2012年ESL之就医和人际交往 18 Adopting a Child（在线收听）

Adopting a Child

Scott: Hi, I thought I’d stop by to pick up those chairs I wanted to borrow. 

Roberta: Oh, sure. Here they are. 

Scott: What are you doing? 

Roberta: I’m looking through the material we got on adoption. 

Scott: Are you and Robert thinking about adopting a child? 

Roberta: Yeah, we are. We’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and we think we might be ready now. 

Scott: Have you decided on an international or domestic adoption? 

Roberta: We’re going domestic. 

Scott: That means going through the foster care system, right? 

Roberta: Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of work getting our house ready and all of the paperwork done. But after we pass inspection, we’ll just need to wait for a call from a social worker with a placement. We hope it’ll happen quickly. 

Scott: I thought people had to wait months or years for a baby. 

Roberta: They may, but we’re asking for a waiting child, maybe even one with special needs. We may even take more than one child, someone with siblings. 

Scott: Wow, that’s a lot of responsibility. Wouldn’t you rather do a private adoption? Then you can call the shots and even have a closed adoption, if that’s what you want. 

Roberta: We don’t mind an open adoption, actually. We’ve given it a lot of thought, and we think it’s best if the child knows who his or her birth parents are. That way, they won’t always be wondering. 

Scott: I hope everything goes smoothly. I’m sure you’ll both make great parents. 

Roberta: We’re not so sure, but we’ll do our best. By the way, you can keep those chairs. 

Scott: Really? Why? 

Roberta: You have no children and they’re a hazard. We need to childproof this house and we’re starting with those chairs. 

Scott: Hey, that’s great. That big-screen TV looks dangerous. I’d be more than happy to take it off your hands, too. 

Roberta: Hands off the TV! 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse