Six Years After a 700-Mile Bicycle Ride, an Indian Woman Faces Life Beyond Fame

In May 2020, 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari captured global headlines when she cycled more than 700 miles across India during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown. Carrying her injured father on the back of a twenty-dollar pink bicycle, she pedaled for seven consecutive days from northern India to their native village of Sirhulli in the eastern state of Bihar. The extraordinary journey brought international acclaim, along with grand promises from politicians and sponsors of cash rewards, athletic training, and even a movie deal.

2020年5月，年僅15歲的喬蒂·庫馬里（Jyoti Kumari）在新冠疫情封鎖最嚴峻的時期，騎自行車跋涉逾700英里穿越印度，登上了全球新聞頭條。她用一輛價值20美元的粉紅色自行車載著受傷的父親，連續騎行了七天，從印度北部抵達他們位於東部比哈爾邦的家鄉西爾胡利村（Sirhulli）。這段非凡的旅程為她贏得了國際讚譽，政治家與贊助商也紛紛承諾提供獎金、體育培訓，甚至是電影拍攝合約。

during the height of= 意為「在……的高峰期或最嚴峻之際」，此處指全印度疫情封鎖最嚴峻的時期。

Six years later, the 22-year-old told NPR that life remains a relentless struggle. Many of the promises made by politicians for sports funding or education were never fulfilled. Her family used what reward money they did collect from private donors and a government prize to rebuild their house, transforming bare brick walls into a livable home with a toilet and running water. However, tragedy followed shortly after: her father passed away from a heart attack in May 2021, leaving the family without its former breadwinner.

六年後，這位22歲的女子向美國國家公共電台（NPR）透露，生活依然是一場艱辛的掙扎。政客們當初所承諾的體育資助或教育補助，許多從未兌現。她的家人利用從私人捐贈者和政府獎金中實際獲得的款項翻修了房屋，將原本光禿禿的磚牆改建成配有廁所和自來水的宜居住所。然而，悲劇隨後接踵而至：她的父親於2021年5月因心臟病發去世，讓全家失去了曾經的經濟支柱。

what reward money they did collect= 結合了名詞性關係子句 what 與強調助動詞 did，表示「他們確實領取到的獎金」，與先前未兌現的眾多承諾形成對比。

Today, Kumari's mother earns a meager income as a cook to support Kumari and three younger siblings, and there are days when the family goes to sleep hungry. Kumari spends her days cooking, mopping, washing clothes by hand, and caring for her brothers and sister before she can focus on studying. While she still loves the feeling of freedom that cycling provides, household chores and exhaustion leave no time for athletic training. Instead, she now uses her bicycle only to run family errands.

如今，庫馬里的母親靠當廚師賺取微薄的收入來撫養庫馬里和三個年幼的弟妹，全家人甚至有時必須挨餓入睡。庫馬里每天都要在做飯、拖地、手洗衣物以及照顧弟妹中度過，之後才能抽空專注於學業。儘管她依然熱愛騎單車帶來的自由感覺，但繁重的家務與疲憊讓她完全沒有時間進行體育訓練。如今，她騎自行車僅僅是為了替家裡跑腿辦事。

run family errands= 「run errands」為固定搭配，指「出門辦雜事、跑腿」；此處指騎車替家裡處理日常採買或差事。

Despite the hardship, Kumari remains convinced that education, rather than fleeting fame, is the only route to a better future. She is working to pass her Class 12 exams, an essential secondary school credential needed to pursue higher education or secure steady employment. Determined to remain in her native village rather than risk the precarious day labor her father faced in big cities, Kumari is also pinning hopes on her younger sister, who takes her final school exams in 2027. For Kumari, true progress will come not from past applause, but from completed studies.

儘管生活艱辛，庫馬里始終堅信，教育而非短暫的名氣，才是通往更美好未來的唯一途徑。她正努力通過第12級考試（Class 12 exams），這是繼續升學或取得穩定工作不可或缺的中學學歷資格。庫馬里決心留在老家農村，而不願冒險去大城市從事她父親生前所經歷的不穩定日工；她也將希望寄託在將於2027年參加學校畢業考試的妹妹身上。對庫馬里而言，真正的進步並非來自昔日的掌聲，而是來自完成的學業。

pinning hopes on= 「pin hopes on」意為「將希望寄託在……之上」，表示對某人或某事寄予厚望。

單字	意思
relentless	持續不斷的；沒完沒了的
meager	（數量、程度或品質）不足的；貧乏的。
fleeting	短暫的；轉瞬即逝的。
precarious	不穩定而令人憂慮的；可能因情勢變化而陷入困境的。

Six Years After a 700-Mile Bicycle Ride, an Indian Woman Faces Life Beyond Fame

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句型	意思
during the height of	意為「在……的高峰期或最嚴峻之際」，此處指全印度疫情封鎖最嚴峻的時期。
what reward money they did collect	結合了名詞性關係子句 what 與強調助動詞 did，表示「他們確實領取到的獎金」，與先前未兌現的眾多承諾形成對比。
run family errands	「run errands」為固定搭配，指「出門辦雜事、跑腿」；此處指騎車替家裡處理日常採買或差事。
pinning hopes on	「pin hopes on」意為「將希望寄託在……之上」，表示對某人或某事寄予厚望。