A British secondary school has recently recruited many Chinese students.  You have been asked to help as an interpreter for some of the parents at a parents’ evening. The following is a dialogue between a Chinese parent and an English parent. The English speaker starts first.

E     I can really feel the generation gap between my children and me.// I can't understand their language and I can't understand what they're doing.// The world is changing too fast for me!//

Ch  其实代沟是生活中的一个部分，在每个时代都会有，// 并不是因为现在经济技术发展得快所以代沟就宽。//

E     Nowadays children spend too much time on these computer games and watching terrible TV programmes. // They simply don't spend enough time reading proper books and studying. //

Ch  我同意，但是我们得要了解为什么孩子要把时间用在这些方面。// 光用消极的手段来制止他们可能会起反作用。//

E     I have tried everything to make my son interested in proper subjects, but he doesn't even give them a try! A typical teenager! //

Ch  可能当父母的也应该学一下孩子们所感兴趣的东西，// 包括他们的电脑游戏，了解一下他们的电视节目，以便创造共同语言。// 同时也可以了解孩子的思维发展。//