Malfred 因为工作的关系搬到美国,他出门倒垃圾时,看到一个有点熟悉的面孔,便开口打招呼。
Malfred: Good evening, I’m Malfred. I just moved in yesterday.
Malfred:晚安,我叫 Malfred,昨天才搬进这里。
Jeffery: Hi, Malfred. I’m Jeffery, your next door neighbor! Are you new to the city?
Jeffery:你好 Malfred,我是 Jeffery,就住在你隔壁,你是当地人吗?
Malfred: I’m from Sri Lanka. Feel free to come by anytime for some Sri Lankan tea.
Malfred:我是斯里兰卡人。欢迎随时过来尝尝斯里兰卡红茶。
Jeffery: Excellent! I’m a tea lover and Ceylon black tea is a perfect match for cookies! What brings you to America?
Jeffery:太好了!我超爱喝茶的!锡兰高地红茶跟饼干根本是绝配!你怎么会搬来美国?
Malfred: I got promoted to sales manager and was posted to America for five years. What about yourself? What line of work are you in?
Malfred:我被升迁成业务经理,然后被派驻到美国工作五年。你是做哪一行的?
Jeffery: I work for an advertising firm designing logos and posters.
Jeffery:我是广告业的,负责设计商标和海报。
Malfred: No wonder your garden looks so gorgeous then, you must have an eye for good design.
Malfred:怪不得你的花园看起来这么美,你一定很会设计。
Jeffery: Thanks, I love nature. It always provides inspiration for my designs.
Jeffery:谢谢,我很爱大自然,大自然总能提供我设计的灵感。
come by (phr.) 短暂拜访
动词片语 come by 后面可以接地点,表示「短暂拜访 (某处)」,也有「顺道拜访 (某处)」之意,同义于 swing by。
I’ll come by your new apartment when I have time.
我有空的时候会去你的新公寓坐一坐。
perfect match (n.) 绝配
match 有「搭配」的意思,因此若要表示「A 跟 B 很搭」可以用 A is a perfect match for B ,perfect match 不只可以用在事物,也可以指两个人是「天生一对」。
Popcorn is a perfect match for movies!
爆米花跟电影是绝配!
post (v.) 派驻
post 除了有「发布;公布」的意思之外,还有「派驻」之意。
After training the employees will be posted overseas.
受训后,员工就会被派驻海外。
What line of work are you in? 你从事什么行业?
要问对方从事什么工作时,许多人会直觉想到 What is your job? 或 What are you? 但这些问法都太过直接,会让人觉得有点不礼貌。你可以问:What line of work are you in? 或 What do you do for a living?。
A: What line of work are you in?
B: import/export mainly.
A:你从事什么行业?
B:主要是进出口。
周末,Jeffery 找了另外几个比较熟的邻居,帮 Malfred 办了一个小小的欢迎派对。
Tammy: Hi, I’m Tammy. I live here with my fiancée, Rebecca. So do you just live by yourself then?
Tammy:嗨我是 Tammy,我跟我未婚妻 Rebecca 一起住,你是自己一个人吗?
Malfred: Yeah, I’m single and my parents chose to stay in Sri Lanka.
Malfred:对啊,因为我还单身,而我爸妈也选择留在斯里兰卡。
Rebecca: How’s your week going so far? Everything okay?
Rebecca:你这周过得如何?一切都还好吗?
Malfred: Life here is more fast-paced than in Sri Lanka, so I’m still finding my feet.
Malfred:这边的生活步调比斯里兰卡快,所以我还在适应中。
Jeffery: What do you like to do on weekends? Tammy and I usually go hiking.
Jeffery:你假日都喜欢做什么? Tammy 跟我很常去爬山。
Malfred: I’m also a fan of getting out and about in nature. I like to go camping and stargazing.
Malfred:我也很喜欢去户外走走接近大自然。我喜欢露营和观星。
Tammy: Cool, we’ve always wanted to go camping but we feel like we should go with someone who has some experience.
Tammy:酷哦,我们一直想去露营,但我们需要有经验的人同行。
Malfred: Well count me in the next time you’re thinking of going!
Malfred:如果你们不介意的话,下次可以算我一个!
single (adj.) 单身的
single 原本意思是「单一的」,在对话中则表示「单身的;未婚的」,其他感情状态如:married (已婚的)、engaged (已订婚的)、divorced (离过婚的)。
I feel like I am doomed to be forever single. It seems like it will require a miracle for me to find someone.
我觉得我好像注定要永远单身。感觉好像需要什么奇迹才能找到对的人。
fast-paced (adj.) 步调快的
pace 有「步伐;步调」之意,fast-paced 为复合形容词,形容「步调快的」,反义词是 slow-paced。
He finds living in a fast-paced city quite stressful, so he decided to move to the countryside.
住在步调快的城市让他压力很大,所以他决定搬到乡下。
find one’s feet (phr.) 适应新环境
这句话字面意思是「找到你的脚」,就像要找到你一个可以站稳、立足的地方,因此意思是「适应新环境」。
Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’re not going to get fired! You’ve only just started and you’re still finding your feet.
别对自己这么苛刻,你不会被开除的!你才刚开始而且还在适应新环境啊。