【英语趣味课堂】骄傲的爸爸-Proud Papa

Abidemi: Jeremy, I heard you have a new baby. Congrats on that.

 

Jeremy: Thanks.

 

Abidemi: So how has fatherhood changed you in any way?

 

Jeremy: You know, it's changed me probably in every way. You know, when you think of how your life is different, it's basically¹ from when you wake up until – well, you eventually get to go to sleep. Everything is different.

 

But, you know, everything about it is positive, even things that you'd think would annoy you actually aren't really that annoying. Like having a toddler come and wake you up at 6 o'clock in the morning when you've got a cold and you've taken a bunch of sleeping medication the night before, like which happened this morning. And even that, having a toddler wake you up and just looking at you and laughing, it's awesome². It really is awesome. 

So, you know, I always kind of worried before when I was thinking about having a kid about all these things – oh, I can't go out at night or I'm going to have to wake up so early in the morning and I'm going to be woken up in the middle of the night by a screaming child.

 

All of that stuff³ really doesn't bother me. It just, you know, it's part of the experience and yeah, sometimes maybe I'd like to sleep a little bit longer. But yeah, waking up and then having a little guy sit on my lap while he plays with the remote control and changes channels over and over again, I mean, that's somehow a very, very enjoyable experience.

 

But, you know, you get to see a little person change everyday and start figuring things out. And of course, every person, every parent thinks that their child is the smartest child in the world. He can turn off and on the light switch, you know, but it's those types of things that you just marvel⁴ at.

 

So, you know, I can say like most people that it's everything about it is very positive. But it's often just the really, really small things that make you appreciate this little wonder.

 

Abidemi: And looking back on the experience now, what are some things that you would wish that you had known before your little boy came along?

 

Jeremy: Yeah, it's a good question. You know, I was so stressed out for the first couple of weeks after he was born. And from the moment he was born until he came back home, and then for the first number of weeks that we was home, we basically just hovered⁶ over him for weeks. And, you know, of course, you have to protective⁷ and careful of a new born baby. But not everything was as serious as we thought it was. 

And, you know, crying – we were worried about waking up our neighbors or we're worrying that, you know, something was seriously wrong. Babies cry. And if you really get stressed out about it then you're going to make your life miserable⁸. 

So, you know, having done it once, just realizing that, you know, kids cry, kids get sick, kids throw up, kids need their nappies changed, I would just take a deep breath if I have to do it again and just realize, okay, this is just part of the experience. And you just got to roll with it.

 

Abidemi: Okay. That's great.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn vocabulary from the lesson below.

 

marvel at

 

It's those types of things that you just marvel at.

 

When you marvel at something, you appreciate it with great admiration⁹. Notice the following:

 

At night, I just marvel at the stars.

He marveled at her accomplishments¹⁰.

stressed out

 

I was so stressed out.

 

When you are stressed out, you feel a lot of pressure to do something. Notice the following:

 

I feel stressed out in college.

Lots of workers get stressed out.

hover⁵ over

 

We basically just hovered over him for weeks.

 

When you hover over someone, you stand over them and watch them carefully. Notice the following:

 

Mothers tend to hover over their children.

The teacher hovered over the student.

throw up

 

Kids throw up.

 

People often throw up their food when they are very sick. Notice the following:

 

I got so drunk¹¹ that I threw up.

If I get car sick, I throw up.

take a deep breath

 

I would just take a deep breath.

 

People often take a deep breath to help them relax. Notice the following:

 

Just take a deep breath and relax.

When you feel stressed out, take a deep breath.

roll with it

 

And you just got to roll with it.

 

When you roll with something, you do not let it bother you. Notice the following:

 

The teacher gave a surprise test, but all the students just rolled with it.

Don't worry. Just roll with it.

1 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

2 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

3 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

4 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

5 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

6 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

7 protective   

adj.防护的，保护的

参考例句：

• A mother naturally feels protective towards her children.做母亲的天生要保护自己的孩子。
• We feel safe with a protective device in the house.我们因为家里有了防护装置而感到安全。

8 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

9 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

10 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。