Dialogue 1

Jingjing visits Mark where he works.
京晶拜訪馬克工作的地方

Mark: How now, Jingjing? Have a seat. Let me just print something off, and then I can shut down my computer and get out of here for lunch.
馬克：最近還好吧，京晶？請(qǐng)坐。我先打印些東西，然后就可以關(guān)掉電腦，出去吃午餐了。
Jingjing: OK. No rush. I don't have to be back at my office until 1. (Jingjing hums to herself while waiting.)
京晶：好的，不急。我1點(diǎn)之前都不用回辦公室。（京晶邊等邊哼著小曲。）
Mark: OK, done! Let's get a table somewhere before it gets too crowded.
馬克：好了，完事！我們現(xiàn)在就去吃飯的地方，再過(guò)會(huì)兒桌位該不好找了。
Jingjing: Same place as last week, OK?
京晶：還去上周那家餐廳，是吧？
Mark: Sure, let's give them a try. Say, what were you listening to on your earphones? May I ask?
馬克：當(dāng)然，我們?cè)偃ピ囋嚢伞？梢愿嬖V我你正在用耳機(jī)聽什么嗎？
Jingjing: It was rap from Zhongguo You Xiha. Do you know that TV show?
京晶：《中國(guó)有嘻哈》節(jié)目的一首說(shuō)唱，你知道這個(gè)電視節(jié)目嗎？
Mark: I've seen bits of it, but wouldn't be able to name any of the artists.
馬克：看過(guò)一些，但一個(gè)歌手的名字也說(shuō)不出。
Jingjing: The show is pretty hot. Do you think Chinese rap could become a major thing?
京晶：這節(jié)目現(xiàn)在很火。你覺(jué)得中國(guó)的說(shuō)唱音樂(lè)能成為一個(gè)文化現(xiàn)象嗎？
Mark: I don't see why not. It might just be a fad. But I think Chinese is a language that could sound very good in rap.
馬克：我不覺(jué)得不能。目前可能只是一種時(shí)尚，流行風(fēng)潮，但，我覺(jué)得用中文說(shuō)唱可能會(huì)非常好聽。
Jingjing: It's pretty tough to come up with lyrics that can be rapped.
京晶：創(chuàng)作出適合說(shuō)唱的歌詞非常困難。
Mark: How so? Most words are one or two syllables. I always thought that would make it easy, to keep the rhythm and put whatever you want in the song.
馬克：為什么？大多數(shù)說(shuō)唱歌詞用的都是單音節(jié)或雙音節(jié)詞。我一直認(rèn)為這樣會(huì)讓說(shuō)唱更容易，更易保持節(jié)奏，也更方便在歌曲中隨心所欲地填入自己想要的歌詞。
Jingjing: Well, the tones make it harder. We follow tones more than syllable stress in songs, especially rap.
京晶：其實(shí)是聲調(diào)的事情，讓它有難度。我們?cè)诔钑r(shí)更傾向于跟隨聲調(diào)，而不是音節(jié)重度，說(shuō)唱樂(lè)更是如此。
Mark: Hmm, I guess that would be tough.
馬克：嗯，我覺(jué)得這的確有點(diǎn)難。
Jingjing: And, most of all, we can't make as many obscure word choices in song lyrics—or rap—as you English speakers.
京晶：而且，最重要的是，我們不能像你們說(shuō)英語(yǔ)的人那樣，在歌詞中使用很多含糊晦澀的詞語(yǔ)。
Mark: Ha ha. I remember a lyric from one of my favorite rappers, including the word "discombobulated". So, you can't do that in Chinese, eh?
馬克：哈哈。我記得我最喜歡的一位說(shuō)唱歌手的一首歌的歌詞中用了“discombobulated”這樣的單詞，中文歌這樣肯定不行是吧？
Jingjing: No. word choices should be natural, like conversation. Let's talk more when we sit down for lunch.
京晶：的確不行，歌的用詞要求自然，就像平常說(shuō)話一樣。我們吃午餐時(shí)再好好談?wù)撓逻@個(gè)話題。

New words: 習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)

print something off 打印
Send a document to the printer, so that you have a hard copy—and then you don't have to do anything more with it.
bits of (something) 一段
small parts of a radio/TV broadcast, or a film, but not enough for continuity—as opposed to seeing/hearing something end-to-end (i.e. "I've seen bits of Kung Fu Panda when my friends' kids were watching it at different times; but I've never sat through the whole film.")
a major thing 文化現(xiàn)象
a big phenomenon in culture/society, something people take seriously (i.e. "Milk tea is a major thing in China, though you can only find it in a few big cities in America.")
fad 一時(shí)之風(fēng)尚
something that is very popular for a short time, especially if it's somewhat silly (i.e. "Cheese tea is a major food fad in China right now.")
come up with 想出，創(chuàng)造
create, compose
obscure 費(fèi)解的，復(fù)雜的
not so common, not used much (i.e. "The word absurd is quite common, while the word surd is so obscure that I've only seen it in print once and have never heard it in conversation.")

Dialogue 2

Jingjing and Mark are at the restaurant, waiting for their food.
京晶和馬克在餐廳，等待上餐

Jingjing: Who was the rapper you were talking about earlier, the one who used "discombobulated"?
京晶：你剛剛說(shuō)的是哪位說(shuō)唱歌手，就是那個(gè)歌詞中使用“discombobulated”的？
Mark: Oh, that was Da Brat. She's from Chicago.
馬克：哦，Da Brat，一位來(lái)自芝加哥的女歌手。
Jingjing: Is she old school or new school?
京晶：她是老派說(shuō)唱還是新派說(shuō)唱？
Mark: New school, I'm pretty sure. Her stuff came out in the 90s and early 2000s.
馬克：新派的，我很肯定。她的作品主要發(fā)行于上世紀(jì)90年代至2000年前后。
Jingjing: Old school is from before the 1990s, right?
京晶：老派就是90年代之前的，對(duì)吧？
Mark: Yeah, I think that's because the late 80s and early 90s were full of R&B artists. So there were a few years when not so many rap albums were coming out.
馬克：沒(méi)錯(cuò)，我想這是因?yàn)樯鲜兰o(jì)80年代末到90年代初是節(jié)奏藍(lán)調(diào)音樂(lè)盛行的年代。所以，有那么幾年說(shuō)唱歌曲專輯發(fā)行的比較少。
Jingjing: Do you listen to any old school rap?
京晶：你平常也聽一些老派說(shuō)唱歌曲嗎？
Mark: Well, I liked NWA when they were big, and followed Ice Cube. One of my favorite songs of his is "Be True to Your Game." I was really moved when I saw the music video for that.
馬克：嗯，NWA正火的時(shí)候，我曾經(jīng)喜歡聽他們的歌，還有Ice Cube的歌。我最喜歡的Ice Cube的一首歌是“Be True to Your Game”。那首歌的MV真的讓我很感動(dòng)。
Jingjing: I know Ice Cube, but I don't think I've heard that song. What's it about?
京晶：我知道Ice Cube，但我應(yīng)該沒(méi)聽過(guò)那首歌。它是關(guān)于什么的？
Mark: It's about recording artists and other people who turn their back on African American culture, as Ice Cube saw it, to try to get more fans.
馬克：它是關(guān)于一些唱片藝術(shù)家和其他一些人背棄了非洲裔美國(guó)黑人文化，在Ice Cube看來(lái)，他們這樣做是為了獲得更多的粉絲。
Jingjing: That's an interesting topic. I'll have to listen to that song.
京晶：這是一個(gè)有趣的話題。我會(huì)去聽一下這首歌的。
Mark: I've got it in my favorites and will send it to you. There's a Snoop Dogg song with the same title you might want to avoid.
馬克：我已經(jīng)把這首歌加入收藏夾了，回頭發(fā)給你。Snoop Dogg也有一首名字一樣的歌，你搜索的時(shí)候可能得避開那首歌。
Jingjing: Why's that? I like Snoop Dogg.
京晶：為什么？我挺喜歡Snoop Dogg的歌。
Mark: Yeah, me too. Rap sounds good when it's easy and natural. Not when the rapper is trying too hard. Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Ice Cube too—they make it sound easy to rap.
馬克：我也是。說(shuō)唱輕松自然的時(shí)候是非常好聽的，唱得過(guò)分努力，反而不怎么好聽。Snoop Dogg，Warren G，Ice Cube的歌都挺輕松的。
Jingjing: It's not, though. I tried writing a rap.
京晶：并不簡(jiǎn)單。我在嘗試寫一首說(shuō)唱歌詞。
Mark: If it was in Chinese, I can understand why it wasn't easy. Anyway, you'll have to sing it to me sometime, now that you've mentioned it.
馬克：如果是一首中文說(shuō)唱歌，我可以理解為什么難。反正，你得找個(gè)時(shí)間唱給我聽聽，既然你提到了。
Jingjing: Yeah, but not right now. It looks like our food's coming.
京晶：沒(méi)問(wèn)題，但不是現(xiàn)在。好像我們點(diǎn)的餐上來(lái)了。

New words: 習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)

came out 發(fā)專輯
released by a recording company
moved 感動(dòng)
deeply affected, so that a person has strong feelings or changes their attitude
turn their back on 背叛 ，忽略
betray, neglect
try too hard 過(guò)于努力做某事以致于有點(diǎn)過(guò)頭了
work harder at something than others, making it seem uncomfortable (i.e. "I talked with her, to be polite, but felt awkward because she was trying too hard to keep the conversation going.")
old school 守舊派，舊式嘻哈
anything that is from an earlier era and may be considered old-fashioned (usually used to show that something has lasting value)
中國(guó)有嘻哈 Zhongguo You Xiha
The Rap of China