托福閱讀材料：Where Are We Going, Dad?

Where Are We Going, Dad? presents a new generation of men who, in a break from Chinese tradition, now take an active role in their children's lives.

綜藝節(jié)目《爸爸去哪兒》展現(xiàn)了打破中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)的新時(shí)代男人積極參與到子女生活中的情景。

Five celebrity fathers and their children traipse around China, riding camels through the western deserts, fishing off the east coast, and selling vegetables for their bus fare home in remote southwestern Yunnan province. One dad doesn’t know how to do his daughter’s hair, but give him a couple of episodes—he’ll figure it out. Another one must survive with his son for three days in the desert, where, because neither can cook, the two only eat instant noodles.

五位星爸和他們的子女走遍大江南北，或而西部沙漠騎駱駝、東部海邊捕魚，或而遠(yuǎn)上西南的云南省為賺車費(fèi)去賣菜。有位爸爸不會(huì)給女兒梳頭，但若給他一些時(shí)間，應(yīng)該能學(xué)會(huì)。還有一對(duì)父子必須在沙漠生活三天，因?yàn)槎疾惶珪?huì)做飯，父子倆只能吃泡面。

These story lines are part of Where Are We Going Dad? which, since its debut in October, has become one of China’s most popular television shows, averaging more than 600 million viewers each week (and more than 640 million downloads online). Sponsorship rights for the show’s second season sold for 312 million yuan (about $50 million), more than ten times higher than the rights to the first season. And searches for Where Are We Going Dad? turn up over 40 million hits on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter.

以上都是《爸爸去哪兒》的部分情景。該節(jié)目從十月份首次播出以來，已迅速成為中國(guó)人氣最旺的電視節(jié)目，每周有平均6億人收看，且網(wǎng)絡(luò)下載量也超過6.4億。節(jié)目第二季的冠名權(quán)售價(jià)是3.12億元（約0.5億美元），比第一季的高出了十倍。同時(shí)關(guān)于《爸爸去哪兒》的搜索在新浪微博上就超過了4000萬(wàn)。

What accounts for the show’s popularity? The show features a new generation of Chinese fathers, who, as part of the country’s burgeoning middle class, have faced more exposure to modern child-rearing techniques such as taking an active role with their children.

是什么原因?qū)е逻@檔節(jié)目如此火爆？節(jié)目聚焦于中國(guó)新一代父親——他們是新興中產(chǎn)階級(jí)，面臨許多現(xiàn)代社會(huì)養(yǎng)育子女的問題，比如怎樣和子女積極互動(dòng)交流。

“In traditional Chinese culture, the conventional conception of parenthood is that the father is stern and the mother is kind. But on the show, we see fathers who are much gentler on their kids and more involved in their upbringing,” said Li Minyi, an associate professor of early childhood education at the leading Beijing Normal University. “This show raises an important question for modern Chinese society—what is the role of fathers in today’s China?”

“在中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化中，人們對(duì)父母的固有觀念就是‘嚴(yán)父慈母’。但從節(jié)目中，我們可以看到爸爸們對(duì)子女呵護(hù)有加，也很關(guān)心他們的成長(zhǎng)。” 北京師范大學(xué)的學(xué)前教育副教授李敏誼這樣表示。“這檔節(jié)目向當(dāng)今中國(guó)社會(huì)拋出了一個(gè)重要問題——在當(dāng)今中國(guó)，父親扮演著怎樣的角色？”

Confucian tradition dictates that there is no human trait more important than filial piety: obeying your parents’ wishes and looking after them in their old age. But Chinese parents increasingly realize that discussing and respecting their children’s choices may be a more appropriate way to prepare them for modern society. “As they raise their children, parents are growing up at the same time,” said Wang Renping, a popular education expert, in an interview with the Qianjiang Evening News. “They cannot use parenting styles from 20 years ago to guide the development of children born 20 years later.”

儒學(xué)傳統(tǒng)訓(xùn)誡：人性萬(wàn)般，孝道為先。我們應(yīng)該遵從父母的意愿，并在父母年老時(shí)照顧他們。然而中國(guó)父母卻越來越意識(shí)到，商討并尊重子女的選擇或許才是保證他們適應(yīng)現(xiàn)代社會(huì)的恰當(dāng)方式。“在孩子的教育過程中，父母是與之共同成長(zhǎng)的，并不是父母以20年前的觀念去指導(dǎo)20年后孩子的發(fā)展。” 著名教育專家王人平在接受《錢江晚報(bào)》的采訪中說道。

Part of the appeal of Where Are We Going Dad? is the chance to peek into the lives of popular Chinese celebrities and their children. Audiences revel in watching the failed attempts of celebrity dads making dinner, braiding hair, and disciplining children—tasks often left to mothers in a society still influenced by the notion that “men rule outside and women rule inside.”

《爸爸去哪兒》的一大吸引力就是讓人們有機(jī)會(huì)了解中國(guó)名人及其子女的生活。觀眾樂于看到星爸們不會(huì)煮飯、不知道怎么編 辮子和管教孩子——在這個(gè)仍然深受“男主外女主內(nèi)”觀念影響的社會(huì)，這些事情通常都是媽媽們做的。

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