20101122 Why We Gave Away Our Home(1)

Why We Gave Away Our Home

One family makes a dramatic decision to help others

Sometimes the things we believe are holding our families together really aren't. Need proof? Let me share our story. My family is a fairly typical American foursome: My wife, Joan, and I live in Atlanta with our two teenagers, Hannah, 17, Joseph, 15, and two dogs.

Ten years ago, we moved into our dream house – a spacious, three-story historic home – thinking it would bring us the joy we desired. It was a beautiful place, but as our children grew up, our sense of togetherness began to fade away. In the big dream house, we scattered in different directions.

One day when Hannah was 14, she became upset about the disparities between the world's haves and the have-nots. "She challenged us to be" a family that makes a difference in the world, even if it's a small difference." Joan asked her, "What are you willing to sacrifice? Your house? Your room?" Hannah said yes to both. After talking it over as a family, we decided to sell our house and move to one that was half its size and price – and donate the difference to charity.

threesome 三個人一組

foursome n. 以四個人為一組/兩隊為單位

=> a group of four people work together

eg: Let's make up a foursome and play bridge!

=> 我們四個人兩隊一起玩橋牌吧！

eg: Why do we invite George and Nina and make up a foursome to go to the movie?

=> 我們為什麼不邀請George和Nina我們四個人一起去看電影呢？

space n. 空間

spacious adj. 寬敞的

=> has a lot of space

eg: The cabin has a spacious living room with a fireplace.

=> 這棟木屋有寬敞的起居室，裡面還有壁爐。

eg: You can enjoy spacious accommodations for a reasonable price at the YMCA.

=> 在青年會館你可以用合理的價錢享受寬敞的住宿空間

dis- 否定

parity 平等/相同

disparity n. 不相同/懸殊

=> the differences between people and certainly the difference make them not equal

eg: The disparity between the couple eventually caused them to break up.

=> 這對情侣的懸殊差異終究造成他們分手

eg: There's a considerable disparity in the amount of income males and females make.

=> 男性與女性的收入有相當大的差異

scatter v. 消散/分散

=> move apart in different directions

donate v. 捐獻

=> give something to someone

//== Chat room ==//

historic home

historic adj. 歷史上有名的/有歷史性的。

=> what is important in the history

eg: The White House is a historic house.

historical adj. 根據歷史的/有關歷史的

=> whenever exists in the past whether it is important or not

eg: historical novel 歷史小說

historic和historical差別並不是那麼的明顯，有時這兩個字的定義會有重疊

historic times 古老的時期　

= historical times