2020年8月福建自考《英语二》课文翻译：教孩子理性的使用零花钱

Teaching Children to Spend Pocket Money Wisely

School-going children need pocket money for food, stationery and bus fares. Parents give pocket money to their children in different ways. Some give a lump sum at the beginning of a month or a week. Others prefer to give pocket money on a daily basis. The way in which pocket money is given affects how money is spent or saved. On the other hand, the children's spending habits may affect how pocket money is given.

教孩子们理性地使用零花钱

正上学的孩子们需要零花钱来买吃的、买文具，还有支付公交费用。父母们采用不同的方式来给予他们零花钱。有的父母会在月初或每周之初一次性给予孩子们一笔钱，有的更倾向于每天给一些。然而，零花钱的给予方式却影响着孩子们花钱或省钱的方式。另一方面，孩子们的消费习惯也会对父母给予零花钱的方式产生影响。

Pocket money given on a daily basis is sometimes termed as "food money". Children usually use the pocket money to buy food during recess and also at lunch hour if they have school activities in the afternoon. They learn how to manage small sums of money. As the money is limited, they have to control their spending. Some parents choose this method of allocating pocket money in order to prevent their children from overspending, hoping that in time(将来，迟早)they can be trusted with(托付)larger sums of money. Parents who earn daily wages may also opt for this due to financial constraints.

按天来给零花钱有时被称作“零食钱”。下午有学校活动的孩子们通常会用这些零花钱在课间或午饭时间买些吃的东西。他们从中学到了如何管理好一小笔钱。因为钱的数目有限，他们只能有节制地花费。一些家长用这种方式给孩子零花钱，是为了防止他们的孩子过度消费，并期待日后可以放心地给孩子们一大笔钱来支配。按天领取薪资的父母，由于经济拮据，也会选择这个方法。

Giving pocket money on a daily basis places responsibilities of budgeting on the parents, instead of the child. The child may spend every single cent of the daily pocket money by overindulging in junk food as they know they will get another sum of money the next day. This results in children being shortsighted in their spending. The thought of saving money never crossed their minds. (承上启下的句子) They may develop the mentality that money is meant to(被打算)be spent.(承上句)Others spend more than they are given. They borrow from their siblings or their classmates when they feel like(想要;有…感觉)indulging themselves. Then they may ask for money to pay off their debts. This habit of borrowing causes them to depend on others to solve their problems.(承上启下的句子)In such instances, the purpose of rationing(配给) is defeated.

按日来给孩子们零花钱把预算的责任加在了父母身上，而没有锻炼到孩子。孩子可能会沉迷于垃圾食品而花光每一分钱，因为他们知道第二天又会得到一笔零花钱。这导致孩子们养成了目光短浅的消费习惯。省钱的观念从来不会出现在他们的大脑中。他们可能会形成“钱就是用来花的”心态。有些孩子花的钱比得到的多。当他们想要放纵自己时，就会向兄弟姐妹或同学借钱。然后，他们再要钱来偿还这些债务。这种借钱的习惯造成孩子们在解决问题时依赖他人。从这些案例来看，定额分发零花钱的做法没有达到培养孩子理性花钱的目的。孩子们应该学会如何规划自己的钱。有些父母亲奉行“在实践中学习”这一理念，在月初一次性给孩子们一笔钱，结果到这个月的第三周时这笔钱便已经被花光了。

Children need to learn how to budget their money. Some parents go by the "learning by doing" principle and give their children lump sums at the beginning of the month, and by the third week of the month their account is already dry.

孩子们应该学会如何规划自己的钱。有些父母亲奉行“在实践中学习”这一理念，在月初一次性给孩子们一笔钱，结果到这个月的第三周时这笔钱便已经被花光了。

On the other hand, some learn to budget their pocket money very well and even have savings at the end of the month. They do not borrow money unnecessarily. In other words, they learn to spend within their means. The key to doing this is to differentiate between needs and wants. Buy the necessary first, and indulge ourselves only if there is money left. (承上启下的句子) This habit, when inculcated(灌输)since young, stands them in good stead(对…很有好处) when they start working and earning their own money. It enables them to resist the temptation of "buy now and pay later" schemes.(承上总结的句子)

另一方面，有些孩子学会了如何规划自己的钱，做得很好，甚至月末还有结余。他们基本上不需要借钱。换句话说，他们学会了如何量入为出地花钱。要做到这一点，关键在于区分自己需要和想要的东西。首先买必需的东西，倘若尚有结余，才可以买自己想要的。在孩子们幼年时就灌输给他们这样的理念，让他们养成习惯，这样当他们开始工作挣钱时会有很大的益处，能让他们抵挡住“先买后付”观念的诱惑。

Formation of any habit starts at a tender age(幼年). There is no better way to teach children to manage money than to start with their pocket money. They need to learn the importance of budgeting right from kindergarten days. It is a good idea to start with daily pocket money and move on to monthly pocket money.(承上启下的句子) When children learn to spend within their means, they are able to manage their finances well later in their lives.

任何习惯都是从幼年开始形成的。要教会孩子们学会理财的话，没什么能比得上让他们开始管理自己的零花钱这种方法好了。从幼儿园开始就需要让他们知道合理规划的重要性。从按天给过渡到按月给零花钱也是个不错的选择。当孩子们学会了如何量入为出地花钱时，他们就会管理好自己未来生活中的财产状况。