Short Scene 5: Talking About Dads

[StChris]

Short Scene 5: Talking About Dads

 

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XODUyMTg1MjA=.html

奋斗, 14, 25:54 - 29:03

 

I think this is a really nice scene. 华子's mother has just been involved in a house fire. After going to the hospital for a check-up to make sure she's fine, the doctors discover she has an early form of breast cancer. The two guys 陆涛 (black shirt) and 华子 (stripy shirt) are having a chat outside the hospital. After a quick discussion of the above, the converstaion moves on to their fathers. I really like this scene. They've had the realization that I think most boys have when they become adults, that their father isn't the superhero that they thought he was when they were boys, but just an ordinary guy with his own faults. They then pledge that they're not going to be like that when they're old, but I think we all turn into our fathers in some ways, probably to get criticised by our sons in turn...

天灾人祸    natural and man-made calamities （tian1zai1ren2huo4)
耗        dawdle, waste (time) (hao4)
下来        come to an end (in this case a day - 这一天下来）
没劲        boring (it's part of a sentence which I'd translate into British ENglish as "Don't be daft". 华子 is telling 陆涛 to go home because he must be tired after a long day. He's meaning is "That's friends are for" or something similar)
垫上        to pay for somebody (陆涛 paid 华子's mother hospital bills)
乳腺癌        breast cancer (ru3xian4ai4)
因祸得福    derive gain from misfortune (yin1huo4de2fu2)
火灾        fire(disaster)
按我说啊， 着三次火都值 A tricky sentence, but I think he's saying "As far as I'm concerned, the fire could have been three times worse and it would still have been worth it" (because it led to them discovering his mother's breast cancer). I think that 着 (zhao1) here means "add".
千千万万    tens of thousands, innumerable
接着        after that...
不服        refuse to obey or accept, not give in
叫        to make, cause (这叫我想起 = "That made me think" / "That got me thinking"
按着        according to...
封建思想    feudal way of thinking (feng1jian4)
女大三 抱金砖  this is an old saying. Not too confident of the meaning, but I think it's something like if the woman's older then her husband by three years then she'll be in control of the relationship.
折腾        to nag, do something over and over again (zhe1teng0)
估计        reckon, estimate (gu1ji4)
上辈人        one's elders
神秘        mysterious (shen2mi4)
生存        survive
坚强        strong (able to withstand tests and trials)
展示        reveal  （zhan3shi4)
软弱        weakness (ruan3ruo4)
大夫        doctor (dai4fu0)
跪下        kneel down (gui4xia0)
任大夫是吃这碗饭的 能不救吗    Don't quite understand this, hopefully someone else can explain. I think it means something like: "After that kind of (humiliating) performance by my dad, there's no way the doctor could have the heart to not help"
作揖        make a slight bow with hands folded in front (zuo4yi1)
鞠躬        bow (ju1gong1)
护士        nurse
哭哭啼啼    weep and wail (ku1ku0ti2ti2)
上山下乡    (of urban school leavers) go to work in the countryside (which 华子 parent's generation were probably forced to do in their youth)
恨不得        dying to do something, itching to do something （hen4)
扛        to shoulder (eg a responsibilty 扛事儿） (kang2)
感情用事    act impetuously (on one's emotions)
一准        certainly, sure to...
老鼠的儿子会打洞  It think this means "Look at you all grown up now!"
愁眉苦脸    wear a worried expression (chou2mei2ku3lian3)
两样        difference
背        unlucky
 

[Demonic_Duck]

I believe "龙生龙，凤生凤，老鼠的儿子会打洞" could be translated as "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", "like father, like son" etc.

[roddy]

Couple of notes on the vocab - 

垫上 will normally mean to pay for someone, but with the expectation of being paid back 

着三次火 - 着火 is to catch fire (another meaning of 着 you probably haven't come across). So it'd have been worth the house catching fire three times. 

任大夫是吃这碗饭的 能不救吗 - you've got this bit wrong. He's saying there was no need for his dad to put on such a performance, as it's the doctor's job (rice bowl) to treat people.

"the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", "like father, like son" etc. - it wouldn't be a direct translation, but you could also refer to someone being a chip off the old block.