Detailed Study of the Text
1. “When did they growup and become parents of small children? Shouldn’t that be me?” (Para. 3)
“他们什么时候长大且为人父母的? 我不是才长大，才为人父母吗? ”
2. slip (Para 4): v. to go somewhere quickly and quietly,especially without being noticed
e.g. Theship slipped into the harbor at night.
She knewthat time was slipping away.
slip away逃走；悄悄溜走 slip in 悄悄溜入；偷偷溜进去
slip into溜进；使滑入；匆忙穿上；[俚]大吃
let slip错过；无意中吐露；放走
3. in particular (Para 4): specificallyor especially distinguished from others
e.g. Wasthere anything in particular that convinced you this was something thatyou wanted to revisit?
The crowdwas excited; the youth in particular were clapping and cheering.
4. toss (Para. 4): v. to throw sth.lightly or carelessly
e.g. She tossed outjunk food from her refrigerator and seta goal to lose five pounds in one month.
她把冰箱里的垃圾食品扔出去，并设定了一个月减肥五磅的目标。
5. stuffed(Para. 4): adj.
1) filledwith sth.
e.g. Forthe past five weeks, the department invited people to bring their children todecorate the tree and get a stuffed animal in return.
2) havingeaten so much that you cannot eat anything else
e.g.Having been stuffed, the milk cows were crouching down on the ground.
stuff: v.to fill a space or container tightly with sth.
e.g. He stuffedup his ears with earplugs before diving.
6. There were pillows on the floor wherethey had been tossed from the couch and a few stuffed animals lying aroundwhere the children had been playing. (Para. 4)
Thepillows on the floor had been thrown by my little kids from the couch
and somestuffed animal toys were also scattered around the house.
7. think back to (Para. 5): to thinkabout sth. that happened in the past; torecall
e.g. Thephotographs made me think back to my trip to Europe.
这些照片使我回想起了我的欧洲之旅。
8. sort through (Para. 6): to lookthrough a number of things, either in order to find sth. or to put them inorder
e.g. Inan age of information explosion, it is vital to sort through masses ofsources and select what is needed.
在信息爆炸时代，对大量信息源进行分类并选择自己所需信息至关重要。
9. residence (Para. 6): n. ahouse, especially a large or impressive one
e.g. 10Downing Street is the British Prime Minister's official residence.
唐宁街10号是英国首相的办公所在地。
10. I decided to sort through the toybox and I found a flying dinosaur, a skeleton, and a Frankenstein that hadmysteriously taken up residence in my box of toys. (Para.6)
我决定整理一下玩具箱里的玩具，结果发现了一只会飞的恐龙、一副骨架和一个弗兰肯斯坦怪物，也不知这怪物是如何在我的玩具箱里安家的。
11. leave behind (Para. 7):
1) to goaway from a place without taking sth. / sb. with you
e.g. Thepicnickers left behind litter and leftover food.
2) tocause or allow to remain as a consequence or sign
e.g. He leftbehind nothing but happy memories.
12. “Now, she can’t put it under herpillow. I wonder if it will work if I put it under my pillow. The Tooth Fairyis going to be so confused!” I laughed. (Para. 10)
“现在，她没法把牙放在她的枕头下了。我不知道，如果我把它放在我的枕头下，那传说是否会奏效。牙仙子会弄不清是怎么回事了！”我笑了。
13. last but not least (Para. 11): inaddition to all the foregoing
e.g. Lastbut not least, thanks so much to the fans and readers for making me feel mywork was valued.
14. outfit(Para. 13): n. a set of clothes that you wear together, especially for aparticular occasion or purpose
e.g. Ourathletes should wear an outfit they can feel pride in, notembarrassment.
15. scrub (Para. 13): v. the act of cleaning a surface by rubbingit with a brush and soap and water
and somestuffed animal toys were also scattered around the house.
7. think back to (Para. 5): to thinkabout sth. that happened in the past; torecall
e.g. Thephotographs made me think back to my trip to Europe.
这些照片使我回想起了我的欧洲之旅。
8. sort through (Para. 6): to lookthrough a number of things, either in order to find sth. or to put them inorder
e.g. Inan age of information explosion, it is vital to sort through masses ofsources and select what is needed.
在信息爆炸时代，对大量信息源进行分类并选择自己所需信息至关重要。
9. residence (Para. 6): n. ahouse, especially a large or impressive one
e.g. 10Downing Street is the British Prime Minister's official residence.
唐宁街10号是英国首相的办公所在地。
10. I decided to sort through the toybox and I found a flying dinosaur, a skeleton, and a Frankenstein that hadmysteriously taken up residence in my box of toys. (Para.6)
我决定整理一下玩具箱里的玩具，结果发现了一只会飞的恐龙、一副骨架和一个弗兰肯斯坦怪物，也不知这怪物是如何在我的玩具箱里安家的。
11. leave behind (Para. 7):
1) to goaway from a place without taking sth. / sb. with you
e.g. Thepicnickers left behind litter and leftover food.
2) tocause or allow to remain as a consequence or sign
e.g. He leftbehind nothing but happy memories.
12. “Now, she can’t put it under herpillow. I wonder if it will work if I put it under my pillow. The Tooth Fairyis going to be so confused!” I laughed. (Para. 10)
“现在，她没法把牙放在她的枕头下了。我不知道，如果我把它放在我的枕头下，那传说是否会奏效。牙仙子会弄不清是怎么回事了！”我笑了。
13. last but not least (Para. 11): inaddition to all the foregoing
e.g. Lastbut not least, thanks so much to the fans and readers for making me feel mywork was valued.
14. outfit(Para. 13): n. a set of clothes that you wear together, especially for aparticular occasion or purpose
e.g. Ourathletes should wear an outfit they can feel pride in, notembarrassment.
15. scrub (Para. 13): v. the act of cleaning a surface by rubbingit with a brush and soap and water
e.g. Shegot down on her knees and started to scrub the already shining floor.
16. remind (Para. 14): v. to cause sb. to remember sth.
e.g.These photos remind me of the days when we skied in Canada.
17. even if / though (Para. 15): despitethe fact or belief that; no matter whether
e.g. Even ifwe achieve great success in our work, we should not be conceited.
18. look back on (Para. 15): to thinkabout sth. in your past
e.g. Theylike to look back on those unforgettable years in the army.
19. Memories happen even if we aren’taware of it. The stressful and difficult moments often become memories that welook back on later with laughter and joy. (Para. 15)
有些回忆总是悄悄地涌上心头。当我们回首往事时， 我们会对那些压力重重和艰难困苦的过往时刻报以欢笑， 心生喜悦。
20. I never knew then that I would oneday be the one waving from the driveway and feeling my heart drive off down theroad. (Para. 17)
In thissentence, personification is used. My heart is like a person who drives offdown the road with the kids. It showsthe mother’s reluctance to see her children drive away.
我从没想过自己有一天也会在车道上向远方挥手， 感受着自己的心随着那路远行。
21. “To have a child is to decideforever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” (Para. 18)
有了孩子就永远注定你的心不会放在自己身上了。
