美語情景對話 第1064期:Brotherly Love 手足之情

Mark: So you were talking about how you got five brothers. Do you have a different relationship with each one of them?

馬克：你說過你有五個弟弟。你和每個弟弟的關係都一樣嗎，有沒有不同？

Sorie: Yeah, definitely. They all range in age, so the oldest is 26 years old and the youngest is six years old. So I'm closer to my closest brother but they all have different personalities. And I have a great relationship with each one of them.

索裏：當然有了。他們的年齡不一樣，最大的弟弟今年26歲，最小的弟弟只有6歲。我和最大的弟弟年齡相仿，關係最親密，他們每個人的性格都不同。我和每個弟弟的關係都很好。

Mark: I'm wondering if the relationship you have with the oldest one is more like brotherly-sister and the relationships you have with the really young ones is more like some kind of mother and son relationship.

馬克：我在想，你和最大的弟弟之間的關係是姐弟關係，而和最小的弟弟更像是母子關係。

Sorie: Definitely. As I told you, my youngest brother is six years old. And my neighbors, they used to think that that was my child because of the difference in age. And I would be carrying him around and I would change his diapers. And when my mom was out, I was the one taking care of them or when my mom was sick, I was the one making their meals. And still have a different kind—I feel a different love for them than the love I feel for my brother. I feel like he's more like a friend. I can talk to him; I can share my experiences with him. We're close in age so we have a lot of similarities. And with my younger brothers, they often ask for advices and they want me to give them a little bit of my knowledge. So it's very different with each one of them. How about you? You said you had only one sister.

索裏：沒錯。我之前和你說過，我最小的弟弟今年只有6歲。因爲我們兩個的年齡差，我的鄰居曾以爲他是我的孩子。我會帶他去玩，給他換尿布。我媽媽外出時，我就要承擔起照顧弟弟們的責任，媽媽生病時，我要給他們做飯。我對弟弟們的感情還是有區別的。我感覺最大的弟弟更像是我的朋友。我可以和他聊天，和他分享我的經歷。我們年齡相仿，所以我們有很多相似之處。而那些小一些的弟弟，他們經常詢問我的建議，他們希望我能傳授他們一些知識。所以，我和每個人的關係是有不同的。你呢？你說過你只有一個姐姐。

Mark: Yeah. I have one sister and she's older than me. Definitely, there's no sense of motherliness from her. I didn't feel that at all. And we were just totally independent. I was a boy and she was a girl. She did girl things, I did boy things, and then we just lived in the same house.

馬克：對，我只有一個姐姐。當然，我沒有從她身上感覺到母愛。我完全沒有感受到。我們兩個完全獨立。我是男孩，她是女孩。她做女孩會做的事情，而我則做男孩會做的事情，我們住在一個房間裏。

Sorie: What's the age gap between the two of you?

索裏：你們兩個差幾歲？

Mark: It's like three years.

馬克：她比我大三歲。

Sorie: Three years, okay.

索裏：三歲。

Mark: Yeah.

馬克：對。

Sorie: What's the relationship you have with her right now?

索裏：那現在你們的關係怎麼樣？

Mark: The relationship I have with her right now—well, we live in different countries, so we're so far apart. And she now has children, and I don't have any children but we still intermittently keep in touch with each other. And it's the same kind of feeling, the same, like; familial love obviously is very present. But it doesn't—we don't—I don't know. You spoke about you're talking to your brother about lots of things that you've been up to. And perhaps, I don't talk to my sister about things, and I talk to my wife and my friends about those things. So it's more like she's my family rather than my friend.

馬克：現在我和她的關係……現在我們生活在不同的國家，相隔很遠。她現在已經有小孩了，而我還沒有孩子，不過我們依然保持聯繫。我覺得我們的感情和之前是一樣的，我們之間是親情。但是，我也不知道應該怎麼說。你說你會和你的弟弟說你正在做的事情。而我可能不會和我姐姐說，那些事我會和我妻子還有朋友說。她是我的家人，不是朋友。

Sorie: I see. Did you ever wish to have any brothers?

索裏：我明白了。你有沒有曾經希望有個弟弟嗎？

Mark: No. I just took it as it came. It wasn't my choice, so I didn't wish for any brothers or sisters anymore. She's just my older sister. But I had lots of friends. Friends are very important to me, so my friends are like—my male friends, when I was younger, they're like my brothers really. So it didn't matter that they weren't part of my family like an extended family.

馬克：沒有。我接受現狀。那不是我能選擇的，所以我沒有希望再有個弟弟或妹妹。我的姐姐就是我的姐姐。我有很多朋友。朋友對我也很重要，小的時候，男性朋友對我來說就像兄弟一樣。所以，即使他們和我不是一家人，不是我的親戚，也沒關係。

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重點講解：
1. take care of 照顧；照看；看護；
例句：We need to take care of her for a little while.
我們應該照顧她一段時間。
2. keep in touch with (與…)聯絡；(與…)聯繫；
例句：I keep in touch with my parents by emails.
我和父母通過電子郵件聯繫。
3. each other 彼此；互相；
例句：They hit it off well with each other.
他們相處得很融洽。
4. rather than 而非；勝於；而不是；
例句：Most people opt for buying their own homes rather than renting them.
大多數人願意買房子而不願意租房子。