英语博客(A cup of English):018 Entertainment at the mall.

　　Beginners.
Having four children is wonderful, but it can be a lot of hard work. Sometimes, I find myself in the car driving all over town taking the kids to different activities. Two have swimming, so the younger two have to come along. Sometimes, my daughter, the youngest, will fall asleep in the car on the way to the swimming pool. That is actually a good thing. But then, what do I do with my third boy who is wide awake and wanting to do something interesting? Well, if we drop the boys off at the pool and then go to the mall, my girl willingly wakes up, and she and her brother get to play. They play on the stationary¹ vehicles and have a gum-ball each. Their favorite vehicle is the icecream truck that is very cute, plays music, and has flashing lights. There is also a helicopter, a four-wheeler, and a horse. It is a real treat for them. The trouble is, they never want to leave.
Grammar notes.
Verbs: having = to have; to find oneself; to come/ go along; to fall asleep; to be wide awake: to drop someone off somewhere.
*What do I (you, we, they) do?/ What does he (she/ it) do?/ What did (all persons) do?/ What will (all persons) do?/ What had (all persons) done?
Useful vocabulary: willingly, never, actually, cute, flashing, stationary.
Advanced.
Being a parent can sometimes be a bit of a balancing act, especially if you have more than one child. We all know that it is good for children to be involved in sports and other hobbies, but the more kids you have, the more running around you have to do. It is simple multiplication². Talking to mothers in this area has shown me that, often, the car becomes the mother's best friend. By sheer³ necessity the vehicles that tend to be a man's domain⁴, become transformed by a woman's touch. It is inevitable⁵ if a woman finds herself in a car very often, then she will exert⁶ an influence upon it. Suddenly, it will be cleaner than usual. It will probably smell like lemon, lavendar, or pine. There will also be an organized stash⁷ of tissues, hand sanitizer, cream, mascara, cds, and small healthy snacks. Perhaps even a magazine or two will be slipped into a seat pocket for a quick read while the lady is waiting for a game to finish. In between dropping off and picking up children, a quick escape to the mall with the youngest can be made. It's only fair, after all, that they have some fun while the older siblings⁸ play their sports.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: balancing, involved, sheer, inevitable, exert, stash.
Verbs: To be involved in; to run around; to tend to; to find oneself; to drop off/ to pick up.
*A magazine will be slipped into a seat pocket/ will be read/ will be bought/ will be torn.   Use will be + past participle.

1 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

2 multiplication   

n.增加，增多，倍增；增殖，繁殖；乘法

参考例句：

• Our teacher used to drum our multiplication tables into us.我们老师过去老是让我们反覆背诵乘法表。
• The multiplication of numbers has made our club building too small.会员的增加使得我们的俱乐部拥挤不堪。

3 sheer   

adj.绝对的，全然的，峻峭的；v.躲开，躲避，使...避开； adv.完全，全然，峻峭

参考例句：

• He achieved his aim by sheer strength of will.他纯粹靠意志力达到了目的。
• I guess It'sheer waste of time arguing about it.看来争论这件事纯粹是浪费时间。

4 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 exert   

vt.用（力），尽（力），运用，发挥，施加

参考例句：

• He likes to exert his authority.他喜欢行使自己的权力。
• We must exert ourselves to catch up with them,or it would be too late.我们要急起直追，否则就太晚了。

7 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

8 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分