外国人最想和你聊的文化话题：代沟

     Nowadays, many young people are complaining that their parents can not understand them very well. They say that their parents take care of every aspect of their lives, leaving them unable to have their private space.
     现在，许多年轻人抱怨他们的父母不太了解他们，他们认为父母对他们生活的各个方面干涉太多，使得他们没有自己的空间。
     Yet, parents are worried that their children don't show any respect to them and never give them any trust.
     然而，父母却担心孩子对他们不够尊重和信任。
     Consequently, the household phrases spreading.
     这种现象的结果使得"代沟"一词广为流传。
     I think we should first admit that there are indeed some differences between parents and children. Then, we should try to take some time to communicate with each other frequently.
     首先我们应该承认父母与孩子之间的确存在着差异。然后，我们应该经常花时间去沟通。
     Only by their joint efforts can the parents and children bridge the generation gap between them.
     只有通过他们的共同努力，父母和孩子才能拉近彼此的距离。
     Workers aren't bridging the generation gap because 20-something employees rarely chat to those in their 50s and 60s, according to a new survey.
     一项最新调查显示，员工之间也有"代沟"，20多岁的员工很少与五六十岁的员工交流。
     The lack of communication could create a shortage of US skilled labor because retiring baby boomers aren't passing on their knowledge and experience.
     年轻员工与年长员工之间缺乏交流会导致熟练劳动力的短缺，因为将要退休的"婴儿潮一代"无法将他们在工作中积累的经验和知识传授给年轻员工。
     The different generations of employees do not have the same expectations of work and values of employment, which is a difficult gap to bridge.
     不同年代员工的职业期望和就业价值观不同，这是一个难以弥合的鸿沟。
     We often hear about the "generation gap" that occurs between parents and children when it comes to music, morals, fashion and a host of other things.
     我们总能听到父母和孩子之间存在"代沟"，在音乐、道德准则、时尚以及很多事情上双方看法都不同。
     Now there is a generation lap, the tendency for young people to be increasingly more technically savvy than their parents or elders.
     如今，又出现了一个"代圈"，指年轻人在技术应用方面的能力正逐步超过他们父辈。
     This gap exists in the use of technology where the young generation has become the authority, effectively flipping the typical parental and professional hierarchy on its head in many respects.
     年轻人已经成为主导的技术应用领域，这种差距已普遍存在，并且已经在很多方面颠覆了传统的由父辈掌控一切的局面。
     They're not just ahead of their parents in the way they use technology, they've lapped their parents and are working at a whole new level.
     在技术应用方面，这一代年轻人不只是超过了父辈，而且是已经远远领先在前，到了一个全新的工作层面。
     That's why there is an unbelievable example from Finland where the government has hand-selected 5000 Net Generations to train the country's teachers how to use computers. The students are the teachers and the teachers will be the students.
     所以芬兰才会有这样让人不可思议的一个举动，政府精心挑选出5000名新生代网络达人，让他们教本国教师使用电脑。学生变身为老师，而老师则变身为学生。
     There are so many differences between generations because each has a different deposit of culture and experiences.
     代与代之间有很多的差异，这是因为不同代人之间有不同的文化底蕴以及经验。
     To some extent generation gap has become a social problem.
     在一定程度上而言，代沟已经成为一个社会问题。
     Yet we find it absolutely difficult to solve because there's no way to smooth away these differences.
     找到消除代沟的办法是非常困难的，因为几乎没有方法能完全抹平差异。
     Many people think that generation gap is a modern phrase.
     很多人认为代沟现象是个现代课题。
     But the great philosopher Socrates three thousand years ago already gave his description of the young in his society. He said, "They have no manners at all. They despise on the authority, con-tradict their parents and beat their teachers. They devour the food ravenously and talk on and on leaving no chance for the other to speak. "
     但是，三千年前，伟大的哲学家苏格拉底已经给出了他所在社会的年轻人的描述。"他们一点都不懂礼仪。他们藐视权力，和他们的父母背向而行，还打他们的老师。他们狼吞虎咽地吃食物，一直说话，不让人有插嘴的机会"。
     Thus it can be seen that the generation gap has a much longer history than we thought.
     所以可以看出来，代沟有着比我们所认为的还要长的历史。
     Generation gap doesn't come from differences between generations, but results from lack of understanding between them, and mutual understanding depends on how well two generations communicate.
     代沟并不是来自代与代之间的差异，而是因为他们之间缺少理解，而互相理解是以两代人的互相沟通为前提的。
     Generation gap can be bridged as long as both parents and children are willing to make efforts.
     代沟是可以缩小的，只要父母和孩子都愿意努力。
     With the change of the world over decades, the attitude of the young has altered too.
     随着这些年世界的不断变化，年轻人的态度也变化了。

     Linda: Bella, is there generation gap between you and your parents?
     琳达：贝拉，你和你父母之间有代沟吗？
     Bella: Yes, of course.
     贝拉：当然有啊。
     Linda: How to bridge the generation?
     琳达：怎样解决代沟问题呢？
     Bella: I'm afraid that's not an easy thing to explain.
     贝拉：我认为这不是那么容易说清楚的。
     Linda: Of course, this is a big problem.
     琳达：那是当然。这可是个大问题。
     Bella: What do you think of the reason why generation gap appears?
     贝拉：你认为代沟是怎么产生的？
     Linda: First, the young and their parents often fail to talk with each other. Even sometimes they hear each other, but they do not put them in heart. By doing this, they send false message to each other .As the result, their two different worlds meet head on and
     琳达：首先。父母和孩子之间没能好好沟通。即便他们有时候也会倾听对方的想法，但他们并没有在心理上给予足够的重视。这样做的结果就是他们会相互传达一些错误的信息。这样就会导致意见向左，代沟也就随之产生了。
     Bella: Oh, I see. How to bridge the generation?
     贝拉：哦。明白了。你认为应该怎样填平这个代沟呢？
     Linda: For the parents, they should treat their children as free men not children. After all, they are young and they have their own ideas. Whether they are wrong or not, parents should expect their children's ideas .If they are truly wrong, parents should have
     琳达：对父母而言，他们应该将孩子视为是自由的个体，毕竟孩子还年轻。他们有自己的想法，无论是对还是错，父母都应尊重孩子的意见。如果孩子的想法真的存在问题，那么父母就应该有足够的耐心让孩子慢慢意识到自己的错误。
     Bella: That's right .I agree with you.
     贝拉：说得对。我同意你的观点。
     Linda: It is really a big question. But I think it can be solved.
     琳达：我认为代沟的确是个大问题，但是是可以解决的。
     Bella: Yeah, it will be easy to tackle if the children can understand their parents' concern about them.
     贝拉：是啊，如果孩子们能理解父母的苦心，那么就很好解决了。
     Linda: When they are grown up, they will.
     琳达：当他们长大了，他们就会明白。