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I often wondered my ancestry. I knew that my angular face and large eyes came from my father's Spanish ancerstors. But what did they do for a living?</p> My father, who is very animated, would try to satisfy my curiosity by telling me funny anecdotes about his father and grandfather. His stories were often intriguing, but the information I wanted had to be more than anecdotal. So one day, I went to the library and searched through the annals of Spanish history.
% D$ p% a! r; S' I" g" z I found a good book that thoroughtly analyzed the relevant time period andamplified its analysis with charts and illustrations. In it, I discovered several interesting historical figures who shared my surname, Sierra.
8 X ]) ~# ~+ X* f One was an anarchist. He worte books in which he expressed his belief and society in the rural areas should be allowed to exist without a government. He believed that the government was purposely creating a fear of anarchy merely to justify its first taxes on rural area farmars.% P! C) T+ M3 M L
Another Sierra is a Doctor of anatomy. He was credited fot inventing the firstanesthetic. The anesthesia allowed him to operate on his patients without causing pain.
4 k5 u8 Z5 x$ }, r& M, w The most interesting Sierra was a former high-ranking official who worked in anancillary department of the central Spanish government. He spent most of his life protecting the Spanish military's efforts to annihilate and annex samller and weaker countries overseas. From the government's point of view, his protests were analogous to treason, and they sentenced him to a life of auguish in prison.1 m. X0 J( l7 v9 S# }0 a& s3 U* ^
From this research, I was able to see many analogies between the characteristics of my ancestors and my own personality. It made me feel very proud to be a Sierra!
/ H3 s1 g \; B 我时常对我的祖先们很好奇。我知道自己棱角分明的脸和一双大眼睛来着父亲的西班牙祖先。但他们到底是做什么工作来维持生活的呢？
0 e" T5 M5 A3 a# v% f0 G! y9 Y 我那天性活泼的父亲常常说些关于他父亲和祖父的趣闻轶事来满足我的好奇心。他讲的故事大多很有意思，但我需要的不仅仅是轶事风格的信息。于是有一天，我去了家图书馆，搜寻关于西班牙历史的记载。
$ M4 U) G: h8 e# ] 我找到一本透彻分析相关年代的好书，书中附有多种图表，从而对其所作的分析做了更为详尽的阐述。在这本书里，我发现了几位有趣的历史人物，他们与我同姓，都叫席埃拉。
9 l! d8 b1 |5 Q+ V 有一位席埃拉是名无政府主义者。在他的著作中，农村社会可以以无政府状态存在的观念。他认为政府故意引起人们对无政府主义的恐惧，不过是为了证明政府向农民征收重税有理。
! f3 h9 s& B- k! T' ~% g s5 w' ^ w 另一位席埃拉是名解剖学博士。他被誉为发明麻醉药的第一人。在麻醉作用下，他可以为病无痛做手术。
% J0 Y: o ?2 I+ v 最轰轰烈烈的席埃拉是一位曾在西班牙中央政府辅助部门工作的高层官员。他一生中大半时间都在抗议西班牙灭亡和吞并海外弱小国家的军事行径。从政府角度看，他的抗议罪等同叛国，于是他被判入狱，过着生不如死的痛苦生活。
$ p: Y- m$ i+ _: \ 从这次研究中，我发现我得性格同我的祖先有许多相似之处。我很骄傲我是个席埃拉！ |
发表于 2012-8-14 22:56:05
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