【英语趣味课堂】是否应该给孩子手机-Whether Children Should be Given Telephones

Gareth: Okay, so Rebecca, we just talked about kids and technology, and you asked me whether or not I should give a cellphone to my son.

 

Rebecca: Yeah.

 

Gareth: Now, I would like you to give me a little bit of advice for my daughter. I have a daughter, and she's only seven months old, but I'm worried about when she's older, when she gets a boyfriend, and when she has her first date, and when she'll start wearing make-up, so could you kind of give me some advice about this?

 

Rebecca: Well, I think maybe I had a bit of an unusual experience. My mom actually made me wear make-up. When I got into high school, it was like -- you know, in middle school, I was the kid with you know braces¹ and glasses, stuck in a book, and my mom was like you can't do that in high school, you 'll never meet anyone, so she took away my glasses and made me get contacts. And I couldn't do anything about the braces, but you know, as long as you cover mouth or do something weird² when you smile.

 

Gareth: Wow, that sounds quite the opposite to many of my friends, like they all wanted to wear make-up, and their parents wouldn't let them.

 

Rebecca: No, I was a tomboy. My mom was actually kind of worried, like, she's like, do you have any interest at all in girlie things. I was like, no, I don't like shoes, I don't like clothes, I don't need a purse. I'll just go climb a tree.

 

Gareth: So, do you think it's important as a parent to steer³ your children to like kind of sculpt⁴ them, and make them into more rounded people, or do you think you should just let them go?

 

Rebecca: At the time, I think I actually resented⁵ my mom for it, cause like she waxed my eyebrows⁶. My mom removed my eyebrows. She sat me down and was like 'you have a unibrow that is not acceptable⁷' and she pinned me down and ripped⁸ them out, and I screamed and I hated her for weeks.

 

Gareth: Wow, how old were you when she did that?

 

Rebecca: It was the end of middle school sometime. But middle school, high school, somewhere in that area.

 

Gareth: So like fifteen?

 

Rebecca: Fifteenish, yeah. I didn't shave either. My mom actually shaved my legs the first time. She was like you need to shave this now.

 

 重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

stuck in a book

 

 

I was always stuck in a book.

 

When you are stuck in a book that means you read very seriously and do not notice other things around you. We joke the person is 'stuck' because perhaps they are reading with their nose very close to the book. Notice the following:

 

On the weekend I love to just get stuck in a book for hours.

That child is always stuck in a book. He needs to play more.

tomboy

 

 

I was a tomboy as a child.

 

A tomboy is a girl or young woman who acts just like a boy or a man. A tomboy usually dresses like a boy and likes things boys do. Here are two examples.

 

She had three older brothers, so she grew up a tomboy.

As a child she was a tomboy, but now she is very feminine⁹.

girlie things

 

 

I was interested in girlie things.

 

Girlie things are things girls traditionally like, such as dolls, dresses and make-up. Notice the following:

 

She is always buying girlie things like perfume and make-up.

As a boy growing up, he secretly liked girlie things.

steer (someone to something)

 

 

As a parent you steer you children to like things you do.

 

When you steer something, you control it by moving a handle, like a steering¹⁰ wheel in a car. So when you steer a person, you try to make them behave in your interest. Notice the following:

 

His father steered¹¹ him to a career in business, but he wanted to be a musician.

His friends steered him into a life of crime.

sculpt (someone)

 

As a parent you kind of sculpt them.

 

A sculpture is a piece of art that is made my hand. So when we sculpt people, we try to make them into something we want them to be. Notice the following:

 

Parents often try to sculpt their children into successful adults.

It is harmful to try to sculpt children into people they do not want to be.

1 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

4 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

5 resented   

对…感到愤怒( resent的过去式和过去分词 )； 关系( regard的过去式和过去分词 )； 再差遣； 再发

参考例句：

• She resented the insinuation that she was too old for the job. 她憎恶暗示她太老不适合这项工作的话。
• I deeply resented her criticism. 我对她的批评感到非常气愤。

6 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

7 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

8 ripped   

adj. <美俚>喝醉的，受毒品麻醉的 动词rip的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He had ripped up the carpet, leaving only the bare boards. 他用力扯去了地毯，只剩下裸露的地板。
• I ripped my jeans on the fence. 我的牛仔裤在栅栏上划破了。

9 feminine   

adj.女性的，女子气的

参考例句：

• He has a very feminine voice.他的声音非常像女人。
• She was a very feminine person.她是个很有女性气质的人。

10 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

11 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》