英语PK台 第729期:如果我养孩子,会和父母的方式不一样吗?

 If I had a kid...

如果我有孩子

Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey Mark, Children's Day is coming again this Friday.

京晶：嗨，马克，儿童节又快到了，这周五呢。

Mark: Oh yeah, it'll be June 1st at the end of this week. Wow, May just flew by.

马克：是的呢，六月一号，这周末。哇哦，五月飞逝如电。

Jingjing: It sure did. About children, are you thinking of having your own kids, now that you're married?

京晶：可不是吗。说到孩子，既然你已经结婚了，想过要自己的孩子吗？

Mark: Well, sure. That's always been the plan. My wife and I are getting prepared for that, actually. We hope to have a kid in another year or two.

马克：当然了。一直有这计划。我太太和我已经开始在准备了。事实上，我们希望，再过一两年就生。

Jingjing: Is there anything you'd do differently, compared to your parents?

京晶：和你的父母相比，你作为家长会做得有些什么不同吗？

Mark: My wife and I have talked about that a lot. Both of us were raised in a loving home. We were provided¹ for but not spoiled.

马克：我和我太太聊过很多。我们都是在一个充满爱与关怀的环境中长大的，成长中得到了该得到的，但又没被宠坏。

Jingjing: You're one of the lucky ones.

京晶：你们真是幸运。

Mark: You are too, I'm pretty sure.

马克：你也一样吧，我很肯定。

Jingjing: You better believe it. My parents treated me like a princess. Also, they gave me a lot of independence, more than most of my friends got.

京晶：你最好相信，我爸妈把我当公主养。同时他们给予了我很多的独立和自由，比我朋友们得到的多得多。

Mark: Mine too. It's good to let a kid make some mistakes and learn from the consequences.

马克：我也是。让孩子去犯点错误，从后果中学习（长教训）是很好的。

Jingjing: True, that. Sometimes kids react² really badly when their parents don't let them do something.

京晶：正解。有时候当父母阻止孩子做一件事的时候，他们会做出不好的回应。

Mark: Plus they learn nothing from it, except that their parents are bossy³.

马克：而且他们什么也学不到，除了发现父母是如此的专横。

Jingjing: Ha ha. Well, I'm sure parenting is much more difficult than it looks.

京晶：哈哈。我相信做父母这事一定比表面看着难许多。

Mark: Too right! Most of the parenting principles we read about are much easier said than done.

马克：太对了！大多数我们读过的那些养育道理都是说得容易做着难啊！

Jingjing: Yep. It takes a lifetime⁴ to build good parenting habits.

京晶：是啊。建立一个好的养育习惯需要花费一生的时间。

New words: 习语短语

a loving home 一种温暖的家庭氛围，父母让孩子感觉到被重视和关爱

a home in which parents make the child feel valuable and warm

one of the lucky ones 幸运儿 （没有大多数人有的问题）

someone who doesn't have the problems facing most people

independence 独立，自由，自主性选择

free time and chances to choose for oneself

consequences 后果

the results of something you've done

parenting principles 养育原则，育儿经

rules parents make for themselves about how to raise a healthy and happy child

Dialogue 2

Mark: Hi again, Jingjing.

马克：嗨，京晶

Jingjing: We were talking about childhood and parenting last time. Were you a naughty kid?

京晶：上次我们聊了童年和做父母的事，你小时候淘气吗？

Mark: I was. But my parents gave me plenty of vitamin⁵ N.

马克：淘呢。但我父母给了我足够多的维他命N

Jingjing: Come again? What's that?

京晶：再说一遍？那是什么？

Mark: It's saying "no" to your kid, so they don't get spoiled.

马克：就是对孩子说“不”，这样他们就不会被宠坏。

Jingjing: That's a good idea. I guess you grew up eventually.

京晶：是个好主意。我猜你终究也是长大了。

Mark: Of course. But come to think of it, I might not say "no" to my own kids quite so often.

马克：当然。但仔细想想，我也许不会对自己的孩子经常说不。

Jingjing: Give me an example of a time.

京晶：给我举个例吧，比如

Mark: Well, OK. We travelled a lot. But my parents hardly ever took me out to restaurants on those trips.

马克：好吧。我家经常出门旅游，但父母从来不在旅途中带我去餐馆吃饭。

Jingjing: Isn't that because the food was overpriced at some of those tourist traps⁶?

京晶：难道不是因为有些敲竹杠的旅游景点的餐饮都贵得离谱吗？

Mark: Yeah, I know that now. But back then, I thought it sucked⁷. And, when I got a little older and had my own money, I spent too much of it on restaurants.

马克：是，我知道。但是回到那时候，我真觉得这事太不给力了。后来等我稍微长大了一些，自己挣钱了，我又在出去吃饭这事上乱花了太多。

Jingjing: You might have felt a little deprived⁸. But you understand now.

京晶：你可能感觉有点被剥夺了什么权利，但是现在你理解了。

Mark: Clearly. But what I'd do differently is to give my kid a choice: do you want to eat in one of these restaurants, or get supermarket food and then have something better when we're back home?

马克：当然了。但是我会用不同的方法对待我的孩子，给他选择：你愿意在外面的餐馆吃，或者超市里买点，等我们回家后做更好吃的？

Jingjing: That's putting it well, hopefully in a way a kid could understand.

京晶：这方法很好啊很巧妙啊！希望孩子能理解能懂。

Mark: Actually, my parents and I read one of the same books on parenting: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.

马克：事实上我和我父母都读过同一本关于养育孩子的书：《如何说孩子才会听你，如何听孩子才愿意说》。

Jingjing: That's a promising⁹ title.

京晶：这标题很吸引人。

Mark: I read it just a few months ago. I have the PDF I can send you.

马克：我几个月前才读了，我有PDF版可以发给你看。

Jingjing: Please. I'd like to have a look at it.

京晶：一定啊，我也很想看看。

New words: 习语短语

vitamin N 对孩子说不

saying "no" to children, in ways that will help them learn

spoiled 宠溺，宠坏

given too much, so that a person does not learn how to work or feel grateful

deprived 被剥夺了该有的东西

not given what is necessary

putting it well 用很好的方式解释

expressing something in a good way

PDF 可携式文档格式

portable document format, a file type for books and other pieces of writing

1 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

2 react   

vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用

参考例句：

• She didn't look up or react in any way.她既不抬头，也没有任何反应。
• How did he react to your suggestion?他如何对待你的建议？

3 bossy   

adj.爱发号施令的，作威作福的

参考例句：

• She turned me off with her bossy manner.她态度专橫很讨我嫌。
• She moved out because her mother-in-law is too bossy.她的婆婆爱指使人,所以她搬出去住了。

4 lifetime   

n.一生，终身，寿命，使用期限

参考例句：

• He wrote many books during his lifetime.他一生著作甚多。
• During his lifetime his work was never published.他的作品在他的有生之年从未出版过。

5 vitamin   

n.维他命，维生素

参考例句：

• Oranges are rich in vitamin C.橙子富含维生素C。
• Vitamin pills make up what you lack in your diet.维生素丸可补充你食物中所缺乏的营养。

6 traps   

n.随身携带物，随身行李；圈套( trap的名词复数 )；（对付人的）计谋；（练习射击用的）抛靶器；（捕捉动物的）夹子v.诱骗( trap的第三人称单数 )；使受限制；困住；使（水与气体等）分离

参考例句：

• The stock market is full of traps for the unwary. 对无风险意识的人而言，股票市场充满了陷阱。
• No. Not in regular government pay and employment, to lay traps? 没有这种想法。不是受雇于政府、接受正规津贴、陷害他人么？ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 sucked   

v.吸，吮( suck的过去式和过去分词 )；舐，吮吸

参考例句：

• In his youth he had been sucked into a hippy cult. 他年轻的时候一度过着嬉皮士式的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The whirlpool sucked down everything floating on the water. 漩涡把水面上漂的东西都吸进去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deprived   

adj. 缺乏足够教育的；缺少食物的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• They deprived the criminal of political rights for all his life. 他们剥夺那罪犯的终身政治权利。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。