初阶家庭|第23集：离婚有那么可怕吗？

音频一：

Daddy never had very close relationships with us. Several years later, a wonderful woman came into his life and they were married. Under her influence, we became a blended family and a good relationship developed between the two families.

音频二：

She always treated us as if we were her own children. It was because of our other mother – Daddy's second wife – that he became closer to his own children. They shared over 25 years together before our father passed away.

音频三：

At the time of his death, the question came up of my mother – Daddy's first wife – attending his funeral. When I asked her if she would object to mother attending Daddy's funeral, she immediately replied. "Of course not, honey. She is the mother of my children."

重点词汇：

1, influence /ˋɪnfluəns/ n. 影响，作用

under the influence of sb/sth 受到某人/某事物的影响

2, blended family /blɛndid/ 混合家庭〔指有夫妻一方或双方前一次婚姻中的孩子同住的家庭〕

3, share /ʃɛr/ v. 共享；共用，合用

4, come up 发生；开始；上升；被提出

5, funeral /ˋfjunərəl/ n. 葬礼，丧礼

6, object /əbˋdʒɛkt/ v. 反对，不赞成 n. 物体；目标

object to (doing) sth 反对某事

7, reply /rɪˋplaɪ/ v.&n. 回答，答复【书面】

同义替换：answer【口语】

跟读训练：

一、

Daddy never had very close relationships with us.

爸爸跟我们的关系很疏远。

Several years later, a wonderful woman came into his life and they were married.

几年后，一个很棒的女人成了他的妻子，他们结婚了。

Under her influence, we became a blended family,

在她的影响下，我们成为了一个混合家庭，

and a good relationship developed between the two families.

两家人关系融洽。

二、

She always treated us as if we were her own children.

她总是对我们像对她自己的孩子一样。

It was because of our other mother – Daddy's second wife – that he became closer to his own children.

因为爸爸的第二任妻子，我们的另一位母亲，他变得和自己的孩子更亲近了。

They shared over 25 years together before our father passed away.

他们在一起生活了25年后，父亲去世了。

三、

At the time of his death, the question came up of my mother – Daddy's first wife – attending his funeral.

在他去世的那段时间，问题伴随着我的生母前来参加葬礼而出现了。

When I asked her if she would object to mother attending Daddy's funeral,

当我问她是否会反对我母亲参见父亲的葬礼。

she immediately replied. "Of course not, honey. She is the mother of my children."

她立即回答：“当然没有，亲爱的，她是我的孩子的母亲。”

背景拓展：

在美国，离婚的程序越来越复杂，美国人办理离婚一般要花半年至一年。离婚的成本十分昂贵，所需的法律费用平均为1.5万至2万美元，因为常常要涉及大笔抚养费。

1、财产的分割 division of property

按照美国法律，原则上婚前个人财产独立，如没有特殊情况，仍然可以单方保留。这点，和中国新婚姻法一致

2、子女的抚养费（child support）

为了让父母更好地履行抚养子女的义务，美国的法律规定不论父母是否离婚，未成年子女应继续得到父母双方经济上的支持。

3、配偶赡养费（spousal support）

美国法律还对离婚后处于弱势一方采用救济和补助方法。也就是有收入的一方必须向没有收入的一方，或者是收入高的一方也必须向收入低的一方支付赡养费。

背景音乐来自电影《继母 Stepmom》原声音乐《Always And Always》作曲：John Williams