A: Mr. and Mrs. Robinson! Let’s get straight to it. You have saved up your money for years and are now ready to build your dream home. What did you have in mind?
B: A suburban bungalow straight out of the sixties! A perfect lawn with minimal landscaping. A brick patio in the backyard with an old-fashioned grill, quaint lawn furniture, and a swimming pool. A two-car carport, pastel siding and a gable roof. Completed with white shutters and a white picket fence !
C: Uh, honey?
B: In the living room we would have moss-green rugs and a fireplace with a stone mantle and wood paneling on the walls. In the kitchen, the cupboards would be a pale yellow and we would have a turquoise metal oven and vinyl flooring -
C: Umm, sweetie, but I was thinking of a more modern style house. An open concept house, all glass, wood, metal, and concrete.
B: But sweetums, there is always a lot of wasted space in those kinds of homes. Besides, it’s just a fad. It doesn’t have the homey feeling the old homes do.
C: Sweetie-pie it’s not a lot of wasted space. It is relaxing and the house would be eco-friendly with an in-floor heating system and designed to retain the heat of the sun in the winter and keep the house cool in the summer. We would have solar panels on the roof.
B: Do you know how much those things cost?
C: What about your vintage furniture, dearest? And instead of a lawn, which is also a lot of wasted space and would require environmentally harmful pesticides, we would have a fish pond in the backyard and a garden that would cover the whole yard so we could grow our own food!
B: But buttercup, I thought you always said that you loved visiting your grandmother’s house!
C: And I thought you, Mr. Scientist, were all up on saving the planet with your technological advancements!
A: Umm well I am just going to go get some coffee while you two keep discussing.
词汇注释
dream n.梦想
suburban adj. 郊外的
bungalow n. 平房
the sixties 60年代 （1960-1969）
minimal adj. 最小的
landscaping n. 全景
patio n. 天井; 露台
quaint adj. 古雅的, 奇怪的
carport n. 无墙车库, 车棚
pastel n. 粉蜡笔
siding n. 墙板
gable n. 山墙, 三角墙
shutter n. 百叶窗
mantle n. 壁炉上的墙
paneling n. 嵌板
turquoise n. 青绿色
vinyl n. 塑料
sweetums adj. 心肝儿, 宝贝fad
homey adj. 家庭似的, 舒适的, 自在的
sweentiepie n.亲爱的
eco-friendly a.不损坏生态环境的
in-floor 地热
heating n. 取暖
retain v.保存
vintage adj. 老式的
pesticide n. 杀虫剂
buttercup, n. 毛茛, 金凤花
technological adj. 技术的
advancement n. 前进; 进步
参考译文
A: 罗宾逊夫妇，我们直接来谈主题吧。这些年你们已经存了很多钱，现在你们已经准备好建造理想家园。你们有什么打算？
B: 要盖一个60年代那样的平房。有一块能欣赏到全景的漂亮草坪，后院要有一个砖砌的露台，旧式的烤架，古雅的细麻纹家具，还要有一个游泳池。 能容纳2辆车的车棚，有着粉蜡笔墙板和三角墙屋顶。还要有一个白色的百叶窗，和白色的尖桩篱栅。
C：亲爱的，补充点吧?
B: 在起居室，我们想要苔绿色的地毯 和一个有遮挡墙的壁炉，以及一个镶在墙上的嵌板。厨房的橱柜要灰黄色的，要一个 青绿色的烤箱和塑料地板。
C：亲爱的，我想要一个现代式样的房子，全新概念的房子，全是由玻璃，木头，金属和水泥建造。
B: 但是宝贝，那样的房子总是有很多空间被浪费，而且，那只是一种时尚，它没有老式房屋的舒适感。
C：亲爱的，那不是浪费空间。那样的房子令人放松，它是种环保的房子，它装有地热系统，设计时在冬天能够保存太阳的热量，在夏天能保存梁顺。我们将在屋顶安装太阳能电池板。
B:你知道那样做会花费多少钱吗？
C：那老式的家具会花费多少钱？草坪会浪费很多空间，而且需要喷洒对环境有害的杀虫剂。所以我们会建一个鱼塘，和一个能覆盖整个院子的菜园，那样我们就能自己种菜。
B:但是金凤花，我记得你总是说你喜欢参观祖母的屋子。
C：我认为你，科学家先生，总是想着用技术上的进步来拯救地球。
A: 喔，那你们继续讨论，我去弄杯咖啡。
