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But Simon, and other adoptive parents, invariably found that venue didn''t give their kids enough exposure to the language, especially because none of the parents could reinforce the language by speaking it at home.
The adults interviewed for this story called their Chinese skills passable at best； some even said wryly that their kids asked them not to try.
但西蒙和其他父母总是有种负罪感，觉得没有让孩子有足够的机会接触祖国语言。特别是因为没有父母愿意强制子女在家交流必须用何种语言,以达到学好祖国语言的目的。
接收此次报道相关采访的成年人称自己的中文水平最多只能算还过得去。一些人甚至自嘲地说，他们的子女要他们别再尝试说普通话了。.
As convinced as some adoptive parents are of the rightness of giving their kids a cultural foundation, not all follow in the same path. A discussion on the Internet forum Adopt.com last year ago yielded vastly differing opinions on the value of cultivating an internationally adopted child''s sense of heritage. Some people encouraged it while others called cultural classes overkill.
就像一些养父母确信让子女了解本国文化的作法是正确的一样，还有些人坚持这样做是不妥的。去年英特网收养论坛Adopt.com上就有过一次讨伦。讨论中出现了大量的不同意见，人们对是否有必要培养被收养儿童的传统意识问题表示质疑。有人对此作法予以鼓励的同时，还有种说法称它是“文化阶级中不必要的过度行为”。
In a way, this most recent trend is still a social experiment, because the most recent generation of children has yet to mature. As in any educational effort, the children themselves are a factor in the results.
As dedicated as some parents are in their quest to give their adopted children culture and language, there are kids -- just as there were some Korean adoptees -- who aren''t that interested in their heritage.
从某种意义上说，这种新近发生的趋势还只是个社会实验。因为最近一代的孩子还未发育成熟，不管父母在教育过程中，采取何种努力，孩子自身的因素才是最终结果的促成动力。
虽然不少父母为养子女作过大量的奉献,力求探索出使养子女继承祖国文化的途经。可也有孩子—就像若干朝鲜的被收养者，他们对祖国的传统文化根本不感兴趣。
Terry Roberts, a single mom in Palo Alto, said the cultural issue has been an ongoing challenge for adopted 9-year-old daughter Carmen.
My philosophy was: ''Stuff in as much Chinese when she''s young and able to absorb it,'' said Roberts, who studied Mandarin herself.
特丽·罗伯兹，一个参加Palo Alto的单身母亲讲，对于她的大女儿—九岁的卡门来说，学习祖国文化一直是项挑战呢。
“我的哲学是，＇趁她还年轻，给她灌输尽可能多的中文知识，她能接受的＇”,曾对中国文化作过研究的罗伯兹女士说到。
Like other girls, Carmen attended Chinese playgroups and private bilingual preschool. After a few years, however, Roberts transferred Carmen to a local public elementary school, partly because of Carmen''s preferences and partly for financial reasons.
Now Carmen attends a weekly after-school Chinese cultural class, which Roberts said her daughter has been lobbying to quit.
像其她女孩一样，卡门不仅参加中文游戏活动，还在私人开设的学前双语幼儿园中就读。然而，几年后，罗伯兹将卡门转入当地的一所公共小学。这样作部分由于卡门的喜爱，部分也是缘于对经济因素考虑。现在，卡门每周都参加课余的中国文化班。罗伯兹女士告诉我们，她女儿正在为这事和她“讨价还价”，她希望“退出这个班”
But Roberts is steadfast.
She always has to do something (cultural). It could be dance or art. From everything I hear, there''s so much pressure in elementary and middle school to conform and not be different, but later on she''s going to need to have culture and Chinese language. It just has to be there.
但是，罗伯兹坚信这样做是必须的。
“她得经常接触些祖国文化，比如舞蹈或是艺术，或者其它我听说过的文化表现形式。在小学和中学中接触中国文化的想法是不现实的，那里总有些压力。可是以后她少不了要用上这些东西的。因此她必须呆在那儿”。
The whole bicultural life has even had some unintended consequences, such as in Alexis Hamilton''s family. She plans on sending her youngest daughter, Eliza, to Chinese school. Only thing is, Eliza is her biological child, born after older sisters Lia and Kialin were adopted.
We chose to be a global family. As a family, we have to move as a unit, said Hamilton, who also serves on the board of Palo Alto Chinese Education, a group advocating for a Chinese immersion program in the public school district.
双文化影响下的生活甚至也会有些意想不到的结果。比如在 艾历克西斯.汉密尔顿的家中，她计划送最小的女儿艾利莎去中国学校。这样作只是因为，艾利莎是汉密尔顿亲生的，她是在莉尔和凯尔琳被收养后出生的。
“我们选择做一个＇世界型大家庭＇，＇世界家庭＇中的成员们必须寻求统一性才能使大家成为一个整体”，汉密尔顿说。汉密尔顿供职于Palo Alto内负责中文教育的董事会，董事会是一个在地区公共学校中倡导中国特色教育的团体。
She believes Eliza will benefit from learning Chinese, citing the research on the benefits of bilingual education.
Recently, Hamilton''s oldest daughter, Lia, now 9, was asked to translate a discussion between two parents at her school -- one spoke only English and the other only Mandarin. Lia passed with flying colors.
The reality is, adoptive parenting is satisfying and wonderful and different, Hamilton said proudly. Especially when it''s interracial.
她坚信艾利莎能从中文教育中获益。她还引述了对双语教育有益之处的研究来说明自己的观点。
最近，汉密尔顿的大女儿，今年九岁的莉尔被要求在学校里翻译一段两对父母间的对话。一对父母只能说英语，而另一对父母应只用普通话。莉尔通过了，并且表现很出色。
“事实上，养父母的＇表现＇是很令人满意的，也是与众不同的”，汉密尔顿骄傲地说。“特别是当孩子们来自不同的种族时”。
Originally printed in the Palo Alto Weekly.
Reprinted with permission of the Jocelyn Dong, author, and Palo Alto Weekly www.PaloAltoOnline.com
http://www.bjsedc.com此文最初登载在每周出版的Palo Alto上。重印许可由作者Jocelyn Dong授权，PaloAlto周刊 www.PaloAltoOnline.com
译者 晔晔晔,QQ 916180395(上外学生) | 
