Three    Why did your parents have so many?
為什么你父母要這么多孩子？

 1     Introduction    
A     Many American couples that can not have a baby come to Asia to adopt babies.
許多不能生育的美國夫妻來亞洲領養(yǎng)小孩。
B    Some Americans think abortion is very cruel and against humanity.  Most American women use contraceptive methods such as the birth control pill.
一些美國人認為墮胎是很殘忍的，沒有人道。大多數(shù)美國婦女采用避孕措施如避孕丸。
C     Modern families have a tendency of bearing children in their thirties or late twenties.  It’s the responsibilities that couples are worried about.
現(xiàn)代家庭有一種傾向：那就是在他們三十多歲或者二十好幾的年齡生育。讓夫妻擔心的是這種責任。
D     In America, about half of workingwomen return to work within a year of having a baby.  American women with children usually work.
在美國，大約一半的婦女勞動者生完小孩一年之內就返回工作。美國婦女通常有小孩的情況下也工作。

 2    Sample Sentences
1.   Tell me about your brother and sister.
     跟我說說你的哥哥、妹妹。
2.   She has only a single parent.
     她只有一個單身父（母）親。
3.   My daughter was attending a meeting and asked me to baby-sit my 3-year old granddaughter.
     我的女兒要去參加一個會議，所以要我照顧我三歲的小孫女。
4.  The teacher of my 4-year old daughter, a very attractive single woman in her mid twenties, told me the following story.
    我四歲女兒的老師，一位很迷人的二十多歲的單身女人，告訴了我以下的故事。
5.  Hans is his first child, so it’s understandable that he pampers him so much.
    漢斯是他的第一個小孩，所以他過分寵愛他是可以理解的。  
6.  Some friends of ours, who have a son our daughter's age, are getting divorced.
    我們的朋友要離婚了，他們有一個像我女兒這么大的兒子。
7.  My wife was explaining to my seven-year old daughter why they had decided to get divorced.
    我的妻子對我七歲的女兒解釋為什么他們決定了離婚。
8.  My elder son remarried.
    我年長的那個兒子重婚了。
9.  We are expecting a child and will be getting married very shortly.
    我們在等著小孩的出生，并且不久我們就會結婚。
10.  Do you two plan to have a baby sometime soon? 
     你們兩個打算不久的將來生一個小孩嗎？

 3    Conversations
1.   A big family.
Terry:  So Chris, I've heard that you're from a big family.  How many people?
Chris:  Nine total.  Seven children and my parents. 
Terry:  Seven children?  That's a lot.  Why did your parents have so many?
Chris:  Well, my mother came from a big family, and wanted to have one of her own.  My father was an only child, and didn't really care about having a large family, but my mother talked him into it.
Terry:  Jeez, seven children.  That must have a lot of problems.  We have four children in my family and my grandparents can never get our names right.
Chris:  It can be hard, and there are certain sacrifices1 you have to make.
Terry:  Like what?  I assume that there's no privacy.
Chris:  That's one.  Another is the lack of personal property2.  Everything you have, from toys to clothes, is used by your brothers and sisters.  Especially clothes.  Three quarters of my wardrobe3 are hand-me-downs.
Terry:  And the age gap4 is also annoying.  There's a ten-year difference between my younger brother and me. We have nothing in common.
Chris:  Same problem here.  There's an 18-year gap between the oldest and youngest child in my family.  The last child was born just as the oldest was going to college.
Terry:  Well, at least going to college won't be too bad.  Since both of your parents are college professors, they must give you reduced tuition5 at the college.
Chris:  They do, but it doesn't help too much.  Having seven children means that the money situation in my home is always pretty tight.
【譯文】
——克里斯，我聽說你來自一個大家庭。有多少人？
——一共9人。7個孩子和我父母。
——7個孩子？那很多喔。為什么你父母要這么多孩子？
——嗯，我母親來自一個大家庭，因而想要一個自己的大家庭。我父親是獨子，因而確實不想要一個大家庭，但我母親說服了他。
——唉呀，7個孩子。那一定有很多問題。我家有4個孩子，我祖父母從未叫對過我們的名字。
——確實很難，你必須做出某些犧牲。
——什么樣的？我想是沒有隱私。
——那是一個。另外一個是沒有個人財產。你所有的東西，從玩具到衣服，都被你的兄弟和姐妹用過。特別是衣服。我衣柜里四分之三的衣服都是傳過來的。
——再者代溝也很惱人。我弟弟和我相差十歲。我們沒有任何共同之處。
——這里也是同樣的問題。在我家最大的和最小的相差18歲。最小的出生時正好最大的要上大學。
——嗯，至少上大學不會太難。既然你父母親都是大學教授，大學肯定會給你減少學費。
——他們會，但不會有太大的幫助。有7個孩子意味著我家的經濟狀況總是很緊張。