英语博客:Tatoo

It is supposed to be a good thing to reward your kids every now and then for going to school, or doing their chores. Domini, my daughter is no exception. When she changed preschools, she went through a time of adjustment, and had to be encouraged to stay at her new school. She only goes four mornings a week, but, even so, a change is a change. I found that I could persuade her to go along with the new plan by giving her a surprise randomly¹ after preschool. Sometimes it was a treat, and at other times it was a little toy, or art supplies. Well, it worked. She soon got into the habit of going to her new preschool, and now she loves it. She loves the teachers, and has made good friends there. So, the need for persuasion² has, thankfully, disappeared. But every now and then, I will drive her to a little shop that is a few blocks away from her preschool, and there we will buy a transfer sticker, or what she likes to call a tatoo. Just outside of the shop are some little glass dispensers with pretty pictures and patterns on them. I give her two quarters which she holds onto with excitement while she chooses the one she wants. There is a flat metal plate with slots in it into which you put the money. Then, in order to receive the 'tatoo', you have to push the metal plate into the dispenser. Automatically⁴, it pops out in a small piece of protective cardboard⁵. It's not a big deal at all, but for Domini it is. The first time we got one, she immediately said, "Mum, I need to go to the bathroom." I thought it was a little odd, but said that we could ask in the shop if she could use their toilet. So, I stood outside the bathroom and waited and waited. "Domini, are you alright in there?" I asked. "Yes Mum, I've almost finished," was her reply. I heard the water running, and was congratulating myself on training her well to wash her hands, when she came out with a big grin⁶ and showed me her 'tatoo'. That's why she had wanted to go to the bathroom; her tatoo had to be displayed immediately.

Grammar notes.

 Useful expressions and related vocabulary: an exception, to go along with ..., a dispenser, a slot³.

1. Most people in our family are short, but my brother is the exception.

2. I hope the employees will go along with our idea to change the company.

3. Push the button on the dispenser and soap will come out.

4. You have to put the right coin in the slot; only one size will fit.

 

1 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

2 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

3 slot   

n.（口）位置，职位，狭长孔，狭槽

参考例句：

• Put a coin in the slot.将硬币放入投币口。
• He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.电台定期给他十分钟的节目广播时间。

4 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。

5 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

6 grin   

n./vi.露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

参考例句：

• I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
• She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。