英语博客：Back and forth.

 

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　　I have missed a couple of podcasts this week, oops! So here is the first of the two, a little late. My reason for writing this podcast late is that I've been spending time researching my options, as far as the education of my two youngest. They are in a normal elementary school which I like very much, and where they receive quite a lof of Spanish instructions. I'm thrilled that they have that extra benefit, as most elementary schools around here only teach English. But recently, I have discovered that my youngest son has a visual problem. He has what is called visual dislexia. It is not the well-known dislexia. When a child with this problem reads black writing on a white background, his eyes struggle to see clearly. The contrast is too much for his or her photoreceptors. Now that he has been diagnosed¹, he has green glasses to wear which really help him to see text clearly. I'm so thankful that we found out about his eye condition while he is young. Because this affects reading and writing, I have considered homeschooling him for the rest of the year. There is also a part-time support school where the classes are much smaller, and there are less transitions³. I could teach him one-on-one which would give him an opportunity to really catch up. However, he is very happy in school, has lots of friends, and really likes a few of his teachers. So, what do I do? What is the best decision to make? I spoke⁵ to many people who homeschool, and asked a lot of questions. I thought, perhaps that my daughter who is in kindergarten could also be homeschooled and go to the part-time support school. I planned on creating exciting lessons for them, and of course, involving other children. So, I informed the principal⁶ of their school. All I had to do was sign some papers and that would be that. Well, as soon as I had made that decision, I started to change my mind. It was a struggle. I went back and forth⁷, back and forth, thinking and rethinking. So finally, I went back to the school and told the principal that I had changed my mind. I will keep my kids in school, but have them at home a couple of mornings a week to teach them myself. He gave me a wary⁸ look, shook my hand, and politely went back to his office to change his records. Well, I'm a woman, right. Changing my mind all the time is what I'm supposed to do, isn't it? The important thing is that I do what is best for my kids. So, if they can stand to be around their back and forth mother a bit more than usual, I shouldn't have to change my mind for a while.
Grammar notes.
Related⁹ vocabulary: Well-known, background, to diagnose², transition⁴.
1. He didn't become a well-known artist until after his death.
2. The background of the image in the photo is saturated¹⁰ with color.
3. To find out what the problem is, his condition needs to be diagnosed.
4. Moving to another country can be an exciting but difficult transition.

1 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

2 diagnose   

vt.诊断，判断

参考例句：

• It provides a new method for early diagnose of breast cancer.为临床早期诊断乳腺癌提供一个新的检查手段。
• What more will you want to know to diagnose this problem?要弄清这个问题，你还需要知道些什么？

3 transitions   

过渡，转变，变迁( transition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Before explaining a workflow, I'll explain a few simple pieces of terminology: states and transitions. 在解释什么是工作流之前，我先来解释几条简单的术语：状态(states)和过渡(transitions)。
• Both ionization and excitation lead to eletronic transitions that may be the emission of light. 电离和激发都将导致可能伴随有光发射的电子跃迁。

4 transition   

n.转变，变迁，过渡

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.青春期是童年与成年之间的过渡时期。
• They all support a peaceful transition.他们全部都支持和平过渡。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 principal   

adj.主要的；n.负责人，校长，资本

参考例句：

• When he saw the principal,he raised his hand in salutation.他看到校长时举手敬礼。
• Their school gave a reception to their new principal.他们学校为新校长举办了一个招待会。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

10 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液