ESL Podcast 186 – Dating a Younger Man/Woman

Tadashi: Was that Diane you were talking to just now?

Helen: Yeah, do you know her?

Tadashi: Diane and I used to work together. She looked happy.

Helen: Yeah, she’s dating a new man. I just got the scoop¹. He’s not her usual type.

Tadashi: What do you mean?

Helen: Well, he’s a little younger than she is.

Tadashi: That’s no big deal nowadays. How much younger?

Helen: Diane is 42 and he’s 27.

Tadashi: They’re 15 years apart! Talk about robbing the cradle!

Helen: Hey, didn’t you just say that May- December romances aren’t that uncommon²? From what Diane tells me, they have a lot of things in common.

Tadashi: Yes, I did. But that was before I knew there was such a huge age difference between them. I know that my parents wouldn’t approve of me dating a woman 15 years older than me.

Helen: Aren’t you being a hypocrite? After your parents divorced, didn’t your father remarry? And, isn’t your step-mother 18 years younger than your father?

Tadashi: But, but…that’s different.

Helen: How? Because Diane is a woman and your father is a man?

Tadashi: Yeah. I don’t mind saying it. There’s a double standard. I think a lot of people would agree with me.

Helen: You may be right, but I’m not one of them.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

2 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。