Sun Yat-sen: The Boy Who Asked Questions (Part 1)
A farm boy in Guangdong hears stories of rebellion — then sails to Hawaii and sees a different world.
一八六六年，孙中山出生在广东的一个小村子里。In 1866, Sun Yat-sen was born in a small village in Guangdong.他家很穷，父亲是农民，他小时候也要下田干活。His family was poor — his father was a farmer, and as a child he had to work in the fields too.
村里有一位老人，年轻时参加过太平天国的军队。In the village there was an old man who had served in the army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom when he was young.老人常常给孩子们讲洪秀全的故事：一个穷人的孩子，也敢起来反抗皇帝。The old man often told the children stories about Hong Xiuquan: a poor man's son who dared to rise up against the emperor.孙中山听得入了迷，心里想：“为什么官员可以欺负老百姓，却没有人管？”Sun Yat-sen listened, fascinated, and thought to himself: "Why can officials bully the common people, and nobody stops them?"
十三岁那年，他跟着母亲坐船去了檀香山，因为哥哥在那里做生意。The year he turned thirteen, he sailed with his mother to Honolulu, because his older brother was doing business there.檀香山在夏威夷，那里的一切都让他吃惊：干净的街道、明亮的学校，还有讲道理的法律。Honolulu is in Hawaii, and everything there amazed him: clean streets, bright schools, and laws that made sense.他在西方学校读书，很快学会了英语，成绩也是班上最好的。He studied at a Western school, quickly learned English, and had the best grades in his class.他开始问自己：“为什么别的国家可以这样，我们的国家却不行？”He began to ask himself: "Why can other countries be like this, but not ours?"
十七岁时，他回到了家乡，可是他已经不是原来的那个孩子了。At seventeen he returned to his hometown, but he was no longer the child he had been.他看到村民生病了不去看医生，只去庙里拜神，非常着急。He saw that when villagers got sick they didn't see a doctor — they only went to the temple to pray to the gods — and it troubled him deeply.
后来，他去香港学医，学习非常努力。Later, he went to Hong Kong to study medicine, and he studied very hard.一八九二年，他以全校第一名的成绩毕业，成了一名医生。In 1892 he graduated first in his whole school and became a doctor.他在澳门和广州给人看病，遇到穷人，常常不收钱。He treated patients in Macau and Guangzhou, and when poor patients came, he often charged nothing.
病人都说：“孙医生的医术好，心更好。”His patients all said: "Dr. Sun's medical skill is good, but his heart is even better."
可是，夜深人静的时候，孙中山常常睡不着。But in the still of the night, Sun Yat-sen often couldn't sleep.他想：“我能医好一个人的病，可是谁来医这个生病的国家呢？”He thought: "I can cure one person's illness — but who will cure this sick country?"
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