27. Thank Your Lucky Stars p173

（单词翻译）

　　I remember when I was a young boy, life was tough. My parents made me do many things for them. For example,they had me do the laundry, the dishes and the house cleaning. They even got me to work part-time to helpwith the family expenses. If I was naughty, they would spank¹ me. They would not let me go outside the housefor days.
Nowadays, life is quite different for kids. Parents can't force them to do anything. On the contrary, itseems as if children can get their parents to do anything for them. Parents and teachers are even afraid tospank children for fear of being sued. It amazes me , therefore, whenever I hear youngsters complain.
Instead, they should be thanking their lucky stars.

pleasant
tough = hard 艰苦的        修饰人：凶恶的
do two loads of laundry        不说：do laundry, do dishes  要加定冠词或其他修饰词
I'll have my house painted next monday.
spank sb 打屁股
spare the rod, spoil the child. 孩子不打不成器
ground 禁锢
For fear of failing, Ted² stay up study/studying all night.
He sued me breaking the contract.