【话匣子英语】童年时光

毛拉和哈皮谈论起了童年时光，童年时光有一部分是需要再学校里度过的，但是大部分还是在家里度过。小时候，父母会通过打赏的方式让我们做家务，我们在尽到自己对家庭的一份责任时，也赚够了自己的零用钱。

Harp¹: Today we’re doing a Chatterbox episode², and that’s where chat. We talk about current events, cultural things, and from time to time we interview people.

 

Maura: Right. So today we’re going to chat about a topic that everyone has experienced, and that is childhood.

 

Harp: Yes. We’re gonna start with talking about things that we had to do: after school chores, things like that.

 

Maura: And then we’re gonna talk about activities that we were involved in or that you could be involved in when you’re a kid.

 

Harp: And then we’re gonna talk about what we did in our free time and what kids do in their free time here in North America.

 

Maura: All right. So, let’s first start with things that kids have to do.

 

Harp: Well for me, I had to do the chores. I had to vacuum once a week. I had to do the dishes every day with my sisters. What about you?

 

Maura: To be honest, I didn’t have very many chores to do. Sometimes I would have to clean the bathroom or help with the dishes, but one thing that my mom always got on our case about was cleaning our bedrooms.

 

Harp: I feel jealous when I hear stories like yours. I had to do the chores. I had no choice. Every week we had to vacuum, clean the bathroom. Our rooms had to be clean every day, we did the dishes every day after dinner, all the time. I can’t believe you had it so easy for chores.

 

Maura: You know, when I think back though, I don’t think I was very good at cleaning. I remember back when my mom would tell me to clean my room, that I would start cleaning, I would close the door, but when my mom would come up a few hours later, my room was still messy. I was just having fun looking through my things, trying on clothes. I didn’t organize very well.

 

Harp: Oh Maura, such a silly goose. I love it.

 

Maura: Did you get money for your chores?

 

Harp: That’s the other thing. No, I did not get money for doing my chores. My parents always said to us, “What, we’re gonna pay you to do the work that you’re supposed to do?”

 

Maura: They do have a point, but many kids do get money for helping³ around the house. So if they are cleaning a room or vacuuming or doing the dishes, their parents might give them a certain amount of money for that.

 

Harp: You know, I have a friend and his weekly chore was that he was supposed to mow⁴ the lawn, like cut the grass outside, and his dad would pay him. I think it was something like he would pay him 25 dollars a week to do this. But my friend didn’t want to do it, so he would pay another kid younger than him to do it for ten dollars a week.

 

Maura: Oh my gosh. That’s kind of sad. Harp: But kind of smart at the same time.

1 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

2 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 mow   

v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆

参考例句：

• He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。
• We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。