A: Bill. Bill! You gotta help me!
B: What’s wrong? Slow down or you are gonna give yourself a heart attack.
A: Tomorrow is Christmas and I haven’t bought my mom anything! I’m such a bad son!
B: take it easy! Let’s go to the mall, window shop a little and see if there is anything she might like.
A: That’s just it! I don’t know what to get her! Last year I got her a ring that was two sizes too big and a pair of shoes five sizes too small! I suck at getting presents for people.
B: That’s where you’re making a big mistake! You can’t just guess peoples’ likes or sizes! Especially with clothes or jewelry. On top of that, I think that you should get your mom something that shows how much you love her. At the same time you should show her that you took the time and effort to look for something that she would really like!
A: Yeah ,you’re right. When it comes down to it, I can be pretty tacky.
B: Yeah， tell me about it. I know! Your mom is trying to learn Spanish, right? Why don’t you get her a gift certificate for this great website I saw called SpanishPod.
A: Now that’s a great idea!
词汇注释
window shop vt. 浏览橱窗(逛商店)
on top of 除…之外
When it comes down to it 从整体上去看
tacky adj. 没有眼光和品位的
tell me about it 我同意，我理解
【拓展词汇】
voucher n.凭单，收据
shop till you drop疯狂购物, 买到人倒下
gift card n. 礼物卡
last-minute shopping 在最终截止时间前买东西
wrack your brain 冥思苦想
参考译文
A: 比尔，比尔，你得帮帮我。
B：怎么了？镇定点，否则你心脏会受不了。
A: 明天就是圣诞节了，而我还没有给妈妈买礼物。我真是坏儿子。
B：别着急，我们现在就去商店，逛逛商店，看是否有她喜欢的东西。
A: 对，我不知道给她买什么礼物。去年我给她买了一个大了2号的戒指和一双小了5号的鞋。我不愿意给人们买礼物。
B：那就是犯浑的地方。你不能彩色人们的喜好或是尺寸。尤其是衣服和首饰。除此以外，我认为你应该给妈妈买些能体现你心意的礼物。同时你要向她表明，你花了很多时间和精力来挑选她真正喜欢的东西。
A: 说得对，当我从整体上去看情况时，就会很没有眼光和品位。
B：我理解。我知道，你妈妈正在学西班牙语，对吧？我们不给她买个能在SpanishPod网上学习的登录账户？
A:那是个好主意。
