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The Difficult Age of Aquarius 星座小孩系列（二）：「瓶」中精灵

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Genevieve and Marco are talking about their expectant sister, Jackie:  奇妮维和马可正聊到他们怀孕中的姊姊贾姬：

M: When exactly is her little bundle of joy due?

她的预产期到底是什么时候啊？

G: Sometime toward the middle of this month.

大概这个月中旬。

M: The middle of February! Oh, no! It’s going to be an Aquarius!

二月中！喔，天啊！那会是个水瓶座宝宝耶！

G: So? What’s wrong with that? Aquarians are supposed to be exceptionally bright.

那又如何？有什么不好的？水瓶座的人应该是绝顶聪明。

M: Yeah, but he could also grow up to be exceptionally eccentric.

是啊，但他长大后也可能变成很古怪的人。

G: What makes you so sure it’ll be a boy? She could be destined to become a famous ballerina; female Aquarians make great dancers.

你怎么那么确定他是男生？她也可能注定要成为一位有名的芭蕾舞者；水瓶座的女人很会跳舞。

M: Whatever; I wouldn’t hold your breath though: they might be precocious as kids, but Aquarians tend not to fulfill their potential until they’re at least fifty.

不管怎么样，我可不敢期望看到那一天。他们在小时候可能很早熟，但，水瓶座的人往往在五十岁以后才充分发挥他们的潜能。

G: Well, apparently, those born under the influence of Uranus also have an uncanny ability to ask the most embarrassing, probing questions – should be fun with all skeletons you’ve got in your closet.

嗯，很明显地，在天王星影响之下出生的人也有特殊的能力问些最令人尴尬、最私密的问题──你心中最底层所有的秘密，应该是很好玩。

M: You’re scaring me now! I just thought of something else: Aquarian kids are also very friendly; he – or she – is going to have to learn not to talk to strangers!

你现在把我吓到了！我刚刚想到别的事：水瓶座的孩子也非常友善，他或她一定得学会不要和陌生人说话！

G: From what you’ve been telling me, I think I know what this child’s biggest problem is going to be.

从你所告诉我的，我想我知道这孩子最大的问题是什么。

M: Oh, gosh! What?

喔，天啊！是什么？

G: Its Uncle Marco!

他的舅舅马可！

－by Michael Costello

Vocabulary

单词发音

expectant [ɪkˋspɛktənt] adj. 怀孕的

bundle of joy 孩子 a baby

due [dju] adj. 到期的; 预定应到达的

Aquarius [əˋkwɛrɪəs] n.【天】宝瓶（星）座；宝瓶宫；水瓶座

exceptionally [ɪkˋsɛpʃənəlɪ] adv. 特别﹐ 非常

eccentric [ɪkˋsɛntrɪk] adj.（人、行为等）古怪的，反常的

destined [ˋdɛstɪnd] adj. 命中注定的

ballerina [͵bæləˋrinə] n. 芭蕾舞女演员（尤指主角）

hold one’s breath 屏息而待 to wait in anxious anticipation

precocious [prɪˋkoʃəs] adj.【常口】早熟的﹐ 智慧超前的

Uranus [ˋjʊərənəs] n. 天王星〔太阳系第七个行星〕

uncanny [ʌnˋkænɪ] adj. 神奇的，不可思议的；不寻常的

probing [ˋprobɪŋ] adj. 寻根究底的；寻求真理的；（问题）深入锐利的

skeleton in (one's) closet  不可告人的秘密  a source of shame or disgrace, as in a family, that is kept secret

Sentence of the Day

It doesn't hold water.

这个理由有漏洞

hold water  合理