书城外语笑死你的英文书
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第6章 A Small Surprise

When his wife was expecting their third child,a father decided to tell his two sons,aged seven and nine,the facts of life。He checked out several books from the library on how parents should approach the subject。After stumbling through an explanation,he took a deep breath,and said,“Now,boys,do you have any questions?”

“Yes”the younger boy answered immediately。

“Go ahead”said the man,his heart in his throat。

“Can we”his son asked,“have new baseball gloves?”

小小的意外

当妻子要生第三胎时,父亲决定给分别已七岁和九岁的两个儿子讲关于性的知识。他从图书馆查出几本书,都是关于父母如何涉及这个话题的。在结结巴巴地解释一番后,他长出了一口气,然后说:“好了,孩子们,有什么问题吗?”

“有,”小儿子立即回答。

“问吧,”爸爸说,心提到了嗓子眼儿。

“我们,”儿子问道,“可以得到新棒球手套了吗?”

expect[ikspekt]vt。预料;预期;认为(某事)会发生;认为(某人)会来;预计

例:You can’t expect me to approve of it。你别指望我赞成。

check out检查,核对,核实;办登记手续后取走

例:I’m just going to check this book out of the library。我正要从图书馆办手续借这本书。

approach[prut]vt。&vi。接近,走近,靠近vt。接洽,交涉;着手处理

例:He approached the question as a scientist。他以一个科学家的眼光去处理这个问题。

stumble[stmbl]vi。绊脚;(说话、演奏等)出错

例:He stumbled over every sentence。他讲每句话都结结巴巴。

take a breath深深地吸一口气

例:Please take a breath deeply。请深呼吸。

the facts of life意为“(口,委婉语)性知识(例如讲给孩子们听的)”,西方人关注孩子的性教育要比中国人多。所以也不难理解他们把性教育作为一项生活方面的基本知识。

go ahead意为“请,尽管用、说、做”,如:――Can I use your phone?(我可以借用你的电话吗?)――Go ahead。I’m not using it。(请用吧。我现在不用。)再如:――Your motorcycle must be fun to ride。(你的摩托车骑起来一定很好玩。)――Go ahead and try it。You will like it。(去试试看啊。你一定会喜欢的。)