别再问孩子“长大后你想做什么”

近日，一段网传小学生课堂发言视频引发热议。视频中小男孩说，“我想当中国农业发展银行的行长，继承我的爸爸，因为我的爷爷是中国农业发展银行行长，我的妈妈是中国农业发展银行副行长，所以我想继承我们的家产。”

小男孩身后电子屏上写着，请你用这样的句式说说你的理想。“我长大以后想___。因为___，所以___。”

🤔️小作业：

1. According to the article, what misleading implication does the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" carry?

A) That success is the only valuable achievement in life.

B) That there is one true calling for everyone.

C) That achieving one's dream job guarantees happiness.

D) That all professions are equally accessible to everyone.

A) It can lead to unrealistic career expectations and dissatisfaction.

B) It devalues the importance of hobbies and leisure activities.

C) It discourages people from exploring diverse career paths.

D) It creates a competitive job market that is unsustainable.

无注释原文：

Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up

From: The New York Times, April 1, 2019

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

When I was a kid, I dreaded the question. I never had a good answer. Adults always seemed terribly disappointed that I wasn't dreaming of becoming something grand or heroic, like a filmmaker or an astronaut.

In college, I finally realized that I didn't want to be one thing. I wanted to do many things. So I found a workaround: I became an organizational psychologist. My job is to fix other people's jobs. I get to experience them vicariously — I've gotten to explore how filmmakers blaze new trails and how astronauts build trust. And I've become convinced that asking youngsters what they want to be does them a disservice.

My first beef with the question is that it forces kids to define themselves in terms of work. When you're asked what you want to be when you grow up, it's not socially acceptable to say, “A father,” or, “A mother,” let alone, “A person of integrity.” This might be one of the reasons many parents say their most important value for their children is to care about others, yet their kids believe that top value is success. When we define ourselves by our jobs, our worth depends on what we achieve.

The second problem is the implication that there is one calling out there for everyone. Although having a calling can be a source of joy, research shows that searching for one leaves students feeling lost and confused. And even if you're lucky enough to stumble onto a calling, it might not be a viable career. My colleagues and I have found that callings often go unanswered: Many career passions don't pay the bills, and many of us just don't have the talent. After the comedian Chris Rock heard an administrator tell entering high schoolers they could be anything they want to be, he asked, “Lady, why are you lying to these children?” Maybe four of them could be anything they want to be. But the other 2,000 had better learn how to weld. He added: “Tell the kids the truth. You can be anything you're good at — as long as they're hiring.”

If you manage to overcome those obstacles, there is a third hurdle: Careers rarely live up to your childhood dreams. In one study, looking for the ideal job left college seniors feeling more anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and depressed throughout the process — and less satisfied with the outcome. As Tim Urban writes, happiness is reality minus expectations. If you're looking for bliss, you're bound to be disappointed. This explains research showing that people who graduate from college during a recession are more satisfied with their work three decades later: They don't take it for granted that they have a job.

The upside of low expectations is that they erase the gap between what we wanted and what we got. Extensive evidence shows that instead of painting a rosy picture of a job, you're better off going in with a realistic preview of what it's really like, warts and all. Sure, you might be a little less excited to take it, but on average you end up more productive and less likely to quit. Oprah said it best: “Your job is not always going to fulfill you.”

I'm all for encouraging youngsters to aim high and dream big. But take it from someone who studies work for a living: those aspirations should be bigger than work. Asking kids what they want to be leads them to claim a career identity they might never want to earn. Instead, invite them to think about what kind of person they want to be — and about all the different things they might want to do.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up

From: The New York Times, April 1, 2019

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“长大后你想做什么？”

When I was a kid, I dreaded the question. I never had a good answer. Adults always seemed terribly disappointed that I wasn't dreaming of becoming something grand or heroic, like a filmmaker or an astronaut.

在我的孩提时代，我害怕这个问题。我从未给出一个好的回答。大人们似乎总是非常失望，因为我并没有梦想成为什么大人物或是英雄，比如电影人或是宇航员。

dread /dred/ 作动词，表示“对…感到恐惧；害怕；担心”，英文解释为“to feel extremely worried or frightened about something that is going to happen or that might happen”举个🌰：He's dreading the exam - he's sure he's going to fail. 他很担心考试——他觉得自己肯定过不了。

作名词，表示“恐惧，害怕；忧虑”，英文解释为“a strong feeling of fear or worry”举个🌰：The prospect of working full-time fills me with dread. 可能要全职工作，这让我很担忧。

heroic /hɪˈrəʊ.ɪk/ 1）表示“英勇的，英雄的”，英文解释为“very brave or great”如：a heroic act/deed 英勇的行为/英雄事迹。

2）表示“花费极大力气的”，英文解释为“If you make a heroic attempt or effort to do something, you try very hard to do it.”举个🌰：Despite he's heroic efforts to liven it up, the party was a disaster. 尽管他费了很大力气来活跃气氛，这次聚会还是很糟。

In college, I finally realized that I didn't want to be one thing. I wanted to do many things. So I found a workaround: I became an organizational psychologist. My job is to fix other people's jobs. I get to experience them vicariously — I've gotten to explore how filmmakers blaze new trails and how astronauts build trust. And I've become convinced that asking youngsters what they want to be does them a disservice.

在大学里，我终于意识到我不想做某一件事。我想做很多事情。所以我找到了一个变通方法：我成为了一名组织心理学家。我的工作是去改善别人的工作。我得以间接体验到它们——我已得以探索电影人如何探索新路、宇航员如何建立信任。并且我已经确信，问孩子们他们想做什么是对他们的一种伤害。

workaround /ˈwɜː.kə.raʊnd/ 表示“变通办法，替代办法”，英文解释为“a way of dealing with a problem or making something work despite the problem, without completely solving it”举个🌰：The software still has a few glitches but we've come up with a workaround. 这个软件还是有一些小故障，但是我们已经想出了一个变通办法。

📍由“work”（工作）和“around”（绕过）组成，直接表示找到一个方法“绕过”问题进行“工作”。近义词：solution（解决方案），常用短语：develop a workaround（开发一个变通方法）

psychologist /saɪˈkɒl.ə.dʒɪst/ 表示“心理学家”，英文解释为“someone who studies the human mind and human emotions and behaviour, and how different situations have an effect on people”如：a child psychologist 儿童心理学家。

vicariously /vɪˈkeə.ri.əs.li/ 1）表示“间接感受到地；间接获得地”，英文解释为“in a vicarious way (= experienced through the activities of other people, rather than by doing something yourself)”举个🌰：Some parents seem to live vicariously through their children. 有些父母似乎是通过他们的孩子而活着。

2）表示“替代地，转承地（承担非直接的罪责）”，英文解释为“If you are vicariously responsible for a crime, you are legally responsible for it even though you did not do it yourself.”举个🌰：The owner of a motor vehicle is vicariously responsible for injuries even though he is not driving the car. 机动车主就算不是驾驶人，也须为车祸造成的伤害负转承责任。

blaze a path = blaze a trail 表示“开拓道路；起先导作用”，英文解释为“To blaze a path is to lead the way, to be a pioneer in a field or to clear the road for others to follow in your footsteps.”

youngster /ˈjʌŋ.stər/ 表示“年轻人；少年”，英文解释为“a young person, usually an older child”举个🌰：The scheme is for youngsters between the ages of ten and 16. 该方案适用于年龄介于10至16岁之间的少年儿童。

disservice /ˌdɪsˈsɜː.vɪs/ 表示“有害行为；损害，危害”，英文解释为“an action that harms something or someone”举个🌰：She has done a great disservice to her cause by suggesting that violence is justifiable. 她因暗示暴力的合理性，从而使她的事业蒙受了巨大的损失。

My first beef with the question is that it forces kids to define themselves in terms of work. When you're asked what you want to be when you grow up, it's not socially acceptable to say, “A father,” or, “A mother,” let alone, “A person of integrity.” This might be one of the reasons many parents say their most important value for their children is to care about others, yet their kids believe that top value is success. When we define ourselves by our jobs, our worth depends on what we achieve.

对于这个问题我的第一个不满是，它逼迫孩子们用一种工作来定义自己。当你被问到长大以后想做什么时，回答“一个父亲”、“一个母亲”在社交意义上是不可接受的，更不要说“一个正直的人”了。这可能是为什么许多家长声称，他们自己认为孩子最重要的价值是关心他人，但他们的孩子认为最重要的是成功。当我们用职业来定义自己时，我们的价值取决于我们取得了什么成就。

beef /biːf/ 熟词僻义，作名词，除了表示“牛肉”，还可以表示“抱怨；怨言”，英文解释为“a complaint”举个🌰：His main beef about the job is that he has to work on Saturdays. 他对这份工作最大的不满是周六还得干活儿。

integrity /ɪnˈteɡ.rə.ti/ 1）表示“完整”，英文解释为“the quality of being whole and complete”举个🌰：A modern extension on the old building would ruin its architectural integrity.  在古老建筑物上附加扩建的现代建筑会破坏建筑风格的完整统一。

2）表示“正直；诚实；职业操守”，英文解释为“the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change”举个🌰：No one doubted that the president was a man of the highest integrity. 没有人怀疑总裁是个光明磊落的人。

The second problem is the implication that there is one calling out there for everyone. Although having a calling can be a source of joy, research shows that searching for one leaves students feeling lost and confused. And even if you're lucky enough to stumble onto a calling, it might not be a viable career. My colleagues and I have found that callings often go unanswered: Many career passions don't pay the bills, and many of us just don't have the talent. After the comedian Chris Rock heard an administrator tell entering high schoolers they could be anything they want to be, he asked, “Lady, why are you lying to these children?” Maybe four of them could be anything they want to be. But the other 2,000 had better learn how to weld. He added: “Tell the kids the truth. You can be anything you're good at — as long as they're hiring.”

第二个问题在于这样一种暗示，即人人都有属于自己的一样天职。尽管拥有天职会是一种欢乐之源，但研究显示，寻找天职会让学生们感到迷茫和困惑。而且即便你足够幸运碰上了一样天职，它也可能不是个可行的职业。我和同事已经发现，天职的召唤常常得不到回应：很多职业梦想无法支付账单，并且我们中的很多人就是没有那个天赋。喜剧演员克里斯·洛克(Chris Rock)在听到一名管理人员告诉刚入校的高中生，他们可以成为任何他们想成为的人时，他问道，“女士，你为什么要骗这些孩子？”也许他们中有四人可能会成为任何他们想成为的人。但其他2000人最好学会怎么焊接。他接着说：“跟孩子说实话。你可以去做任何你擅长的事——前提是他们在招人。”

implication /ˌɪm.plɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“可能的影响（或作用、结果）”，英文解释为“a possible effect or result of an action or a decision”举个🌰：The development of the site will have implications for the surrounding countryside. 这个地点的开发将会影响周围的乡村。

2）表示“含意；暗指，暗示”，英文解释为“an occasion when you seem to suggest something without saying it directly”举个🌰：From what she said, the implication was that they were splitting up. 她的话中暗示他们将要分手。

calling /ˈkɔː.lɪŋ/ 表示“（通常指社会价值高的）强烈愿望，责任感，使命感”，英文解释为“a strong wish to do a job, usually one that is socially valuable”举个🌰：I'm glad she's going into medicine. It's a very worthy calling. 我很高兴她打算从医，这是非常高尚的职业。

1）作名词，表示“犯错；失足”，英文解释为“a false step, trip, or blunder / the act of stumbling”

2）更多情况用作动词表示“踉跄；绊脚”，英文解释为“If you stumble, you put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running and nearly fall over.”举个🌰：He stumbled and almost fell. 他绊了一下，差点儿摔倒。

3）表示“跌跌撞撞地走，蹒跚而行”，英文解释为“to walk in a way that does not seem controlled”举个🌰：We could hear her stumbling about/around the bedroom in the dark. 我们可以听到她摸黑在卧室里跌跌撞撞地走动。

4）固定搭配：stumble on / across / upon sth，表示“偶然发现（碰见）”，英文解释为“to find or discover something by chance and unexpectedly”举个🌰：Researchers have stumbled across a drug that may help patients with Parkinson's disease. 研究人员偶然发现了一种药物，也许可以治疗帕金森病。

viable /ˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ 1）表示“能生长发育的；可以存活的”，英文解释为“able to continue to exist as or develop into a living being”

2）表示“可以实施的；可望成功的”，英文解释为“able to work as intended or able to succeed”举个🌰：In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels. 很遗憾，为使公司继续运转下去，将不得不裁员。

weld /weld/ 表示“焊接，锻接（金属）”，英文解释为“to join two pieces of metal together permanently by melting the parts that touch”举个🌰：Iron spikes have been welded (on) to the railings around the embassy. 大使馆周围的护栏上都焊上了铁刺尖头。

If you manage to overcome those obstacles, there is a third hurdle: Careers rarely live up to your childhood dreams. In one study, looking for the ideal job left college seniors feeling more anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and depressed throughout the process — and less satisfied with the outcome. As Tim Urban writes, happiness is reality minus expectations. If you're looking for bliss, you're bound to be disappointed. This explains research showing that people who graduate from college during a recession are more satisfied with their work three decades later: They don't take it for granted that they have a job.

如果你能克服这些障碍，还有第三道：职业很少能达到你童年梦想的期望。在一项研究中，寻找理想工作让高年级大学生在整个过程中感到更加焦虑、压抑、无力和沮丧——并对结果更加不满。如蒂姆·厄本(Tim Urban)所写，幸福等于现实状况减去期望值。如果你寻找的是狂喜，那么你注定会失望。这可以解释这样的研究，它表明在经济衰退期毕业的大学生30年后工作满足感会更强：他们不觉得有份工作是理所当然的事情。

hurdle /ˈhɜː.dəl/ 在文中作名词表示“难关；障碍”，英文解释为“a problem or difficulty that must be solved or dealt with before you can achieve sth.”

它还有另一个常见意思是“栏架，跨栏”，英文解释为each of a series of vertical frames that a person or horse jumps over in a race. 复数形式 hurdles 即表示“跨栏比赛”，如：the 400-metre hurdles 400米跨栏比赛。

表示“与…一样好；达到，实现（某种期望、标准或要求）；不辜负，不辜负对……的期望（指通过行动或表现来证明自己与他人的期望相符）”，英文解释为“If someone or something lives up to what they were expected to be, they are as good as they were expected to be. To be as good as something”举个🌰：The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations. 音乐会很棒——一点儿都没有让我们失望。Sales have not lived up to expectations this year. 销售额今年还没有达到预期目标。

overwhelmed /,əʊvə'welmd/ 作形容词，表示“（强烈地影响而使）不知所措的；被压倒的，被淹没的；受宠若惊的”，举个🌰：Sightseers may be a little overwhelmed by the crowds and noise. 观光者可能被人群和噪声搞得有点不知所措。

overwhelm /ˌoʊvərˈwelm/ 本身作动词，1）表示“（强烈地影响而）使不知所措”，英文解释为“If you are overwhelmed by a feeling or event, it affects you very strongly, and you do not know how to deal with it.”举个🌰：He was overwhelmed by a longing for times past. 他陷入了一种对过去的渴望而不能自拔。

2）表示“彻底制服；击败”，英文解释为“If a group of people overwhelm a place or another group, they gain complete control or victory over them.”举个🌰：It was clear that one massive Allied offensive would overwhelm the weakened enemy. 显然同盟国一次大规模的进攻就会彻底击败已被削弱的敌军。

minus /ˈmaɪ.nəs/ 表示“减（去）”，英文解释为“reduced by a stated number”举个🌰：What is 2024 minus 2015? 2024减2015是多少？

bliss /blɪs/ 表示“极乐，狂喜；天赐之福”，英文解释为“perfect happiness”举个🌰：Lying on a sunny beach is my idea of sheer bliss. 我认为躺在沙滩上晒太阳是最大的幸福。

1）bound /baʊnd/ 作动词，表示“跳跃；跳动；跳跃着前进”，英文解释为“to move quickly with large jumping movements”

2）bound作形容词 表示“去…的；准备前往…的；开往…的”，英文解释为“If a vehicle or person is bound for a particular place, they are travelling toward it.”通常用法：be bound for，举个🌰：The train was bound for Hangzhou. 这火车是开往杭州的。

🍸如果你留意的话，坐地铁时会有这个用法。例如上海地铁2号线上，经常会听到的：

🍸本次列车终点站广兰路，到浦东国际机场方向的乘客请在广兰路换乘。The terminal station is Guanglan Road. You can transfer to the train bound for Pudong International Airport at Guanglan Road.

3）be bound to表示“一定会；很可能会”，英文解释为“certain or likely to happen, or to do or be sth”举个🌰：There are bound to be changes when the new system is introduced. 引进新系统后一定会发生变化。

4）表示“受束缚的，受约束的；（法律或道德上）有义务的”，英文解释为“having a moral or legal duty to do something”举个🌰：The company is bound by a special agreement to involve the union in important decisions. 公司受一项特殊协定的约束，须请工会参与重大决策。

📍-bound后缀，还可以表示“受限于…的，不能离开…的”，英文解释为“(causing people to be) unable to leave a place because of an unwanted condition”举个🌰：During his long illness he was completely housebound (= he could not leave the house). 久病期间，他只能一直呆在家里。

recession /rɪˈseʃ.ən/ 表示“（经济）衰退期”，英文解释为“a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad”举个🌰：The country is sliding into the depths of (a) recession. 这个国家一步步滑入经济衰退的谷底。

📍这个词来自拉丁语“recessio”，意味着“后退”。在经济学中，表示经济活动减缓，通常伴随着生产下降、就业减少。近义词：downturn（下降），同根词：recede（后退），常用短语：enter a recession（进入衰退期）

take sth for granted 表示“认为…是理所当然的”，英文解释为“to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it”举个🌰：I didn't realize that she hadn't been to college - I suppose I just took it for granted. 我不知道她没上大学——我只是想当然地认为她上过了。

The upside of low expectations is that they erase the gap between what we wanted and what we got. Extensive evidence shows that instead of painting a rosy picture of a job, you're better off going in with a realistic preview of what it's really like, warts and all. Sure, you might be a little less excited to take it, but on average you end up more productive and less likely to quit. Oprah said it best: “Your job is not always going to fulfill you.”

低期望值的一个好处是，它们能消弭我们所想与所得之间的差距。大量证据表明，与其把一份工作想象得很美好，还不如在入职时贴合实际地预想一下它真实的样子，并且毫无保留。当然，你在接手时可能会少些激动，但平均而言，你最后的收获会更大，也不容易退出。奥普拉说得好：“你的工作永远不会让你感到满足。”

upside /ˈʌp.saɪd/ 表示“优点；好处；有利的一面”，英文解释为“the advantage of a situation”举个🌰：It's annoying that we can't travel until Thursday, but the upside is that tickets are cheaper then. 烦人的是我们要等到周四才能出发去旅行，但好处是到时票价会便宜些。

erase /ɪˈreɪz/ 表示“消除；消灭；清除”，英文解释为“to remove or destroy something, especially something that shows that that person or thing ever existed or happened”举个🌰：Years of hard living had blurred but not erased her girlhood beauty. 多年的艰辛岁月使她芳容暗淡，但少女时代的美貌仍然依稀可辨。

rosy /ˈrəʊ.zi/ 表示“红润的”，英文解释为“having a colour between pink and red”举个🌰：Your rosy cheeks always make you look so healthy. 你脸色红润，看上去总是那么健康。

2）表示“光明的；有希望的；美好的”，英文解释为“If a situation is described as rosy, it gives hope of success or happiness.”举个🌰：Our financial position is rosy. 我们的经济状况良好。

表示“不隐瞒缺点的；不遮丑的”，英文解释为“describing or including all the bad qualities in a person's character, with no attempt to hide them”举个🌰：She still loves him, warts and all. 她仍然爱他，不管他有什么缺点。

I'm all for encouraging youngsters to aim high and dream big. But take it from someone who studies work for a living: those aspirations should be bigger than work. Asking kids what they want to be leads them to claim a career identity they might never want to earn. Instead, invite them to think about what kind of person they want to be — and about all the different things they might want to do.

我完全支持年轻人力争上游、志存高远。但听听以研究“工作”为生的人的建议吧：这些志向应当不局限于工作。问孩子他们想当什么会使他们去追求一个他们也许永远都不想争取的职业身份。相反，请他们思考一下他们想成为什么样的人——并想想他们可能想做的各种不同的事情。

aspiration /ˌæs.pɪˈreɪ.ʃən/ 表示“志向，抱负；渴望达到的目标”，英文解释为“something that you hope to achieve”如：political aspirations 政治抱负。

claim /kleɪm/ 1）表示“获得；赢得；取得”，英文解释为“to gain, win or achieve sth”举个🌰：She has finally claimed a place on the team. 她终于成了那支队的队员。

2）表示“声称；宣称；断言；主张”，英文解释为“to say that something is true or is a fact, although you cannot prove it and other people might not believe it”举个🌰：The company claims (that) it is not responsible for the pollution in the river. 公司声称对该河流污染没有责任。

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