Text 4

1. It’s no surprise that Jennifer Senior’s insightful, provocative magazine cover story,“I Love My Children, I Hate My Life,” is arousing much chatter—nothing gets people talking like the suggestion that child rearing is anything less than a completely fulfilling, life-enriching experience.

词汇

surprise [səˑpraɪz] n. 令人惊奇的事；惊讶

insightful [ˑɪnsaɪtf(ə)l] a. 有深刻了解的；富有洞察力的

provocative [prəˑvɒkətɪv] a. 具有煽动性的；引诱的

magazine [ˌmæɡəˑziːn] n. 杂志，期刊；专题节目

cover [ˑkʌvə(r)] n. 封面；覆盖物；躲避处

arouse [əˑraʊz] v. 引起；激发；唤醒

chatter [ˑtʃætə(r)] n. 喋喋不休；鸣叫声

suggestion [səˑdʒestʃ(ə)n] n. 建议；暗示

rear [rɪə(r)] v. 养育；饲养；用后腿直立

completely [kəmˑpliːtli] ad. 完全地，彻底地

fulfilling [fʊlˑfɪlɪŋ] a. 令人愉快的；令人满足的

enrich [ɪnˑrɪtʃ] v. 充实；使富裕

experience [ɪkˑspɪəriəns] n. 经历；经验

2. Rather than concluding that children make parents either happy or miserable, Senior suggests we need to redefine happiness: instead of thinking of it as something that can be measured by moment-tomoment joy, we should consider being happy as a past-tense condition.

词汇

rather than 不是……而是；而不是

conclude [kənˑkluːd] v. 得出结论；结束；订立

either... or... 要么……要么，或者……或者

miserable [ˑmɪzrəbl] a. 痛苦的；使难受的；太少的

suggest [səˑdʒest] v. 建议；表明

need to do sth. 需要做某事

redefine [ˌriːdɪˑfaɪn] v. 重新定义；使重新考虑

happiness [ˑhæpinəs] n. 快乐，幸福

instead of 而不是；代替

think of A as B 把 A 看作 B

measure [ˑmeʒə(r)] v. 估量；测量；量度为

moment-to-moment a. 时时刻刻的

joy [dʒɔɪ] n. 高兴；乐趣；满意

consider A (as/to) B 把 A 看作 B

past-tense [pɑːst tens] a. 过去时的

condition [kənˑdɪʃn] n. 状况；条件；环境

3. Even though the day-to-day experience of raising kids can be soul-crushingly hard, Senior writes that“the very things that in the moment dampen our moods can later be sources of intense gratification and delight”.

词汇

even though 尽管，虽然

day-to-day [ˌdeɪ tə ˑdeɪ] a. 逐日的；日常工作的

raise [reɪz] v. 抚养；举起；筹募；引起

soul [səʊl] n. 灵魂；心灵

crushing [ˑkrʌʃɪŋ] a. 惨重的，毁坏性的

hard [hɑːd] a. 困难的；严厉的 ；坚硬的

very [ˑveri] a. 正是的，恰好的；最……的

in the moment 当前；即刻

dampen [ˑdæmpən] v. 减弱，抑制；弄湿

mood [muːd] n. 情绪；气氛；语气

later [ˑleɪtə(r)] ad. 后来；随后

source [sɔːs] n. 来源；起源；原因

intense [ɪnˑtens] a. 十分强烈的；激烈的

gratification [ˌɡrætɪfɪˑkeɪʃ(ə)n] n. 满足，令人喜悦的事物

delight [dɪˑlaɪt] n. 快乐；乐事

4. The magazine cover showing an attractive mother holding a cute baby is hardly the only Madonnaand-child image on newsstands this week.

词汇

show [ʃəʊ] v. 表明；展示

attractive [əˑtræktɪv] a. 诱人的；吸引人的

hold [həʊld] n. 抱住；保持；握住

cute [kjuːt] a. 可爱的；漂亮的；讨喜的

hardly [ˑhɑːdli] ad. 不可能；很难；几乎不

Madonna [məˑdɒnə] n. 圣母玛利亚；圣母像

image [ˑɪmɪdʒ] n. 形象；画像；意象

newsstand [ˑnjuːzstænd] n. 杂志摊；报摊

5. There are also stories about newly adoptive—and newly single—mom Sandra Bullock, as well as the usual“Jennifer Aniston is pregnant” news.

词汇

newly [ˑnjuːli] ad. 最近；新近

adoptive [əˑdɒptɪv] a. 收养的；有收养关系的

single [ˑsɪŋɡ(ə)l] a. 单身的；单个的；单程的

as well as 和，以及

usual [ˑjuːʒuəl] a. 通常的，惯常的

pregnant [ˑpreɡnənt] a. 怀孕的；充溢着

news [njuːz] n. 新闻；消息

6. Practically every week features at least one celebrity mom, or mom-to-be, smiling on the newsstands.

词汇

practically [ˑpræktɪkli] ad. 几乎；实际地

feature [ˑfiːtʃə(r)] v. 以……为特色；由……主演；起重要作用

at least 至少

celebrity [səˑlebrəti] n. 名人；名望

mom-to-be [mɒm tu biː] n. 准妈妈

smile [smaɪl] v. 微笑；微笑着说

7. In a society that so persistently celebrates procreation, is it any wonder that admitting you regret having children is equivalent to admitting you support kitten-killing?

词汇

society [səˑsaɪəti] n. 社会；社团，协会

persistently [pəˑsɪstəntli] ad. 反复地，一直；坚定地

celebrate [ˑselɪbreɪt] v. 庆祝；赞美

procreation [ˌprəʊkriˑeɪʃn] n. 生殖；生产

wonder [ˑwʌndə(r)] n. 惊讶；奇迹 v. 想知道；感到诧异

admit [ədˑmɪt] v. 承认；准许……进入；接收

regret [rɪˑɡret] v. 懊悔，惋惜

equivalent [ɪˑkwɪvələnt] a. 相等的，相同的

support [səˑpɔː(r)t] v. 支持；鼓励；资助

kitten [ˑkɪt(ə)n] n. 小猫

8. It doesn’t seem quite fair, then, to compare the regrets of parents to the regrets of the childless.

词汇

seem [siːm] linkv. 似乎；看起来

quite [kwaɪt] ad. 颇；完全；在很大程度上

fair [feə(r)] a. 合理的；公正的；相当大的

then [ðen] ad. 那么；那时；然后

compare [kəmˑpeə(r)] v. 比较；与……类似；将……比作

regret [rɪˑɡret] n. 懊悔；痛惜；遗憾

childless [ˑtʃaɪldləs] a. 无子女的；无后代的

9. Unhappy parents rarely are provoked to wonder if they shouldn’t have had kids, but unhappy childless folks are bothered with the message that children are the single most important thing in the world: obviously their misery must be a direct result of the gaping baby-size holes in their lives.

词汇

unhappy [ʌnˑhæpi] a. 不幸福的；难过的；不悦的

rarely [ˑreəli] ad. 罕有，很少

provoke [prəˑvəʊk] v. 激起；激怒

folk [fəʊk] n. 人们；各位；家属

bother [ˑbɒðə(r)] v. 使烦恼；打扰；花费时间精力

message [ˑmesɪdʒ] n. 信息，消息；要点

obviously [ˑɒbviəsli] ad. 显然；明显地

misery [ˑmɪzəri] n. 痛苦；穷困；不幸的事

direct [dəˑrekt] a. 直接的；笔直的；坦率的

gaping [ˑɡeɪpɪŋ] a. 裂开的

hole [həʊl] n. 洞；漏洞

10. Of course, the image of parenthood that celebrity magazines like US Weekly and People present is hugely unrealistic, especially when the parents are single mothers like Bullock.

词汇

of course 当然

parenthood [ˑpeərənthʊd] n. 做父母的身份

weekly [ˑwiːkli] n. 周报；周刊

present [prɪˑzent] v. 展现；颁发；提出；上演

hugely [ˑhjuːdʒli] ad. 非常；极其；深深地

unrealistic [ˌʌnrɪəˑlɪstɪk] a. 不切实际的；不实事 求是的

especially [ɪˑspeʃəli] ad. 特别，尤其

11. According to several studies concluding that parents are less happy than childless couples, single parents are the least happy of all.

词汇

according to 根据；据……所说

study [ˑstʌdi] n. 研究；学业；书房

conclude [kənˑkluːd] v. 得出结论；结束；订立

couple [ˑkʌp(ə)l] n. 夫妻，情侣；两个，几个

least [liːst] ad. 最小；最少；微不足道

12. No shock there, considering how much work it is to raise a kid without a partner to lean on; yet to hear Sandra and Britney tell it, raising a kid on their“own” (read: with round-the-clock help) is a piece of cake.

词汇

shock [ʃɒk] n. 震惊；剧烈震动；休克

consider [kənˑsɪdə(r)] v. 仔细考虑；认为；体谅

raise [reɪz] v. 抚养；举起；筹募；引起

partner [ˑpɑːtnə(r)] n. 配偶；搭档；合伙人

lean on 依靠；靠在……上

yet [jet] conj. 但是；然而

on one’s own 独立地，自己一个人地

read [riːd] v. 理解；诠释；阅读；写着

round-the-clock [ˌraʊnd ðə ˑklɒk] a. 日夜不停的；持续一整天的

a piece of cake 轻松的事

13. It’s hard to imagine that many people are dumb enough to want children just because Reese and Angelina make it look so glamorous: most adults understand that a baby is not a haircut.

词汇

imagine [ɪˑmædʒɪn] v. 想象；认为

dumb [dʌm] a. 愚蠢的；哑的；一时说不出话的

enough [ɪˑnʌf] ad. 很，十分；足够地

glamorous [ˑɡlæmərəs] a. 富有魅力的；富于刺激的；独特的

adult [ˑædʌlt] n. 成年人；成年动物

understand [ˌʌndəˑstænd] v. 理解；认识到；体谅

haircut [ˑheəkʌt] n. 理发；发型

14. But it’s interesting to wonder if the images we see every week of stress-free, happiness-enhancing parenthood aren’t in some small, subconscious way contributing to our own dissatisfactions with the actual experience, in the same way that a small part of us hoped getting“the Rachel” might make us look just a little bit like Jennifer Aniston.

词汇

interesting [ˑɪntrəstɪŋ] a. 有趣的，有吸引力的

stress-free [stres friː] a. 无压力的

enhance [ɪnˑhɑːns] v. 提高；增强；增进

subconscious [ˌsʌbˑkɒnʃəs] a. 潜意识的；下意识的

way [weɪ] n. 方式；道路

contribute to 促成；有助于

dissatisfaction [ˌdɪsˌsætɪsˑfækʃn] n. 不满意；不悦

actual [ˑæktʃuəl] a. 真实的，实际的；……本身

in some way 在某些方面；在某种程度上

a little bit 有点；稍微 3/qktkjMEpG22ac5vbzpMrQmneaetS6lVDDJm0MbNZsV4nOI0leCIKCULtIOcRKG