ESL Podcast 622 – Having Well- and Badly-Behaved Children

Josephine: Hello.

Ray: Hi, Josephine, it’s Ray. We have a meeting today at 10 a.m. and I was wondering if you would mind if I brought my kids with me. Their babysitter didn’t show up.

Josephine: Oh, sure. That’s no problem. Your children are so well-behaved. Even at their age, they have impeccable manners.

Ray: Well, they’re not always little angels, but they’re not too much of a handful, thank goodness.

Josephine: You know what they say: Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice...

Ray: It is probably a little easier with two girls. I feel sorry for my mother who raised six boys.

Josephine: Six boys!

Ray: Yeah, and before we were born, my father thought that children should be seen but not heard. Was he in for a rude awakening! We were all very unruly. Imagine six boys only one year apart. We got yelled at a lot for being naughty.

Josephine: But that’s how boys are, aren’t they? Girls are different. They’re quiet, sweet, and even- tempered. What’s that noise?

Ray: That noise is my daughters creating a ruckus fighting tooth and nail over a toy. So much for quiet, sweet, and even-tempered!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse
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impeccable 無錯誤的；無瑕疵的；完美的
handful 難以控制的人（或動物）
feel sorry for 為...感到可惜
rude 粗魯的；無禮的；粗野的; 突然的；突如其來的；猛烈的
rude awakening （對於現實的）猛然醒悟，（對於理想、希望的）突然幻滅
unruly 難以控制（或管理）的 ；難以駕馭的
one year apart 相隔一年
yell at 大聲喝斥
naughty 頑皮的；淘氣的；不聽話的
even 鎮靜的；穩重的；平和的，溫和的
temper 心情；情緒；性情；心境
even- tempered 性情平和的
ruckus 喧鬧；騷動；爭吵
tooth and nail 拼命地
So much for 看起來不大可能