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@ 31343 The Left
A: 老婆，浩浩要上學了，我們讓他改用右手吧。
laˇopo´, Ha`ohao ya`o sha`ngxue´ yo`ushoˇu ba.
le, woˇmen ra`ng ta¯
gaˇi yo`ng
Honey, Haohao will be starting school soon. We should get him to start using his right hand.
B: 為什麼？左撇子怎麼了？
we`ishe´nme? zuoˇpieˇzi zeˇnmele?
Why? What’s wrong with left-handed people?
A: 大家都用右手，方便。
da`jia¯ do¯ u yo`ng yo`ushoˇu, fa¯ ngbia`n.
Everyone uses their right hand. It’s convenient.
B: 可是浩浩天生是左撇子，他用右手怎麼會方便？
keˇsh`ı Ha`ohao tia¯ nshe¯ ng sh`ı zuoˇpieˇzi, ta¯ me hu`ı fa¯ ngbia`n?
yo`ng yo`ushoˇu ze´n-
But Haohao was born a lefty. How could using his right hand be convenient?
A: 我怕他被同學欺負。以前，我有一個左撇子的同
學，我們都笑他是怪人。
woˇ
pa`
ta¯
be`i to´ngxue´
q¯ıfu. yˇıqia´n, woˇ
yoˇu y¯ı ge zuoˇpieˇzi de
to´ngxue´, woˇmen do¯ u xia`o ta¯ sh`ı gua`ire´n.
I’m worried about him getting picked on by his classmates. In the past, I had a left-handed classmate. We all laughed at him for being a weirdo.
B: 那是二三十年前，現在不一樣了。
na`
sh`ı e`r sa¯ n sh´ı nia´n qia´n, xia`nza`i bu`
y¯ıya`ng le.
That was twenty or thirty years ago. Things are different now.
A: 我看還是讓他改過來吧。
woˇ
ka`n ha´ish`ı ra`ng ta¯
gaˇi guo`la´i ba.
I still think it’d be better if we had him change.
B: 啊喲，你怎麼這麼沒個性？外國人很多都是左撇
子，沒有人逼他們改。這是尊重。
a¯ yo¯ , nˇı zeˇnme zhe`me me´i ge`x`ıng? wa`iguo´re´n heˇn duo¯ do¯ u
sh`ı zuoˇpieˇzi, me´iyoˇu re´n b¯ı ta¯ men gaˇi. zhe` sh`ı zu¯ nzho`ng.
Geez, where’s your sense of individuality? A lot of foreign- ers are left-handed. No one forces them to change. It’s about respect.
A: 可是中國不一樣。
keˇsh`ı Zho¯ ngguo´
bu`
y¯ıya`ng.
But China is different.
B: 我跟你說左撇子的人，數學好，聰明'
woˇ
ge¯ n nˇı shuo¯
zuoˇpieˇzi de re´n, shu`xue´
haˇo, co¯ ngming!
I’m telling you, left-handed people are good with math. They’re smart!
A: 那我們問浩浩自己吧。
na` woˇmen we`n Ha`ohao z`ıjˇı ba.
Then how about we ask Haohao himself.
B: 他還小，不懂，不用問他。
ta¯
ha´i xiaˇo, bu`
doˇng, bu`yo`ng we`n ta¯ .
He’s still young. He doesn’t understand. Don’t bother ask- ing him.
A: 你不是說要尊重他嗎？
nˇı bu`sh`ı shuo¯
ya`o zu¯ nzho`ng ta¯
ma?
Didn’t you say you wanted to respect him?
---Key Vocabulary---
上學 sha`ngxue´ to go to school
讓 ra`ng to let
改 gaˇi to change
右手 yo`ushoˇu right hand
左撇子 zuoˇpieˇzi left-handed person
方便 fa¯ ngbia`n convenient
天生 tia¯ nshe¯ ng innate
怕 pa` to be afraid
被 be`i by
欺負 q¯ıfu to bully
以前 yˇıqia´n before
怪人 gua`ire´n strange person
個性 ge`x`ıng individual character
逼 b¯ı to force
尊重 zu¯ nzho`ng to respect
數學 shu`xue´ mathematics
聰明 co¯ ngming intelligent
---Supplementary Vocabulary---
左手 zuoˇshoˇu left hand
右腦 yo`unaˇo right brain
左腦 zuoˇnaˇo left brain
習慣 x´ıgua`n habit
嘲笑 cha´oxia`o to laugh at
------
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