新概念英语第四册精讲：Lesson 34 Adolescence
Lesson 34Adolescence
青春期
What do adolescents respect in parents?
Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their
friends and regard it as a slur on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture,
and often are foolish enough to let the adolescents see that they are annoyed.
They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some spiteful remark about the
friends' parents. Such a loss of dignity and descent into childish behaviour on
the part of the adults deeply shocks the adolescents, and make them resolve that
in future they will not talk to their parents about the places or people they
visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining that the child is so
secretive and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they have
brought this on themselves.
Disillusionment with the parents, however good and adequate they may be
both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable. Most children
have such a high ideal of their parents, unless the parents themselves have been
unsatisfactory, that it can hardly hope to stand up to a realistic evaluation.
Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much
belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility, and how
much this faith means to a child. If parents were prepared for this adolescent
reaction, and realized that it was a sign that the child was growing up and
developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would
not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by
resenting and resisting it.
The adolescent, with his passion for sincerity, always respects a parent
who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant, or even that he has been unfair or
unjust. What the child cannot forgive is the parent's refusal to admit these
charges if the child knows them to be true.
Victorian parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating
behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude; in fact they did nothing of the
kind, but children were then too cowed to let them know how they really felt.
Today we tend to go to the other extreme, but on the whole this is a healthier
attitude both for the child and the parent. It is always wiser and safer to face
up to reality, however painful it may be at the moment.DOTID OFLUM Journey
Through Adolescence
New words and expressions 生词与短语
adolescence
n.
slur
n. 青春期
adolescent
n. 底毁
disloyalty
n. 青少年(12-18岁)
spiteful
adj. 恶意的，怀恨的
disillusionment
n. 幻灭感
evaluation
n. 评价
infallibility
n. 一贯正确
resent
v. 怨恨
sincerity
n. 诚挚
victorian
adj. 维多利亚式的
retreat
v. 后退
unreasoning
adj. 不凭理智的
authoritarian
adj. 专制的
cow
v. 吓唬
本文参考译文
当家长听到孩子赞扬自己朋友的家时，总感到不安，认为孩子在嫌弃自家的饭菜、卫生、或家具，而且愚蠢地让孩子看出自己的烦恼。他们甚至责备孩子不忠，或者讲些小朋友家长的坏话。家长这种有失身份和孩子气的作法使青春期的孩子大为震惊，决心以后不再向父母讲述去过的地方和见过的人。不要很久,家长就会抱怨孩子守口如瓶，什么事也不告诉他们，殊不知这是他们自找的。
不管家长的人品有多么好，作为父母有多么合格，孩子们对家长幻想的破灭在某种程度上是不可避免的。除非父母自身不能令人满意，大多数孩子对父母估价过高，以致这种估价很难指望经受住现实的考验。如果家长意识到孩子们通常是多么相信家长的品行和绝对正确，意识到孩子们的这种信念会对孩子产生多么大的影响，那么家长会大为吃惊和深受感动的。如果家长对青少年的这种反应有思想准备，并且意识到这象征着孩子们正在成熟和正在发展宝贵的观察力、独立判断力，那么他们就不会那样伤心，也就不会由于怨恨和抵触这种反应，而把孩子推到自己的对立面去。
青少年酷爱真诚，对于能够承认错误或无知、甚至承认自己做得不公平或不公正的父母，他们总是尊敬的，孩子们所不能原谅的是：父母错了，孩子们也看出来了，可是做父母的还不肯承认。
维多利亚时代的父母认为，他们可以靠无理的权威气派来维护自己的尊严，实际上那是根本不行的。孩子们只不过被吓得不敢让父母知道自己的想法罢了。虽然现在我们倾向于走向另一个极端，但总地来看，孩子和家长双方态度都比较端正。遇事采取面对现实的态度总是比较明智和稳妥的，尽管会有暂时的痛苦。
（兼职编辑：张博）
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