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Embarrassing parents
When your mum tries to use slang, do you blush? Do you cringe when she calls you by your childhood nickname in front of your friends? And how about searching for the nearest exit when your father engages in a dad dancing routine? Loving them dearly doesn't prevent you from feeling uncomfortable around them.
And parents have to accept that. Adam Gopnick, a writer for the New Yorker magazine, said in an article published by the BBC: 'The one thing that is written into the human genome is that exactly at the age of 13, your child… will discover that you are now the most embarrassing, ridiculous and annoying person on the planet.'
A survey by the site YoungPoll.com in 2010 suggested that one in three youngsters is so disconcerted by their parents they refuse to be seen with them in public; and seven in ten children are humiliated by their mum and dad's behavior, like kissing them in front of friends and holding their hands.
Part of going through adolescence is a sudden feeling that we are wise and self-sufficient and we are shown up when treated like vulnerable minors. But we are bound to lose this chip on our shoulder when we reach our 20s.
Gopnick reminds us of writer and visionary William Blake's comment: 'When I was 14 my dad was so ignorant I wouldn't even walk down the street with him. By the time I was 21 I was amazed how much he'd learnt.'
In any case, resentful parents might find solace in the thought that their grandchildren are likely to end up enjoying their company. Then the uncool ones will be the grandchildren's parents!
中文翻译
父母会让你难为情吗
在你妈妈尝试使用俚语的时候,你有没有觉得脸红?当你的妈妈在朋友面前叫你的小名时,你会不会感到难堪?还有,你们在寻找最近的出口时,爸爸跳起了蹦迪时的舞蹈动作,这会不会让你感到特别尴尬?虽然你很爱他们,但你在他们身边会感觉很不自在。
父母们也不得不承认这一点。纽约客杂志的作家亚当·高普尼克表示,BBC发表的一篇文章中说道:“你的孩子在13岁的时候会发现你是世界上最令人尴尬、最可笑、最讨厌的人,这一点已经被写进了人类基因中。”
2010年,YoungPoll.com网站做的一项调查显示,1/3的父母会让他们的孩子感到很窘迫,孩子们不想在公共场合看到父母;7/10的孩子觉得父母的行为让他们感到很丢脸,比如:在朋友面前亲他们或者拉着他们的手。
在青春期的时候,我们有时就会突然感到我们很聪明,很自信,当我们被看作是脆弱的未成年人时,就会感到难为情。但我们到了20多岁的时候,就不会觉得这是一种委屈了。
高普尼克提醒我们,作家和幻想家威廉·布莱克曾说过:“我14岁的时候,我的父亲太无知了,我甚至不想和他一起走在大街上。但在我21岁的时候,我惊讶地发现他学到了很多。”
总之,心有不甘的父母唯有想到孙辈儿喜欢其陪伴而聊以自慰,等孩子们成长为父母就会经历和他们现在相似的感受!
重点讲解
1.blush 脸红
例句:She blushed when they called her a heroine.
当他们叫她为巾帼英雄时她脸红了。
2.cringe 感到难堪 感到局促不安
例句: Molly had cringed when Ann started picking up the guitar.
安伸手去拿吉他时,莫利感到局促不安。
3.disconcert 使焦虑 使困惑 使尴尬
例句:His compliments disconcerted her a little.
他的恭维让她有点儿尴尬。
4.resentful 不满的 抵触的 怨恨的
例句:At first I felt very resentful and angry about losing my job.
起初,我对丢掉工作感到非常怨恨和恼怒。
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