美国国家公共电台 NPR You Were Right, Mom

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Finally, a tribute to the old adage¹ mother knows best. We asked you to share advice your mothers gave you that eventually made you say, Mom was right. Laura Bathke starts us off.

LAURA BATHKE: When I was about 14, I was starting to think about what I might want to do with a career. And the first thing that my mom suggested to me was architecture, but I dismissed it immediately. I told her, Mom, I don't want to spend all day doing math. And now I have two degrees in architecture. And I have to admit that my mom was right all along.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: This Mother's Day, I'd like to thank my mother for insisting that I take a typing class. I was one of two males in a class of 45 students. And those typing skills sure helped me out when computers started coming into our offices in the late 1980s.

VICTORIA PISCIT: Hi, my name is Victoria Piscit (ph). My daughter was born five weeks premature², and I was discharged from the hospital while she was still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. And I went home that night and called my mother in despair because it's not right to be discharged from a hospital without your baby. And she said, Victoria, your baby knows you. Your babies love you. She smells you. She will be OK. And that advice literally³ got me through that first night at home. Luckily, my daughter was discharged four days later.

SCOTT SIMON, BYLINE⁴: Hi, my name is Scott Simon. My mother always said better to be slightly overdressed than slightly underdressed. Of course, when I was younger, I thought that's pompous⁵. That's pretentious⁶. She always said, you know, honey, someday you'll run into the Duchess of Cambridge, and when you do, would you rather be the guy wearing a blazer and a tie or the guy wearing an Arctic Monkeys "Suck It And See" T-shirt?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And from my mom, who fled Cuba when she was a young mother and never went to college, she always told us to get an education. She'd say they can take everything away from you except what you know.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

JAMES HIDER: Hi, Lulu. This is your husband, James, wishing you a very happy Mother's Day. And here's your daughter, Cassenia.

CASSENIA: Hi, Mommy. Happy Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Oh, my goodness. I'm so touched I'm crying. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

1 adage   

n.格言，古训

参考例句：

• But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是，根据我的经验，人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
• Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老，学到老！

2 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

6 pretentious   

adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。
• Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。