【聽力文本】

A: How old is Keith?

B: He’s 21. How old is James？

A: He’s a year older than Keith, but he looks younger.

B: How’s your father?

A: He’s fine. He retired last week. It’s a turning point in his life. Now he can relax and enjoy his retirement.

B: He can spend more time with his grandchilden.

A: Oh, I don’t think he wants to. He wants to travel to several different countries around the world.

B: So, he wants to have a more active retirement. Good idea!

A: How do you want to spend your old age?

B: In the same way, probably. Intermediate

A: What’s the life expectancy in your country?

B: I’m not sure, but probably about 75 years. How about in your country?

A: About 70, I think. This newspaper article talks about the problems of

an aging population. It’s a problem that will soon affect most of the world.

B: I heard that the government might need to increase the retirement age,

because otherwise there will not be enough workers to support the young and the elderly.

A: Perhaps we need to have more babies! Tina gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.

B: Did she? That’s great. However, if we have too many children, that will have a bad effect on the environment.

A: How’s your son these days?

B: Oh, he’s fine. Kids seem to grow up very quickly nowadays.

A: He’ll be a teenager before you know it! Teenagers are often rebellious!

When do you think it is a good age to have a child?

B: I had mine when I was 24. That’s a little young.I’d suggest you wait until you are in your late twenties, or even in your early thirties if you have a good career.

A: Yes, I think you’re right. I’m thinking about having a child, but not just yet.

B: Is there a big generation gap between parents and their children in your country?

A: Yes, there is. Teenagers do not want to live traditonal lives. They want to go out, have fun, and explore the world. They want to develop their own view of life. Parents usually try to discourage them, but they don’t often succeed.

B: Parents usually give their children more freedom in my country. Sometimes they give them too much freedom.

A: It’s almost impossible to get the right balance. If you are too strict, kids might ignore you. If you are too lenient, they might go wild.

【每日一句】

It’s a turning point in his life

turning point，通俗地講，就是我們常說的“轉折點、契機”。

如：After joining the company, my career has had a very smooth development. It seems that this job-hopping is a turning point for me（我來到新公司發展得不錯， 看來這次跳槽是我的一個轉折點）。

This is a turning point in history.（這是歷史的轉折點）。

在口語中，我們還經常用a big break來表示“大轉折、大的突破”之意。

如：When the star was taken ill, the understudy finally got her first big break（主角生病的時候，那個候補演員終于得到了第一個露臉的機會）。

【年齡相關表達】

middle-aged

中年

elderly

of people 人 used as a polite word for old 年紀較大的，上了年紀的（婉辭，與 old 同義）

childhood

the period of somebody’s life when they are a child 童年；幼年；孩童時期

adulthood

the state of being an adult 成年

teenager

a person who is between 13 and 19 years old （13 至 19 歲之間的）青少年，青少年男女

Generation

all the people who were born at about the same time （統稱）一代人，同代人，同輩人

early-twenties

二十剛出頭

mid-thirties

大約三十五六歲

late-forties

快五十歲

baby toddler

嬰兒學步