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Single Mother's Day 单亲妈妈

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Sara is telling her co-worker John the latest office gossip:   莎拉和同事约翰闲聊办公事最新八卦消息：

S: Jill in accounting is getting a divorce! But the worst of it is that she’s asking for custody of their daughter. I feel sorry for that little girl.

会计部的吉儿要离婚了！最糟的是她要争取女儿的监护权。我为她女儿感到难过。

J: I’m not sure I like where this conversation is going. My sister is a single mom, and I know that she has a hard time –

妳这话的暗示我并不完全同意。我姊姊就是单亲妈妈，而且我知道她过得很辛苦──

S: It’s a shame. Juggling work and kids doesn’t leave much time to raise them right. They’ll end up delinquents!

实在令人很遗憾。工作和小孩两头忙，是不可能有足够时间把小孩调教好的。结果他们往往成为青少年犯。

J: I was going to say that she has a hard time when she doesn’t get respect or understanding from other people who assume there’s something “wrong” with her family.

我刚才想说的是，我姊姊她那一段时间很辛苦，因为别人不尊重她、不谅解她，认为是她家「有问题」。

S: But you can’t deny that a two-parent household provides the most stable environment for kids.

但是你无法否认，双亲家庭较能提供最稳定的环境给小孩。

J: Not always. If parents are always fighting, it can be better for the kids to live with just one of them.

并不尽然。倘若父母老是吵架，或许小孩与单亲同住反而比较好。

S: I see your point.

我懂你的意思。

J: My sister says that one benefit of raising her kids on her own is that she can focus one hundred percent of her attention on them.

我姊姊说她独立扶养小孩的好处是，她可以全心全意地把所有心力放在小孩身上。

S: Because she’s not distracted by the needs of a partner? That makes sense, too.

因为她就不再需要分心去顾虑配偶的需要了？这样说也有道理。

J: There’s definitely a bright side to single-parenting. It’s just too bad that everyone looks for the clouds.

这绝对是单亲状况的光明面。可惜大家看事情总朝黑暗面去看。

Vocabulary

单词发音

custody [ˋkʌstədɪ] n. 监护[（+of）]; 监护权〔尤指父母离异后对孩子的监护〕

shame [ʃem] n. 憾事；倒霉的事；令人憎恶的事

juggle [ˋdʒʌg!] v. 玩杂耍；变戏法

delinquent [dɪˋlɪŋkwənt] n. 青少年罪犯；违法者

distract [dɪˋstrækt] v. 分散〔某人〕的注意力; 使〔某人〕分心

partner [ˋpɑrtnɚ] n. 配偶（指夫或妻）;（一起行动的）伙伴，拍档

Sentence of the Day

It's not child's play.

这不是简单的事。

child's play【口】容易做的事. 轻而易举之事

课文讲解

John has just asked his wife Miranda what she’s like for Mother’s Day:  约翰问太太美兰达母亲节她想要什么礼物：

M: An afternoon at the spa and a chance to sleep in.

一整个下午充分享受spa、好好睡一觉。

J: You’re an easy customer to please!

妳很容易满足嘛！

M: What about your sister? Are you going to help her kids with their Mother’s Day plans?

那你姊姊呢？你要帮她的小孩作母亲节计划吗？

J: That’s a good idea. She has enough on her plate raising them alone.

这是好主意。她独力扶养小孩确实很辛苦。

M: So she deserves some extra-special attention! I know she worries about whether or not she’s a good mother.

所以给她一些超特别的关照是应该的！我知道她自己很担心是不是个好母亲。

J: Are you serious? She gives those kids everything! Though she works, she still finds time to help them with their homework, ferry them to cam school, take them to piano lessons …..

真如此吗？她可是把小孩照顾得无微不至呢！虽然她是个职业妇女，她仍然找时间协助小孩做功课，接送小孩去补习，带小孩去学钢琴…

M: I know. But sometimes she feels that because her house is messy or she doesn’t have time to cook, she must be failing as a mother.

这我晓得。但是有时候她觉得家里很乱、或是自己没时间煮饭，让她感觉自己一定不是个称职的母亲。

J: That’s all the more reason to make sure that on Mother’s Day she knows what a superlative job she’s doing.

那就更应有理由在母亲节当天让她了解她的表现超棒的。

M: I have an idea: why not invite her kids over here on Sunday afternoon? Then she can have the afternoon to relax.

我有个主意，我们何不邀她的小孩星期日下午过来家里玩？她那个下午就可以好好轻松一下了。

J: She doesn’t get that chance very often. Are you really willing to look after someone else’s kids on Mother’s Day?

她不是常有这种机会的。妳真的愿意母亲节那天还要照顾别人的小孩吗？

M: Nope, but you are! You see, I’m inviting your sister to come with me to the spa!

不是我，是你！我可是要邀你姊姊和我一起去享受spa【注】！

【注】：spa这个字源自拉丁语「Sanus per Aqua」，字面意义为「透过水达到健康」。

－by Sandra Walker

Vocabulary

单词发音

have enough on one’s plate 要做的工作太多了，忙得不可开 to have a lot of work to do or a lot of problems to deal with

ferry [ˋfɛrɪ] v. 渡运﹐ 运送

messy [ˋmɛsɪ] adj.  脏的; 不整洁的; 凌乱的

fail [fel] v. 不及格

superlative [səˋpɝlətɪv] adj. 最高的；最好的

willing [ˋwɪlɪŋ] adj. 愿意的，乐意的[F][+to-v][+that]

Sentence of the Day

She's a busy beaver.

她工作很努力。

beaver [ˋbivɚ] n. 拼命工作的人; 海狸，河狸