Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey Mark, do you know next week we'll have a holiday?
京晶：嗨，馬克，你知道下周我們要放假嗎？
Mark: Another one? That's cool if we'll have a day or two off.
馬克：又放假？不錯呢如果我們能放一兩天假。
Jingjing: Yeah, we'll have Monday and Tuesday off. Tuesday's the actual holiday.
京晶：是呀，下周一二休息，周二是正節日。
Mark: Hold on, I'm looking it up on my phone. You're right: it's the Dragon Boat Festival May 30th.
馬克：稍等，我正查手機（日歷）呢。你說得對，那天是5月30日，端午節（龍舟節）。
Jingjing: Do you know why the holiday is celebrated?
京晶：你知道為什么要慶祝這個節日嗎？
Mark: Yeah, so we can get out of the city for a day or two and enjoy the great outdoors before it gets to be too hot every day.
馬克：嗯，在天越來越熱之前，我們能夠有一兩天的時間離開城市，去享受美好的戶外吧。
Jingjing: Hey, are you looking that up on your phone too? I'm trying to give you the scoop on Chinese culture.
京晶：這也是你在手機上查到的嗎？我這是在帶你了解中國文化呢。
Mark: I found something about Qū Yuán. Isn't that the poet who killed himself more than 2000 years ago?
馬克：我找到了一些關于屈原的東西。這不是那個兩千多年前自殺的詩人嗎？
Jingjing: What do you need friends for when you've got Wikipedia? But yeah, it was during the warring states period, around 300 b.c. Do you know why he killed himself?
京晶：你都有維基百科了還需要朋友干嘛。但確實，事情發生在在公園前三百年的戰國時期。你知道他為什么要自殺嗎？
Mark: Is there ever a good reason? Well, it says here he drowned himself in a river because he was depressed about having been exiled. But before that, he had written a bunch of folk tales and poems.
馬克：這還需要理由嗎？這里說他是溺水而亡因為對流放的命運感到絕望。但在那之前，他創作了不少民歌和詩句。
Jingjing: Where does the tradition of dragon boats come from then? Any ideas about that one?
京晶：那賽龍舟的習俗又從何而來呢？知道嗎？
Mark: Some people wanted to rescue Qū Yuán. So, it's a tradition, now, to go out on the river in dragon-shaped boats.
馬克：有些人要去把他救起來，所以，這就成了一個傳統。如今，人們就在水上劃著龍形的小舟。
Jingjing: Are you going to try to find a dragon boat next weekend?
京晶：下周末你會想辦法找一條龍舟嗎？
Mark: Maybe I'll rent a kayak at Beidaihe—and, if not there, then just Houhai.
馬克：也許我會去北戴河租一艘皮劃艇吧。如果不去那兒的話，就在北京的后海吧。
New words: 習語短語
get out of the city
走出城市透透氣
(go on a trip for pleasure and relaxation, to a quiet town or scenic spot)
I've got to get out of the city for a while, or else I'll be depressed.
the great outdoors
戶外，自然景點
(a natural scenic spot)
Spring is a good chance to see the great outdoors.
give you the scoop on
給某人有用的信息
(give you useful information about something, what most people should know)
Let me give you the scoop on my new colleagues before you meet them.
exiled 流放
(punished by not being allowed to enter a city/country, usually one's own city/country)
kayak 皮劃艇
(a long, narrow boat, with a seat for one or two people in the middle, usually propelled by a double-bladed paddle)

Dialogue 2

Jingjing sees Mark one more time before the holiday.
假期前，京晶和馬克又見面了
Mark: This year feels like it's flying by. I remember the Dragon Boat Festival being closer to summer every year.
馬克：這一年感覺時光飛逝如電啊。我還記得端午節每年不是靠近夏天的時候到來嗎？
Jingjing: It's been in June for the previous several years.
京晶：之前都是在六月份。
Mark: Is that because of the lunar calendar?
馬克：是按農歷嗎？
Jingjing: Yep. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
京晶：是的。端午節是在每年的農歷五月初五。
Mark: Yeah, in America, some cities have a festival. But I don't think they set the dates the same way.
馬克：是呢，在美國，有的城市也過這個節，但我不認為他們按這樣的方式來安排節日。
Jingjing: Really? Does your home town have one?
京晶：真的嗎？你的家鄉也有一個這樣的節嗎？
Mark: Yeah, it'll be on September 9th and 10th this year. My dad used to do a dragon boat race, competing with his company against other companies that sponsored boats.
馬克：是的。今年是在9月9日與9月10日。我父親過去還參加劃龍舟比賽呢，和他的公司一起與龍舟贊助方公司之間進行比賽。
Jingjing: That must have been quite a sight.
京晶：那一定相當奪眼球哦！
Mark: Yeah, it was pretty awesome. He'd train for it with his co-workers, and then came the big day of the race every year.
馬克：嗯，很棒的。他還要和同事一起訓練，然后參加每年的這個大日子大活動。
Jingjing: Did his company win?
京晶：那他的公司贏了嗎？
Mark: What do you think? He worked as a computer systems engineer in a company that did medical databases for large hospitals. Portland is also home to Nike.
馬克：你覺得呢？他是公司里的一個電腦系統工程師，他們公司是為大醫院做醫療數據庫的。我們波特蘭也是耐克的總部哦。
Jingjing: Um, well, I'm glad he got involved in that. It's cool to hear how Chinese traditions are being adopted around the world.
京晶：還是很開心知道他參與了這樣的活動，聽說中國的傳統被全世界采納還挺酷的。
Mark: Yeah, I'm looking forward to going boating this weekend. I'll be thinking about tradition while I bask in the sun.
馬克：是啊，我很期待這周末去劃船，我沐浴在陽光下的時候會記得這個傳統的。
Jingjing: That's cool. I got you something. It's a stuffed dragon that you can put on the head of your boat.
京晶：酷！我給你帶了個東西，是一個龍玩具，你可以掛在你的船頭。
Mark: Wow, it's super cute! Thanks, Jingjing!
馬克：哇，太萌啦！謝謝京晶
New words: 習語短語
flying by 時間飛逝
(time passing by quickly)
This weekend is flying by so quickly that I haven't caught up on work yet.
lunar calendar農歷
(a calendar based on the phases of the moon)
quite a sight 特別奪眼球的景象
(something that looks impressive, especially a public spectacle or a piece of architecture)
When the glass bridge was opened to the public, it was quite a sight.
home to總部，大本營
(the place where something originates or is headquartered)
New York is home to the Yankees baseball team and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
bask in the sun 陽光浴
(sunbathe, or enjoy a day out in sunny weather)