Lady Hermits Who Are Down But Not Out
Every large city has its shifting population of vagrants. But in most cases these are men, usually with an unhealthy appetite for alcohol. Only New York, it seems, attracts this peculiar populace of lone and homeless women who live in an isolated, mistrustful world of their own.
Shopping-bag ladies do not drink. They do not huddle together for warmth and companionship like bums. They do not seem to like one another very much. Neither are they too keen on conventional people. Urban hermits, one sociologist has called them. They will send their days and nights in the same neighborhood for months on end连续的, then disappear as inexplicably as they came. They know the hours when restaurants put their leftovers in the garbage cans where they search for food. And local residents, seeing the same bag lady on the same corner every day, will slip her some change as they pass.
Shopping-bag ladies do not overtly beg, but they do not refuse what is offered. Once a shopping-bag lady becomes a figure of your neighborhood, it is as hard to pass her by without giving her some money as it is to ignore the collection box in church. And although you may not like it, if she chooses your doorway as her place to sleep in the night, it is as morally hard to turn her away as it is a lost dog.
There are various categories of bag ladies: those who live on the streets, claiming they enjoy the freedom from constraints of society; those who became homeless because a relative died or because they couldn't keep up rent payments, and they didn't know where to go or how to apply for relief; and quasi bag ladies who have an anchor point —— a sister or brother whom they can visit once in a while to take a bath.

hermit
n. person who avoids other people and lives alone 隐士
shift
vi. move from one place, position, etc. to another 转移，移动
vagrant
n. person who lives a wandering life with no steady home or work 流浪者
appetite
n. desire or wish, esp. for food 食欲，胃口
attract
vt. draw towards oneself 吸引
attraction n.

attractive a.
peculiar
a. unusual; strange 奇特的；奇怪的
populace
n. population; the common people
lone
a. without other people or things 孤独的
isolate
vt. separate from others 使隔离，使孤立
mistrustful
a. lacking confidence or trust
shopping-bag
n. 购物袋
huddle
vi. crowd together 挤作一团
warmth
n. the state or quality of being warm
companionship
n. 伴侣关系，友谊；一群伙伴
companion n.
bum
n. wandering beggar 游民，叫化子
keen
a. eager, anxious to do things 热心的，渴望的
conventional
a. following accepted practices, customs, and standards 习俗的，寻常的
convention
v. 习俗，惯例
sociologist
n. a person who studies societies and human behavior in groups 社会学家
neighborhood
n. a group of people and their homes forming a small area within a larger place 街坊，四邻
inexplicably
ad. in a way not capable of explanation
leftovers
n. (used with a pl, v.) food remaining uneaten after a meal
garbage
n. waste material; rubbish; scraps of food to be thrown away
garbage can
dustbin 垃圾桶
resident
n. person living in a place permanently, not just a visitor 居民
slip
vt. give or pay secretly 悄悄给
overtly
ad. publicly 公开地
collection
n. the gathering of money at a religious service; money collected 募捐；募金
collection box
a box for the collection of money, esp. one passed from hand to hand in church 奉献箱
doorway
n. 门口；门道
morally
ad. with regard to right behavior 道德上
category
n. class 种类
claim
vt. declare to be true; ask for as a right; take as a rightful owner 声称；要求；认领
constraint
n. sth. that limits one's freedom of action 拘束