America: Found in Translation Project Translation of an episode from TV series One-Storied America II prize (10-11 graders) Yulia Maeva

(Gymnasium # 3)
The smell of America it's not only a smell of money, it is a smell of freedom, and a smell of promises, and fulfillment of desires, and all of them taken together are called "The American Dream". People from all over the world are come here to make it true. "-Here, the ships came into, in this very strait. -Yes. -The ships came in, lined up, in front of the Statue of Liberty. -It meets. -It meets absolutely all the ships. I remember the time, when - being a fifteen year old boy - I was leaving. I remember very well how I bade it goodbye, I remember how painful it was, I couldn't imagine that I would not see this city for many years, and there was some sense of farewell when we were sailing past it." Ilf and Petrov, as well as all other people, who have been arriving to America for the last 100 years by sea, also were welcomed by "Miss Liberty", the official name of which is "Liberty Enlightening the World". It was made by sculptor Frederic Bartholdi and set up on October 28, 1886, on Liberty Island, former Bedloes Island. "-This pedestal stands on a star-shaped basis, which has got 11 rays. -11 rays? -And it reminds us that here, in this island there was a fort, and the fort had 11 rays." There is one more island, not less well-known, which was very close to Liberty Island Ellis Island, which opened its gates for the immigrants on January the first, 1892, and they were closed in 1954. During these 62 years through this filtration point on the island of tears, as Ellis Island is often called, 12 million people, yearning to breathe free, future U.S.A. citizens came through. "-A man would come, and, let's say, his surname was Shostakovich. -For example.

-For the policeman it was absolutely not clear, and he would say: "-What?, Shostakovich, -He said -Okey, you will be Kovich". -Kovich? "-Kovich, -Oh, no, -Do you want to get through? -Yes, I want, -Then you will be Kovich. That's all." -And a lot of surnames were changed this way. -Were they? -Yes, if they were too hard to pronounce - they changed them." Tired after a long trip, people had to spend a lot of painful hours. They were standing in endless lines, they were going through the conveyor of humiliating medical examination. Through the examining of documents, and they had to answer the endless, generally obscure questions: -Are you an anarchist? Are you going to become a prostitute? Do you have money? A few hours of fear only to get a long-awaited permission or refusal. "-To leave your home for somewhere in a completely foreign land, not knowing the language, the culture of the place. Look at those faces." Every nationality have their one character, Germans have their one, the French have their, the Irish, the British, the Jews, the Russian and so on. Can you imagine, that all these people jumped into one melting pot and a new character was born, which was called an American character. What is it? It's a mixture. There is everything in it, there are greediness and generosity, adventurism and persistence, faith in victory, industry, but the main feature is an optimism.