【外刊】
今日导读
我们时常听到有这样一种父母，“作业不会做，有爸爸帮忙解决；手工不会做，有妈妈来完成。” 他们为了孩子的成功，努力帮助孩子清除前进道路上的所有障碍，这样的父母被称为“扫雪机父母”，但如果成长的路上缺乏了挫折和障碍，将来孩子是否能够面对现实世界中的挑战呢？今天我们来看一篇《纽约时报》的文章，来了解一下作者如何看待这样的育儿方式。
新闻原文
The unstoppable love of the snowplow parent
Helicopter parenting, the practice of hovering anxiously near one’s children, monitoring their every activity, is so 20th century. Some affluent mothers and fathers now are more like snowplows: machines chugging ahead, clearing any obstacles in their child’s path to success, so they don’t have to encounter failure, frustration or lost opportunities.
Taken to its criminal extreme, that means bribing SAT proctors and paying off college coaches to get children into elite colleges—and then going to great lengths to make sure they never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there.
It starts early, when parents get on wait lists for elite preschools before their babies are born and try to make sure their toddlers never do anything that may frustrate them. It gets more intense when school starts: running a forgotten assignment to school or calling a coach to request that their child make the team.
Yes, it’s a parent’s job to support the children, and to use their adult wisdom to prepare for the future when their children aren’t mature enough to do so. That’s why parents hide certain toys from toddlers to avoid temper tantrums or take away a teenager’s car keys until he finishes his college applications.
But snowplow parents can take it too far, some experts say. If children have never faced an obstacle, what happens when they get into the real world?
Learning to solve problems, take risks and overcome frustration are crucial life skills, many child development experts say, and if parents don’t let their children encounter failure, the children don’t acquire them.
带着问题听讲解
如何理解 snowplow parenting？
temper tantrum 是什么意思？
文中专家对“扫雪机父母”如何评价？
新闻正文【译】
The unstoppable love of the snowplowparent
“扫雪机父母”势不可挡的爱
Helicopter parenting, the practice of hovering anxiously near one’s children, monitoring their every activity, is so 20th century. Some affluent mothers and fathers now are more like snowplows: machines chugging ahead, clearing any obstacles in their child’s path to success, so they don’t have to encounter failure, frustration or lost opportunities.
“直升机式”育儿，是指父母一直焦虑地徘徊在孩子身边，监控着他们的一举一动的育儿方式，而这已经是 20 世纪的说法了。现在，一些富裕的父母更像是扫雪机：像机器一样，突突地向前推进，为他们的孩子通往成功的道路上清除一切可能出现的障碍，这样他们的孩子就不必遭遇失败和挫折，或是失去机会。
Taken to its criminal extreme, that means bribing SAT proctors and paying off college coaches to get children into elite colleges—and then going to great lengths to make sure they never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there.
如果走到犯罪的极端，那意味着“扫雪机父母”会为了让他们的孩子进入精英大学，贿赂 SAT 监考人员和大学教练，然后竭尽全力确保他们的孩子不会因为知道自己是如何进入名牌大学而蒙羞。
It starts early, when parents get on wait lists for elite preschools before their babies are born and try to make sure their toddlers never do anything that may frustrate them. It gets more intense when school starts: running a forgotten assignment to school or calling a coach to request that their child make the team.
这样扫雪机式的养育方式其实很早就开始了，父母在孩子出生前就进入了精英学前班的候选名单，并试图确保他们的孩子永远不会做任何有可能让他们沮丧的事。当他们的孩子上学后，这种做法愈演愈烈：把忘在家里的作业开车送到学校，或者给教练打电话，要求他们的孩子加入球队。
Yes, it’s a parent’s job to support the children, and to use their adult wisdom to prepare for the future when their children aren’t mature enough to do so. That’s why parents hide certain toys from toddlers to avoid temper tantrums or take away a teenager’s car keys until he finishes his college applications.
的确，抚养孩子是父母的职责，当他们的孩子还不够成熟时，用成年人的智慧为孩子的将来做准备无可厚非。这就是为什么父母会把某些玩具藏起来，不让蹒跚学步的孩子看到，以免他们发脾气，或者在孩子完成大学申请前拿走他们的车钥匙。
But snowplow parents can take it too far, some experts say. If children have never faced an obstacle, what happens when they get into the real world?
但是一些专家说，扫雪机父母可能做过头了。如果孩子们从来没有遇到过障碍，当他们进入现实世界时会发生什么？
Learning to solve problems, take risks and overcome frustration are crucial life skills, many child development experts say, and if parents don’t let their children encounter failure, the children don’t acquire them.
许多儿童发展专家说，学会解决问题、承担风险和克服挫折是至关重要的生活技能。如果父母不让他们的孩子遭遇失败，孩子们将无法获得这些技能。
重点词汇
补充词汇
unstoppable
adj. 无法被停止的；无法阻挡的
词根词缀：un-（否定） ；-able（可以做到的）
相关词汇：stop（v. 停止）
obstacle
n. 阻碍、路障
proctor
n. 监考官
assignment
n. 作业（可数）
mature
adj. 成熟的
反义词：immature
take sth. too far
把某事做得过头了
英文释义：to do or perform something in a way that is not acceptable
长难句解析
Taken to its criminal extreme, that means bribing SAT proctors and paying off college coaches to get children into elite colleges—and then going to great lengths to make sure they never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there.
如果走到犯罪的极端，那意味着“扫雪机父母”会为了让他们的孩子进入精英大学，贿赂 SAT 监考人员和大学教练，然后竭尽全力确保他们的孩子不会因为知道自己是如何进入名牌大学而蒙羞。
句子开头 taken to its criminal extreme，是过去分词做条件状语，补回句中省略的部分，这个句子实际上是 If something is taken to its criminal extreme，其中的 something 就是扫雪式育儿，也是整个句子的主语，谓语部分 take something to extremes，表示把某件事情做过头了，意思就是，如果扫雪机式育儿这种做法被带到了犯罪的地步的话，它会是怎么样的呢？that means bribing SAT proctors and paying off college coaches to get children into elite colleges，that 指的还是主语扫雪式育儿，句子提到了两件事情，bribing SAT proctors，贿赂 SAT 的考官，以及 paying off college coaches 买通大学里的教练，后面 to get children into elite colleges 表示目的，为了把他们的孩子弄进顶尖大学。破折号之后 and then going to great lengths to make sure they never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there，其中 go to great lengths 表示竭尽全力，这些家长会竭尽全力确保孩子们 never face the humiliation of knowing how they got there，意思就是，这些家长会确保他们的孩子永远都不会知道，自己是如何进入顶尖大学的，也就不用去承受由此而来的羞耻。
拓展阅读
英国、德国、日本的“挫折教育”
英国家长们常常把“给孩子失败的机会”这句话挂在嘴边。孩子做某件事失败了，英国人的观念不是索性不让孩子去做或干脆家长包办，而是再提供一次机会，让他们学会避免失败的方法。同时，学校教育也十分重视“接受失败”的学习。据报道，英国一所顶级中学推出了一套极富挑战性的数学考试试题，校方坦言这份试题的难度远超过中学生的解题能力，声称考生“不可能拿满分”。据称，此法是为了让学生从小就摆脱完美主义思想，了解“失败是完全可以接受的”。
有人说教育孩子应该尽可能地展示一个真善美的世界，然而，德国的家长与老师们却另辟蹊径，让孩子们直面人生和社会的阴暗面。 德国学校推出的教材中，不仅有“阳光”的内容，还有涉及社会“阴暗面”的内容，如种族歧视、违法犯法等课题，其宗旨是引导学生思考和解释各种社会现象。
在日本，父母非常重视对孩子进行自立与忍耐的教育，因为日本人信奉这样的理念：只有让孩子经受一定的以忍耐为主题的训练，才能培养儿童独立克服困难的能力，形成坚韧和顽强的品质。 在日本，经常有这样的训练课程，一些孩子在没有成人带领的情况下，面对艰苦的自然环境，搭建帐篷、寻觅野果、捡拾柴草、寻找水源，克服重重困难，进行自救活动。
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