《我的亞裔貓爸貓媽》
---哪種教育模式更適合我們的孩子？
說明： 首先閱讀難點解讀。 然后精讀原文，弄清楚詞匯和語法，可以查閱資料或在群里交流。 最后，從譯文中選擇一些有挑戰性的句子做中翻英，檢驗所學的內容。
語法速查： http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/
英語詞典： 必應詞典
Part 1 難點解讀
ecstatic
Extremely happy or pleased
Make a sentence : I was ecstatic when my son said first word -"papa".
I developed a consuming worry about getting subpar grades.
Consuming :deeply felt/holding the attention
造句：Months into first grade,I developed a consuming anxiety of peer pressure befalling my daughter.
Seeing my anxiety, Dad said
When one action follows quickly after another done by the same person or thing , we can use v+ing for the first action.
Make a sentence : having finished our dinner, we went out to play ball.
If you score higher than that
Score :得分,動詞.
Clearly my dad wasn’t the stereotypical Asian tiger parent, pressuring me to work tirelessly for the best grades, and neither was my mom.
-從句省略：原型 ..tiger parent who pressured me. ?省略代詞，動詞加ing
英英解釋：Some action verbs reduce to the present participle (ing form) especially when the present tense is used.
Dad’s offer of a “failing grade” gift did wonders to quell my worries and it took the pressure off.
-quell 平息，緩解 ?to calm or reduce ? ? ?-take the? pressure off 移除壓力
-do wonders : to have a very good effect on someone or something 創造奇跡，有奇效
造句練習： Correcting other's grammartical mistakes in writing do wonders to improve my know how of practical grammar .
Running is a good way to take the pressure off.
Talking with other parents quells my worries about kid's
What’s more,
what's more：used for introducing an additional statement that supports what you have already said .?? 更重要的是,而且
I ended up getting A’s and B’s throughout high school,
End up doing something 最終做了
At New York University, I started out pre-med, aspiring to be an anesthesiologist
-start out? 開始某個旅程，事情，項目? 。和Begin 差不多。
-兩個動作同時發生， 其中一個動作可以加ing .
When 2 actions occur at the same time , and are done by the same person or thing , we can use v+ing for one of action .
holed up in the library,
Hole up?? ： to hide away somewhere, to go into a hole , or similar place for shelter .
造句練習： I don't want to hole up at home on weekend .
studying for the dreaded organic chemistry midterm
Studying -兩個動作同時發生， 其中一個動作可以加ing .
Dreaded -可怕的
When my parents heard of this
Heard of sth -聽說??
造句練習：I was shocked when i heard of the news of 911 attack.
they tried to dissuade me from my medical school plans.
dissuade sb from sth : to persuade somebody not to do something. 勸阻
I have to dissuade my son from lying .
Eventually
Eventually:最終
I did switch out of the pre-med track
Switched out of -退出
造句練習： I started out teach my baby american sign language , eventually i switched out of it due to little progress .
not at my parents’ persuasion, but because I realized I didn’t enjoy the subjects.
at 表示原因 ，指“聽到，看到，想到xx，所以xx”
造句練習： I was grumpy at my daugter's tantrum.
persuasion - 說服，勸導 the act of persuading sb to do sth or believe sth .
after falling in love with the Intro to Psych class I took my sophomore year
-After doing something .
-The intro to psych class i took my sophomore year
這是限定性關系從句， 當關系代詞是賓語的時候，關系代詞可以被省略。
句子原型是The intro to psych class which i took my sophomore year? ， 從句是i took my class。?
判斷限定性與非限定性從句的方法是：
限定性從句是用來說明主語是誰,物體是什么。常用的關系代詞是which 和that, 從句和主句不用逗號隔開。
例子：Candy that contains chocolate is dangerous to dogs. （如果刪除從句，句子的意思就改了）
非限定性從句是用來說明主語或者物體的其中一個屬性，特征，只是補充信息。（如果刪除從句，句子的意思不變。）關系詞不能是That！? 從句和主句必須用逗號隔開。
例子： Candy, which is sweet , is irresistable to children .? （如果刪除從句，句子的意思依然成立）
graduated with an honors in psychology.
honors -榮譽，優異的? （復數形式較為常用）
That’s not to say the harsh tiger parenting tactic isn’t effective
-that's not to say : used for adding a statement that corrects what you have just said or makes it less definite.???? 這不是說/這不意味著
-Harsh 殘酷的嚴厲的
constitute
= Make up
there were 21 on-campus suicides from 1999 to 2006, 13 of which were Asian students.
從句表示其中 :? xx of which .
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where 16 percent of students are Asian, Asians accounted for 42 percent of student suicides in the last 15 years.
非限定性定于從句-加逗號 而且代詞不可省略
Account for? 占
in the last 15 years 過去15年
Part 2 英文原文
My Asian Pussycat Parents
The day I received my letter of acceptance to New York University, I was ecstatic. It was my dream university, and my parents were pleased for me. But they also hadn’t pushed me to get into such a competitive school. In fact, the best thing they ever did for me was to discourage my perfectionist tendencies – indeed, when I was in elementary school, my dad offered to buy me a present if I got a C.
It happened when I was in third grade. An only child in an Asian family, I had just moved with my family from Taiwan to Los Angeles. Months into third grade, I developed a consuming worry about getting subpar grades. Seeing my anxiety, Dad said, “Kate, tell you what. If you get a C or lower, I’ll buy you a present. If you score higher than that, I won’t buy you anything, because you won’t need it.”
Clearly my dad wasn’t the stereotypical Asian tiger parent, pressuring me to work tirelessly for the best grades, and neither was my mom. They didn’t want to push me. They wanted me to be happy and healthy. Dad’s offer of a “failing grade” gift did wonders to quell my worries and it took the pressure off. What’s more, I ended up getting A’s and B’s throughout high school, but without the added stress and fear of failing.
At New York University, I started out pre-med, aspiring to be an anesthesiologist. One late night, holed up in the library, studying for the dreaded organic chemistry midterm, I went 22 hours without sleep. When my parents heard of this, they tried to dissuade me from my medical school plans.
“You don’t have to break your neck to make a living,” my dad said via Skype.
Eventually, I did switch out of the pre-med track, not at my parents’ persuasion, but because I realized I didn’t enjoy the subjects. I switched to psychology, after falling in love with the Intro to Psych class I took my sophomore year, and graduated with an honors in psychology.
I think it was my parents’ lack of emphasis on grades that gave me room to foster my own desire for achievements. I developed a strong work ethic of my own accord, instead of doing it to placate my family. Intrinsic motivation, as it’s known in psychology, is doing something because that activity is inherently rewarding. Extrinsic motivation is doing something for outside rewards — praise from parents, money or recognition, for instance. Goal pursuit directed by intrinsic motivation is not only more powerful, but exponentially more fulfilling. I believe that when parents oppressively push their children toward academic success, it prevents them from forming intrinsic motivation for scholarly accomplishments.
That’s not to say the harsh tiger parenting tactic isn’t effective. Statistics show that Asian-Americans tend to excel academically. They make up just 5 percent of the United States population, but constitute about 20 percent of the student body at Ivy League colleges.
This academic edge, however, comes at a hefty cost. Asian-American students have higher rates of suicidal ideation than white college students, and these pernicious thoughts translate into behavior. At Cornell University, there were 21 on-campus suicides from 1999 to 2006, 13 of which were Asian students. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where 16 percent of students are Asian, Asians accounted for 42 percent of student suicides in the last 15 years.
I now realize I was mistaken when I thought I didn’t receive a present from my dad that day. He gave me two invaluable gifts: the space to cultivate my own desire for excellence, and the healthy psyche to pursue it.
Part 3 參考譯文
收到紐約大學(New York University)錄取通知書那天，我欣喜若狂。它是我夢寐以求的大學，我的父母都為我感到高興。不過，他們此前并未鼓勵我進入這樣一所競爭激烈的學校。其實，他們做過的對我最有益的事情，是給我的完美主義傾向降溫——事實上，爸爸在我念小學那會兒曾答應我，如果我得到“C”，他就給我買禮物。
那是我小學三年級的時候。作為一個亞裔家庭的獨生子女，我當時剛剛隨家人從臺灣搬到洛杉磯。在三年級讀了幾個月，由于擔心成績達不到平均水平，我被一種強烈的焦慮折磨著。看到我的焦慮，爸爸說，“凱特，聽我說，如果你得到“C”或“C”以下的分數，我就給你買一件禮物。如果你的分數在“C”以上，我就什么禮物都不給你買了，因為你并不需要。”
我爸爸顯然不是刻板印象中的那種亞裔虎爸虎媽，他不會向我施壓，讓我為了取得最好的成績而不知疲倦地學習，我媽媽也不是。他們不愿逼迫我。他們希望我快樂健康。爸爸許諾的“不及格”禮物帶來了奇跡，我的焦慮得到了緩解，壓力煙消云散了。此外，在不必承受額外的壓力，也不用擔心不及格的情況下，我整個高中時期的成績一直都是“A”或“B”。
在紐約大學，我起初念了醫學預科，夢想著成為一名麻醉師。有一回，我連續22個小時不眠不休，泡在圖書館里埋頭苦讀，為可怕的有機化學期中考試做準備，一直學到深夜。我的父母得知此事后，竭力勸說我放棄上醫學院的計劃。
“你不必為了謀生累斷腰桿，”我爸爸在Skype上對我說道。
最終，我的確沒有再念醫學預科，并不是因為被父母勸阻，而是因為我意識到，自己并不喜歡相關科目。大二那年上“心理學入門”時，我愛上了這門課程，隨后轉攻心理學，畢業時拿到了心理學榮譽學位。
我覺得，正是因為我父母不那么強調分數，才讓我有了自行培養進取心的空間。我自覺地建立起強烈的敬業精神，而非為了取悅家人才這樣做。在心理學中，所謂的內在動機是指因為自然而然地認為做某件事是有益的而采取行動。而外在動機是指為了獲得外部獎勵——比如獲得父母的贊賞、金錢或者認可——而做某件事。受內在動機驅使，一個人在追求目標的過程中不僅會充滿力量，也會格外地感到充實。我認為，如果家長以一種帶有壓迫感的方式督促子女去取得學業上的成功，會讓子女的內心難以形成取得學業成功的內在動機。
這并不是說嚴厲的虎爸虎媽式家教沒有效果。統計數字顯示，亞裔美國人的課業表現通常很出色。他們只占美國總人口的5%，但在常青藤盟校學生中的占比卻達到了20%。
然而，要取得這種學業上的優勢，必須付出高昂的代價。在美國的大學里，比起白人學生，亞裔學生的自殺意念產生率要高一些，而且這種有害的意念會轉化為行動。在康奈爾大學(Cornell University)的校園里，從1999年到2006年共有21名學生自殺，其中13名是亞裔學生。麻省理工學院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)的學生有16%是亞裔，但在過去15年間，亞裔學生占到了自殺總數的42%。
我當初以為自己沒從爸爸那里得到禮物，現在才意識到我錯了。他給了我兩樣無價的禮物：一樣是自行培養追求卓越的精神的空間，另一樣是追求卓越所需要的健康心理。
文章出處： 紐約時報 中文網
