Myfather couldn't do a regular job. To make ends meet, he and I picked beansevery summer on farms. It was hard work, and they paid by the pound, not thehour.
Bottombeans were harder to pick. My father and I alway picked on opposite sides ofthe same row, and his constant, gentle reminders to “pick from the bottom up”still ring in my ears.
Wehad row bosses who would part the vines and step into our world quietly. Theywould check the area we had picked and if it wasn't picked clean, they sent usback. At first, I was
sentback a lot by the bosses. When that happened, my father would step through thevines and pick back toward me until we had cleaned up my mess. The vines wereso thick that we
couldn'tsee each other, but we always talked while working. His voice would come, “Areyou picking clean?”
......
Themoney we earned in the bean fields was barely enough to be worthwhile.
Butthe lessons I got -pick clean, bottom up, both hands - were principles of myfather's life that shaped mine.
有几处不可以理解：
1)and they paid by the pound - they 和 paid 不可以理解，这里的they指的是什么呢？我看到网上另外一个版本篇写的是thefarmers paid by...所以，这里的they指代的是the farmers 还是 beans呢？
另外，这里应该用paid还是were paid呢？
2)on opposite sides of the same row - 应该是 on "the"opposite sides of the same row - 缺少定冠词the吗？前面用了一般过去时，stillring... 动词时态指目前吗？
The money we earned in the bean fields wasbarely enough to be worthwhile. -这句话好难理解？
3)we had picked and if it wasn't picked clean...为何用过去完成时？奇怪的是，为何 if itwasn't picked clean 却不用过去完成时？until we had cleaned up my mess - 这个时态应该用一般过去时？！
最后应该是shaped me, 而不是shapedmine ?
谢谢老师！
1.这里they显然指farms. 是主动形式，不是被动形式。假如改用they were paid by the pound, they 就指父子了。
2.这里习惯上不需要冠词。比如：on both sides of the road. still ring in my ears.是一种生动的描述，表时说话时仍然ring in his ears.也可以把这种使用方法看作是“历史目前时”（Historical present)
barely enough to be worthwhile. 指挣到的钱几乎不值。
3. we had picked up 指在check 前已经完成。 if it wasn't picked clean..在是条件句，一般用一般时，即这里的一般过去时。until we had cleaned up my mess，until 从句常常接完成时,用一般时也对。最后的shaped mine 是正确的，由于是shaped my life.