Part 1 Daddy’s Little Princess

Pandora： Papa， Papa！！

Papa： What is it， my lovely little Pandora？

Pandora： Papa， my clothes are all ugly！ I want new ones right now！！

Papa： What do you mean theyre all ugly？ ①I couldve sworn I gave you some money for new clothes just last week.

Pandora： Those clothes are all old and ugly now. I saw some 1）skanky girl sitting with Jimmy， and she was wearing a dress just like the one I bought. ITS NOT FAIR！！！

Papa： OK my darling little princess， please calm down. How much does your papa have to give you this time？

Pandora： Just a couple hundred. ②Theres a big sale going on at Macys， so Ive gotta strike while the iron is hot. And there are so many hot styles trending right now， I probably need at least…five hundred.

Papa： Five hundred？？ Good heavens！ Has 2）inflation really gotten so bad nowadays？

Pandora： Please hear me out， Papa…

Papa： ③You know， when I was just a wee lad， a stick of gum cost five cents， and a pair of shoes cost less than a dollar. ④I think you take our financial status for granted.

Pandora： ⑤But youre like an old hairy dinosaur Papa. The world is different now. And besides， arent I your special little princess， and dont you want me to be happy？

Papa： Of course I do， my perfect little Pandora. But Im just a bit worried I may be spoiling you is all…

Pandora： WHAT？！ You think Im spoiled？ I dont have half the stuff my friends have.

Papa： I understand， but…

Pandora： But nothing！ All the other daddies give their daughters the newest and coolest stuff. Do you want me to look like a fool？ All the other girls are gonna look at me and be like“Oooohhhh， look at 3）plumpy plump Pandora in her 4）tattered old rags！ Her father must not love her at all.”

Papa： I highly doubt that they would say such

Pandora： And all the other kids parents will say “What kind of a father would let an innocent girl go to school looking like a 5）filthy train-hopping hobo！” ⑥Is that what you want Papa， for me to plunge into despair？

Papa： Alright my little princess， please calm down. Your Papa will give you whatever you like.

Pandora： （mumbles） ⑦Thats more like it. Papa： Let me just see how much I have in my wallet here. A moment…hhmmm…⑧Here you are my sweet little Pandora， a lofty sum for my perfect princess.

Pandora： Awesome！！ See ya later Papa！ Papa： Ahem…Arent we forgetting something？

Pandora： Um…What are we forgetting？

Papa： Perhaps a slight show of appreciation…

Pandora： Nah， I didnt forget anything. See ya！

Papa： （sigh）（aside）Youre welcome…Love you too…

Smart Sentences

① I couldve sworn I gave you some money for new clothes just last week. 我敢保证上个星期我已经给了你一些钱去买新衣服了！

couldve sworn： used to emphasize the following statement is true（用以强调接下来的话是真的）。例如：

I couldve sworn he said that last night.

我敢发誓他昨晚说那话了。

② Theres a big sale going on at Macys， so Ive gotta strike while the iron is hot. 梅西百货将有个大甩卖，所以我要趁热打铁。

strike while the iron is hot： when you have an opportunity to do sth.， do it before you lose your chance， a proverb（趁热打铁，谚语）。例如：

Mom is in a good mood now. Strike while the iron is hot. Ask her about the party.

老妈现在心情不错，趁热打铁，问问她派对的事。

③ You know， when I was just a wee lad， a stick of gum cost five cents， and a pair of shoes cost less than a dollar. 你知道吗，当我还是个小屁孩的时候，一块口香糖才5美分，一双鞋也还不到1美元。

a wee lad： a young boy（小孩子）。例如：

When we were wee lads， we used to play soccer every day after school.

我们还是小屁孩的时候，每天放学后都会去踢足球。

④ I think you take our financial status for granted. 我想你把我们的经济情况想当然了！

take sb./sth. for granted： benefit from sb.s help without showing gratitude（视为当然）。例如：

You cant take money for granted just because your family is rich.

你不能因为你家里有钱就把钱视为理所当然。

⑤ But youre like an old hairy dinosaur Papa. 但是你就像个老古董，爸爸。

an old dinosaur： sb. who falls far behind the time（远远落后于时代的人，老古董）。例如：

You cant call Mr. Taylor an old dinosaur. He has an iPhone， updates his tweets everyday， uses WeChat， and even shops online.

你不能说泰勒先生是老古董，他有台iPhone，每天都更新推特，用微信，还会网购呢。

⑥ Is that what you want Papa， for me to plunge into despair？ 让我陷入绝望，这就是你想看到的吗，爸爸？

plunge into despair： a sudden feeling of complete hopelessness（突然感到绝望）。例如：

Wendy plunged into despair when she was rejected by Yale University.

温迪没有被耶鲁大学录取后就深深地绝望了。

⑦ Thats more like it. 这才像话。

Thats more like it： used when sb. improves an offer or an

attempt， same as “That is better.”（用于某人提出更好的条件，或者某人作出某种努力，等同于“That is better.”）。例如：—How about I drive you to the airport？

我开车送你到机场，怎么样？

—Now， thats more like it.

那还差不多。

⑧ Here you are my sweet little Pandora， a lofty sum for my perfect princess. 给你，我最可爱的小潘多拉，为我最好的公主花多少钱都值得。

a lofty sum： a lot of money（一笔不少的钱）。例如：

Mom， why did you give me such a lofty sum of money？ Im only going to Shanghai for three days.

妈，你给我这一大笔钱干嘛？我只去上海三天呀。