帮忙翻译一下英语短文!拜托了!1
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty
house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. Some may hide. But all of them have something in
common. They spend part of each day alone. They are called latchkey children. They're children who look
after themselves while their parents work. And their bad condition has become a subject of concern.
Lynette Long was once the headmistress of an elementary school. She said, "We had a school rule against
wearing jewelry. A lot of kids had chains around their necks with keys fastened. I was constantly telling them
to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys. It never came to my mind what they meant." Slowly,
she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the impact (影响)
working couples and single parents were having on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by children
at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to reported being scared. Many had
nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall,
under a bed, or in a closet. The second is TV. They'll often play it at high volume. It's hard to get statistics (情
况) on latchkey children, the longs learned. Most parents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
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