寄: to send, to mail, to entrust, to depend on, to attach oneself to, to live (in a house), to lodge, foster (son etc)...
少年: early youth, youngster, (literary) youth, young man...
忍心: to have the heart to do sth, to steel oneself to a task...
估算: assessment, evaluation...
当作: to treat as, to regard as...
四合院: courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard (type of Chinese residence)...
要么: or, either one or the other...
礼堂: assembly hall, auditorium...
试图: to attempt, to try...
谈起: to mention, to speak of, to talk about...
