without taking account of sth. 虽然；尽管
insult
to offend sb. by saying sth. rude 侮辱；辱骂
spring up
to appear, develop, grow, etc. quickly or suddenly 迅速出现；突然兴起
The soft cool breeze moves the sheaves, which ripple and shimmer like waves of gold.
凉爽、柔和的微风吹拂着地里密密的稻禾，水稻像金色的波涛一样起伏着，闪闪发光。
shimmer
n. a soft trembling light 闪烁的光
v. to shine with a soft light 闪烁；发出微光
pass on to
to hand or give sth. to sb. else, esp. after receiving or using it oneself 传递
barter
to exchange goods without using money以物易物
at peace with
in harmony with
If that kind of thing had happened when I was young, the whole village would have condemned such an ungrateful son, and his father would surely have given him a good beating.
如果这种事情发生在我年轻的时候，全村人都会责骂这个忘恩负义的儿子，他的父亲肯定会狠狠的揍他一顿。
condemn
1. to express strong disapproval of sb./sth. 谴责
2. to pronounce a sentence on sb. in a court of law 宣判
a bag of bones
a very thin person or animal
scarcity
not having enough, esp. food 匮乏
tie sb. down
to restrict sb./sth. to certain conditions 限制；束缚
Our piece of land is small, and it is no longer fertile, bleeding year after year and, like us, getting old and exhausted.
afford
1. to have enough money/time to do sth. 支付得起
2. (with can/could) to run a risk by doing sth. 承担得起（后果）
3. to provide sb. with sth. 提供
in rags
wearing old and worn or torn clothes
replace
1. to put sth. back where it was before 放回原处
2. to take the place of sth. 代替；取代
3. to change sth. that is broken or stolen 更换；更新
occur to
if an idea or thought occurs to you, it suddenly comes into your mind 某人想到过
The soil is not difficult to till when there is a lot of rain, but in a bad year, it's not only the ploughs that break but our hearts, too.
雨水充沛的时候土地还不难耕种，可要是碰上旱灾，干硬的土地不仅使我们的犁断了，也使我们的心碎了