Leo Luo

∷潘鑫 注

作为一个男生，我一开始并不认为跳舞适合自己。但谁能想到，交谊舞不仅改变了我的生活，也改变了我对于爱的看法。我醉心于舞蹈的旋律和动作之中，感受舞蹈的魅力，舞伴们的热心帮助也让我心中充满温暖。我在其中感受到了爱的含义。

Love is a drug, or so1. or so: 大概，……左右。the old saying goes. Love can be so many other things as well, depending on the popularity of the latest romantic comedy or on trendy quotes overlaid on sepia filtered photos.2.根据最近流行的浪漫喜剧片或是参照印在深褐色滤光相片上的时髦语录来看，爱还可以是其他很多东西。sepia:深褐色的； filtered: 过滤的。Perhaps if I could toss in my own two cents,I would propose that love is a home.3. toss in one’s own two cents: 未经邀请而发表意见（或忠告）；propose: 建议，提出。From the familiar swaddling that comforts the crying newborn as he crosses the threshold for the first time to that sigh as one flops upon one’s bed, home is a sanctuary where humans may feel complete.4. 不论是慰籍那些啼哭的新生婴儿的熟悉襁褓，还是倒在床上时发出的一声叹息，家都是一个庇护所，让人感到人生是完整的。swaddling: 襁褓； flop: 猛然坐下或躺下；sanctuary: 避难所，庇护所。And just as most find it all but impossible to imagine life without a home, ballroom dancing occupies such a beloved position in my heart that it is hard to believe I was so opposed to learning in the first place.

Were it not for my mother’s adamant5. adamant: 坚定不移的，固执的。will that I attend one of my friend’s practices, I would have never ventured into the glamorous world of ballroom dancing. I was slouching in my chair, pouting with my head resting on my hands, occasionally shooting dirty looks at Mom.6. slouch: 没精打采地坐；pout: 撅嘴，生气； dirty look: 摆臭脸，厌恶的表情。What was I doing here? Dancing was for girls! I was so consumed with teenage grumpiness that I barely noticed the dancers as they strode onto the floor.7. grumpiness: 暴躁，坏脾气； strode: 大步走（stride的过去式）。They paired off and positioned themselves throughout the ballroom like porcelain mannequins.8. pair off: 成对分开；porcelain: 瓷器，形容“精美的”；mannequinn: 时装模特。Their slender figures seemed to float,as if they were origami9. origamin: 折纸手工，折纸手工品。. I flicked10. flick: 突然地轻快动作。one eye towards them, my curiosity at last getting the best of me.

Then the music blared to life, and so did the dancers. The rat-tat-tat of the snare drums and the thunder of the bass snatched my attention.11. rat-tat-tat: 击打鼓点声； snare drum: 小军鼓；snatch: 夺取。As the lyrics of “temptation in my heart, I’m burning, I fall apart,” reverberated throughout the ballroom, the dancers twirled and shimmied across the floor.12. reverberate: 回响，回荡；twirl: 旋转，转动；shimmy:（跳舞或行走时）扭肩摆臀。Watching my friend and the other couples blaze the floor with their extravagant routines, not to mention hips that gyrated more than humanly possible, sparked something in my soul.13. 我的朋友和其他舞者动作娴熟，自由奔放地在舞台上大放光彩，我甚至看到他们以超出常人极限的幅度扭动臀部，于是我的灵魂被点燃了。extravagant: 放纵的，过度的；gyrate: 旋转身体。As my eyes stayed glued to the spectacle of dancers unfolding before me,14. glued to: 全神贯注于；spectacle: 壮观的场面，令人惊叹的表演；unfold: 展现，呈现。I had shed my previous prejudice without a second thought. I simply wanted to be part of the magic. Just as one discovers a new friend in a town that has yet to be called home, I began my courtship with this realm of glitter and gel, elegance and unbridled joy.15. courtship: 求婚，求偶；glitter: 闪光，灿烂； gel:凝胶，此处用比喻义；unbridled: 不受约束的，不受控制的。

Fast forward six years and I walked into Copley Formal Lounge for the first lesson with the Georgetown University16. Georgetown University: 乔治敦大学，创建于1789年，美国最古老的大学之一，华盛顿特区声誉最高的综合性私立大学。Ballroom Dance Team (GUBDT). It had been a whole summer since I had done anything ballroom-related, three years since I danced with a partner who knew what she was doing. The moment I slipped into my shoes whose leather had lost its lustre to holes and scratches, a grin crept up my cheeks much like the feeling of rushing into a lover’s arms,or that first breath as you step into your home after a long voyage.17. lustre: 光泽，光彩；scratch: 刮痕，擦痕；voyage: 远行，远航。And when the music started, I simply fell back into routine, my smile only growing as the night wore on18. wear on: 时间逐渐消逝。.Ballroom was more than just dance; it was now a part of life. I should be dancing to the music, but I always felt as though the music danced within me. Feeling the beat in my bones inspired me to radiate joy, cleansing my mind of all the stresses of the day and simply move in the moment.19. radiate: 流露情感；cleanse: 使清洁，净化。Experiencing that bliss once more with the Georgetown Ballroom Team was like a family reunion, except with a family that I had never met, uni fied only by our love of dance.

And so I had found a family in the Georgetown Ballroom Dance Team. When I began practicing with the team, I noticed a marked20. marked: 明显的，显著的。difference between these dancers and the ones I used to train with at the studio back home. There was never any shortage of smiles and laughter with my fellows at Georgetown. Although most of the dancers in my class were upperclassmen21. upperclassman: 美国中学或大学的高年级男生。, they welcomed me without hesitation. That would be my favourite aspect of the team. Whether we were cheering each other on at competitions or running our routine for the umpteenth22. umpteenth: 第无数次的。time during late night practices for school-wide performances, nothing would make me feel more at home than the smiles of my friends. Yet the bonds extend beyond the boundaries of dance. I am not the kind of person who whole-heartedly enjoys parties, whether that is because I am just a dork like that or something else.23. whole-heartedly: 全心全意地，全神贯注地；dork: 笨蛋，呆子。But at each social gathering that was hosted by Georgetown Ballroom Dance Team, I have been able to relax and have a good time. Perhaps one of my greatest memories was at the Christmas social24. social: 社交聚会，联欢会。. Our members had arranged themselves in a circle and began massaging the shoulders of the person in front of them.Eventually, the conversation died down, but everyone just appreciated each other’s presence. And so we sat in relative silence, rubbing shoulders and letting the camaraderie wash over us.25. camaraderie: 友情，同志情谊；wash over: 冲过，情绪突然而深刻地袭来。

Ballroom is like a drug. It can be so many other things as well: a con fidence builder, a tool to woo dates, or quite simply, a group of people quirky enough to get along while shaking their hips and gliding across the floor.26. woo: 争取，向……求爱；quirky:有点儿古怪的，离奇的。Ballroom is all of these things for me, and I am proud to have found such a community in the Georgetown Ballroom Dance Team.