5. An Adult Decision

　　The year before my son turned 18, he constantly¹ pleaded² to be allowed to a tattoo³, but I refused to sign permission for one. He argued that soon he would be a man and he should be able to make adult decisions. Sure enough, a few days after his 18th birthday, he come home with a tattoo. Although I was not happy about this, I was curious to see what symbol of masculinity⁴ he had chosen. There, on his shoulder, was a two-inch image of Mickey Mouse.

Notes:

　　(1) constantly adv. 不断地

　　(2) tattoo n. 文身

　　(3) permission n. 允许

　　(4) masculinity n. 阳性，男性

　　(5) image n . 形象，肖像

　　(6) Mickey Mouse 米老鼠

Exercises:

根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、误（F）：

　　① When the son pleaded to be allowed to a tattoo, the mother thought her son was old enough to make an adult decision.

　　② A few days before his birthday, the son came home with a tattoo.

　　③ The mother wondered what symbol her son had chosen.

　　④ The image of Mickey Mouse on the son's shoulder was three inches long.

　　⑤ From the passage, we can see that the son really made an adult decision.

成年人的抉择

　　我儿子十八岁前的那一年，他常常向我提出准许他文身。但我拒绝允许他这样做。他争辩说他不久就要成为男子汉了，并说他应该能够作出成年人的抉择了。果然，十八岁生日的几天后，他文了身，回到家里。尽管我对此感到不高兴，但出于好奇，我想看看他选择了什么雄性象征物。原来是他在肩上文了一个两英寸长的米老鼠像。

练习参考答案：

① F ② F ③ T ④ F ⑤ F

1 constantly   

adv.不变地，不断地，时常地

参考例句：

• The two countries have been warring constantly for years.这两国多年来一直交战。
• We should constantly urge ourselves on to study hard.我们要经常鞭策自己努力学习。

2 pleaded   

恳求，请求( plead的过去式和过去分词 )； 提出…为借口[理由]； （向法庭）陈述案情； （在法庭）申辩，认罪，辩护

参考例句：

• She pleaded with him not to go. 她恳求他不要离开。
• She wept and pleaded until he agreed to do as she wished. 她哭着恳求他，一直到他答应按她的愿望去做。

3 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

4 masculinity   

n.男子气慨

参考例句：

• He felt it was a threat to his masculinity.他觉得这对他的男子气概是一种威胁。
• Football is a bastion of masculinity in this area.在该地区足球是男子汉的天地。