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Embarrassing parents
When your mum tries to use slang, do you blush? Do you cringe when she calls you by your childhood nickname in front of your friends? And how about searching for the nearest exit when your father engages in a dad dancing routine? Loving them dearly doesn't prevent you from feeling uncomfortable around them.
And parents have to accept that. Adam Gopnick, a writer for the New Yorker magazine, said in an article published by the BBC: "The one thing that is written into the human genome is that exactly at the age of 13, your child… will discover that you are now the most embarrassing, ridiculous and annoying person on the planet."
A survey by the site YoungPoll.com in 2010 suggested that one in three youngsters is so disconcerted by their parents they refuse to be seen with them in public; and seven in ten children are humiliated by their mum and dad's behavior, like kissing them in front of friends and holding their hands.
Part of going through adolescence is a sudden feeling that we are wise and self-sufficient and we are shown up when treated like vulnerable minors. But we are bound to lose this chip on our shoulder when we reach our 20s.
Gopnick reminds us of writer and visionary William Blake's comment: "When I was 14 my dad was so ignorant I wouldn't even walk down the street with him. By the time I was 21 I was amazed how much he'd learnt."
In any case, resentful parents might find solace in the thought that their grandchildren are likely to end up enjoying their company. Then the uncool ones will be the grandchildren's parents!
中文翻譯
父母會讓你難為情嗎
在你媽媽嘗試使用俚語的時候，你有沒有覺得臉紅？當你的媽媽在朋友面前叫你的小名時，你會不會感到難堪？還有，你們在尋找最近的出口時，爸爸跳起了蹦迪時的舞蹈動作，這會不會讓你感到特別尷尬？雖然你很愛他們，但你在他們身邊會感覺很不自在。
父母們也不得不承認這一點。紐約客雜誌的作家亞當·高普尼克表示，BBC發表的一篇文章中說道：「你的孩子在13歲的時候會發現你是世界上最令人尷尬、最可笑、最討厭的人，這一點已經被寫進了人類基因中。」
2010年，YoungPoll.com網站做的一項調查顯示，1/3的父母會讓他們的孩子感到很窘迫，孩子們不想在公共場合看到父母；7/10的孩子覺得父母的行為讓他們感到很丟臉，比如：在朋友面前親他們或者拉著他們的手。
在青春期的時候，我們有時就會突然感到我們很聰明，很自信，當我們被看作是脆弱的未成年人時，就會感到難為情。但我們到了20多歲的時候，就不會覺得這是一種委屈了。
高普尼克提醒我們，作家和幻想家威廉·布萊克曾說過：「我14歲的時候，我的父親太無知了，我甚至不想和他一起走在大街上。但在我21歲的時候，我驚訝地發現他學到了很多。」
總之，心有不甘的父母唯有想到孫輩兒喜歡其陪伴而聊以自慰，等孩子們成長為父母就會經歷和他們現在相似的感受！
重點講解
1.blush 臉紅
例句：She blushed when they called her a heroine.
當他們叫她為巾幗英雄時她臉紅了。
2.cringe 感到難堪 感到局促不安
例句: Molly had cringed when Ann started picking up the guitar.
安伸手去拿吉他時，莫利感到局促不安。
3.disconcert 使焦慮 使困惑 使尷尬
例句：His compliments disconcerted her a little.
他的恭維讓她有點兒尷尬。
4.resentful 不滿的 牴觸的 怨恨的
例句：At first I felt very resentful and angry about losing my job.
起初,我對丟掉工作感到非常怨恨和惱怒。