美語情景對話 第1115期:Fast Paced Life 快節奏的生活

Abidemi: So Rory, talking about schedules, do you ever think that life is too busy or too much that we're trying to fit too many things?

阿比德米：羅瑞，我們來談談日程安排，你是否認爲生活太忙碌了或者我們要去適應太多事情？

Rory: Maybe for some people. Not for me, actually. I take life quite slowly. But I noticed with my daughter that we're always sort of rushing her to do things. So when she comes home from school, she has to do her homework. And then one night a week, she has to go to swimming then she has piano, then she has like an acrobat lesson. When I was a kid, we did nothing after school, you know. We went to the park by ourselves and played. But nothing was scheduled, so we just did what we wanted.

羅瑞：也許對有些人來說是這樣的。但其實對我來說並不是。我一直在享受慢生活。不過我注意到，我們一直讓我們的女兒做很多事。她放學回來以後，要寫作業。她每週有一個晚上要去上游泳課，她還要上鋼琴課和雜技課。我小的時候，放學以後什麼都不做。那時我們會去公園裏玩。並不做安排，想做什麼就做什麼。

Abidemi: I see.

阿比德米：我知道了。

Rory: So do you think like kids today, we try and make them do too much or they try and do too much.

羅瑞：那你認爲對現在的孩子來說，我們是不是讓他們做得太多了，或者說他們做的事情是不是太多了？

Abidemi: That's a really good question. And I think, yes, you're right. It feels like a lot – that we expect a lot more from kids these days. Whereas similar to your background too, when I was growing up, I thought sometimes that I was bored out of my mind because there was just nothing really much to do except for maybe going to the library and borrow some books to read. And I had all the time in the world to read them. But these days, you see kids running around trying to do it all. Play soccer or some kind of sports or do some club activities or just something. They are always busy, the kids I see around me. So...

阿比德米：這是一個非常好的問題。我認爲你說得沒錯。的確是有點兒多，現在我們對孩子的期望很高。我和你的成長背景很相似，我在成長過程中有時會感覺無聊極了，因爲除了去圖書館借書看以外，沒什麼事情可做。所以我當時一直在讀書。而現在，孩子們會去各個地方做各種事情。踢足球、從事其他體育活動、參加社團活動或做其他事情。我看到我周圍的一些孩子一直很忙。所以……

Rory: Yeah. Yeah. I think we're trying to make them maybe grow up too quickly or do too much too soon. When I was kid, you could sort of find your own path. You know, when you became a teenager, when you start to get to university, starting to make these choices. But now, parents seem to – okay, the kid is going to do piano and they're going to do soccer and they're going to study hard for, you know, exams, do extra math tuition. I don't know if kids can handle it.

羅瑞：對，沒錯。我認爲我們讓他們成長地太快了，或者說我們讓孩子們太早去做過多的事情。我小時候可以自己尋找屬於自己的道路。進入青少年時期，上大學以後，可以自己做出選擇。但是現在，父母讓孩子去學鋼琴、去踢足球，讓他們努力學習應對考試，還讓他們參加課外數學輔導班。我不知道孩子們能否承受得住。

Abidemi: I don't know either. It also seems that it comes with our world today. It's a lot more competitive. And what I've heard is like people are trying to prepare their kids as much as possible. I've heard, for some universities, you need to show that you can handle a lot.

阿比德米：我也不知道。看起來這就是現在世界的趨勢。現在競爭性更強。我聽說人們在試圖讓自己的孩子儘量做好準備。有些大學需要證明你能應對各種情況。

Rory: Right.

羅瑞：好。

Abidemi: And because everybody is the same place, they're all racing for the same positions that if you don't distinguish yourself in some way, you can't make it.

阿比德米：因爲所有人都在同一個地方，他們要爲同樣的職位競爭，如果不能讓自己和其他人有所區別，那就無法成功。

Rory: Yeah.

羅瑞：對。

Abidemi: So in response to that, parents are trying to pile as much on the kids as possible.

阿比德米：爲了應對這種局面，父母試圖儘量讓孩子接觸更多的事情。

Rory: Yeah. I was reading something that said that employers really look now for extra-curricular things that kids do. So not just their grades but what clubs were they members of. Were they acting in the theater, were they a member of a sports team and these things seem to be becoming more important now.

羅瑞：對。我看到有文章說，現在僱主也需要那種有課外經歷的員工。現在招聘不僅看學習成績，還要看他們參加過什麼社團。他們是否有劇院演出經歷，是否參加過運動隊，現在這些事情似乎變得越來越重要了。

Abidemi: Than just school work.

阿比德米：不只是學校成績。

Rory: Yeah. Yeah.

羅瑞：對，沒錯。

Abidemi: I think it's a shame. I like the way I grew up. Yeah. I'll like if my kids could have a bit more freedom but I can also see that with the way the world is going, I would probably be anxious for them to do as much as possible so that they can have the best in the future.

阿比德米：我認爲這很遺憾。我喜歡我的成長方式。我也希望我的孩子能更自由一些，可是在看到世界的發展趨勢後，我希望孩子們能儘量多接觸些事情，這樣他們才能擁有最好的未來。

Rory: Yeah, because it's a balance between giving them the freedom and then giving them the opportunities to excel at various things.

羅瑞：對，要在給他們自由和讓他們有機會擅長各種事情上找到平衡。

Abidemi: There you go. That's it. Yeah.

阿比德米：說得很對。就是這樣，沒錯。

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. bored out of one's mind 無聊得要命；
例句：I was bored out of my mind.
我感到無聊極了。
2. except for 除了；除…之外；唯有；
例句：Now the wood was silent except for the leave.
樹林裏一片寂靜，只有樹葉發出的響聲。
3. make it （經歷艱難困苦後）成功；
例句：I believe I have the talent to make it.
我相信自己有成功的天分。
4. excel at 突出；擅長；勝過（他人）；
例句：Mary was a better rider than either of them and she excelled at outdoor sports.
瑪麗的騎術比他們倆都要好，而且她擅長戶外運動。