Useful Expressions
| 过得去 | get by |
| 寻觅心灵的满足 | find contentment |
| 一种自力更生的生活 | a self-reliant sort of life |
| 大地回暖的气息 | the smell of the earth warming |
| 艰苦的生活 | a tough life |
| 日常的家务 | usual household routine |
| 正如老话说的那样 | as the old saying goes |
| 温馨快乐每一分钟 | love/enjoy every minute of sth. |
| 过冬 | get through the winter |
| 常春藤联合会学校 | Ivy League schools |
| 带着某人的祝福 | with sb.’s blessings |
| 总的来说 | on balance |
| 担任全职工作 | be employed full time |
| 贷款按揭 | mortgage payments |
| 至于… | When it comes to ... |
| 除…以外 | apart from ... |
| 外出吃饭 | dine out |
| 降低生活标准 | lower the standard of living / living standard |
| 弥补收入差额 | make up the difference in income |
| 听歌剧、看芭蕾演出 | attend the opera and ballet |
| 耐得住寂寞 | a tolerance for solitude |
| 手头紧 | be on a tight budget |
| 自给自足 | self-sufficiency |
| 抵制诱惑 | resist the temptation to do sth. |
| 怆然离去 | leave with a feeling of sorrow |
| 自豪感 | a sense of pride |
| 一旦形势好转 | once economic conditions improve |
Practice
Sentences to Appreciate
1. Later this month, we'll spray the orchard, paint the barn, plant the garden and clean the hen house before the new chicks arrive.
(=这个月晚些时候,我们要给果树喷洒药水,要油漆谷仓,要给菜园播种,要赶在新的雏鸡运到之前清扫鸡舍。)
2. I'm not making anywhere near as much money as I did when I was employed full time, but now we don’t need as much either.
(=我挣的钱远比不上全职工作时的收入,可如今我们需要的钱也没有过去多。)
3. When it comes to insurance, we have a poor man's major-medical policy.
(=至于保险,我们买了一份低收入者的主要医疗项目保险。)
4. Once economic conditions improve, however, demand for farms like ours should be strong again.
(=但是一旦经济形势好转,对我们这种农场的需求又会增多。)
5. 在作物生长季节,根本就没工夫参加社交活动。
(=During the growing season there is no time for socializing anyway.)
6. 了解这些变化所带来的影响也许有助于我们改善家庭生活。
(=Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life. )
7. 而单亲家庭的数量在过去三十年中急剧增长。
(=And the number of single-parent homes has mushroomed in the last thirty years. )
8. 这些孩子会不会失去童年时期应有的一些重要东西?
(=Are these children missing out on an important part of childhood?)
Theme-related Cloze Exercise