留守兒童渴望愛

Jerry是一名留守兒童，父母遠離家鄉賺錢養家。但他認為無論家里情況有多不好，父母都應該留在孩子身邊，給予孩子足夠的愛。

Mrs. McNulty： Hi， Jerry. Welcome back！ How was your Spring Festival Holiday？

Jerry： I guess it was alright…

Mrs. McNulty： Is that so？ Your tone of voice says otherwise. Close the door behind you and come take a seat.

Jerry： Yes， ma’am.

Mrs. McNulty： Now tell me what happened.

Jerry： Well， it was the first time in three years that my parents were able to come back to Ningde.

Mrs. McNulty： Oh， that’s right！ Your family is from Fujian Province. I forgot. And where do your parents work again？

Jerry： Xiamen.

Mrs. McNulty： Wow. That’s pretty far away， isn’t it？ Jerry： Too far.

Mrs. McNulty： I imagine so. So…how did it feel to see your parents after all this time？

Jerry： It felt like a dream. They said I looked so big and different， but they looked exactly the same to me.

麥克納爾蒂

夫人：嗨，

杰里。歡迎

回來！春節假

期你過得怎么

樣？

杰里：我覺得還好

吧……

麥克納爾蒂夫人：是這樣嗎？你的語氣帶有別的意思。關上你身后的門，過來坐下。

杰里：好的，夫人。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：現在告訴我發生什么事了。

杰里：呃，這是我父母三年來第一次能夠回到寧德。麥克納爾蒂夫人：噢，對了！你家是在福建省，我忘記了。你父母是在哪里工作來著？

杰里：廈門。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：哇。那里很遠，不是嗎？

杰里：太遠了。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：我想也是。那么……這次見到你父母究竟感覺如何？

杰里：感覺就像是個夢。他們說我看起來長大了，不一樣了，但他們在我看來沒什么變化。

Mrs. McNulty： And what was it like

getting to spend time with them？

Jerry： It was weird， and sometimes

uncomfortable.

Mrs. McNulty： How so？

Jerry： There were long breaks in

conversation sometimes.

Mrs. McNulty： It’s common to have

those awkward pauses when people

haven’t seen each other for such a

long time.

Jerry： And sometimes they’d criticize me

about my study habits or the way I dress or the cleanliness of my room.

Mrs. McNulty： And how did that make you feel？

Jerry： I hated it. And I hated them. ①And I wanted to tell them to go back to Xiamen and leave me alone， because they obviously love their jobs more than they love me or they’d have stuck around.

Mrs. McNulty： Oh， Jerry. I’m sure your parents love you very much.

Jerry： Could’ve fooled me…

Mrs. McNulty： Well…I must say I don’t love the 1）sentiment， but your use of that expression is excellent.

Jerry： Whatever. I know they’re working hard to make money， so they can pay for me to keep going to this school. But don’t they realize how much it hurts not having them around？ Maybe I should blame you guys for making the school fees so high.

Mrs. McNulty： ②Trust me when I say that I wish there was no 2）tuition at all， and that children from all walks of life could receive a free， high-quality education.

Jerry： And I just wish parents weren’t so stupid. ③And that they loved their children enough to stay with them through thick and thin， instead of running off to accumulate wealth in some big city.

Mrs. McNulty： Maybe one day they’ll realize it’s not worth it， and come home.

Jerry： It’s my only wish…

麥克納爾蒂夫人：那跟他們相處得怎么樣？

杰里：感覺很奇怪，有時候不太自在。麥克納爾蒂夫人：怎么會這樣？

杰里：有時候談話陷入長時間的中斷。麥克納爾蒂夫人：當人們如此長時間不見彼此，有那些尷尬的冷場是很平常的。

杰里：而且有時候他們會批評我的學習習慣，或者我的穿著方式，或者我房間的整潔度。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：那會讓你有什么感覺？

杰里：我討厭那樣，我不喜歡他們。我想叫他們回廈門不要管我，因為他們很顯然愛自己的工作多于愛我，或者他們本該留在那里，不要回來。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：噢，杰里。我肯定你父母非常愛你。

杰里：你別糊弄我……

麥克納爾蒂夫人：呃……我必須說我不喜歡這種觀點，但你這樣的表達很棒。杰里：隨便你了。我知道他們在努力賺錢，這樣他們才能繼續供我上這所學校。但是難道他們沒意識到父母不在身邊對孩子的傷害有多大嗎？或許我應該責怪你們把學費提得那么高。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：相信我說的話，我也希望不收任何學費，這樣社會各階層的孩子都能接受免費的高質量的教育。

杰里：而我只是希望我父母不要那么愚蠢。不管什么情況，他們都要足夠愛自己的孩子，留在他們身邊，而不是自己跑掉，到大城市去積攢財富。

麥克納爾蒂夫人：或許有一天他們會意識到那樣不值得，就回家了。

杰里：那是我唯一的愿望……

Smart Sentences① And I wanted to tell them to go back to Xiamen and leave me alone， because they obviously love their jobs more than they love me or they’d have stuck around. 我想叫他們回廈門不要管我，因為他們很顯然愛自己的工作多于愛我，或者他們本該留在那里，不要回來。

stick around： stay where you are（留下）。例如：

It’s too bad you didn’t stick around till the end of the party last night.你昨晚沒有留到派對結束，太可惜了。

② Trust me when I say that I wish there was no tuition at all， and that children from all walks of life could receive a free， high-quality education. 相信我說的話，我也希望不收任何學費，這樣社會各階層的孩子都能接受免費的高質量的教育。

all walks of life： all social， economic， and ethnic groups（社會各界，社會各階層）。例如：Working at a train station is an excellent opportunity to meet people from all walks of life.

在火車站工作是認識社會各界人士的極好機會。

③ And that they loved their children enough to stay with them through thick and thin， instead of running off to accumulate wealth in some big city. 不管什么情況，他們都要足夠愛自己的孩子，留在他們身邊，而不是自己跑掉，到大城市去積攢財富。

through thick and thin： doing sth. despite bad conditions or circumstances（即使在不好的情況下依舊做某事）。例如：Amy’d stuck by Ted through thick and thin for all these years.

艾美這些年來不管什么情況都對泰德不離不棄。