奥巴马印尼童年照曝光

A photograph taken more than 40 years ago showing a young Barack Obama as a schoolboy in Indonesia has been found, days before he begins his presidential visit to the country.

The picture was given to Associated Press by Hadi Surya Dharma, a childhood friend of Mr Obama's, who sits beside the future president in the black and white photo.

Mr Obama, who was born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, moved to Indonesia when he was seven – after his mother married an Indonesian man she met while studying at the University of Hawaii.

Mr Obama and his mother first set up home in the Menteng Dalam area of Jakarta.

Now a jumble of houses and narrow streets in the shadow of tower blocks, at the time it was on the edge of the city and fruit trees were landmarks.

Many families still live there, and they shared memories of the boy they knew as Barry.

"He went to everyone's house, played kites with local kids, got stuck in swamps," said Coenraad Satja Koesoemah, who allowed Mr Obama's mother to use his front room to give free English lessons to locals.

"He was a Menteng Dalam kid, what more can I say?"

For the first five months, Mr Obama reportedly struggled with the Indonesian language but soon became proficient.

By all accounts, he quickly became a favourite of the teachers and the pupils there, but endured some teasing on account of his looks.

Those early experiences have been cited as key moments that shaped his view on life.

"One of the reasons that he is so cool and non-combative is that he learned to deal with this teasing culture," said Kay Ikranagara, who worked with Obama's mother in Jakarta and knew the family well.

"It is a game here, and the trick is not to show you are bothered."

Mr Obama lived in Indonesia for four years before returning to Hawaii to live with his grandparents.

就在美国总统奥巴马访问印尼的几天前，他40多年前在印尼拍的一张照片被发现，照片上的奥巴马当时还是个小学生。

这张照片是奥巴马儿时的朋友哈迪．苏尔亚．达马提供给美联社的。他就是这张黑白照片上坐在未来总统旁边的男孩。

奥巴马的父亲是肯尼亚人，母亲是美国人。在奥巴马七岁那年，母亲与在夏威夷大学读书时结识的一个印尼人结婚，之后他们搬往印尼。

刚到印尼时，奥巴马与母亲住在雅加达的铭登区。

当时这一地区位于城郊附近，周边种植了很多果树。如今该地区的周围建起了高楼，挤满了民居和狭窄的街道。

那时的很多人家现在还住在那里，他们都还记得那个名叫“巴里”的男孩。

柯恩拉德．萨提亚．柯伊索马说：“他喜欢串门，和当地的孩子一起放风筝，还掉进了沼泽地里。” 当时，柯伊索马把自家的前厅让了出来，供奥巴马的母亲在这里给当地居民免费教授英文课。

“他就是我们铭登的孩子，我还有什么可说的呢？”

据说，奥巴马在刚到印尼的五个月里，十分费劲地学习印尼语，不过他很快就能熟练地交流了。

据大家所说，奥巴马很快就得到了老师和同学的喜爱，但也因为长相受到了一些嘲弄。

这些早期经历被认为是塑造奥巴马人生观的关键阶段。

曾在雅加达和奥巴马母亲一起工作的凯伊．伊格拉那葛拉很熟悉奥巴马一家的情况。凯伊说：“现在他如此冷静、平和的一个原因就是他在那时学会了如何应对嘲弄。”

“这在印尼是个游戏，游戏的诀窍就在于你要表现得波澜不惊。”

奥巴马在印尼生活了四年，之后他回到夏威夷和外祖父母一起生活。

Vocabulary:

tower block: a very tall block of flats/apartments or offices 高层建筑；公寓大楼；办公大楼

landmark: something, such as a large building, that you can see clearly from a distance and that will help you to know where you are 陆标，地标（有助于识别所处地点的大建筑物等）

get stuck in: to start doing something in an enthusiastic way 起劲地干起某事

front room: 起居室，客厅

by all accounts:据大家所说