Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey, Mark, what are you doing?
京晶：嘿, 馬克，你在干嗎呢？
Mark: I'm trying to get my book at the top of the shelf, but I can't reach it. Can you give me a hand?
馬克：我在拿架子頂上的一本書，但是我夠不到，你能幫我一下嗎？
Jingjing: Haha, that's what you get for being a shrimp. Here, let me help you with that.
京晶：哈哈，這就是你們小矮人的短處了，來，讓我幫你吧！
Mark: Hey, just because I don't have any legs doesn't mean I'm completely worthless. Being short does have its advantages you know?
馬克：嘿，就因為我沒有大長腿，并不意味著我完全沒有用啊。矮有矮的好處，你知道嗎？
Jingjing: Yeah? Like what?
京晶：哦？比如呢？
Mark: Well, for one thing, the laws of physics are on our side. For example, us small fries have faster reaction times, stronger muscles in proportion to body weight, and greater endurance.
馬克：首先來說，物理法則就是站在我們這一邊的。比如說，我們小個子的人具有更快的反應速度、更高的肌肉體重比，還有更強的耐力。
Jingjing: So what? You're a little bit quicker than us normal-sized folk.
京晶：那又怎么樣？你們不就是比我們正常人快一點兒嗎？
Mark: That's not all! Shorter people are less likely to break bones if we bite the dust.
馬克：不止如此！小個子人在摔倒時不容易骨折。
Jingjing: Really? No wonder I always see you little guys outside rough housing.
京晶：真的嗎？怪不得我總是看見你們小個子的人在外面摔跤打鬧呢！
Mark: That's right, short people excel as gymnasts, divers, skiers, martial artists, rock climbers, figure skaters, rodeo riders, soccer players and long distance runners.
馬克：沒錯，小個子的人里有很多優秀的體操運動員、潛水員、滑雪運動員、武術家、攀巖者、花樣滑冰運動員、馬術競技表演者、足球運動員和長跑運動員。
Jingjing: Ohhh, I see. Is that why you're always going to the gym to work out?
京晶：哦，我明白了，這就是你為什么總是去健身房鍛煉的原因嗎？
Mark: Well, it's true that short people also make excellent martial artists, boxers, and weight lifters, but I happen to like working out just because it's fun.
馬克：嗯，矮個子人確實能成為非常優秀的武術家、拳擊手和舉重選手，但是我喜歡鍛煉僅僅是因為感興趣而已。
Jingjing: Well,I know one thing us tall people are better at than short people...
京晶：好吧，不過有一件事我能確定高個子的人比矮個子的人更擅長。
Mark: Oh, yeah? What's that?
馬克：哦，是嗎，是什么？
Jingjing: Running quickly! Come on, I'll race you home!
京晶：快跑！來吧，咱倆比賽跑步回家。
Mark: Heyyyy! Wait up! That's not fair!
馬克：嘿！等等我！這不公平！

New words: 習語短語

shrimp=蝦米皮，俗語里指小個子的人
I don't have any legs.=我沒有腿，意思是說我個子矮。
(Something) is on your side.=某事站在你這一邊，即你在某方面有優勢。
small fry=[俗語]指矮個子的人
endurance=耐力
folk=[俗語]人，伙計
bite the dust=吃滿嘴土，意思是摔倒
rough house=嬉笑打鬧，例如：摔跤，打架等等

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: Man, I tell ya Mark, you sure were talking a lot of smack about how good it was to be short.
京晶：哎呀，我告訴你，馬克，你肯定是夸大了矮個子的好處。
Mark: Of course it's good to be short. I don't want to be like everyone else.
馬克：矮個子就是好。我可不希望像其他人一樣。
Jingjing: Excuses excuses! I looked up some things on the internet that give tall people the cutting edge over you shrimps.
京晶：借口借口！我在網上查閱了一些東西，說明高個子的人比矮個子有優勢。
Mark: Okay, besides the fact that you have reach over us, what else is so special?
馬克：好吧，除了你們長得比較長以外，還有什么優勢？
Jingjing: When standing in the middle of a crowd, it helps to be able to see over the heads of everyone else, especially if you're at a rock concert!
京晶：站在人群中可以看到遠處呀，特別是在搖滾音樂會上！
Mark: Yeah? Well, us short people will just move to the front of the crowd to catch a better glimpse.
馬克：是嗎？但我們矮的人可以鉆到人群的前面，有更好的視角。
Jingjing: Did you know that women are more attracted to taller men? How about that?
京晶：還有，女性更容易被高個男人吸引？這個好處怎么樣？
Mark: Says who?
馬克：這是誰說的？
Jingjing: Says experts like James Gould from Princeton University. According to him, women are hard-wired to look for signs of health in a man, and being tall is naturally a sign of good health.
京晶：普林斯頓大學的專家詹姆斯·古爾德說的。據他說，女性本能地會尋找一個男人健康的跡象，而身材高大很自然就是身體健康的一個標志。
Mark: Well, I'm really healthy, even though I'm not tall. It's not fair!
馬克：但即使我個子不高，我也很健康啊。這不公平！
Jingjing: If that makes you upset, this will really make you have a cow. According to a recent survey, the average fortune 500 CEO is just under 6 feet tall. The average American man is 5 feet 9 inches. Among the CEOs, 58% of them were 6 feet or over. In the United States, only about 14% of American men are 6 feet or over. You can see that being tall definitely has a big advantage when it comes to making money!
京晶：如果這就讓你心煩意亂了，那下面一條更猛烈。最近的一項調查顯示，財富500強CEO的平均身高接近6英尺，美國人的平均身高是5‘9英尺。500個CEO中身高6英尺及以上的占58%，而在美國，只有約14%的男性身高在6英尺或以上。你可以看出，身材高大在賺錢方面也有很大的優勢！
Mark: Oh,well, I don't mind being short. Our heights aren't anything that we can really control.
馬克：好吧，但我不介意個子矮。因為我們長多高不是我們能真正控制的。
Jingjing: Yeah, don't worry. I don't judge a book by its cover. However anyone looks, regardless of their height, doesn't affect the way I view them.
京晶：是的，不用擔心。我不是外貌協會的（我從不以貌取人）。不論一個人是高是矮，都不影響我對他們的看法。
Mark: That's right.
馬克：這就對了。

New words: 習語短語

talk smack=夸自己；說……如何好（常常夸大）
Excuses excuses!=借口！
cutting edge (over something)=優勢
have reach (over someone)=比別人高（特別是胳臂長）
catch a glimpse=瞥見，看見
hard-wired=自然，本能地做一些事情
have a cow=非常生氣
Judge a book by its cover.=以貌取人（通過封面來判斷一本書，通過外貌來判斷一個人。）