Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, can I ask you for your opinion on something?
京晶：馬克，我可以問問你關于一些事情的看法嗎？
Mark: I guess so. I'm only opinionated on a few topics.
馬克：行吧。我只對一些事是特別固執(zhí)己見的。
Jingjing: Well, I bet you will be on this one. A friend of mine is considering having a second child. Do you think it's a good idea?
京晶：我打賭這件事上你也會如此。我有一個朋友正在考慮生二胎。你覺得這是一個好主意嗎？
Mark: If there's a family that wants to have another kid, it'd probably be a loving home. Could you tell me more about your friend?
馬克：如果有這么一個家庭想再要一個孩子，這將會是個多么溫馨的家庭。能跟我多說說你朋友的情況嗎？
Jingjing: Sure. She's a lawyer. And her husband is a manager of a state-owned enterprise.
京晶：當然。她是個律師。丈夫是一名國企經(jīng)理。
Mark: It sounds like they have enough money. What about the kid they have already?
馬克：聽上去他們家境不錯。那他們已有的這個孩子什么情況？
Jingjing: He'll turn three this year.
京晶：他今年就滿3歲了。
Mark: That sounds good also. I think, if a family has two kids, there should be a bigger age difference between the siblings.
馬克：聽上去也很不錯啊。我覺得，如果一個家庭里有兩個孩子，兄弟姐妹之間應該有較大的年齡差。
Jingjing: Why is that?
京晶：為什么呢？
Mark: That way, the two kids aren't going through the same stuff. You know, those milestones in life, like the college entrance exam, can be really tough on a family.
馬克：這樣一來，兩個孩子就不會經(jīng)歷共同的事情。比如，人生中那些有重要意義的關鍵時刻，比如高考，否則對一個家庭來說是比較棘手的。
Jingjing: Right, it would be better if one kid has passed it before the next one approaches it.
京晶：對。如果一個孩子考過了之后另一個準備要考了，這樣更好。
Mark: Putting a few years between the kids keeps a lot of pressure off the family.
馬克：讓孩子之間相差個幾歲會給家庭減輕許多壓力。
Jingjing: But don't you think it's better for them to be almost the same age? They'd have more in common that way.
京晶：但你不覺得對他們而言年紀相仿更好嗎？那樣的話，他們會有更多的共同之處。
Mark: In a few cases, that's good—like with twins. But, it's good for each kid to develop their own identity, and make more friends in school.
馬克：在少數(shù)情況下，那樣是好的。就像雙胞胎那樣。但，最好是每個孩子能獨立發(fā)展個性，在學校里多交朋友。
Jingjing: Anyway, if my friend's first kid is already three, it's too late for his brother or sister to be almost the same age.
京晶：不管怎么說，如果我朋友的第一個孩子已經(jīng)3歲了，讓他的兄弟姐妹跟他同齡也是太晚了。
Mark: And there's that. Ha ha.
馬克：那倒是，哈哈。

New words : 習語短語
opinionated 有強烈態(tài)度的
having many strong opinions
a loving home 溫馨的家庭，讓孩子感覺舒適溫暖的家庭
a home that provides for a child and makes him/her feel warm
going through 經(jīng)歷
experiencing
milestones 人生中的里程碑事件
events in life that mark a completion of one stage (graduation, a wedding)


Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Mark, were you an only child?
京晶：馬克，你是獨生子女嗎？
Mark: I was. I had a pretty happy childhood. It's hard to imagine what it would have been like with a brother or sister.
馬克：是啊。我童年過得十分快樂。很難想象如果有一個哥哥（弟弟）或者姐姐（妹妹）會怎樣。
Jingjing: What about friends of yours who had siblings?
京晶：那你的那些有家中有兄弟姐妹的朋友們呢？他們什么情況？
Mark: Well, if he was having a hard time in school or something, his older brother or sister would make him feel like it wasn't a big deal.
馬克：嗯，如果他在學校或別的什么經(jīng)歷了一些不順，他的哥哥或者姐姐會幫助他讓他覺得這些都不是事兒。
Jingjing: Oh? And if he had a younger brother or sister, he might want to appear strong.
京晶：噢這樣嗎？那如果他有弟弟妹妹，他可能會想表現(xiàn)得堅強。
Mark: Yeah, so in both ways, having two kids in a family takes some of the stress out of childhood.
馬克：是的呢。所以，兩種情況下，家里有兩個孩子能分擔童年的壓力。
Jingjing: Do you think kids get compared against each other?
京晶：你覺得孩子們會被相互之間比較嗎？
Mark: That's more the habit of parents. It's really a pity when a kid has to measure up against others all the time.
馬克：這就更是家長們的習慣了。很遺憾一個孩子如果隨時隨地都必須與別人比較。
Jingjing: It motivates them, though.
京晶：這也激勵他們啊。
Mark: I agree with that about sports, music, and other hobbies.
馬克：我贊同在體育，音樂等一些其他的愛好上可以比比。
Jingjing: But if parents are pointing out how another kid is better in some ways, it's probably a good thing if the other kid is nearby, or even in the same home.
京晶：但是如果父母指出哪個別人家的孩子在其他方面表現(xiàn)更好，最好的情況是那個孩子就在場，或者此刻就在同一個房子里。
Mark: Yeah, a kid could learn a lot from their brother or sister. It must be frustrating to always hear about a mother's colleague's kid.
馬克：是的。一個孩子能夠從兄弟姐妹那里學習到很多。老是聽到媽媽同事的孩子如何如何一定是件令人挫敗的事。
Jingjing: Yeah, comparison is pretty natural. Let's hope kids don't feel too much pressure from it.
京晶：是啊。比較是很正常的。讓我們希望孩子們不要因此感受到太大壓力。
Mark: That reminds me of a great film. It's called Stand by Me. It's a coming-of-age story about four boys who take a camping trip together at the end of summer vacation.
馬克：這讓我想起了一部很棒的電影：《伴我同行》。一個成長性的故事，講的是四個男孩在暑假末一起去露營旅行的故事。
Jingjing: What does it have to do with brothers and sisters?
京晶：那與兄弟姐妹有何關系？
Mark: Some of the boys have older brothers, and they get an idea what they will be like when they grow up.
馬克：有的男孩有長兄，于是他們能大概知道自己長大以后可能是什么樣子。
Jingjing: Hmm. I'll have to try to find it.
京晶：嗯，我得找來看看。

New words : 習語短語
an only child 獨生子女
someone who has no brothers and sisters
siblings 兄弟姐妹
brothers or sisters
a coming-of-age story 成長性的故事
a kind of movie with boys/girls who become more mature through the events they experience