Unit 3 Social Problems新编大学英语第二版第三册课文翻译

Unit 3 Social Problems

Latchkey Children

—

Knock, Knock, Is Anybody Home?

In

the

United

States

the

cost

of

living

has

been

steadily

rising

for

the

past

few

decades.

Food

prices,

clothing

costs,

housing

expenses,

and

tuition

fees

are

constantly

getting higher and higher. Partly because of financial need, and partly because of career

choices

for

personal

fulfillment,

mothers

have

been

leaving

the

traditional

role

of

full-time homemaker. Increasingly they have been taking salaried jobs outside the home.

Making

such

a

significant

role

change

affects

the

entire

family,

especially

the

children. Some consequences are obvious. For example, dinnertime is at a later hour. The

emotional

impact,

on

the

other

hand,

can

be

more

subtle.

Mothers

leave

home

in

the

morning,

feeling

guilty

because

they

will

not

be

home

when

their

children

return

from

school. They suppress their guilt since they believe that their work will benefit everyone

in

the

long

run.

The

income

will

enable

the

family

to

save

for

college

tuition,

take

an

extended vacation, buy a new car, and so on.

The

emotional

impact

on

the

children

can

be

significant.

It

is

quite

common

for

children to feel hurt and resentful. After all, they are alone several hours, and they feel

that

their

mothers

should

there

for

them.

They

might

need

assistance

with

their

homework or want to share the day's activities. All too often, however, the mothers arrive

home

exhausted

and

face

the

immediate

task

of

preparing

dinner.

Their

priority

is

making the evening meal for the family, not engaging in relaxed conversation.

Latchkey children range in age from six to thirteen. On a daily basis they return from

school and unlock the door to their home with the key hanging around their necks. They

are

now

on

their

own,

alone,

in

quiet,

empty

rooms.

For

some

youngsters,

it

is

a

productive

period

of

private

time,

while

for

others

it

is

a

frightening,

lonely

void.

For

reasons of safety, many parents forbid their children to go out to play or to have visitors

at home. The youngsters, therefore, feel isolated.

Latchkey children who

were

interviewed

reported diverse

reactions.

Some

latchkey

children said that being on their own for a few hours each day fostered, or stimulated, a

sense

of

independence

and

responsibility.

They

felt

loved

and

trusted,

and

this

feeling

encouraged

them

to

be

self- confident.

Latchkey

girls,

by

observing

how

their

mothers

coped

with

the

demands

of

a

family

and

a

job,

learned

the

role

model

of

a

working

mother. Some children stated that they used their unsupervised free time to perfect their

athletic

skills,

such

as

playing

basketball.

Others

read

books

or

practiced

a

musical

instrument. These children looked upon their free time after school as an opportunity for

1

personal development. It led to positive, productive, and valuable experiences.

Conversely,

many

latchkey

children

expressed

much

bitterness,

resentment,

and

anger for being made to live in this fashion. Many claimed that too much responsibility

was

placed

on

them

at

an

early

age;

it

was

an

overwhelming

burden.

They

were

little

people who really wanted to be protected, encouraged, and cared for through attention

from

their

mothers.

Coming

home

to

an

empty

house

was

disappointing,

lonely,

and

often frightening. They felt abandoned by their mothers. After all, it seemed to them that

most other children had

own

mothers

were

never

home.

Many

children

turned

on

the

television

for

the

whole

afternoon day after day, in order to diminish feelings of isolation; furthermore, the voices

were comforting. Frequently, they would doze off.

Because

of

either

economic

necessity

or

strong

determination

for

personal

fulfillment,

or

both,

the

phenomenon

of

latchkey children is widespread

in our

society.

Whatever

the

reason,

it

is

a

compelling

situation

with

which

families

must

cope.

The

question to ask is not whether or not mothers should work full-time. Given the reality of

the

situation,

the

question

to

ask

is:

how

can

an

optimum

plan

be

worked

out

to

deal

effectively with the situation.

It

is

advisable for

all members

of

the

family to express

their

feelings

and concerns

about

the

inevitable

change

candidly.

These

remarks

should

be

discussed

fully.

Many

factors

must

be

taken

into

consideration:

the

children's

personality

and

maturity,

the

amount of time the children will be alone, the safety of the neighborhood, accessibility of

help

in

case

of

an emergency.

Of supreme

importance is

the

quality

of

the relationship

between

parents

and

children.

It

is

most

important

that

the

children

be

secure

in

the

knowledge

that

they

are

loved. Feeling

loved

provides

invaluable

emotional strength

to

cope successfully with almost any difficulty that arises in life.

挂钥匙的孩子

——

< br>笃、笃，家里有人吗？

在过去的几十年中，

服装费用、

< br>房子开销

和学费都越来越高。

母亲们纷纷放弃传统的全职 家庭主妇的角色，

这一部分是由于经济需要，

一部分是想通过工 作取得成就感。她们越来越多地从事家庭以外的有薪水的工作。

如此重大的角色转换影响着整个家庭，尤其是孩子们。某些后果是非常明显的。例如，

晚饭时间推迟了。

而另一方面，

这种转变对情感的影响就更微妙 了。

母亲们早上带着愧疚感

离开家，

因 为孩子放学回来时她们会不在家。

她们压抑着愧疚心理，

因为她 们相信她们的工

作从长远来讲对大家有益。她们的收入将能够使家庭存下钱来供孩子上大 学。度一次长假、

买辆新车，等等。

2

孩子们在情感上所受到的影响是 很大的。

通常，孩子会感到受伤和愤怒。毕竟，他们一

个人呆几 个小时，

他们感到他们的母亲应该

“

在 那儿

”

等着他们。

他们可能需要有人帮 他们完

成作业，或者想把一天的活动说给母亲听。然而，

母亲们 通常筋疲力尽地回到家，

又要面临

一个紧迫的任务

——

准备晚饭。她们的首要任务是给全家人做晚饭，而不是轻松的聊天。

挂钥匙的孩子年龄从六岁到十三岁不等。

每天，

他们放学回家，

用挂在脖子上的钥匙打

< br>开门，

独自一人，孤孤单单地呆在安静而空荡荡的屋子里。对某些孩子来说，这段 个人时间

是很有所作为的，而对于另外一些孩子，

却是令人害怕 的孤单的空虚。

由于安全原因，

很多

父 母不允许孩子出去玩，或带客人到家里来。因此，孩子们感到一种被隔离的感觉。

被采访的挂钥匙的孩子们反应不同。

一些孩子说，

< br>每天自己呆上几个小时培养或激发了

他们的独立意识和责任心。他们感到被爱、被 信任，

并且这一感觉鼓励他们自信。挂钥匙的

女孩子通过观察母 亲如何持家和工作，

学习了职业母亲的行为榜样。

一些孩子称他 们利用这

段不受监督的自由时间来提高他们的运动技能，如打篮球。还有一些孩子读书或 练习乐器。

这些孩子把放学后的自由时间看作个人发展的机会。

这段时间带给了他们积极的、

有成就的

宝贵的经历。

相反，

也有很多挂钥匙的孩子因为不得不以这种 方式生活而表现出诸多的痛苦、

怨恨和

愤怒。

< br>很多孩子称在很小的年龄，

他们就被赋予了太多的责任；

这是他们所无法承受的负担。

他们还是小孩，

非常需要母亲的保 护、鼓励和细心照顾。

回到空荡荡的家令人失望、孤单并

且通常 很恐惧。他们感到被母亲所抛弃。毕竟，对他们来说，似乎其他的孩子都有着

“

正常

的

”

家庭，母亲都

“

在身边

”

， 而他们自己的母亲却从不在家。很大孩子每天整个下午开着电

视，只是为了消除孤独感； 此外，电视的声音也是令人安慰的。通常，他们就这样睡着了。

或者是因为经济需要，

或者是实现个人价值的坚定的决心，

或 者两者兼有，

挂钥匙的孩

子的现象在我们的社会是普遍存在的。

无论是什么原因，

这是一个急迫的、

众 多家庭必须解

决的局面。

问题不在于母亲们是否应该全职工作。

考虑到这一现象的实施状况，

要提出的问

题是：如何才能制定合适的计划有效地应对这种局面。

可行 的做法是：

对于这一不可避免的变化，

家庭所有成员应该坦诚地 表达他们的感受和

忧虑，

并予以充分的讨论。很多因素必须被考 虑在内：孩子的性格和成熟程度，孩子将独自

在家的时间的长短，

家庭周围是否安全，

紧急情况下能否得到救助。

父母与孩子的 融洽度是

最重要的。要让孩子们放心他们的父母是爱他们的，

， 也是很重要的。感到被爱给与了孩子

们宝贵的情感力量，使他们能够克服生活中的诸多困 难。

It's a Mugger's Game in Manhattan

Martin had lived in New York for forty years and never been mugged once. This did

not make him confident

—

on the contrary, it terrified him. The way he saw it, he was now

the most likely person in Manhattan to get mugged next.

3

friendship.

do

you

think

I

can

avoid

getting

mugged?

Martin

asked

his

friend

Grace.

Grace

had

not

been

outside

her

apartment

in

five

years,

as

a

sure-fire

way

of

avoiding

being mugged. It had failed; someone had broken in and mugged her.

need the money for their addiction.

This

gave

Martin

an

idea.

If

the

muggers

only

needed

the

money

for

drugs,

why

didn't he offer them drugs instead? Then possibly they would be so grateful they wouldn't

harm him. Through some rich friends he knew he bought small quantities of heroin and

cocaine. He had never touched the stuff himself, so he had to label them carefully to make

sure he didn't get them mixed up.

One day he was walking in a part of Central Park he shouldn't have been in (the part

where there is grass and trees) when three men leapt out at him. One was black, one was

Puerto

Rican

and

one

was

Caucasian.

Well,

at

least

mugging

is

being

integrated

he

thought.

name it. But don't touch me!

The three men let go of him respectfully.

him, and we could have the Mafia down on us. Let's see what you got, mister.

Somewhat to his surprise Martin found himself displaying his wares to his clientele.

Even more to his surprise, he found himself accepting money for the drugs, much more

than he'd paid for them.

have money?

actors.

thought

out-of- work

showbiz

people

always

became

waiters

or

barmen,

said

Martin.

as waiters. So we had to get work as muggers.

4

When Martin got home, he bought some more drugs from his friend. Pretty soon he

sold them to some more muggers. Pretty soon after that he found he was spending more

and more time pushing drugs, and making more and more money at it. Being afraid of

muggings had turned him into a professional drug-pusher.

One day a man leapt out at him and grabbed him.

got drugs.

He

hit

Martin

over

the

head

and

took

his

money,

wallet

and

all

his

credit

cards,

leaving the little packets of white powder behind.

曼哈顿抢劫犯的计谋

马丁在纽约住了 四十年，从没被抢过。这并没有让他很放心，相反，这令他很害怕。在

他看来，他是曼哈 顿下一个最有可能被抢的人。

“

我被 抢的可能性有多大？

”

他问他的朋友列尼。

“

你想赌多少钱？

”