英語學習點: 有關問題的詞匯 Vocabulary: Problems
How many children would be able to run their own business?
Have you ever had a troubling problem that has left you wondering where to turn for help?
Eve Hobsbawm is a life counsellor. She offers advice to people struggling with all kinds of dilemmas, from relationship difficulties to what to cook for dinner.
收聽與下載
She does this through a website inviting people to email her with their queries and quandaries. There's nothing unusual about that... except for the fact that Eve is only eight years old.
This junior trouble-shooter, who also goes by the name 'Miss Evie Mouse', lives in London with her parents. Not only is Miss Mouse willing to lend an ear to her clients, she will also offer them a helping hand... for a fee of course.
She charges between 10p (1 yuan) for advice on little, everyday worries and ?1 (10 yuan) for thornier problems. Her areas of expertise - if not of experience - are: "Problems about love, life and work-life balance."
A problem shared is a problem halved, but Eve can't always help. A note on the site states that she can't answer questions like "Does space ever end?" and she won't solve "schoolwork-related problems (especially not maths)."
She explained to the Guardian newspaper that she was inspired to set up the company by her father who runs a tech start-up. Eve said: "As soon as I saw his business and understood the kinds of things businesses do, I thought that's what I'm going to do."
But since setting up her company in December she has been so overwhelmed with messages that she has had to take a step back. "There has been a lot of sudden interest in my site, which is nice," she says, "but I need to do my homework too, so I won't be solving any more problems for a bit."
Glossary 詞匯表 (收聽發音, 請單擊英語單詞)
- troubling令人煩惱的
- where to turn for help到哪裡求救?
- a life counsellor人生顧問
- to offer (someone) advice提供諮詢
- commemorative紀念的
- to struggle 掙紮
- a dilemma (進退兩難的)窘境
- a query提問
- a quandary左右為難的情況
- a trouble-shooter能解決問題的人
- to lend (someone) an ear聆聽他人的問題
- to offer (someone) a helping hand助人一臂之力
- thornier多刺的,此處形容棘手的
- work-life balance工作生活平衡
- a problem shared is a problem halved(成語)跟人說了,問題就解決了一半。
- inspired受鼓舞
- a tech start-up 一個新創科技公司
- to be overwhelmed被淹沒,使之難以承受