我长大的小城，只有一座电影院。
Wǒ zhǎng dà de xiǎo chéng, zhǐyǒu yí zuò diànyǐngyuàn.
The small town I grew up in had only one cinema.
它叫光明电影院，在城中心的街上。
Tā jiào guāngmíng diànyǐngyuàn, zài chéng zhōngxīn de jiē shàng.
It was called the Guangming Cinema, on the main street in the center of town.
小时候，看电影是过年一样的大事。
Xiǎoshíhou, kàn diànyǐng shì guònián yíyàng de dàshì.
When I was small, going to a movie was an event as big as New Year.
一张票两毛钱，要攒好几个星期。
Yì zhāng piào liǎng máo qián, yào zǎn hǎo jǐ gè xīngqī.
A ticket cost two mao, and it took weeks to save up.
我攒钱的办法，是帮大人跑腿挣来的。
Wǒ zǎn qián de bànfǎ, shì bāng dàren pǎo tuǐ zhèng lái de.
My way of saving was running errands for the grown-ups.
电影院的墙是红色的。
Diànyǐngyuàn de qiáng shì hóngsè de.
The walls of the cinema were red.
门口贴着大大的海报，画着演员的脸。
Ménkǒu tiē zhe dàdà de hǎibào, huà zhe yǎnyuán de liǎn.
Big posters with the actors' faces were pasted by the door.
买票的小窗口前总是排着队。
Mǎi piào de xiǎo chuāngkǒu qián zǒngshì pái zhe duì.
There was always a line in front of the little ticket window.
票是粉红色的，上面印着座位号。
Piào shì fěn hóngsè de, shàngmiàn yìn zhe zuòwèi hào.
The tickets were pink, with a seat number printed on them.
看完电影，票还要留着，夹在书里。
Kàn wán diànyǐng, piào hái yào liú zhe, jiā zài shū lǐ.
After the film, the ticket was kept and pressed inside a book.
我头一次买票，看的是一部打仗的电影。
Wǒ tóu yí cì mǎi piào, kàn de shì yí bù dǎzhàng de diànyǐng.
The first time I bought a ticket, it was for a war film.
门口的老头撕下票的一角。
Ménkǒu de lǎo tóu sī xià piào de yì jiǎo.
The old man at the door tore off a corner of the ticket.
他说，进去吧，别跑。
Tā shuō, jìnqù ba, bié pǎo.
He said, go on in, and don't run.
里面很黑，地板踩上去直响。
Lǐmiàn hěn hēi, dìbǎn cǎi shàngqù zhí xiǎng.
Inside it was dark, and the floor creaked under your feet.
灯一灭，全场就安静了。
Dēng yí miè, quán chǎng jiù ānjìng le.
The moment the lights went out, the whole hall fell silent.
那种安静里，全是等着看好戏的心。
Nà zhǒng ānjìng lǐ, quán shì děng zhe kànhǎo xì de xīn.
In that silence were hundreds of hearts waiting for a good show.
银幕亮起来的时候，我的心跳得厉害。
Yínmù liàng qǐlái de shíhou, wǒ de xīn tiào de lìhai.
When the screen lit up, my heart beat hard.
那时候，全城的人都在同一间屋子里看电影。
Nà shíhou, quán chéng de rén dōu zài tóngyī jiān wūzi lǐ kàn diànyǐng.
In those days, the whole town watched movies in the same room.
夏天很热，几百个人一起出汗。
Xiàtiān hěn rè, jǐ bǎi gèrén yìqǐ chū hàn.
Summers were hot, and a few hundred people sweated together.
有人摇着扇子，有人吃着瓜子。
Yǒu rén yáo zhe shànzi, yǒu rén chī zhe guāzǐ.
Some waved fans, some cracked sunflower seeds.
小孩子的眼睛，在黑暗里一个比一个亮。
Xiǎo háizi de yǎnjing, zài hēi’àn lǐ yí gè bǐ yí gè liàng.
The children’s eyes shone in the dark, one pair brighter than the next.
看到精彩的地方，大家一起叫好。
Kàn dào jīngcǎi de dìfang, dàjiā yìqǐ jiàohǎo.
At the exciting parts, everyone cheered together.
看到伤心的地方，能听见有人哭。
Kàn dào shāngxīn de dìfang, néng tīngjiàn yǒu rén kū.
At the sad parts, you could hear people crying.
哭的人不觉得自己丢人，大家都一样。
Kū de rén bù juéde zìjǐ diūrén, dàjiā dōu yíyàng.
Those who cried felt no shame; everyone was the same.
电影散场，灯一亮，谁都不肯先走。
Diànyǐng sǎn chǎng, dēng yí liàng, shéi dōu bù kěn xiān zǒu.
When the film ended and the lights came on, nobody wanted to leave first.
大家站在门口，讲刚才的片子。
Dàjiā zhàn zài ménkǒu, jiǎng gāngcái de piānzi.
People stood at the entrance talking about the film they had just seen.
第二天上学，全班都在说那部电影。
Dì èr tiānshàng xué, quán bān dōu zài shuō nà bù diànyǐng.
At school the next day, the whole class was talking about that movie.
能把电影讲一遍的人，走到哪儿都被围着。
Néng bǎ diànyǐng jiǎng yí biàn de rén, zǒu dào nǎr dōu bèi wéi zhe.
Whoever could retell the whole film was surrounded wherever he went.
看过的人很得意，没有看的人不甘心。
Kàn guò de rén hěn déyì, méiyǒu kàn de rén bù gānxīn.
Those who had seen it were smug; those who had not were unwilling to accept it.
后来，小城开了一家新的电影院。
Hòulái, xiǎo chéng kāi le yì jiā xīn de diànyǐngyuàn.
Later, a new cinema opened in the small town.
再后来，这样的电影院越开越多。
Zài hòulái, zhèyàng de diànyǐngyuàn yuè kāi yuè duō.
Later still, more and more cinemas like that opened.
椅子软了，票也贵了。
Yǐzi ruǎn le, piào yě guì le.
The seats got softer, and the tickets got dearer.
新的电影院什么都是新的，连笑都觉得吵。
Xīn de diànyǐngyuàn shénme dōu shì xīn de, lián xiào dōu juéde chǎo.
In the new cinemas everything was new; even laughter felt noisy.
可是光明电影院还是老样子。
Kěshì guāngmíng diànyǐngyuàn háishi lǎo yàngzi.
But the Guangming stayed just the same.
老头还在门口撕票，头发全白了。
Lǎo tóu hái zài ménkǒu sī piào, tóufa quán bái le.
The old man still tore tickets at the door, his hair all white now.
去看电影的人却一年比一年少。
Qù kàn diànyǐng de rén què yì nián bǐ yì nián shǎo.
Yet fewer and fewer people came each year.
年轻人去了新的电影院。
Niánqīng rén qù le xīn de diànyǐngyuàn.
The young people went to the new cinemas.
只有老人还来看光明的老片子。
Zhǐyǒu lǎorén hái lái kàn guāngmíng de lǎo piānzi.
Only the old folks still came to the Guangming's old films.
他们看的不是电影，是自己年轻的时候。
Tāmen kàn de bú shì diànyǐng, shì zìjǐ niánqīng de shíhou.
What they watched was not the film but their own younger days.
我上大学离开小城那年，光明关门了。
Wǒ shàng dàxué líkāi xiǎo chéng nà nián, guāngmíng guān mén le.
The year I left town for university, the Guangming closed.
关门那天，门口贴了一张白纸。
Guān mén nà tiān, ménkǒu tiē le yì zhāng bái zhǐ.
On the day it closed, a sheet of white paper was pasted on the door.
白纸上写着四个字，谢谢大家。
Bái zhǐ shàng xiě zhe sì gè zì, xièxie dàjiā.
On the paper were just four characters: thank you, everyone.
字是老头自己写的，一笔一画。
Zì shì lǎo tóu zìjǐ xiě de, yì bǐ yí huà.
The characters were written by the old man himself, stroke by stroke.
老头坐在门口，手里拿着烟。
Lǎo tóu zuò zài ménkǒu, shǒu lǐ ná zhe yān.
The old man sat by the door, a cigarette in his hand.
我走过去，叫了一声爷爷。
Wǒ zǒu guòqù, jiào le yì shēng yéye.
I walked over and greeted him as Grandpa.
他抬头看了我一眼，说，下班了。
Tā táitóu kàn le wǒ yì yǎn, shuō, xiàbān le.
He looked up at me and said, we're closed.
我说我不看电影，就是来看看。
Wǒ shuō wǒ bú kàn diànyǐng, jiùshì lái kàn kàn.
I said I was not there for a movie, just to have a look.
他点点头，又坐了很久。
Tā diǎn diǎntóu, yòu zuò le hěn jiǔ.
He nodded and sat there a long while longer.
那年冬天，光明电影院拆了。
Nà nián dōngtiān, guāngmíng diànyǐngyuàn chāi le.
That winter, the Guangming was torn down.
拆的那天，很多人站在街对面看。
Chāi de nà tiān, hěn duō rén zhàn zài jiē duìmiàn kàn.
The day it came down, many people stood across the street watching.
原地盖起了一家大商场。
Yuán de gài qǐ le yì jiā dà shāngchǎng.
A big shopping mall went up on the same spot.
商场里有更新的电影院。
Shāngchǎng lǐ yǒu gēngxīn de diànyǐngyuàn.
Inside the mall there was an even newer cinema.
票比光明贵了好几倍，还要在手机上买。
Piào bǐ guāngmíng guì le hǎo jǐ bèi, hái yào zài shǒujī shàng mǎi.
Tickets cost several times more than at Guangming, and had to be bought on a phone.
椅子很软，还能躺着看。
Yǐzi hěn ruǎn, hái néng tǎng zhe kàn.
The seats were soft, and you could lie back to watch.
我带女儿去看过一次电影。
Wǒ dài nǚ’ér qù kàn guò yí cì diànyǐng.
I took my daughter there once for a movie.
她看得很高兴，出来就要买玩具。
Tā kàn de hěn gāoxìng, chūlái jiù yào mǎi wánjù.
She loved it, and demanded a toy the moment we came out.
她不知道，她爸爸小时候在这样的地方看过什么。
Tā bù zhīdào, tā bàba xiǎoshíhou zài zhèyàng de dìfang kàn guò shénme.
She does not know what her father once watched in a place like this.
我却一直想起光明里面那片黑暗。
Wǒ què yìzhí xiǎng qǐ guāngmíng lǐmiàn nà piàn hēi’àn.
But I kept thinking of the darkness inside the Guangming.
想着几百个人一起出汗的夏天。
Xiǎng zhe jǐ bǎi gèrén yìqǐ chū hàn de xiàtiān.
Thinking of the summers when hundreds sweated together.
想着灯亮时谁都不肯先走的门口。
Xiǎng zhe dēng liàng shí shéi dōu bù kěn xiān zǒu de ménkǒu.
Thinking of the doorway where nobody would leave first when the lights came on.
女儿问我，爸爸你想什么呢。
Nǚ’ér wèn wǒ, bàba nǐ xiǎng shénme ne.
My daughter asked, Daddy, what are you thinking about?
我说，想一个撕票的老头。
Wǒ shuō, xiǎng yí gè sī piào de lǎo tóu.
I said, about an old man who tore tickets.
她说，撕票是什么。
Tā shuō, sī piào shì shénme.
She asked, what does tearing a ticket mean?
我不知道怎么跟她解释。
Wǒ bù zhīdào zěnme gēn tā jiěshì.
I did not know how to explain it to her.
回家路上，我们经过商场的电影院。
Huí jiā lùshang, wǒmen jīngguò shāngchǎng de diànyǐngyuàn.
On the way home we passed the cinema in the mall.
海报还是大大的，演员还是笑着。
Hǎibào háishi dàdà de, yǎnyuán háishi xiào zhe.
The posters were still big, and the actors were still smiling.
只是买票的人不排队了。
Zhǐshì mǎi piào de rén bù páiduì le.
Only the people buying tickets no longer line up.
大家都在手机上买。
Dàjiā dōu zài shǒujī shàng mǎi.
Everyone buys on their phones now.
如今小城的年轻人也说不出光明的名字。
Rújīn xiǎo chéng de niánqīng rén yě shuō bù chū guāngmíng de míngzi.
These days even the town's young people cannot name the Guangming.
它像一场散了的电影，再也回不来了。
Tā xiàng yì chǎng sǎn le de diànyǐng, zài yě huí bù lái le.
It is like a film that has ended and will never come back.
可我每次回老家，还会走到那个路口。
Kě wǒ měi cì huí lǎojiā, hái huì zǒu dào nàge lùkǒu.
But every time I go back to my hometown, I still walk to that corner.
商场门口的音乐很响。
Shāngchǎng ménkǒu de yīnyuè hěn xiǎng.
The music at the mall entrance is loud.
我站一会儿，好像又能听见。
Wǒ zhàn yíhuìr, hǎoxiàng yòu néng tīngjiàn.
I stand there for a while, and it seems I can hear it again.
灯一灭，全场安静下来的那种安静。
Dēng yí miè, quán chǎng ānjìng xiàlái de nà zhǒng ānjìng.
The silence when the lights went out and the whole hall went quiet.
我站了一会儿，觉得手里好像还有一张粉红色的票。
Wǒ zhàn le yíhuìr, juéde shǒu lǐ hǎoxiàng hái yǒu yì zhāng fěn hóngsè de piào.
I stood there for a while, and it felt as if a pink ticket were still in my hand.
HearMandarin