年纪大了以后，记性慢慢变差，那时候心里最想念的会是谁？
深夜，一位80多岁的老人在街上慢慢地走，她想去什么地方？
最近，刚下夜班的王先生看到一位老人一个人坐在公交车站，因为担心她，就马上请警察来帮助。
警察耐心地问老人住在哪里，“金营的…
…
”老人只是不停地重复这个地方的名字。
警察听了觉得奇怪，因为这个村子很多年前就已经拆掉了。
老人好像听不到别人说话，一直小声说着“我是金营的…
…
”。
雨下得越来越大，警察决定先带老人回派出所。
值班的人给老人倒了一杯热水，让她暖和一下。
休息了一会儿，警察又继续耐心地问她，想知道她的身份信息。
“您打算去做什么呢？
”“我要去找妈妈…
…
”这个意料之外的回答，让警察一下子不知道接下来该问什么。
他停了一下，努力让自己的心情平静下来，用温和的声音对她说：“等一下我们送您回家。
”后来，警察通过老人说的名字，确认了她的身份，找到了她家的地址。
警察一边联系她的家人，一边开车送她回去。
看到妈妈安全回来，她的儿子也很激动。
警察了解到，老人今年83岁，有阿尔茨海默病，所以晚上出去后找不到回家的路了。
在这个下雨的夜晚，老人寻找的是记忆里永远温暖的地方。
希望每一位在时间里迷路的老人，都能被这个世界温柔地对待。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vc2VjdXJlL2xlYXJuY2hpbmVzZS80MTg0Lm1wMw&filename=Looking-for-Mother.mp3&signature=0f081bbf8fbef787a126be765ccb9e676d154f3e1b3e1d64c8bf7a6a1b70540a
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 年纪 | nián jì | age |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 以后 | yǐ hòu | after / later / afterwards / following / later on / in the future |
| 记性 | jì xing | memory (ability to retain information) |
| 慢慢 | màn màn | slowly; gradually |
| 变 | biàn | to change / to become different / to transform / to vary |
| 差 | chà | different / wrong; mistaken / not up to standard; inferior |
| 那 | nà | (specifier) that; the; those / (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations) |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 心 | xīn | heart / mind / intention |
| 里 | lǐ | lining / interior / inside |
| 最 | zuì | (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est |
| 想念 | xiǎng niàn | to miss / to remember with longing / to long to see again |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 会 | huì | to be likely to; to be sure to |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 谁 | shéi | who |
| 深夜 | shēn yè | very late at night |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 位 | wèi | classifier for people (honorific) |
| 多 | duō | (after a numeral) ... odd |
| 岁 | suì | classifier for years (of age) |
| 老人 | lǎo rén | old man or woman / the elderly |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 街 | jiē | street |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 地 | de | -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / to change (shape, form, meaning) |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 想 | xiǎng | to desire; to want (to) |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 什么 | shén me | what? |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 最近 | zuì jìn | recently |
| 刚 | gāng | just / barely / exactly |
| 下 | xià | to decline / to go down |
| 夜 | yè | night |
| 班 | bān | team; class; grade / (military) squad / work shift |
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher / gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) / husband / (dialect) doctor |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 坐 | zuò | to sit / to take a seat / to take (a bus, airplane etc) / to bear fruit |
| 公交 | gōng jiāo | public transportation / mass transit |
| 车站 | chē zhàn | rail station / bus stop |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 担心 | dān xīn | to worry / to be anxious |
| 就 | jiù | as soon as; immediately after |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once / right away / immediately |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask / to request |
| 警察 | jǐng chá | police; police officer |
| 来 | lái | (between two verbs) in order to |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | to help; to assist |
| 耐心 | nài xīn | to be patient |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay |
| 哪里 | nǎ lǐ | where? / somewhere / anywhere / wherever / nowhere (negative answer to question) |
| 金营 | Jīn Yíng | a place name; Jinying |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but / simply |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 停 | tíng | to stop / to halt |
| 重复 | chóng fù | to repeat / to duplicate |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 名字 | míng zi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 听 | tīng | to listen to; to hear |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... |
| 奇怪 | qí guài | strange / odd |
| 村子 | cūn zi | village |
| 很多 | hěn duō | many; a lot of |
| 年 | nián | year |
| 前 | qián | ago / before / BC / former / formerly |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 拆 | chāi | to tear open / to tear down / to tear apart / to open |
| 掉 | diào | (used after certain verbs to express completion, fulfillment, removal etc) |
| 好像 | hǎo xiàng | to seem like |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 别人 | bié rén | other people; others; other person |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to speak / to say / to talk / to gossip / to tell stories |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line) / continuously; always; all the way through |
| 小 | xiǎo | small / tiny / few |
| 声 | shēng | sound / voice / tone / noise / reputation |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 雨 | yǔ | rain |
| 得 | de | structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc |
| 越来越 | yuè lái yuè | more and more |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind |
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now |
| 带 | dài | to wear / to carry / to take along / to bear / to bring |
| 回 | huí | to go back / to turn around / to answer / to return |
| 派出所 | pài chū suǒ | local police station |
| 值班 | zhí bān | on duty |
| 给 | gěi | to / for / for the benefit of / to do sth (for sb) |
| 倒 | dào | to invert; to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out; to dump / to go backward |
| 杯 | bēi | classifier for certain containers of liquids |
| 热 | rè | hot (of weather) |
| 水 | shuǐ | water / (after a name) ... River / (bound form) additional cost; extra income |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 暖和 | nuǎn huo | warm / nice and warm |
| 一下 | yī xià | (after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try) |
| 休息 | xiū xi | to rest |
| 一会儿 | yī huì r | a moment / a while |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again |
| 继续 | jì xù | to continue; to proceed with; to go on with |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of |
| 她的 | tā de | her; hers |
| 身份 | shēn fèn | identity; role; capacity; status (social, legal etc); position; rank |
| 信息 | xìn xī | information; news; message |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 打算 | dǎ suàn | to plan / to intend / to calculate |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?") |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find / to look for / to call on sb / to find / to seek |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama / mommy / mother |
| 意料之外 | yì liào zhī wài | (idiom) contrary to expectation; unexpected |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer / reply; answer |
| 一下子 | yī xià zi | in a short while / all at once / all of a sudden |
| 接下来 | jiē xià lái | next / following |
| 该 | gāi | should / ought to / probably / must be |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | to make an effort; to try hard; to strive |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 心情 | xīn qíng | mood; frame of mind |
| 平静 | píng jìng | tranquil / undisturbed / serene |
| 下来 | xià lái | (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.) |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 温和 | wēn hé | mild / gentle / moderate |
| 声音 | shēng yīn | voice / sound |
| 对 | duì | towards; at; for / concerning; regarding |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our |
| 送 | sòng | to see (sb) off / to accompany; to go along with |
| 家 | jiā | home / family / (polite) my (sister, uncle etc) |
| 后来 | hòu lái | afterwards; later |
| 通过 | tōng guò | by means of; through; via |
| 确认 | què rèn | to confirm / to verify |
| 找到 | zhǎo dào | to find |
| 地址 | dì zhǐ | address |
| 一边 | yī biān | on the one hand / on the other hand / doing while |
| 联系 | lián xì | to get in touch with / to integrate / to link / to touch |
| 家人 | jiā rén | family member |
| 开 | kāi | (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start / to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run |
| 车 | chē | car / vehicle / machine |
| 回去 | huí qù | to return / to go back |
| 安全 | ān quán | safe; secure |
| 回来 | huí lái | to return; to come back |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 也 | yě | also; too; as well; (not ...) either |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 激动 | jī dòng | to move emotionally / to stir up (emotions) / to excite |
| 了解 | liǎo jiě | to understand / to realize / to find out |
| 今年 | jīn nián | this year |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 阿尔茨海默病 | ā ěr cí hǎi mò bìng | Alzheimer's disease |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore / as a result / so |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | in the evening |
| 出去 | chū qù | to go out |
| 后 | hòu | afterwards / after |
| 路 | lù | road / journey / route / line (bus etc) / sort; kind |
| 下雨 | xià yǔ | to rain |
| 夜晚 | yè wǎn | night |
| 寻找 | xún zhǎo | to seek; to look for |
| 记忆 | jì yì | memory |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever |
| 温暖 | wēn nuǎn | warm |
| 希望 | xī wàng | to hope |
| 每 | měi | each / every |
| 时间 | shí jiān | time |
| 迷路 | mí lù | to lose the way |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 被 | bèi | used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb) / (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 温柔 | wēn róu | gentle and soft; tender; sweet |
| 对待 | duì dài | to treat |