英语PK台 第135期:小时娇惯,大时啃老?(2)

 Dialogue :

JingJing:Hey Xiao Gao, what was it like for you growing up? I mean did your parents give you a lot of attention?

京晶：嗨，小高，你是怎么长大的？我是说，你的父母会格外关注你吗？

XiaoGao:Just the opposite. My parents worked a lot. I have more memories of my baby sitter than I do of them.

小高：正好相反呢，我爸妈整天忙着工作，我对小时候保姆的记忆比他们还要多。

JingJing:Well did they spoil¹ you rotten² by buying you everything under the sun to make up for it?

京晶：那他们会在物质上娇惯你吗？（你想要什么就给你买什么）以此来弥补在时间上无法陪你太多？

XiaoGao:No, they hardly bought me anything. I had to work for the things I wanted.

小高：不会的，他们几乎不会给我买什么，如归我需要什么我得自己去挣。

JingJing:Well, how do you think it affected³ you?

京晶：那，你觉得这个（成长方式）会影响你吗？

XiaoGao:The good thing is that I became independent.

小高：好处是我因此变得更独立了。

JingJing:And the bad thing?

京晶：那不好的呢？

XiaoGao:Every now and then I wonder if I didn't get enough love growing up. I can be pretty cold sometimes. How about you?

小高：我时不时地会觉得自己是不是没有得到足够多父母的爱，有时候我容易变得比较冷酷。那你呢？

JingJing:I think my parents did a good job raising me. I turned out pretty independent myself. They gave me plenty of attention, but they never overdid⁴ it. But I can't say the same for my friend Claire. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

京晶：我觉得我爸妈在养育我这件事上表现得不错，我现在也是很独立的。爸妈很关注我的成长，但是从不过分，可我的朋友克莱儿就未必如此了，她就是个富二代。

XiaoGao:Oh yeah?

小高：真的吗？

JingJing:Yeah, her parents gave her everything she asked for. She never shared her toys when she was little.

京晶：是呀，她要什么她爸妈都给她，她小时候从不把她的玩具给别人玩儿。

XiaoGao:What about now? How is she like now?

小高：那现在呢？

JingJing:She decided⁵ not to go to college after high school. She's still mooching off her parents. She told me she doesn't feel the need to go to college because she can just sponge⁶ off her parents for the rest of her life. Her parents bought her 3 cars already!

京晶：她决定高中后就不上大学了，现在还在家啃老呢，她告诉我她觉得自己根本不需要去上大学，因为她准备一辈子吃父母的，她爸妈都给他买了三辆车了。

XiaoGao:That's too bad. Well, I'd much rather have a good friend like you, who is willing to give people the sun, the moon, and the stars.

小高：这可不怎么好，我宁愿有一个像你这样的朋友，愿意为他人无偿付出。

JingJing:Oh, don't make me blush⁷!

京晶：呀，我脸红了。

New words for dialogue :

Baby sitter = someone who watches and takes care of children while parents are away. Sometimes called a nanny 保姆

Spoil [someone] rotten = to give [someone] everything they want until it negatively affects their personality 溺爱

Everything under the sun = everything. 所有的东西，一切，通常是跟“给一切”，“想要一切” 连用。Usually used with the verb “give” or “want”

Every now and then = sometimes 有时

Turn out = to become 变成了（什么样子）

e.g. Bob's parents did a good job raising him. As a result, he turned out to be a good person.

Overdo⁸ [something] = to do something too much, to the point that it breaks or causes a negative effect 做过头

Can't say the same for [someone] = if you can't say the same for [someone], then you don't agree that something is also true about that person （另外的情况）就不一定如此了

e.g. Mary and Jennifer are great students. But I can't say the same for Betty, she has the lowest grades in the class.

Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth = Born rich or in a wealthy family. 小高的“富二代”最地道的翻译.

Mooch off [someone] = to take (or borrow) something from someone and not give it back 单方索取

Sponge off of [someone] = same as mooch off [someone] 向他人无度索取

[Willing to ] give the sun, the moon, and the stars = willing to do anything for someone, no matter the cost 无偿付出

1 spoil   

n.战利品，赃物，奖品，掠夺，次品；vt.损坏，破坏，溺爱；vi.腐坏，掠夺

参考例句：

• Don't bunch the flowers up so tightly,you'll spoil them.别把花束得这么紧，会弄坏的。
• Overacting will only spoil the effect.表演过火，效果反而不好。

2 rotten   

adj.腐烂(朽)的；令人不愉快的；糟糕的

参考例句：

• The book was pretty rotten.这本书糟透了。
• Rotten eggs give off a bad smell.臭蛋散发出难闻的气味。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 overdid   

v.做得过分( overdo的过去式 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度

参考例句：

• We overdid the meat and it didn't taste good. 我们把肉煮得太久，结果味道不好了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He overdid and became extremely tired. 他用力过猛，感到筋疲力尽。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 sponge   

n.海绵，海绵状的东西；v.用海绵擦拭，吸收掉， 抹掉

参考例句：

• The child is screwing water out of a sponge.小孩正把海绵中的水挤出来。
• You should try to sponge out the memory of the accident.你该努力抹除那次事故的记忆。

7 blush   

vi.脸红，羞愧，觉得难为情；n.脸红，难为情

参考例句：

• His remark brought a blush into the girl's cheeks.他的话使这姑娘两颊红晕。
• I have to blush to admit that thing.我不得不羞愧地承认了那件事。

8 overdo   

vt.把...做得过头，演得过火

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving me.不要过分使用责备我的特权。
• The taxi drivers' association is urging its members,who can work as many hours as they want,not to overdo it.出租车司机协会劝告那些工作时长不受限制的会员不要疲劳驾驶。