英语博客:Throw the computer out of the window, please!

It's no secret that computers are a large part of our lives, a huge part. The other day, I noticed as we sat in the lounge¹, that my husband and I were both busy on our laptops. The television was actually on as well. A couple of years ago that would have seemed like an odd scene, but now it is the norm². My oldest son keeps on begging me for a laptop. "Mum, I will need one in middle school," he insists. Hmmm, why on earth would he need one in school? When I went to school, we just needed paper, pens, and pencils, and those were supplied by the school. "He's just working you, babe," says my husband. What he means by that is that he is using whatever he can to get whatever he wants. Clever boy. But he has to get a bit more clever to get around his mother. I've only just got a laptop myself; there's no way that I'm going to buy one for an eleven year old, especially when there is a perfectly³ good computer available in the house. Half the time, my laptop drives me nuts. Infact, the day that we were both working on our laptops in the lounge, my husband was also having problems. What kind of problems? Connection problems, the computer working slowly, program(mes) suddenly closing etc etc. There seems to be nothing as aggravating⁴ as a malfunctioning⁵ computer. Throw the thing out of the window, and let the dogs play with it. Of course, I would never actually do that, but it is so tempting⁶.

 Grammar notes.

Useful expressions: the norm, why on earth, to get around, half the time.

1. Rush, rush, rush is the norm in our household.

2. Why on earth would he put these shirts to wash when I've just washed them?

3. He's trying to get around me by being really sweet. 4. I try to nap during the day, but half

the time the phone rings and wakes me up.

 

1 lounge   

n.休闲室，休息室，长沙发；v.闲荡，闲散地度过，混日子

参考例句：

• We had coffee in the lounge.我们在客厅里喝咖啡。
• Don't lounge away your working hours.不要消磨工作时间。

2 norm   

n.标准，规范，平均数

参考例句：

• Of his age,the child is above the norm in arithmetic.在他那个年龄，这个孩子的算术能力是超过标准的。
• These events were aberrations from the norm.这些事件不合常规。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。

5 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

6 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。