扼杀童年的罪行：英语精读讲义

Snow days.

下雪放假日。

There is no greater human joy than waking up to a winter wonderland that, 語法

人世间最大的快乐莫过于一觉醒来，看到一个银装素裹的冬日仙境，

with its frosty magic,

它用冰雪的魔法，

also cancelled school.

顺便把学校的课也取消了。

Well,

好吧，

no more because schools are cancelling snow days.

以后没这好事了，因为学校正在取消“下雪放假日”。

Some school systems have decided distance learning has worked so well,

一些学校系统认为远程教学效果太好了，

might as well keep those tools around. 短語搭配

不妨继续保留这些工具。

This way, 表達脈絡

这样一来，

when there's too much snow to physically drag students in, 表達脈絡

当雪太大，没法把学生硬拽进学校时，

we can still mentally drag them in.

我们依然可以在精神上把他们拽进来。

Wha..?

啥..？

Who di...?

谁干...？

How...? What kind of villains are you?

怎么...？你们都是些什么反派啊？

The worst kind,

最坏的那种，

the kind doing something for your own good. 語氣意圖

打着“为你好”旗号的那种。

You don't want students to miss learning,

“你总不想让学生错过学习吧，

do you? 語法

对吗？”

We all agree that each and every individual day of school matters to keep kids from falling behind. 講解

“我们都同意，在学校的每一天都很重要，这样才能保证孩子们不掉队。”

We don't all agree. 語法

我们才不同意呢。

This is horrifying.

太可怕了。

Internet, where are you?

互联网啊，你在哪里？

Where's #savesnowdays to protect us?

保护我们的 #savesnowdays 在哪里？

Shh, we don't need that.

嘘，我们不需要那个。

No, you cannot take away the human experience of being on a dark winter's night unable to face the next day, 講解

不，你不能剥夺这样的人类体验：在漆黑的冬夜里，你无法面对即将到来的明天，

then when thin clouds appear on the horizon giving you faint hope,

然后，当薄云出现在地平线上，给了你一丝微弱的希望时，

you beg with all of your belief to make it happen. 短語搭配

你拼尽所有的信念祈祷奇迹发生。

And when it does happen, 語法

而当它真的发生时，

it is the most epic experience of low to high,

那是从低谷到巅峰的最史诗级的体验，

combining the triple joys of snow and freedom and getting out of something that you totally shouldn't have. 講解

结合了冰雪、自由以及逃过一劫的三重快乐。

There are only so many days of such great glory in a human life. 語法

人的一生中，这样辉煌的日子屈指可数。

But, say some school boards, 表達脈絡

但是，一些学校董事会却说，

that number of days will be zero forever.

这种日子的数量永远归零了。

And I fear this snow day cancellation pestilation will spread because the school system,

我担心这种取消下雪放假日的瘟疫会蔓延，因为学校系统，

with its bureaucracies and committees,

带着它的官僚主义和各种委员会，

loves its checkboxes checked, 表達脈絡

就是喜欢看复选框被打勾，

its percentages maxed,

百分比拉满，

and its attendance punch cards punched.

考勤卡被打卡。

Snow days mess all that up, 短語動詞

下雪放假日把这一切都搞砸了，

so the system,

所以这个系统，

wielding the ultimate banality of evil, 文化背景

挥舞着平庸之恶的极致，

cancels snow days.

取消了下雪放假日。

Look,

听着，

I'm just going to say it. 語氣意圖

我直说了吧。

This is a crime against childhood. 習語

这是对童年的犯罪。

Yes,

是的，

I am going to play the won't somebody please think of the children card. 習語

我要打出“拜托谁来为孩子们想想吧”这张牌了。

Teenagers,

青少年们，

I know you hate this, but it's in your best interest to just roll with it. 講解

我知道你们讨厌这个，但顺其自然才是对你们最好的。

But seriously,

但说真的，

protecting snow days is what this card was made to play.

保护下雪放假日正是这张牌的真正用武之地。

Those who want to cancel snow days should be forced to look into the wide excited eyes of a little girl waking up to experience her very first snow day and tell her,

那些想要取消下雪放假日的人，应该被强迫看着一个小女孩醒来体验她人生第一个下雪天时那睁得大大的、兴奋的双眼，然后告诉她，

"No, you can't play outside.

“不行，你不能出去玩。

Why?

为什么？

Because it's super important that today,

因为今天超级重要，

right now,

就现在，

you learn about what a newspaper front page in England 300 years ago thought was important. 語法

你得学学 300 年前英国报纸头版认为什么最重要。

And you also must know the French conjugation of the verb to have fun.

你还必须知道法语动词‘玩得开心’怎么变位。

Je m'amuse,

Je m'amuse，

tu t'amuses,

tu t'amuses，

nous nous amusons.

nous nous amusons。

This,

这个，

this is what matters. 語法

这才是重要的。”

If you can do that while thinking you are doing good, 語法

如果你能一边做着这些，一边还觉得自己是在做善事，

you are a heartless monster extinguishing the light of a child. 習語

你就是一个冷酷无情的怪物，在熄灭孩子眼中的光芒。

A child who,

这个孩子，

while on their kiddie conference call with their ikkle headset, 用詞

当她戴着小小的耳机参加儿童视频会议，

listening to a teacher tell them fractions are fun too,

听着老师告诉他们分数也很有趣时，

will resolve the cognitive dissonance by deciding the whole world is pointlessly cruel and with a sigh say, 用詞

她会通过认定整个世界都是毫无意义的残酷来化解认知失调，并叹息着说，

"This is the way it is. 表達脈絡

“事情就是这样。

This is how it will be.

以后也会是这样。

Humanity is subservient to checkboxes." 用詞

人类不过是复选框的奴隶。”

No,

不，

this shall not pass. 文化背景

这绝不能得逞。

Don't cancel snow days,

不要取消下雪放假日，

cancel killjoy committees. 用詞

取消那些大煞风景的委员会吧。

#savesnowdays

#savesnowdays