Dialogue 1
Mark: Good afternoon, Jingjing. Are you ready for the weather to turn chilly?
马克:下午好,京晶,天气要变凉了,你准备好了吗?
Jingjing: Not really. I like the temperatures we have these days. It seems we just got past the days when it was too hot to do much outdoors.
京晶:并没有。我喜欢这些天的温度。看上去我们已经度过了热得没法做户外运动的日子。
Mark: Yeah, and next thing you know it'll be too cold outside.
马克:是啊,很快,就会太冷也没法出去了。
Jingjing: Right. Hey, have a moon cake. It'll help you stay warm for the coming autumn.
京晶:是啊。来,吃块月饼,这热量能帮你保暖迎接秋天的到来。
Mark: Thanks. It's a nut one, right? I recognize the 五 character.
马克:谢谢了。是伍仁馅儿的吗?我认出了“五”这个汉字。
Jingjing: Yep, that's it. The other is 仁, which usually means kindness, but when it's about food it refers to nuts.
京晶:嗯呢,是的!另外一个字是“仁”,通常这个字的含义是仁慈,但指代食物时,意为坚果类。
Mark: That's really different. In English, if someone says, “you're nuts”, they are saying you're crazy.
马克:这真是很大的不同啊。在英语中,如果有人说“you're nuts”意思是你疯了,失去理智了。
Jingjing: Okay, but depending on the context, someone knows that you're either talking about nuts as a kind of food or kindness and benevolence as a human quality.
京晶:但是要取决于上下文,有人知道你要么指的是做为食物的坚果,要么是指做为人类所具有的善良和仁慈的品质。
Mark: Got it. Anyway, thanks for the moon cake. That's my favorite flavor.
马克:明白了。对了,谢谢你的月饼,这是我最喜欢的口味。
Jingjing: I usually like to eat one that has an egg inside.
京晶:我通常喜欢吃一个里面有蛋黄的那种。
Mark: Oh, that's the only one I don't like.
马克:啊,那是我唯一不喜欢的一种。
Jingjing: I think you told me that last year. That's why I saved the one with nuts in it for you. Hey, did you eat it already?
京晶:我记得你去年跟我说过。这就是我为什么我给你留了一个里面伍仁馅的。你吃了吗?
Mark: Yup. I wolfed it down when you were talking about benevolence.
马克:吃啦。你谈到仁慈的时候我就大口吞了个干净。
Jingjing: 你太麻木不仁. That means you're too insensitive. I'm just kidding.
京晶:“你太麻木不仁了”意思是你太迟钝太麻木了。开玩笑哈。
Mark: I guess I should have just nibbled it politely. But it was so good, I couldn't stop myself from finishing the whole thing in a few bites.
马克:我想我本应该很有礼貌地轻轻咬着吃,但它真的太美味了,我简直情不自禁几口就结束战斗了。
Jingjing: Ha ha. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
京晶:哈哈。很开心你喜欢吃。
New words : 习语短语
chilly (adj) 天气凉
a little cold (weather, or temperature inside a room)
next thing you know (it's, it'll be) 某事即将开始,到来 pretty soon
(be) nuts 疯,傻,不正常
crazy, silly, overly bold
context 上下文
the time and place, surrounding situation, in which something is said
wolf something down 狼吞虎咽
eat something very quickly, finish it
nibble (on) something 慢慢吃,小口吃
eat something very slowly, taking small bites
Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Mark, do you celebrate Mid-Autumn festival in the west?
京晶:马克,你们西方庆祝中秋节吗?
Mark: No. It's mainly an Asian holiday. We have something like a harvest festival, but not a holiday celebrated everywhere on the same day.
马克:不呢。这主要是个亚洲的节日。我们有类似秋收节,但也不是一个在各地同一天庆祝的节日。
Jingjing: In China, and throughout Asia, we celebrate Mid-Autumn festival on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
京晶:在中国,以至整个亚洲,我们都在农历八月十五这天庆祝中秋。
Mark: That's a full moon, right?
马克:那天是满月,对吧?
Jingjing: Yes. Did you see the moon last Monday?
京晶:是的,你看到周一的月亮了吗?
Mark: Yeah. We had clear weather, and got to enjoy the view. The moon shines into my window most nights. Monday night, my bedroom was brightly lit.
马克:看见了啊。那天天气清朗,能看到很好的景色。好几天夜里月光都照进了窗户。周一那晚,我的卧室都被照亮了。
Jingjing: Besides looking at the moon, do you know what we do to celebrate Mid-Autumn Day?
京晶:除了赏月,你知道中秋节还要如何庆祝一下吗?
Mark: Eat moon cakes, obviously. Besides that, people get together to have a big meal. Isn't that so?
马克:吃月饼,是当然的。除此以外,家人团聚吃顿大餐,对吗?
Jingjing: That's right. Since it's just one day off, most people stay near their own home and workplace. So, a lot of us have meals with friends in the city where we live.
京晶:对的。既然只有一天假,大多数人也就呆在家里或者单位附近了。所以,大多数人也就在自己居住地的城里和朋友们一起吃饭了。
Mark: Did you have a get together with your friends.
马克:你和朋友们聚了吗?
Jingjing: I sure did. Several classmates from my university had a mini-reunion. We had hot pot on a long table with three different soups boiling.
京晶:当然了。我和好几个大学同学来了个小团圆。我们吃了火锅,一个大长桌上煮了三种不同口味的汤锅。
Mark: That sounds fabulous. Is hot pot a traditional food for the Mid-Autumn festival?
马克:听上去好棒啊。火锅也是中秋节的传统食物吗?
Jingjing: Nah, it's just a nice thing to have with a group, and good food for when the weather is on the verge of turning cold.
京晶:不是的。只是和一群人相聚很适合吃的好东西,也是很好的在天气快要变凉的时候吃的食物。
Mark: There's no such thing as a bad reason to have a good meal with friends.
马克:和朋友们一起聚个好餐任何理由都是好理由。
Jingjing: Right. It was good to see them all. Also, ate so much that I've only had vegetables and snacks since then.
京晶:是的。见到他们特别好。我得好撑,吃完都现在我都只吃了点蔬菜和零食呢。
New words : 习语短语
harvest 丰收
the time when farms have food ready
mini-reunion 小型聚会
a small party, with friends from long ago
on the verge of (something) 快要开始
almost starting
There's no such thing as (something) 没有这种事
something doesn't exist ……
adj. 不敏感的,麻木不仁的,感觉迟钝的