20100625 Who Should Decide? (2)

Who Should Decide?

When the decision is big, should the parent or the child decide?

Grant Ellison owns a pharmacy and hopes his son, Cale, will someday run the family business. Cale's passion, however, lies in architecture. Should Grant allow his son to make his own decision? Grant discusses the issue with his sister Janet.

Conversation A

Janet: I heard Cale got into that summer architecture program he applied for in Los Angeles. That's great news! Grant: I know. Cale's been on cloud nine all week.

Janet: Of course! How many high school kids get to spend a month studying architecture at a top university in California?

Grant: Actually, I don't think I'm going to let him go.

Janet: What? Are you sure you even have a say in the matter?

Grant: Of course I do! I'm his father. Besides, who is going to pay for it?

Janet: Grant. I don't mean to offend you, but Cale is already 17, it's time to start letting him make some decisions for himself. I understand he's been saving up for this.

Grant: He has. But I could use his help in the pharmacy this summer. And to tell you the truth, he needs to take a community college class to brush up on his chemistry.

issue n. 問題/議題

=> subject/topic

eg: Decreasing vehicle exhaust is the main issue of this year's environmental convention.

=> 減低汽車排氣量這個議題是今年環保會的主題。

eg: The issue should be settled by voting.

=> 這個問題應該透過投票來解決。

eg: No one wanted to raise the sensitive ethic issue during the meeting.

=> 沒有人想在會議中提起種族問題這種敏感的議題。

be on cloud nine (idiom) 快樂無比/樂不可支。

=> 好像在九層天

eg: Does Brenda like her new job? Like her job? She's on cloud nine.

=> Brenda喜歡他的新工作嗎?豈止是喜歡，她快樂得不得了。

eg: Nick just bought a new convertible and now he's on cloud nine.

=> Nick剛買到新的跑車，現在開心極了。

Have a say in something (idiom) 對某件事情有發言權

=> say在這裡指發言權，所以是指對某件事情有發言權。

eg: When you get older, you'll have a say in family decisions.

=> 當你再長大一點，你就對家裡的事有發言權。

eg: Only the senior executives have a say in company restructuring.

=> 只有公司的高級主管對公司的重組有發言權。

//== Chat room ==//

save up 儲存/儲蓄

ex: save up money

= save money 儲蓄

Save on something 節省某樣東西的開銷

省電可以講 save electricity，也可以講save on electricity

但是含意有點不同save electricity是把電省下來不要消耗太多的電浪費資源，

save on electricity 是節省電費讓每個月的電費帳單不要太高。

save 也有保留的意思

ex: save it for later

=> 留著給以後用也可以表示晚一點再繼續。