ACT 1-3 沒有中間名字
【故事梗概】
Susan找到了禮物的包裝紙。她走進了起居室。 Ellen和Grandpa 在包禮物的時候，Susan開始在她給Marilyn和Richard買的嬰兒紀念冊上填寫一些信息。
Susan: Mom, got it. This will make a nice gift for Marilyn and Richard. They can keep a record of all of the important dates and information about Max’s life here. Let’s see. Name: Max Stewart. Does he have a middle name?
Ellen: No, just Max. I like that. No middle name. No middle initial.
Grandpa: Like me. I’m Malcolm Stewart. Just Malcolm Stewart.
Susan: And Max has your initials, Grandpa: M.S.
Ellen: Uh, it must mean something.
Susan: Weight: eight pounds six ounces.
Grandpa: Eight-six. Big boy! All the Stewart men were big.
Ellen: Well, Robbie was eight pounds two ounces, and Richard was eight pounds three.
Susan: And me?
Ellen: Eight pounds six. You were big, just like Max.
Susan: Eight pounds six, just like me. That’s nice. Length. Length?
Ellen: Richard says Max is twenty-one inches long.
Susan: Twenty-one inches. Is that tall or average or what?
Grandpa: Tall.
【語言點精講】
1. Mom, got it.
got it: 找到了。got it是I’ve got it的省略，這是口語中省略主語的用法。
2. This will make a nice gift for Marilyn and Richard.
This will make a nice gift: 這是一件好禮物。句中的make不是“制作”的意思，而是“成為、構成”的意思，屬于非正式用法。
3. They can keep a record of all of the important dates and information about Max’s life here.
他們可以在這里面記下Max生活中一切重要的日期和事情。
keep a record of: 為……作記錄。
4. No middle name. No middle initial.
沒有中間名字，也沒有中間名字的第一個字母。
middle name: 中間名字。美國人一般有 first name, middle name和 last name。有的沒有middle name。first name也稱given name, 是名。last name也稱 family name或 surname, 是姓氏。middle name有時是母親的姓氏，有時是為了紀念某位親人而取的。
initial: 名字的第一個字母。后面Susan說的“And Max has your initials, Grandpa: M.S. ”中的initials 是指姓和名的第一個字母的組合, 如Malcolm Stewart 的initials就是M.S.
5. Weight: eight pounds six ounces. --Eight-six. Big boy!
weight: 重量。
eight pounds and six ounces: 8磅 6盎司, 約 4公斤。美國人通常用英制計量單位。雖然美國政府曾經積極推廣采用公制單位, 但人們還是習慣用英制單位?？萍己歪t藥用公制單位。
Eight-six. : 等同于 Eight pounds six ounces（8磅 6盎司）。講重量時, 常常省略單位名稱。
6. Length.
length: 身高, 身長。length 是形容詞long的名詞形式。在談嬰兒時, 身長用length, 但在談及年齡稍大的人或成年人時, 身高需用height。
7. Richard says Max is twenty-one inches long.
twenty-one inches long: 21英寸（約53厘米）長。
表示長度或寬度時, 用be+ 數字+ 長度單位+形容詞 long或 wide。例如:The table is five inches long and four inches wide。
