S: does your family have a record of your ancestors?
N: sure. My mom has been working on our family tree for years. She’s always updating it.
S: do you have a copy of your family tree in your house? I’d love to see it.
N: I can show it to you now, if you like. I think it goes back about 8 generations so far.
S: that’s amazing. Do you have a large extended family?
N: I’ve got 30 cousins on my mom’s side and 10 cousins on my dad’s side.
S: are you very close to your first-cousins?
N: the ones that are my age are close relatives. Now that I’m older, I don’t spend as much time with them as I used to, so I don’t know my younger cousins as well as the older ones.
S: I see. who’s the head of your household?
N: it’s definitely my mother. And, her mother is definitely the matriarch of the bigger family.
S: that’s interesting. What does your grandfather think of your step-mother?
N: at first, she was quite critical of her, but now that they’ve been married for a few years, she’s starting to accept the fact that my father divorced my mother.
S: that’s pretty much how you feel about your step-mother. Like grandmother, like grandson.
你们家有家谱吗？
当然有了。我妈妈这些年来一直在整理家谱，而且保持更新。
你家里有副本吗？我很想看一看。
如果你想看，我现在就可以拿给你。我想这本大概能追溯到8代前。
这太有意思了，你们家族很庞大吗？
在我母亲那边我大概有30个堂兄弟姐妹，我父亲这边大概有10个。
你和你的堂兄弟姐妹关系走的近吗？
跟我年龄相近的几个是近亲。既然我们一起长大，不会像以前那样有很多时间和他们一起玩。所以那些年纪很小或很老的亲戚，我都不怎么认识。
明白了。谁是你家的一家之主？
当然是我母亲。而她的母亲算是这个大家庭的族长。
这真有趣。你奶奶是怎么看你继母的？
原来她好像总是挑她的刺，后来他们结婚的年头久了，她似乎开始接受我父亲和我母亲离婚的这个现实了。
这大概也是你对你继母的感觉吧。真是有其祖母，必有其孙子。
China no longer has families where four generations live under the same roof.
中国现在很少再有四世同堂的大家庭了。
Like father, like son.
有其父必有其子。
First cousins are close relatives.
堂表兄弟是近亲。
It was difficult at first. I think my step-mother was often quite critical of me.
起初的日子很难熬，总觉得继母对我的要求过于严苛。
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