时差N小时 小公主扰乱婚姻生活

Dear Annie: My wife of 50 years and I are at an impasse¹. A year ago, her 30-year-old daughter, Carol, moved in with us and brought her dogs along. Carol has a good job, but contributes nothing and has absolutely no responsibilities. Her mother and I do her laundry and cook her meals, feed and walk the dogs, and clean up the fur and poop. Carol goes to work and hangs out with her friends. She is living the good life while we do everything for her. Shouldn't adult children contribute both financially and by helping² out? I have talked this over with my wife, but she will not change her stance. I am seriously thinking of leaving her. Maybe I could find someone willing to take responsibility for me so I can live the good life, too. － Larry Is Losing

亲爱的安妮： 我的妻子50岁了。最近我和她闹僵了。一年前，她30岁的女儿卡罗尔搬来和我们一起住，还带来了她养的的狗。卡罗尔虽然有一份好工作，但是对这个家却难言尽责。我和她的母亲给她洗衣、做饭、养狗、遛狗、给狗洗澡、清理狗粪。卡罗尔上班、和朋友出去玩。她过得很滋润，但我们要为她打理一切。 成年子女不该给予父母财力支持和其它帮助吗？我与我的妻子谈过这事，但她没有改变立场。我正在很认真地考虑，是不是应该离开她。也许我能找到愿意为我承担责任的另一半，这样我也可以享受一下生活。——困惑的拉里

Dear Larry: A loving parent does not encourage an adult child to live like a little princess at home. Your wife is being selfish. If she cared more for Carol's welfare than her own emotional³ needs, she'd tell her daughter to find her own place. At the very least, Carol should be paying rent and taking care of her dogs, meals and laundry. Explain this to your wife, and tell her how close you are to walking out.

亲爱的拉里： 慈爱的父母不应鼓励成年子女在家里像个小公主一样。你的妻子其实是很自私的。如果她真地关心卡罗尔的幸福和情感需要，她应告诉她的女儿独立生活。最起码，卡罗尔应自己支付房租、自己照顾狗、自己做饭、自己洗衣。把这些道理解释给你的妻子，并告诉她，若她做不到，你就会离开她。

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。