Desperate Housewives 1《绝望主妇》1（精讲之四）

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Mary Alice Young: When I was alive, I maintained many different identities: lover, wife, and ultimately, victim. Yes, labels are important to the living. They dictate how people see themselves. Like my friend, Lynette. She used to see herself as a career woman. And a hugely successful one at that. She was known for her power lunches... her eye-catching presentations... and her ruthlessness in wiping out the competition. Lynette gave up her career to assume a new label: incredibly satisfying role of full-time mother.

Lynette: Scavo residence. Yes, this is me.

Mary Alice Young: But, unfortunately for Lynette, this new label frequently fell short of what was advertised.

Lynette: How in the world did they... 

Ms. Butters: I left the door to the art supply cupboard open for five minutes. That's all.

Lynette: Five minutes. The little girl. Why didn't she say anything?

Ms. Butters: Your boys work quickly.

Lynette: Well, obviously, they will be punished for this. Severely.

Ms. Butters: I hesitate bringing this up since you got so ugly about it last time.

Lynette: They don't have attention deficit disorder. And I'm not going to drug my boys just to make your job easier. I'd rather change teachers.

Ms. Butters: The boys are in my class because I'm the only teacher who can handle them.

Lynette: What if we separate the twins? Put them in different classes. They're much calmer when they're not bouncing off one another.

Ms. Butters: We can try that. But if it doesn't work, we may not longer be able to accommodate them.

Mary Alice Young: It suddenly occurred to Lynette her label was about to change yet again. And for the next few years, she would be known as the mother of the boys who painted Tiffany Axelrod blue.

Mary Alice Young: It looked to be an interesting afternoon on Wisteria Lane. A mysterious cassette tape had been discovered by my friend, Bree. She had stolen it from her marriage counselor. A counselor I'd once spoken to in strictest confidence.

Dr. Goldfine: So, how have you been?

Mary Alice Young: I had the nightmare again.

Gabrielle: It's so weird to hear Mary Alice.

Dr. Goldfine: Still the same one.

Mary Alice: Yes. But this time, I was standing in a river, and I saw the girl under the water. She kept screaming Angela over and over again.

Dr. Goldfine: So what do you think the significance of the name Angela is?

Mary Alice: Actually, that's my real name.

Gabrielle: Her real name? That doesn't make any sense. I've seen her driver's license. It did not say Angela.

Susan: Bree, what does it say on the rest of the tape?

Bree: Just more about her nightmares and this girl she was afraid of.

Gabrielle: So what the hell do we do now?

Susan: I think we should show Paul the note.

Lynette: Are you sure? He's gonna freak.

Bree: Well, it's now or never. I mean, I saw what he's asking for the place. It's gonna sell quickly.

Gabrielle: Can I say something? I'm glad Paul's moving.

Bree: Gabby!

Gabrielle: I'm sorry. He's just always giving me the creeps. Haven't you guys noticed? He's got this dark thing going on. There's something about him that just feels...

Lynette: Malignant?

Gabrielle: Yes.

Susan: We've all sort of felt it.

Bree: That being said, I do love what he's done with that lawn.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Wipe out
想象一下，一块脏兮兮的玻璃，你用抹布，蘸上清洁剂，几下就抹得干干净净，和污渍的斗争大获全胜。引申为把对手“彻底击败，彻底消灭”。例如：The gangsters threatened to wipe him and his family out. 歹徒们威胁要把他和他的家人全部除掉。

2. Feel short of
本意是“缺乏，不足”，这里的意思是“不足以，和……不符合”。片断中 this new label frequently fell short of what was advertised. 的意思是，相对于双胞胎在学校里的所作所为，incredibly satisfying role of full-time mother 这个标签显然还不够明确（在标明Lynette的身份上）。

3. You got so ugly about it

Ugly这里的意思是“生气”，大概因为人们生气的时候，脸色就会变得很难看，所以ugly也引申成为这个意思吧。我们来看一个例子：Don't get ugly. I'm just kidding. 别生气，我只是开玩笑的。

4. Give somebody the creeps

“让人感到毛骨悚然”。Paul一家是个有很多秘密的家庭。当一个人心中有太多的秘密时，在行为上难免有些不正常的表现。Paul 的表现难免让邻居们感到不舒服。我们来看个例子：That guy's always staring at me. He gives me the creeps. 那个人总是盯着我，他让我感到毛骨悚然。

文化面面观

Attention Deficit Disorder 儿童多动症

A disorder characterized by a difficulty in retaining focus, especially on tasks, for long periods of time. As one of the most common reasons children are brought into therapy, ADD is often treated with the somewhat controversial drug Ritalin?, which is thought to work by stimulating the attention-focusing structures of the brain.

多动症是一种常见的儿童心理疾病,这类孩子智力一般正常,但存在与实际年龄不相符合的注意力涣散、活动过多、冲动任性、自控能力差的特征，以致影响学习。多动症的发病率为3%左右，男孩约为女孩的4-9倍。

有人认为，多动症的发生，可能是由于脑神经递质数量不足，脑组织器质性损害，或是遗传因素造成。

近年，许多独生子女家长“望子成龙”心切，由于教育方法不当及早期智力开发过量，使外界环境的压力远远超过了孩子力所能及的程度，是当前造成儿童多动症（注意力涣散、多动）的原因之一。另外，吃了食物中的人工染料，摄入含铅量过度的饮食（不一定达到铅中毒）也会导致多动。

此外，国内资料表明，在多动症患儿的不良家庭教育方式中，家长中所谓的"严格管教者"占61.7%，放任不管者占3.5%，过分溺爱者占7.05%。国外亦有学者认为，暴力式的管教，会使患儿症状发展，并增加新的症状，如口吃、挤眉、眨眼。而对患儿漠不关心、放任自流和过于溺爱等，常可能促使症状出现，或使已有的症状加重。

考考你

将下面的句子译成汉语。

1. She used to see herself as a career woman. And a hugely successful one at that.
2. They're much calmer when they're not bouncing off one another.
3. He's got this dark thing going on.

Desperate Housewives 1《绝望主妇》1（精讲之三）考考你 参考答案

1. I locked myself out of my house, stark naked, and got caught by Mike.
我把自己锁在了房子外面，全裸，还被迈克看见了。

2. I think I can top that. Try getting thrown out of Disneyland for lewd behavior.
我想我比你还糗。因为行为下流而被从迪斯尼里赶出来。

3. Hey, Brandi. Could you scoot a little?
嘿，布兰迪，你能坐过去一点吗？