Dear Annie:

When my son was 14, he was friends with "Tim," a boy who drank and did drugs at a young age and who once stole his father's car and took my son joyriding around the neighborhood. I didn't want our son hanging out with Tim after that, but my husband thought the boy should be forgiven and gave our son permission to keep seeing him.
當我兒子14歲的時候，他和一個叫Tim的男孩成了朋友，那是個年紀輕輕就喝酒，吸毒的小子，曾經偷他爸爸的車，帶我的兒子去附近兜風。那件事發生以后，我就不想讓我的兒子和Tim在一起了，但是我丈夫認為Tim應該得到原諒，并向兒子承諾可以讓他繼續見Tim。

That was four years ago. Tim, now 17, continued breaking the law and is currently serving time in a juvenile facility for various felony convictions. He will be getting out in a couple of months. I do not want him on my property or hanging out with my son (who does not use the best judgment when he is around Tim), but my husband still believes Tim should be forgiven. Please help.
那是4年前的事了，現在Tim已經17歲了，他不斷犯法，因為犯下各種重罪目前在少年監獄關押。我不想讓他再帶著我兒子鬼混了，他和Tim在一起就不會正確判斷。但是我丈夫仍然相信可以原諒Tim。請幫幫我。

— Distraught and Worried
——煩惱又擔憂的一位母親
——————————————
Dear Distraught and Worried:
你好，煩惱又擔憂的母親

You can forgive Tim without letting him be an influence on your son. Inform your husband that forgiveness doesn't mean disregarding another's safety. It means you let go of your anger toward the person.
如果Tim沒有給你兒子帶來壞的影響，你可以原諒他。告訴你的丈夫原諒并不意味著不顧別人的安全。那意味著將你的脾氣撒到別人身上。

It is important to discuss your concerns with your son. Calmly explain why you think spending time with Tim is not in his best interests. Tell him you have confidence in his maturity and trust him. Beyond that, have faith that you have raised him right.
和你的兒子一起討論你的關心是很重要的。平靜地解釋為什么和Tim呆在一起并不是最好的。告訴你的兒子你相信他的成熟，并信任他。還有，你也相信自己正確地教導了他。

【生詞注釋】

joyriding n.開車兜風

to hang out with 跟…在一起；與…為伍

permission n.允許；許可

to break the law 犯法

juvenile facility 少年輔導中心；少年監獄

felony n.重罪

property n.所有物；不動產

distraught adj.心煩意亂的；發狂的

to disregard v.不顧；忽視

maturity n.成熟；完成

distraught a.煩擾的