十九. Jane Came Home Too Late
Jane got home late at night. She was going to knock at the door. Just then it opened.Her father was standing by the door. He was a tall man with white hair.Come in,he saidI am getting cold.Jane went in. Her mother was waiting in the room. Her mother was a short woman. She was sitting on the sofa, and looked pale. Her father closed the door.
Well,he said,Where have you been? You promised not to stay out beyond 11 oclock. Its one oclock now.
Its only a quarter to one.
That doesnt make any difference. You should have come home earlierher father replied angrily.
Weve been very worried about you,said her mother.
Im sorry,Jane said，I was at a party. I didnt notice the time.
Youve got a watch, said her father，Your mother and I have waited for a long time. We didnt know where you were.
I can look after myself,replied Jane，Im not a baby any more.
That is a situation that we often see in our life. Please do not let your parents worry about you again!
【汉语翻译】
简回家太晚
简在深夜(late at night)才回家。她正要敲门，门开(open)了。她的父亲正站在门旁。他是高(tall)个子，头发(hair)都白了。进来吧，他说，我都觉得冷了。简进了家。她的母亲正在房间(room)里等她。她母亲个子很小，正坐在沙发(sofa)上，看上去脸色苍白(pale)。简的父亲把门关上了。
那么，你上哪去了？父亲闷道，你答应(promise)在外面不超过(beyond)11点的．现在都1点了。
差一刻钟(quarter)到1点。
那没什么差别(it doesnt make any difference)。你应该早(early)点回家的，父亲生气的说。
我们都非常担心(worried)你.母亲说。
我很抱歉，简回答，我参加了一个聚会(party)。我没有注意到(notice)时间。
可你戴着手表(watch)，父亲说，你妈妈和我等了那么长时间。我们不知道你在哪里。
我可以照顾(look after)自己，简回答道，我又不是小孩了。
这是在我们生活中经常看到的一个情形(situation)。请不要再让你的父母为你担心(worry about you)了！?
二十. My Sons Questions
Since my son was three years old, hes kept asking mewhy?about everything. Why is the sky blue? Why are there clouds? Why cant I go outside? Why do I have to be nice? Anyway, I always try my best to answer his questions.
Now my son is ten years old. At this age, the boy is interested in all kinds of things, and hes got more questions to trouble me. Do people in prison celebrate festivals?Why are dogsnoses always wet? Why are women and mens shoe sizesdifferent? ...
These days, the boy shows interest in the facts of life, so I borrowed books from the library and prepared myself for any questions he might ask. At the end of our long talk, he still looked confused(迷惑的).If you have any questions,I said,please ask them. There are no stupid questions.
Well. suppose I was married,he said with shame,my wife was going to give birth to a baby, and I had to rush her to the hospital, okay?
Yes,I smiled and encouraged him to continue his question.
Then he asked,Can go through red lights?
【汉语翻译】
我儿子的问题
自从我儿子三岁起，他就一直在问我为什么，他要对一切事情刨根问底。为什么天空(sky)是蓝色的(blue)?为什么会有云朵(cloud)?为什么我不能去外面？为什么我必须要对人友好？无论如何(anyway)，我总会尽一切努力回答他的问题。
如今我儿子十岁了。在这个年龄，他对各种事情都感兴趣(be interested in)，他有更?多的问题要麻烦我了。在监狱(prison)里的人庆祝(celebrate)节日(festival)吗？狗的鼻子(nose)为什么总是湿润的(wet)? 女人和男人的鞋码(shoe size)为什么不一样呢？
这几天，这个孩子对生命是怎么回事感兴趣了，因此我从图书馆(library)借(borrow)书并准备(prepare)了他可能(might)会问到的所有的问题。在我们的长谈结束时，他看上去仍然很迷惑。如果你有什么问题，尽管问好了，我说，没有愚蠢的(stupid)问题（问什么都行）。
好吧，假设(suppose)我结婚了(married)，他带着羞愧(with shame)说，我的妻子要生小孩了，我必须赶紧(rush)将她送到医院，对吗？
是的，我微笑着说，并鼓励(encourage)他继续问他的问题。
然后他问道，那我能闯红灯(go through)吗？