A Beverly Hills teenager recently dragged her mother on the Dr. Phil show to complain that she has to live like a peasant, after her monthly allowance was cut from $5,000 to just $1,000.
最近一位来自美国比弗利山庄的少女在一档电视节目上批判她的母亲，抱怨说她的津贴从一个月五千美元被削减至一千美元，感觉自己活得像个农民。
Ever since she was born, 15-year-old Nicolette has been given everything she ever wanted, including a nanny, personal driver and trainers, shopping sessions on Rodeo Drive and a bag collection that would make most women jealous. As a teenager, she would spend between $5,000 and $10,000 on designer clothes, accessories and other things most kids her age can only dream of. However, her mother Nina decided she couldn’t keep up with Nicolette’s spending, so she cut her allowance to “only” $1,000 a month. The self-described “spoiled brat” could’t accept that, so she asked the famous Dr. Phil to straighten things out.
15岁的Nicolette出生至今得到了她想要得到的一切，包括一位保姆、私人司机和教练、在罗迪欧大道上采购以及会让大多数女人嫉妒的包。作为一名少女，她会花五千至一万美元购买设计师服装、配饰和其它同龄人梦寐以求的东西。然而，她的母亲Nina发现没办法承担Nicolette的开销，于是她的母亲削减了她的开销，一个月只给她一千美元。这位自称“被宠坏了的小孩”无法接受这一点，于是她请著名的Dr. Phil帮她解决问题。
“I want my mom to understand that I can’t live off $1,000 a month, and I grew up on a certain lifestyle. She can’t just take that away from me immediately,” the teenage girl said. “If someone took that lifestyle away from her, she wouldn’t like that. And I grew up on it, it’s all I’ve ever known.”
这位少女说道：“我想让我的妈妈明白，一个月一千美元根本不够花。从小时候到现在，我已经形成了特定的生活方式。她不能突然把这些拿走。如果某个人突然改变了她的生活方式，那么她也不会喜欢。而我从小就是这样，这是我一直以来的认知。”
Her mother admitted that she started giving Nicolette credit cards with no limit on them “from a very young age”, but started cutting her allowance after realizing how spoiled she had become. She said she always felt guilty for working several jobs and not spending enough time with her daughter, so she compensated through financial rewards. However, the teen claims that a$1,000 monthly allowance doesn’t even cover her basic expenses, and that her mother should set a proper budget for her.
她的母亲承认从Nicolette很小的时候开始，就给了她一张不限额度的信用卡。但在意识到Nicolette被宠坏了之后，她开始削减她的用度。Nina说因为她做了好几份工作没有时间陪伴女儿，所以总是会觉得愧疚。于是她开始利用金钱来补偿女儿。然而，这位少女表示一个月一千美元根本不够她的基本开销，她的母亲应该为她设定一个更合理的预算。
“I feel like a peasant. I can’t live like this anymore. I’m always out of money,” Nicolette told Dr. Phil. “If you ask me, I think my mom should be giving me at least $2,500 a month just to cover my basic expenses.”
Nicolette说：“我感觉自己像一个农民。如果你要问我，那么我会说我认为我的母亲每个月至少应该给我两千五百美元，这样才够我的基本开销。”
The girl added that she also wants a brand new $231,000 matte black Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen for her 16th birthday, because she’s been wanting one for two years, and she “needs” it. Her mother, didn’t agree, offering her a new Mercedes C Class instead. Nicolette said she would accept it, but made it clear that she would “not be driving anything that could be considered an Uber X”.
这位少女还补充说她在十六岁生日那天想要一辆崭新的奔驰G-Wagen，这辆车价值231000美元。两年来她一直想买这辆车，她很需要它。她的母亲并不同意，不过主动提出可以买一辆新的奔驰C级轿车。Nicolette接受了，不过澄清说她不会开任何看起来像Uber X(Uber里比较便宜的车型)的车。
After hearing both Nicolette’s arguments and her mother’s, Dr. Phil made it very clear that increasing the girl’s monthly allowance would only make things worse. The popular talk show told Nina that “overindulgence is a form of child abuse” and warned her that she was at risk of compromising her daughter’s values by giving her whatever she wants.
在听到Nicolette和她母亲的说法后，Dr. Phil说增加这个女孩每个月的用度只会让情况变得更糟糕。这个节目告诉Nina，过分放纵也是一种儿童虐待，并警告她给女儿想要的一切是一种对女儿价值观的妥协。
As for Nicolette, she should get a job in the real world, according to Dr. Phil. She doesn’t feel that way, though, claiming that “minimum wage” isn’t going to get her her dream car and that a job is “too much work”.
至于Nicolette，则应该找一份工作。不过她自己不这么认为，她说最低工资并不能买到她梦寐以求的汽车，并且说工作太繁琐。
