實(shí)用英語(yǔ)口語(yǔ):保姆荒

 

HS: How was your grandpa's birthday bash last week? I think it must have been
a very lively affair.

LL: It was very lively. My cousin brother and his wife came back from America
with their three year old kid in tow. The lil' kid was really well-behaved, the
moment he saw grandpa, he greeted him with a bow and wished him Happy Birthday.
Grandpa was really delighted, he was grinning from ear to ear.

HS: He he, your cousin brother and his wife must have spent a lot of time
teaching him. Hey, how old is your grandpa this year?

LL: Last week was his 80th birthday.

HS: Really? The last time I saw your grandpa over at your house, he didn't
look like he was turning 80 anytime soon? He seemed to have more vitality than a
60 or 70 year old!

LL: My grandpa has a trick: don't let his age fool you, he never stays idle.
He'll keep himself occupied with something everyday. Say, you know what, last
night grandpa announced over dinner a decision that put everyone in a fix.

HS: What decision?

LL: He wants to move into a home for the aged!

HS: Huh? Why?

LL: My grandpa said he can't get used to living with us, I think the real
reason is that he feels he's troubling us.

HS: We don't talk about troubling our own children.

LL: My grandpa has always been like that, he doesn't like to trouble people.
After my grandma passed away, he lived by himself. My dad and aunt was concerned
that it might not be so convenient for him to live alone, so they hired him a
housekeeper. But my grandpa did not agree, he said that he was healthy and it
was a pure waste of money.

HS: You needn't say more, some elderly people are like that, they're always
worried that they're no longer of any use, that they're just a burden to their
family.

LL: Yea, but my dad and aunt insisted, and he finally compromised. But his
housekeeper resigned two months ago, she went back to start a business in her
hometown, so we brought grandpa to live with us.

HS: Why not hire him another?

LL: It's not easy to hire a housekeeper for an elderly person. Generally,
it's a whole day affair for housekeepers looking after elderly people, they eat
and live together, the local housekeepers won't do the job, so normally, it'll
be someone from out of town. Such housekeepers are hard to come by, and what's
more, China's becoming an aging society, there are more and more old people.

HS: No wonder, so that's why there's a "shortage of
housekeepers", right?

LL: Yep, we asked around at a few housekeeper agencies, they don't have an
immediate supply of manpower, all we could do was register ourselves and wait
for them to call when there's someone suitable. But this time my grandpa doesn't
want to hire a housekeeper anymore, he's determined to move into a home for the
aged.

HS: Your dad and aunt agreed?

LL: That goes without saying, of course they didn't agree! My grandpa is
already so old, how can we be at peace if he's living by himself in a home for
the aged? My aunt is also concerned that the home's condition is too inferior
and proper care may not be given to the elders. If there's a housekeeper at our
home, then she'll be reassured.

HS: On the contrary, it may not necessarily be so. Last year, I was a
volunteer at a home for the aged, I thought that the conditions and service
provided there were pretty good, the old folks were quite comfortable. Moreover,
it was easy for them to get together and chat, play mahjong, have a game of
chess, and what not, it's easy for them to pass the days. Rather, I think
there's yet another reason why people are not willing to let their parents move
into a home, for fear of how other people will perceive them, gossip behind
their backs, after all, saving face is of great importance to the Chinese.

LL: To tell you the truth, for me, it's not important what others think,
rather, the focus should be on what makes the elderly person happy. That's why I
can empathize with grandpa's decision. Ever since grandma passed away, he
doesn't have anyone to chat with. Although his children are very filial, but
they're each busy with their own jobs, they don't have much time to spend with
him.

HS: This is a phenomenon prevalent in modern society. Unless they're like
your grandpa, many elderly people face the "empty nest" (syndrome), their
children are not by their sides, so it's meaningless to be at home alone. Even
if they do go out, they don't know who to talk to. So although they are not
lacking in material well-being, deep inside them, they are very lonely.

LL: That's right, my dad and the rest of them are also aware of this point.
In the end, we found a home for the aged within the city, which had better
conditions. Yesterday all of us went there to have a look, it was pretty good.
On the way back my mom and dad said, "When we're old, let's go live there
too!"

HS: Huh? So what was your reaction? Did you disagree?

LL: Why should I disagree? At that time I said, "Sure! I'll move in with both
of you, the three of us can live together!"

漢生：上周你爺爺?shù)纳者^(guò)得怎么樣，一定特別熱鬧吧?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：挺熱鬧的。我美國(guó)的堂哥堂嫂帶著他們?nèi)龤q的兒子回來(lái)了。那小家伙可真乖，一見(jiàn)著我爺爺就給他磕頭祝壽，把爺爺樂(lè)得不行，都笑得合不攏嘴了。

漢生：呵呵，你堂哥堂嫂之前肯定沒(méi)少教他。誒，你爺爺今年高壽?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：上周是他八十大壽。

漢生：不會(huì)吧?我前一次去你家見(jiàn)過(guò)你爺爺，看著哪兒像快八十的人啊?感覺(jué)比六七十歲的的老人家還精神!

樂(lè)樂(lè)：我爺爺可是有秘訣的：別看他那么大年紀(jì)了，卻從來(lái)不讓自己閑著，每天都會(huì)找點(diǎn)兒事兒做。對(duì)了，你知道嗎，昨天吃完晚飯，我爺爺突然做了一個(gè)讓我們?nèi)覟殡y的決定。

漢生：什么決定?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：他想搬到敬老院去住!

漢生：啊?為什么啊?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：我爺爺說(shuō)他在我們家住得不習(xí)慣。其實(shí)我覺(jué)得真正的原因是，他覺(jué)得給我們添了麻煩。

漢生：自己的兒女有什么麻煩不麻煩的?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：我爺爺一直都是這樣，從來(lái)不愿意麻煩別人。我奶奶去年去世以后，他就一個(gè)人生活。我爸和我姑怕他一個(gè)人生活不方便，就想給她請(qǐng)一個(gè)保姆。可我爺爺堅(jiān)決不要。說(shuō)他身體好得很，花那個(gè)錢(qián)純粹就是浪費(fèi)。

漢生：你還別說(shuō)，有些老人就是這樣，總怕別人覺(jué)得自己不中用了，擔(dān)心變成家人的負(fù)擔(dān)。

樂(lè)樂(lè)：是啊，不過(guò)，在我爸和我姑的堅(jiān)持下，他最終還是妥協(xié)了?？蓛蓚€(gè)月前，保姆辭了職回家去做生意，我們就把爺爺接到家里來(lái)住了。

漢生：為什么不再給他請(qǐng)一個(gè)呢?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：給老人請(qǐng)保姆可沒(méi)你想的那么容易。一般照顧老年人的保姆都是全天的，吃住都在一起，市里面的保姆不愿意做，所以一般是外地的。這樣的保姆本來(lái)就不多，而現(xiàn)在，中國(guó)正在步入老齡社會(huì)，老人們卻越來(lái)越多了。

漢生：難怪，所以才出現(xiàn)了“保姆荒”，是吧?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：是啊，我們?nèi)チ藥准壹艺締?wèn)，都說(shuō)現(xiàn)在沒(méi)有現(xiàn)成的人手，只能先登記著，等有了合適的再通知我們?？晌覡敔斶@次不想請(qǐng)保姆了，非堅(jiān)持去敬老院。

漢生：你爸爸你姑姑能同意嗎?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：這還用說(shuō)嗎?當(dāng)然不同意啊!我爺爺都這么大年紀(jì)了，能放心他一個(gè)人在敬老院?jiǎn)?我姑姑也擔(dān)心敬老院的條件太差，對(duì)老人照顧不周到。有家里的保姆照顧，她更放心。

漢生：這倒不一定，我去年就去過(guò)一家敬老院做志愿者，發(fā)現(xiàn)那里的條件和服務(wù)都不錯(cuò)，老人們過(guò)得挺好的。而且，老人們很容易聊到一塊兒，還能打打牌、下下棋什么的，日子很容易就打發(fā)了。我倒是覺(jué)得，子女們不愿意讓老人們?nèi)ゾ蠢显嚎赡苓€有另外一個(gè)原因，就是怕別人有看法，說(shuō)閑話(huà)，畢竟中國(guó)人是最要面子的。

樂(lè)樂(lè)：說(shuō)實(shí)話(huà)，我認(rèn)為別人怎么看倒無(wú)所謂，關(guān)鍵要看老人怎么過(guò)才更快樂(lè)，所以我爺爺做這個(gè)決定，我也能理解，自從我奶奶去世以后，就沒(méi)人陪他說(shuō)話(huà)了。雖然他的子女都很孝順，但各自都有自己的工作，能陪他的時(shí)間也不多。

漢生：這也是現(xiàn)代社會(huì)的一個(gè)普遍現(xiàn)象吧。除了像你爺爺這樣的，還有很多“空巢老人”，他們的子女都不在身邊，平時(shí)一個(gè)人在家沒(méi)什么意思，出去也不知道找誰(shuí)說(shuō)話(huà)，所以，雖然他們物質(zhì)上什么都不缺，但內(nèi)心卻很孤獨(dú)。

樂(lè)樂(lè)：是啊，我爸爸他們也意識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)，最終還是給他找了市里一家條件比較好的敬老院。昨天我們一起去那里看了看，真的還挺不錯(cuò)的。回去的路上我爸我媽還說(shuō)，等他們老了也上這兒來(lái)住呢!

漢生：哈?那你有什么反應(yīng)?不同意?

樂(lè)樂(lè)：為什么不同意?我當(dāng)時(shí)就說(shuō)，好哇!到時(shí)候我也搬進(jìn)來(lái)，咱們一家三口還住一塊!