2015年ESL之就医和人际交往 07 Punishing Children

Punishing Children 

Yuki: What are you doing? 

Al: I’m getting ready to give Charlie a spanking¹ for beating up his classmate. He has to learn that there are serious consequences for his actions. 

Yuki: You’re punishing him for beating someone by giving him a beating? That doesn’t make sense. Our response shouldn’t be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. 

Al: I’m not going to beat him. This isn’t going to be a flogging. I’m going to give him a simple spanking. 

Yuki: Corporal punishment isn’t the answer. We can give him a severe punishment without resorting to violence. 

Al: What kind of punishment? Withholding² his allowance or taking away his toys? Those don’t seem severe enough to me. 

Yuki: We could ground him for a month, only allowing him to go to school. 

Al: That still doesn’t seem to be enough. 

Yuki: All right, we can pull out the big guns then. We could have him spend the weekend with your mother and ask her to talk some sense into him. He’s scared of your mother. 

Al: I’m scared of my mother. Do you think it would work? 

Yuki: If I were a 10-year-old and I had to face your angry and disapproving³ mother for an entire weekend, I’d be quaking in my boots! 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 spanking   

adj.强烈的，疾行的；n.打屁股

参考例句：

• The boat is spanking along on the river.船在小河疾驶。
• He heard a horse approaching at a spanking trot.他听到一匹马正在疾步驰近。

2 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

3 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》