A
Closer Look at Fresh off the Boat
For many people,
the television series Fresh off the Boat was a surprise hit. After all, this sitcom was the first major
American TV show to feature an Asian-American family since Margaret Cho’s All-American girl in
1994, which lasted for only one season. Yet, this show Fresh off the Boat has become tremendously popular over the
past few years, especially among Asian-Americans and even in many parts of Asia, including Taiwan. In fact, this
past summer, the first episode of the show’s third season
was filmed entirely in Taipei.
Briefly speaking, Fresh off the Boat tells
the story of Eddie Huang and his experiences growing up in American in the mid-1990s. In the
show, Huang’s parents are Taiwanese immigrants to America, with Huang
himself being born in Washington, D.C. The show focuses on the family’s move
from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida, after Huang’s father decides to open
up a steakhouse there in 1995. In the episodes that follow, the show explores how
Huang and his family try to adjust to living in an area with very
few other Asian-Americans. It also looks at how Huang tries to fit in at his new school, while also highlighting Huang’s father’s
attempts to achieve success in the restaurant business and live the “American dream.”
The TV show is
actually based on a memoir of the same name by Eddie
Huang. He wrote the memoir to share his experiences growing up in America as a
first-generation Asian-American, whose parents were “fresh off the boat.”
Although Huang
served as the narrator of the first season of the series and was involved in some of the
show’s early episodes, he has since distanced himself from the show,
complaining that the show had become an “ambiguous (and) artificial representation of Asian-American lives.”
Nevertheless,
fans of the show, especially those in Taiwan, were very excited about the first
episode of the show’s third season. This season-opening was filmed on location
at several spots around Taipei, including Dihua Street, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and the Grand Hotel, among others. The episode also featured the superstar Hsu Wei-ning, who is also known as Ann Hsu. In the episode, the Huang family has
returned to Taiwan, and Huang’s mother tells her sons that they are “home,”
though her son Eddie reminds her that “we’ve never been here.” By the end of
the show, however, Huang’s mother says that she is “homesick for Orlando.”
Perhaps this is
why Fresh off the Boat has become
such a success. Of course, it is full of funny moments, but it also takes a
closer look at identity and the experience of Asian immigrants and
first-generation Asian-Americans, while raising questions about just what
“home” really is.
Reading
Comprehension
( ) 1. What is the main topic of this
passage?
(A) The success of Fresh off the Boat, a popular sitcom about Asian-Americans.
(B)
Many problems that the TV show Fresh off
the Boat has had to face.
(C) A
detailed look at how the American show Fresh
off the Boat was filmed in Taiwan.
(D) All
of the differences between Eddie Huang’s memoir Fresh off the Boat and the TV show of the same name.
( ) 2. The phrase “fresh off the boat” in the last sentence of the third paragraph is
closest in meaning to “________.”
(A)
coming from a family of sailors
(B)
arriving in a new country by boat or ship
(C) long-time residents of a different
country
(D) immigrants who have recently arrived in a
new country
( ) 3. According to the
passage, when does the story of the show Fresh
off the Boat take place?
(A) The 1980s. (B) The mid-1990s.
(C) The early 2000s. (D)
The present day.
( ) 4. What
can be inferred from the passage about the reaction to the show by Eddie Huang, the author
of the memoir Fresh off the Boat?
(A) He is very satisfied with how the show is
adapted from his memoir.
(B) He is not very happy with the way that
the show has turned out.
(C) Actually, he has appeared in every episode of the show.
(D) The article does not say anything about his reaction to the show.
( ) 5. According to the passage, what is one
possible reason for the success of Fresh
off the
Boat?
(A) One episode of the show was filmed in Taiwan.
(B) There are many
other TV shows about Asian-Americans right now.
(C) Though being a comedy, the show also looks at
serious issues, such as identity and the
immigrant experience in America.
(D) The show is very lighthearted and only full of many
humorous moments, and it never looks at any other, more serious issues.
Vocabulary
and Phrases
1. sitcom [`sIt&kAm] n. [C] 情境喜劇
．As for me, friends, which revolves around six good friends living
in Manhattan, is my favorite sitcom.
2. tremendously [trI`mEnd1slI] adj. 非常地
．The smart businessman made investment
in new technology and became
tremendously successful.
3. episode [`Ep1&sod] n. [C] 一集(節目)
．The last episode of Sex and the City was broadcast on
February 22nd, 2004.
4. entirely [In`taIrlI] adj.
完全地
．The basketball player admitted that
losing the game was entirely his
fault. He was the one to blame.
5. briefly speaking [`briflI `spikI9] phr. 簡單地說
．The bus drivers are on strike and
there are no taxis around. Briefly
speaking, we had no choice but to walk home.
6. immigrant [`Im1Gr1nt] n. [C] (外來的)移民
．This is a town of immigrants. Most townspeople from
different countries moved here and started a new life.
7. steakhouse [`stekha5s] n. [C] 牛排館
．The steakhouse has an excellent reputation for fine sirloin steaks.
8. adjust [1`dZ^st] vi.
適應
．It took me a few days to adjust to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
9. fit in [`fIt In] phr. 適應
．The transfer student didn’t seem to
fit in at the new school.
10. highlight [`haI&laIt] vt. 強調
．The documentary film highlighted the widening gap between
the rich and the poor in this big city.
11. memoir [`mEmwar] n. 回憶錄
(= memoirs)
．In his memoirs, the famous actor shared his unusual journey from a little
boy to a Hollywood legend.
12. generation [&dZEn1`reS1n] n. [C] 世代，一代
．The story of Nian has been passed down from generation to generation.
13. narrator [n8`ret2] n. [C] (書或戲劇中的)敘述者
．The director is the narrator of this documentary about
global warming.
14. distance [`dIst1ns] vt. 使跟…保持距離
．The charitable organization tried
to distance itself from capitalism.
15. ambiguous [8m`bIGj51s] adj. 模稜兩可的，含糊不清的
．Sam’s reply was ambiguous, so we were not sure whether
he agreed with us or not.
16. representation [&rEprIzEn`teS1n] n. [C] 象徵，表示
．In the painting, the clock is a representation of time, and the roses
symbolize love.
Words for Recognition
1. Fresh off the Boat 《菜鳥新移民》
《菜鳥新移民》是一部改編自黃頤銘的回憶錄《初來乍到》的美國情境喜劇。
2. Margaret Cho 趙牡丹
3. All-American girl 《美國女孩》
一部描述韓裔女孩在洛杉磯成長的情境喜劇。
4. Asian-American
[`eS1n 1`mErIk1n] n. [C] 亞裔美國人
5. Eddie Huang 黃頤銘
為亞裔美國人，是一位餐館老闆、廚師、美食家、作家兼律師。
6. American dream [1`mErIk1n `drim] 美國夢
是一種信念，相信只要努力不懈地奮鬥就能夠在美國過著好生活的想法。
7. Dihua Street 迪化街
迪化街是大稻埕商圈最重要的市街，19世紀末以來，這裡一直是臺北市重要的南北貨、茶葉、中藥材及布匹的集散中心。
8. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
中正紀念堂
中正紀念堂位於臺北市中心，是為追念先總統蔣公而建造的紀念堂。
9. the Grand Hotel 圓山飯店
圓山大飯店創立於西元1952年，是臺北市的代表地標之一，聞名世界。
10 Hsu Wei-ning 許瑋甯
一名臺灣女演員。
Translation
細說《菜鳥新移民》
美國電視影集《菜鳥新移民》的成功令許多人大感意外，畢竟這部情境喜劇是繼1994年韓裔演員趙牡丹(Margaret Cho)主演的《美國女孩》(All-American Girl)之後，第一部以亞裔美籍家庭為主角的主流電視劇，而《美國女孩》僅播岀了一季。然而，《菜鳥新移民》在這幾年大受歡迎，尤其吸引了眾多亞裔美籍和亞洲地區的觀眾，其中也包括臺灣。事實上，該劇第三季的第一集才在這個夏天到臺北取景。
簡而言之，《菜鳥新移民》描述了黃艾迪的故事，以及他1990年代中期在美國成長的歷程。劇中，艾迪的父母是來自臺灣的美國移民，在華盛頓特區生下了艾迪。劇情聚焦在1995年艾迪父親決定到奧蘭多經營一家牛排館後，一家人從華盛頓特區搬到佛羅里達州奧蘭多的故事。後續幾集演出了艾迪和家人如何融入這個亞裔移民極少的社區，也描繪了艾迪嘗試適應新學校，父親努力經營餐廳生意，以及實現美國夢的過程。
該劇事實上改編自黃艾迪的英文同名回憶錄—《初來乍到》(Fresh
off The Boat)，作者透過這本回憶錄，分享了身為第一代亞裔美國人的成長經驗，他們的父母正是「初來乍到」美國的一群人。
儘管作者曾在第一季擔任旁白，並參與早期幾集的拍攝，但在那之後，他就漸漸與該影集劃清界線，抱怨劇中所描繪的亞裔美國人生活，儼然是「粗淺且造作的假象」。
儘管如此，劇迷們還是對第三季第一集的開播興奮不已，特別是臺灣觀眾。開季首集的拍攝地點包含許多臺北市地標，如迪化街、中正紀念堂、圓山大飯店等。除此之外，還請來巨星許瑋甯客串。在該集中，艾迪一家回到臺灣，艾迪母親告訴兒子們他們回到「家」了，艾迪卻回她：「但我們從沒來過這裡啊。」而在結尾時，反倒是艾迪母親說她「思鄉了，想念奧蘭多」。
或許這就是《菜鳥新移民》成功的原因，充滿搞笑情節是理所當然的，但本劇更深入探討亞洲移民和第一代亞裔美國人的身份認同與生活經驗，並對「家」的定義拋出了疑問。
閱讀測驗解答：1. A 2. D 3. B
4. B 5. C
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