原文加翻译Growing-pains

牛津高中英语模块一第二单元Growing pains

Growing pains

Many teenagers feel lonely, as if no one understands them and the changes they are going through. Day by day, everything seems different, yet the same. Life never seems to be going fast enough; yet, in other ways, like a race car, life seems to be rushing too fast and even going out of control. Has anyone else ever felt this way? These feelings are a common part of adolescence—the time of life between child and adult. And, though it may some times be difficult to believe, you are not alone—every adult has gone through adolescence, and your friends are going through it right now along with you. It is common for teenagers to feel lonely and misunderstood. These feelings can be thought of as growing pains—the difficulties that teenagers face as they grow to adults.

As teenagers grow, it is normal for them to become confused with the changing world both inside and outside of them. During adolescence, teenagers go through great physical changes. They grow taller and their voices get deeper, among many other developments. Along with these physical changes, there come many psychological changes. Boys and girls tend to be different in this regard. Many boys become risk-takers—they want to find their own limits and the limits of the world around them, but may not have the wisdom to make good choices in their behavior. At the same time, girls often want someone—anyone—to talk to, as they try to deal with their strong feelings. In the social world, as teenagers get older, they struggle to depend on themselves. They may badly want and need their parents’love, yet feel distant; they may want to be part of the group, yet desire independence. Since teenagers have difficulty balancing these needs, they often question who they are and how they fit in society. The good news is that these kinds of growing pains do not last. In the end everything turns out OK—the teenager becomes a healthy adult, and this period of change and challenge is traded for the changes and challenges of grown-up life.

好在这些成长的烦恼并不会持久。最终一切都会好起来——青少年成长为健康的成年人，而青春期的变化和挑战则转变为成人生活中的种种变化和挑战。在大千社会中，随着青少年长大，他们努力地自力更生。他们或许迫切需要父母的关爱，却又感觉疏远；他们或许想要成为团体的一员，但又渴望独立。正因为青少年们在平衡这些需要时有困难，所以他们经常质疑自己到底是谁以及怎样融入社会。与这些生理变化同时而来的，还有很多心理上的变化。男孩和女孩在这方面往往有所不同。很多男孩成为危险尝试者——他们希望找到自己的局限和他们周边世界的局限，但也许并不具有对其行为作出正确抉择的智慧。而与此同时，女孩则通常需要和某个人——或任何人——进行交谈，因为她们试图面对自己强烈的情感。在青少年成长的时候，对自己无论体内还是体外的状态变化感到困惑对他们而言是正常现象。在青春期，青少年经历着身体上的巨大变化。他们个子长高，声音变低，还有很多其他的成长发育。这些感觉是青春期——介于孩童和成人之间的人生阶段——的正常组成部分。而且，虽然有时难以相信，并非只有你才是这样——每一个成年人都经历过青春期，而你的朋友和你一样正经历这个阶段。对青少年而言，感到孤独和被误解是很普遍的。这些情感可以看作是成长的烦恼——是青少年迈向成年时所面对的困难。成长的烦恼很多青少年感到孤独，好像没有人理解他们以及他们正在经历的变化。日子一天天过去，而所有事情似乎都是不同的，可又都是一成不变的。生活似乎从不过得足够快；而从别的方面看，生活似乎过得太快甚至于失控，像开赛车一样。别的人也有过同感么？

Home alone

Mom and Dad arrive back from vacation a day earlier than expected. The curtains are closed and the living room is dark when Mom and Dad enter. Dad: It’s so nice to be home!