A:So Chris, I've heard that you're from a big family. How many people?
克里斯,我听说你来自一个大家庭。有多少人?
B:Nine total. Seven children and my parents.
一共9人。7个孩子和我父母。
A:Seven children? That's a lot. Why did your parents have so many?
7个孩子?那很多喔。为什么你父母要这么多孩子?
B: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.
嗯,我母亲来自一个大家庭,因而想要一个自己的大家庭。我父亲是独子,因而确实不想要一个大家庭,但我母亲说服了他。
A: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.
唉呀,7个孩子。那一定有很多问题。我家有4个孩子,我祖父母从未叫对过我们的名字。
B:It can be hard, and there are certain sacrifices you have to make.
确实很难,你必须做出某些牺牲。
A:Like what? I assume that there's no privacy.
什么样的?我想是没有隐私。
B:That's one. Another is the lack of personal property. Everything you have, from toys to clothes, is used by your brothers and sisters. Especially clothes. Three quarters of my wardrobe are hand-me-downs.
那是一个。另外一个是没有个人财产。你所有的东西,从玩具到衣服,都被你的兄弟和姐妹用过。特别是衣服。我衣柜里四分之三的衣服都是传过来的。
A:And the age gap is also annoying. There's a ten-year difference between my younger brother and me. We have nothing in common.
再者代沟也很恼人。我弟弟和我相差十岁。我们没有任何共同之处。
B: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.
这里也是同样的问题。在我家最大的和最小的相差18岁。最小的出生时正好最大的要上大学。
A:Well, at least going to college won't be too bad. Since both of your parents are college professors, they must give you reduced tuition at the college.
嗯,至少上大学不会太难。既然你父母亲都是大学教授,大学肯定会给你减少学费。
B:They do, but it doesn't help too much. Having seven children means that the money situation in my home is always pretty tight.
他们会,但不会有太大的帮助。有7个孩子意味着我家的经济状况总是很紧张。
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