Y:Y'know, I've always wondered what you were likeas a kid, Don . . . I bet you were a nice, sweet littleboy.

雅艾尔:我一直想知道你小时候,唐…我敢打赌,你那时候是个漂亮,可爱的小男生。

D:Actually, Yael, just the opposite.

唐:雅艾尔,实际上恰恰相反。

At least that's what I'm told.

至少别人是这样告诉我的。

Evidently I could be pretty difficult as a toddler.

显然那时候蹒跚学步的我要吃力很多。

Y:Really? But you're such a mild-mannered fellow.

雅艾尔:真的是这样吗?但你是这样一个温文尔雅的家伙。D:Maybe, but around the age of two orso I could be pretty defiant, throwing tantrums when I didn't get my way.

唐:也许吧,但大约两岁时我可能很目中无人,如果不顺我的气儿就经常大发脾气。

Y:Well, I guess I'm not that surprised . . . after all, it's perfectly normal, healthy even, for littlekids to be defiant.

雅艾尔:嗯,我想并不会感到诧异…毕竟,小孩子目中无人完全正常,健康。

D:Normal, sure, but healthy?

唐:当然正常,但健康吗?

Y:Yes. Child development experts have found that being defiant and doing things like refusingto listen and throwing fits is part of how kids learn to assert themselves and control theirenvironment.

雅艾尔:是的。儿童发展专家已经发现,目中无人,做事情喜欢拒绝倾听及大发脾气是孩子学会坚持自己及控制自我环境的其中一部分。

It's a normal part of growing up.

这是正常成长所必须经历的阶段。

D:What about kids who don't throw tantrums and are nice and sweet? Are you suggesting thatthey're somehow not developing properly?

唐:如果孩子不发脾气就会很好很乖吗?你是在暗示他们发展不正常吗?

Y:That sounds kinda far fetched . . .I mean, every kid is defiant at least sometimes.

雅艾尔:这听起来有点不切实际。。。我的意思是,每个孩子都有叛逆期。

But, sure, some kids are much less defiant than others.

但是,当然,有些孩子比别人少得多。

And the research shows that those kids develop fine, too.

而且研究表明,那些孩子也成长的很好。

D:But I assume that either extreme--either a kid who's completely passive, or a kid who'soverly defiant--can signal a problem . . .

唐:但我假设2种极端,要么小孩子完全被动,要么过于目中无人，这能否成为问题…

Y:That's true.

雅艾尔:没错。

But my point is, I guess, that even though it can be exasperating and even maddening whenkids are defiant, they're not behaving that way just to be bad.

但我的观点是,我想, 当孩子目中无人的时候即便令人恼火,甚至发狂,他们也没有表现的就是坏的方面。

It's like they need to act that way to figure out how to get along in the world. I mean, it'sworked for you.

这就像他们需要来找出如何和世界相处的行为方式。我的意思是,它就是对你有用。

D:Thanks.

唐:好的，非常感谢。