When his wife was expecting their third child, a father decided¹ to tell his two sons, ages seven and nine, the facts of life. He checked out several books from the library on how parents should approach the subject. After stumbling² through an explanation, he took a deep breath³, and said, "Now, boys, do you have any questions?"

 

　　"Yes," the younger boy answered immediately.

 

　　"Go ahead," said the man, his heart in his throat.

 

　　"Can we," his son asked, "have new baseball gloves?"

 

Notes:

 

　　(1) the facts of life（口，委婉语）性知识（例如讲给孩子们听的）

 

　　(2) check out挑选出；筛选出

 

　　(3) stumble⁴ v.结结巴巴地说话

 

Exercises:

 

根据短文判断下列句子正（T）、（F）：

① The wife was expecting their fourth child.

 

　　② The father decided to tell his two sons the real meaning of life.

 

　　③ The father went to the bookstore to buy several books.

 

　　④ The father felt shamed to have told the sons about the subject.

 

　　⑤ The two sons didn't understand what the father had said actually.

 

65.小小的意外

 

　　当妻子要生第三胎时，父亲决定给分别已七岁和九岁的两个儿子讲关于性的知识。他从图书馆查出几本书，都是关于父母如何涉及这个话题的。在结结巴巴地解释一番后，他长出了一口气，然后说：“好了，孩子们，有什么问题吗？”

 

　　“有，”小儿子立即回答。

 

　　“问吧，”爸爸说，心提到了嗓子眼儿。

 

　　“我们，”儿子问道，“可以得到新棒球手套了吗？”

 

练习参考答案：

 

①F②F③F④T⑤T

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