英文短篇故事（纽约）396 The Truth About Santa

 　　"Mommy, is it okay to lie?" Annika asked. Mom said, "Of course not, honey. Where'd you get that idea? A lie destroys the trust between people. It's hard to ever regain¹ that trust. Honesty is always the best policy. If you lie, not only will you lose your friends, but your conscience will nag² at you." Annika asked, "Does your conscience nag at you, Mommy?" Mom said, "No, dear. Why should it?" Annika said, "Because you lied to me, Mommy. You said there was a Santa Claus. But now I know better. There is no Santa Claus!" Mom said, "That wasn't a lie, honey. When you were younger, Santa used to be very real for you. You believed in him. Remember how often you left out cookies for him? Telling little kids about Santa isn't a lie, honey. It's a tradition. You'll see—when you have kids of your own."

1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 nag   

v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人

参考例句：

• Nobody likes to work with a nag.谁也不愿与好唠叨的人一起共事。
• Don't nag me like an old woman.别像个老太婆似的唠唠叨叨烦我。