ARS 01a

ARS 1a

常回家看看 Cháng huí jiā kàn kàn Go home often
我叫文玉,来自南方一座美丽的小城。 Wǒ jiào wén yù, láizì nánfāng yī zuò měilì de xiǎochéng. 文玉  Wén Yù: Wen Yu

南方  nánfāng: south

美丽的  měilì de: beautiful

小城  xiǎochéng: small city

My name is Wenyu and I come from a small, beautiful city in the south.
我父亲在市政府工作,母亲是银行职员,家庭条件在我们家乡算是不错的,我是在北京上的大学,毕业时,父母特别希望我能回到他们身边去。 Wǒ fùqīn zài shìzhèngfǔ gōngzuò, mǔqīn shì yínháng zhíyuán, jiātíng tiáojiàn zài wǒmen jiāxiāng suànshì bùcuò de, wǒ shì zài běijīng shàng de dàxué, bìyè shí, fùmǔ tèbié xīwàng wǒ néng huí dào tāmen shēnbiān qù. 市政府  shìzhèngfǔ: municipal government

工作  gōngzuò: work

银行  yínháng: bank

职员  zhíyuán: staff

家庭条件  jiātíng tiáojiàn: family condition

家乡  jiāxiāng: hometown

北京  Běijīng: Beijing

大学  dàxué: university

毕业时  bìyè shí: graduation

My father works in the municipal government and my mother is a bank employee. The family conditions are pretty good in our hometown. I went to university in Beijing. When I graduated, my parents especially hoped that I could go back to them.
在他们的观念里,女孩子找个既稳定又轻松的工作就行了,北京竞争那么激烈,一个女孩子会很辛苦。 Zài tāmen de guānniàn lǐ, nǚ háizi zhǎo gè jì wěndìng yòu qīngsōng de gōngzuò jiùxíngle, běijīng jìngzhēng nàme jīliè, yīgè nǚ háizi huì hěn xīnkǔ. 观念  guānniàn: concept

女孩子  nǚháizi: girl

既…又  jì…yòu: sowohl als auch

稳定  wěndìng: stable

轻松  qīngsōng: relaxed

竞争  jìngzhēng: competition

激烈  jīliè: intense

辛苦  xīnkǔ: hard

In their conception, it is enough for a girl to find a stable and easy job. The competition in Beijing is so fierce, it will be very hard for a girl.
但我的观念跟他们的完全不同 – 我不想放弃留在北京的机会,很希望能有自己的事业,有更高的生活质量。 Dàn wǒ de guānniàn gēn tāmen de wánquán bùtóng – wǒ bùxiǎng fàngqì liú zài běijīng de jīhuì, hěn xīwàng néng yǒu zìjǐ de shìyè, yǒu gèng gāo de shēnghuó zhìliàng. 放弃  fàngqì: give up

机会  jīhuì: opportunity

事业  shìyè: career

生活质量  shēnghuó zhìliàng: quality of life

I didn’t want to give up the opportunity to stay in Beijing and wanted to have my own career and a better quality of life.
看到我坚持要留下来,父母后来也不再反对了。 Kàn dào wǒ jiānchí yào liú xiàlái, fùmǔ hòulái yě bù zài fǎnduìle. 坚持  jiānchí: persist

留下来  liú xiàlái: stay

反对  fǎnduì: oppose

Seeing that I insisted on staying, my parents later stopped objecting.
我刚参加工作时父母还没退休,平时我们各忙各的,晚上或者周末的时候互相通个电话。 Wǒ gāng cānjiā gōngzuò shí fùmǔ hái méi tuìxiū, píngshí wǒmen gè máng gè de, wǎnshàng huòzhě zhōumò de shíhòu hùxiāng tōng gè diànhuà. 参加  cānjiā: join

退休  tuìxiū: retire

平时  píngshí: usually

忙  máng: busy

晚上  wǎnshàng: night

周末  zhōumò: weekend

电话  diànhuà: phone

When I first joined the workforce, my parents had not yet retired and we usually went about our business, calling each other in the evenings or on weekends.
春节,五一,十一假期,我就回家去陪陪他们。 Chūnjié, wǔyī, shíyī jiàqī, wǒ jiù huí jiā qù péi péi tāmen. 春节  Chūnjié: Spring Festival

五一  wǔ yī: May Day

十一  shí yī: National Day

假期  jiàqī: holiday

陪  péi: accompany

During the Spring Festival, May Day and November holidays, I would go home to spend time with them.
有时候忙起来,放假也顾不上回家。 Yǒu shíhòu máng qǐlái, fàngjià yě gù bù shàng huí jiā. 有时候  yǒu shíhòu: sometimes

忙起来  máng qǐlái: get busy

放假  fàngjià: vacation

顾不上  gù bù shàng: no time to

Sometimes I was so busy that I couldn’t even go home on holiday.
他们退休以后,生活很丰富:除了每天早上和晚上都去公园做运动以外,我爸还喜欢在家里练书法,种花儿;我妈开始养狗,学电脑。 Tāmen tuìxiū yǐhòu, shēnghuó hěn fēngfù: Chúle měitiān zǎoshang hé wǎnshàng dū qù gōngyuán zuò yùndòng yǐwài, wǒ bà hái xǐhuān zài jiālǐ liàn shūfǎ, zhònghuā er; wǒ mā kāishǐ yǎng gǒu, xué diànnǎo. 丰富  fēngfù: rich

公园  gōngyuán: park

运动  yùndòng: exercise

书法  shūfǎ: calligraphy

种花儿  zhòng huā er: plant flowers

养狗  yǎng gǒu: raise a dog

电脑  diànnǎo: computer

After they retired, they have a rich life: apart from going to the park every morning and evening for exercise, my father likes to practice calligraphy and plant flowers at home; my mother has started to raise dogs and learn computers.
俩人有时候也来北京看我。 Liǎ rén yǒu shíhòu yě lái běijīng kàn wǒ. 俩人  liǎ rén: two people

看我  kàn wǒ: visit me

Both of them sometimes come to Beijing to visit me.
看到他们退休后的生活安排得这么好,我也就放心了,至少不用担心他们会感到孤独。 Kàn dào tāmen tuìxiū hòu de shēnghuó ānpái dé zhème hǎo, wǒ yě jiù fàngxīnle, zhì shào bùyòng dānxīn tāmen huì gǎndào gūdú. 安排  ānpái: arrange

放心  fàngxīn: feel relieved

孤独  gūdú: lonely

I was relieved to see how well organized their lives were after retirement, and at least I didn’t have to worry about them feeling lonely.
没想到,去年爸爸突然生了一场重病,打破了原来安静的生活。 Méi xiǎngdào, qùnián bàba túrán shēngle yī chǎng zhòngbìng, dǎpòle yuánlái ānjìng de shēnghuó. 没想到  méi xiǎngdào: unexpectedly

去年  qùnián: last year

重病  zhòngbìng: serious illness

打破  dǎpò: break

安静  ānjìng: quiet

Unexpectedly, last year my father suddenly became seriously ill, shattering what had been a quiet life.
我请了两周假回去陪他,假期结束时,我不得不回到北京继续工作。 Wǒ qǐngle liǎng zhōu jiǎ huíqù péi tā, jià qí jiéshù shí, wǒ bùdé bù huí dào běijīngjìxù gōngzuò. 请假  qǐngjià: take a leave

两周  liǎng zhōu: two weeks

结束  jiéshù: end

继续  jìxù: continue

I took two weeks off work to go back and be with him, and at the end of the holiday I had to go back to Beijing to continue working.
看病的花销很大,幸好他有医疗保险,大部分都可以报销,我家才没有背上沉重的经济负担。 Kànbìng de huā xiao hěn dà, xìnghǎo tā yǒu yīliáo bǎoxiǎn, dà bùfèn dōu kěyǐ bàoxiāo, wǒ jiā cái méiyǒu bèi shàng chénzhòng de jīng jì fùdān. 看病  kànbìng: see a doctor

花销  huāxiāo: expenses

医疗保险  yīliáo bǎoxiǎn: medical insurance

报销  bàoxiāo: reimburse

负担  fùdān: burden

It was very expensive to see the doctor, but luckily he had medical insurance and most of it was reimbursed, so my family was not burdened with a heavy financial burden.
从那时起,我才第一次开始考虑怎么给父母养老这个问题。 Cóng nà shí qǐ, wǒ cái dì yīcì kāishǐ kǎolǜ zěnme gěi fùmǔ yǎnglǎo zhège wèntí. 从那时起  cóng nà shí qǐ: from that time on

考虑  kǎolǜ: consider

养老  yǎnglǎo: support in old age

问题  wèntí: problem

It was then that I first started to think about how to provide for my parents’ retirement.
我有个男朋友,我们的感情很稳定,准备今年“十一”结婚。 Wǒ yǒu gè nán péngyǒu, wǒmen de gǎnqíng hěn wěndìng, zhǔnbèi jīnnián “shíyī” jiéhūn. 男朋友  nán péngyǒu: boyfriend

感情  gǎnqíng: feelings

稳定  wěndìng: stable

结婚  jiéhūn: marry

I have a boyfriend and we are in a very stable relationship and are planning to get married this November.
他跟我一样是外地人,而且也是家里唯一的孩子,将来他父母肯定也是要靠他养老的。 Tā gēn wǒ yīyàng shì wàidì rén, érqiě yěshì jiālǐ wéiyī de háizi, jiānglái tā fùmǔ kěndìng yěshì yào kào tā yǎnglǎo de. 外地人  wàidì rén: outsider

唯一的孩子  wéiyī de háizi: only child

将来  jiānglái: future

靠  kào: rely on

He is a foreigner like me and is the only child in the family, so his parents will definitely depend on him in the future.
我们曾经讨论过这个问题,觉得压力很大,两个人一共要养四个老人,将来有了孩子,压力会更大。 Wǒmen céngjīng tǎolùnguò zhège wèntí, juédé yālì hěn dà, liǎng gèrén yīgòng yào yǎng sì gè lǎorén, jiānglái yǒule háizi, yālì huì gèng dà. 曾经  céngjīng: once

讨论  tǎolùn: discuss

压力  yālì: pressure

一共  yīgòng: total

老人  lǎorén: elderly people

We have discussed this issue and feel that it is very stressful, as we have to support four elderly people in total, and when we have children in the future, the pressure will be even greater.
我们商量好了,结婚以后,老人身体还可以的时候一定要分开住,等他们需要照顾的时候再跟我们一起住。 Wǒmen shāngliáng hǎole, jiéhūn yǐhòu, lǎorén shēntǐ hái kěyǐ de shíhòu yīdìng yào fēnkāi zhù, děng tāmen xūyào zhàogù de shíhòu zài gēn wǒmen yīqǐ zhù. 商量  shāngliang: discuss

身体  shēntǐ: body

分开住  fēnkāi zhù: live separately

需要  xūyào: need

照顾  zhàogù: take care of

We discussed that after we got married, the elderly must live separately when they are still healthy, and then live with us when they need care.
说老实话,我有点儿害怕跟婆婆住,听说有不少人就是因为婆媳关系不好而离婚的。 Shuō lǎoshí huà, wǒ yǒudiǎn er hàipà gēn pópo zhù, tīng shuō yǒu bù shǎo rén jiùshì yīnwèi póxí guānxì bù hǎo ér líhūn de. 老实话  lǎoshíhuà: honestly

害怕  hàipà: afraid

婆婆  pópo: mother-in-law

婆媳关系  póxí guānxì: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship

离婚  líhūn: divorce

To be honest, I was a bit scared to live with my mother-in-law. I heard that a lot of people get divorced because of bad relationships between their mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.
其实,最好的解决办法是在我们家的附近给双方父母各买一套房子,但这是在做梦,谁都知道在北京买房太难了!我父母很理解我,有一次在电话里聊到养老的问题,妈妈说她跟爸爸从来没有养儿防老的想法,老了以后就去养老院,不给孩子增加负担。 Qíshí, zuì hǎo de jiějué bànfǎ shì zài wǒmen jiā de fùjìn gěi shuāngfāng fùmǔ gè mǎi yī tào fángzi, dàn zhè shì zài zuòmèng, shéi dōu zhīdào zài běijīng mǎifáng tài nánle! Wǒ fùmǔ hěn lǐjiě wǒ, yǒu yī cì zài diànhuà li liáo dào yǎnglǎo de wèntí, māmā shuō tā gēn bàba cónglái méiyǒu yǎng er fánglǎo de xiǎngfǎ, lǎole yǐhòu jiù qù yǎnglǎoyuàn, bù gěi háizi zēngjiā fùdān. 解决办法  jiějué bànfǎ: solution

附近  fùjìn: nearby

双方  shuāngfāng: both sides

各买一套房子  gè mǎi yī tào fángzi: buy a set of house for each

做梦  zuò mèng: daydreaming

知道  zhīdào: know

买房  mǎifáng: buy a house

太难了  tài nánle: too difficult

理解  lǐjiě: understand

电话  dìànhuà: phone

聊到  liáodào: talked about

养儿防老  yǎng ér fánglǎo: raise children for the purpose of being looked after in old age

老了以后  lǎo le yǐhòu: after getting old

养老院  yǎnglǎoyuàn: nursing home

增加负担  zēngjiā fùdān: increase burden

In fact, the best solution would be to buy each parent a house near our home, but that’s a pipe dream, and anyone who’s ever lived in Beijing knows it’s too hard to buy a house! My parents are very understanding. Once when we talked on the phone about old age, my mother said that she and my father had never had the idea of raising children for old age, and that when they got old they would go to a nursing home and not add to the burden of their children.
我听了以后觉得很难受。 Wǒ tīngle yǐhòu juédé hěn nánshòu. 听了以后  tīng le yǐhòu: after listening

觉得  juéde: feel

难受  nánshòu: uncomfortable

I felt so bad when I heard that.
父母为我付出了很多,牺牲了他们自己的生活,好不容易把我养大了,如果让他们晚年住养老院,那我不是太自私了吗? Fùmǔ wèi wǒ fùchūle hěnduō, xīshēngle tāmen zìjǐ de shēnghuó, hǎobù róngyì bǎ wǒ yǎng dàle, rúguǒ ràng tāmen wǎnnián zhù yǎnglǎoyuàn, nà wǒ bùshì tài zìsīliǎo ma? 付出  fùchū: pay

牺牲  xīshēng: sacrifice

自己的生活  zìjǐ de shēnghuó: their own life

养大了  yǎng dà le: raised up

晚年  wǎnnián: old age

自私  zìsī: selfish

My parents have given a lot to me, sacrificed their own lives and raised me with great difficulty. If I let them live in a nursing home in their old age, wouldn’t I be too selfish?
怎么解决给父母养老这个问题呢?我直到现在也没有找到满意的答案。 Zěnme jiějué gěi fùmǔ yǎnglǎo zhège wèntí ne? Wǒ zhídào xiànzài yě méiyǒu zhǎodào mǎnyì de dá’àn. 解决  jiějué: solve

问题  wèntí: problem

直到  zhídào: until

现在  xiànzài: now

找到  zhǎodào: found

满意的答案  mǎnyì de dá’àn: satisfactory answer

How can I solve the problem of giving my parents a retirement home? I haven’t found a satisfactory answer until now.
我遇到的这种情况其实很普遍,跟朋友聚会时我们常常讨论这个话题,他们当中不少人跟我一样也是独生子女。 Wǒ yù dào de zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng qíshí hěn pǔbiàn, gēn péngyǒu jùhuì shí wǒmen chángcháng tǎolùn zhège huàtí, tāmen dāngzhōng bù shǎo rén gēn wǒ yīyàng yěshì dúshēngzǐ nǚ. 遇到的情况  yù dào de qíngkuàng: encountered situation

普遍  pǔbiàn: common

聚会  jùhuì: gather

讨论  tǎolùn: discuss

话题  huàtí: topic

独生子女  dúshēngzǐnǚ: only child

The situation I encountered is actually quite common and we often discuss this topic when we get together with friends, many of whom are like me and are only children.
一方面因为工作的原因,我们不能常常守在父母身边;另一方面,把父母接到身边又有各种困难,例如住房紧张,经济压力大,家庭关系不好等等。 Yī fāngmiàn yīnwèi gōngzuò de yuányīn, wǒmen bùnéng chángcháng shǒu zài fùmǔ shēnbiān; lìng yī fāngmiàn, bǎ fùmǔ jiē dào shēnbiān yòu yǒu gè zhǒng kùnnán, lìrú zhùfáng jǐnzhāng, jīng jì yālì dà, jiātíng guānxì bù hǎo děng děng. 一方面  yī fāngmiàn: on one hand

工作的原因  gōngzuò de yuányīn: because of work

守在  shǒu zài: stay at

身边  shēnbiān: side

另一方面  lìng yī fāngmiàn: on the other hand

接到  jiē dào: bring to

各种困难  gèzhǒng kùnnán: various difficulties

住房紧张  zhùfáng jǐnzhāng: housing tension

经济压力大  jīngjì yālì dà: great economic pressure

家庭关系  jiātíng guānxì: family relationship

On the one hand, we can’t be with our parents very often because of work; on the other hand, there are various difficulties in bringing our parents to us, such as housing constraints, financial pressure, poor family relationships, and so on.
送父母去养老院是一定不行的,不是担心别人怎么看我,而是我自己接受不了。 Sòng fùmǔ qù yǎnglǎoyuàn shì yīdìng bùxíng de, bùshì dānxīn biérén zěnme kàn wǒ, ér shì wǒ zìjǐ jiēshòu bùliǎo. 送  sòng: send

一定不行的  yīdìng bùxíng de: definitely not okay

担心  dānxīn: worry

别人  biérén: others

看我  kàn wǒ: look at me

接受不了  jiēshòu bùliǎo: cannot accept

I am not worried about what people think of me, but I cannot accept it myself.
左也为难,右也为难,在这种情况下,漂在外地的我们,只好先走一步看一步,至少现在能做的是常回家看看吧。 Zuǒ yě wéinán, yòu yě wéinán, zài zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng xià, piào zài wàidì de wǒmen, zhǐhǎo xiān zǒu yībù kàn yībù, zhìshǎo xiànzài néng zuò de shì cháng huí jiā kàn kàn ba. 左也为难  zuǒ yě wéinán: left is also difficult

右也为难  yòu yě wéinán: right is also difficult

情况下  qíngkuàng xià: under the circumstances

漂在外地的我们  piāo zài wàidì de wǒmen: we who are drifting outside

先走一步看一步  xiān zǒu yībù kàn yībù: take one step at a time

常回家看看  cháng huíjiā kànkan: often go home to have a look

The left is also in a dilemma, and the right is also in a dilemma. In this case, we who are drifting in other places have to take a step and take a look. At least what we can do now is to go home and take a look.
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Vocabulary

文玉 Wén Yù: Wen Yu
南方 nánfāng: south
美丽的 měilì de: beautiful
小城 xiǎochéng: small city
市政府 shìzhèngfǔ: municipal government
工作 gōngzuò: work
银行 yínháng: bank
职员 zhíyuán: staff
家庭条件 jiātíng tiáojiàn: family condition
家乡 jiāxiāng: hometown
北京 Běijīng: Beijing
大学 dàxué: university
毕业时 bìyè shí: graduation
观念 guānniàn: concept
女孩子 nǚháizi: girl
既…又 jì…yòu: sowohl als auch
稳定 wěndìng: stable
轻松 qīngsōng: relaxed
竞争 jìngzhēng: competition
激烈 jīliè: intense
辛苦 xīnkǔ: hard
放弃 fàngqì: give up
机会 jīhuì: opportunity
事业 shìyè: career
生活质量 shēnghuó zhìliàng: quality of life
坚持 jiānchí: persist
留下来 liú xiàlái: stay
反对 fǎnduì: oppose
参加 cānjiā: join
退休 tuìxiū: retire
平时 píngshí: usually
忙 máng: busy
晚上 wǎnshàng: night
周末 zhōumò: weekend
电话 diànhuà: phone
春节 Chūnjié: Spring Festival
五一 wǔ yī: May Day
十一 shí yī: National Day
假期 jiàqī: holiday
陪 péi: accompany
有时候 yǒu shíhòu: sometimes
忙起来 máng qǐlái: get busy
放假 fàngjià: vacation
顾不上 gù bù shàng: no time to
丰富 fēngfù: rich
公园 gōngyuán: park
运动 yùndòng: exercise
书法 shūfǎ: calligraphy
种花儿 zhòng huā er: plant flowers
养狗 yǎng gǒu: raise a dog
电脑 diànnǎo: computer
俩人 liǎ rén: two people
看我 kàn wǒ: visit me
安排 ānpái: arrange
放心 fàngxīn: feel relieved
孤独 gūdú: lonely
没想到 méi xiǎngdào: unexpectedly
去年 qùnián: last year
重病 zhòngbìng: serious illness
打破 dǎpò: break
安静 ānjìng: quiet
请假 qǐngjià: take a leave
两周 liǎng zhōu: two weeks
结束 jiéshù: end
继续 jìxù: continue
看病 kànbìng: see a doctor
花销 huāxiāo: expenses
医疗保险 yīliáo bǎoxiǎn: medical insurance
报销 bàoxiāo: reimburse
负担 fùdān: burden
从那时起 cóng nà shí qǐ: from that time on
考虑 kǎolǜ: consider
养老 yǎnglǎo: support in old age
问题 wèntí: problem
男朋友 nán péngyǒu: boyfriend
感情 gǎnqíng: feelings
稳定 wěndìng: stable
结婚 jiéhūn: marry
外地人 wàidì rén: outsider
唯一的孩子 wéiyī de háizi: only child
将来 jiānglái: future
靠 kào: rely on
曾经 céngjīng: once
讨论 tǎolùn: discuss
压力 yālì: pressure
一共 yīgòng: total
老人 lǎorén: elderly people
商量 shāngliang: discuss
身体 shēntǐ: body
分开住 fēnkāi zhù: live separately
需要 xūyào: need
照顾 zhàogù: take care of
老实话 lǎoshíhuà: honestly
害怕 hàipà: afraid
婆婆 pópo: mother-in-law
婆媳关系 póxí guānxì: mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship
离婚 líhūn: divorce
解决办法 jiějué bànfǎ: solution
附近 fùjìn: nearby
双方 shuāngfāng: both sides
各买一套房子 gè mǎi yī tào fángzi: buy a set of house for each
做梦 zuò mèng: daydreaming
知道 zhīdào: know
买房 mǎifáng: buy a house
太难了 tài nánle: too difficult
理解 lǐjiě: understand
电话 dìànhuà: phone
聊到 liáodào: talked about
养儿防老 yǎng ér fánglǎo: raise children for the purpose of being looked after in old age
老了以后 lǎo le yǐhòu: after getting old
养老院 yǎnglǎoyuàn: nursing home
增加负担 zēngjiā fùdān: increase burden
听了以后 tīng le yǐhòu: after listening
觉得 juéde: feel
难受 nánshòu: uncomfortable
付出 fùchū: pay
牺牲 xīshēng: sacrifice
自己的生活 zìjǐ de shēnghuó: their own life
养大了 yǎng dà le: raised up
晚年 wǎnnián: old age
自私 zìsī: selfish
解决 jiějué: solve
问题 wèntí: problem
直到 zhídào: until
现在 xiànzài: now
找到 zhǎodào: found
满意的答案 mǎnyì de dá’àn: satisfactory answer
遇到的情况 yù dào de qíngkuàng: encountered situation
普遍 pǔbiàn: common
聚会 jùhuì: gather
讨论 tǎolùn: discuss
话题 huàtí: topic
独生子女 dúshēngzǐnǚ: only child
一方面 yī fāngmiàn: on one hand
工作的原因 gōngzuò de yuányīn: because of work
守在 shǒu zài: stay at
身边 shēnbiān: side
另一方面 lìng yī fāngmiàn: on the other hand
接到 jiē dào: bring to
各种困难 gèzhǒng kùnnán: various difficulties
住房紧张 zhùfáng jǐnzhāng: housing tension
经济压力大 jīngjì yālì dà: great economic pressure
家庭关系 jiātíng guānxì: family relationship
送 sòng: send
一定不行的 yīdìng bùxíng de: definitely not okay
担心 dānxīn: worry
别人 biérén: others
看我 kàn wǒ: look at me
接受不了 jiēshòu bùliǎo: cannot accept
左也为难 zuǒ yě wéinán: left is also difficult
右也为难 yòu yě wéinán: right is also difficult
情况下 qíngkuàng xià: under the circumstances

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