【英语时差8，16】前媳妇谎言损害儿子形象

 Dear Annie:

Two years ago, our son's wife asked him for a divorce. No reason was given except that she no longer loved him. After they separated, we found out she had been having an affair with his best friend.

Our former daughter-in-law showed up and asked us not to say anything that would hurt her reputation. She said she was sorry for what she had done. Reluctantly, we agreed to keep quiet about the affair.

Now she is telling her friends she divorced our son because he was emotionally abusive. She also made it clear that if we don't keep our promise to say nothing about her affair, she will never let us see the grandchildren again.

Annie, what should we do? － Small Town in OregonDear Oregon:

Your former daughter-in-law obviously needs to assuage¹ her guilt² by making your son the villain³. He needs to speak to his divorce lawyer immediately about this defamation⁴ of character. If necessary, he should sue for custody⁵ of the children, since being raised by this viper⁶ is not in their best interests. In the meantime, you are not breaking your promise by defending your son. Without mentioning her affair, feel free to pass the word that your son was never emotionally abusive and, obviously, the ex-wife still carries a lot of bitterness.

divorce  (n.)   离婚former  (adj.)   前任的；以前的reputation  (n.)   名声；名誉reluctantly  (adv.)   勉强地；不甘愿地to make something clear   清楚表示；澄清to assuage  (v.)   减轻；缓和villain  (n.)   恶徒；坏人necessary  (adj.)   必要的；需要的in the meantime   与此同时

1 assuage   

v.缓和，减轻，镇定

参考例句：

• The medicine is used to assuage pain.这种药用来止痛。
• Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.你带来的这些振奋人心的消息一定能减轻她的痛苦。

2 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

6 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。