Dialogue 1

Jingjing meets Mark for lunch.
京晶約馬克一起吃午餐。
Jingjing: Sorry to keep you waiting, Mark. Were you here long?
京晶：很抱歉讓你久等了，馬克。你早就到了吧？
Mark: Well, I got here at the time we agreed to meet. But it's no problem. I just finished part of this book.
馬克：嗯，我是按咱們約定的時間到的。不過，沒關系，這本書我剛剛看了一部分。
Jingjing: Oh, you're still reading the same book after two weeks. I thought you'd be done with it by now.
京晶：哦，你看的還是兩周前的那本書。我以為你早就看完了。
Mark: I thought so too. But I've been pretty busy.
馬克：我也覺得看的有點慢。不過，我一直很忙
Jingjing: I know how it is. Actually, that's why I was a little late. I had to finish some work before I could leave the office.
京晶：我理解。其實，這也是我剛剛遲到了會兒的原因。我得先完成一些工作，才能離開辦公室。
Mark: Hey, don't worry about it! I'm glad to have some time to relax. You know, we could just grab something to eat here, at this coffee shop. It's the lunch rush now, and we're lucky to have a table.
馬克：嘿，不用擔心！能有時間放松一下，我挺高興的。你知道，我們可以在這家咖啡店隨便吃點什么。現在是午餐高峰時間，我們能占到一張桌子，挺幸運的。
Jingjing: Hmm, expensive or crowded: that's the choice of restaurants we have, surrounded by so many office buildings.
京晶：嗯，要么價格貴，要么人滿為患——我們能選擇的餐廳都是這樣，周圍有這么多寫字樓。
Mark: I know you usually eat at your dining hall. So, I don't want you to feel stuck between some place that's hard on your nerves or one that's hard on your wallet. Anyway, I have a card for this coffee shop. Let me take care of our lunch.
馬克：我知道你平時都在你們單位的食堂吃飯。所以，我不想選擇讓你感到緊張，或者消費太高的地方吃飯。對了，我有一張這家咖啡店的卡。這頓午餐我請了。
Jingjing: That sounds pretty good. Yeah, I don't feel like walking outside until it's time to go back to work.
京晶：聽起來不錯。是的，回去工作之前，我可不想在外面走來走去的。
Mark: Take a load off, Jingjing. Let me bring a menu over.
馬克：你坐吧，京晶。我去拿菜單。
Jingjing: Just surprise me. Order whatever you think is good, when you go up to the counter.
京晶：可以給我點驚喜。你直接去前臺點些你覺得不錯的菜就行。
Mark: OK. I think I know what kinds of things you like. I'll be back in a little while.
馬克：好。我想我知道你愛吃什么。稍等。
Jingjing: Oh, and get them to tell you the wifi password.
京晶：對了，幫我問一下前臺餐廳的WiFi密碼。
Mark: Just use that sticker on the table.
馬克：桌子上貼著呢。
Jingjing: Whoops! I thought that was an advertisement. Yeah, I'll just scan the QR code.
京晶：哎呦！我還以為那是廣告。好，我這就掃二維碼。
Mark: It worked for me. The wifi's pretty fast here.
馬克：我用過他們家的WiFi，網速挺快的。

New words: 習語短語

I know how it is. 我理解你的情況
I understand your situation.
lunch rush 午餐高峰
the busy time at restaurants during the lunch hour (same with dinner rush)
hard on your nerves 令人緊張難受
(hard on ) difficult for you in a specific way (i.e. running is hard on your knees)
take a load off 坐下，休息
sit down, relax
surprise me 讓我驚訝一下
go ahead and choose something for me, and I'll probably like it
QR code 二維碼
(quick response) a scannable bar code that allows users to link directly to a website

Dialogue 2

Jingjing and Mark are waiting for their food.
京晶和馬克正在等餐。
Jingjing: I'm kinda envious of you, Mark. You don't have to sit in an office all day.
京晶：我有點羨慕你，馬克。你不必整天坐在辦公室。
Mark: Don't be. I commute five days a week. I have to be on time. And I do forty hours of work per week.
馬克：可別。我一周上五天班，還不能遲到。而且我每周都得工作40個小時。
Jingjing: Yeah, but you don't have to work an eight hour stretch every day.
京晶：沒錯，但你不必每天不停工作八小時。
Mark: Do you?
馬克：你不也是嗎？
Jingjing: Well, yeah! I have flex time, to some extent. I don't have to be in until mid-morning. Obviously, I have to be at the studio in time to get ready for the broadcast each day.
京晶：嗯，是的！某種程度上，我的工作時間挺靈活的。早晨十點鐘左右到單位就行。但，顯然，我必須及時到演播室，為每天的播出做準備。
Mark: So, if you're tired, you can sleep in.
馬克：所以，如果前一天太累，還可以睡個懶覺。
Jingjing: I guess I could cut my morning activities short. But that's my me time each day. After the broadcast, I use the late afternoon, the evening, and even the night to prepare content for upcoming shows. That usually keeps me at the office until after dinner time.
京晶：我想我可以把我早上的活動時間縮短些。但那是我每天的私人專屬時間。做完節目后，我會利用下午晚些時候、傍晚，甚至晚上的時間，準備下次播出的內容。這通常讓我晚餐時間后才能離開辦公室。
Mark: So, you miss the rush hour. That sounds pretty enviable.
馬克：所以，你上下班時可以錯過早晚高峰。這很令人羨慕。
Jingjing: I guess it is. Nobody likes being stuck on a crowded subway or a bus. I'd rather work at the office for two extra hours, then have a smooth and shorter commute later in the evening.
京晶：也許吧。沒人喜歡擠地鐵、擠公交。我寧愿在辦公室多工作兩個小時，然后在傍晚晚些時候享受更短、順暢的通勤。
Mark: I hope you don't have dinner too late. That's unhealthy.
馬克：我希望你吃晚餐不要太晚。這對健康不利。
Jingjing: Nah, I can grab a snack. You know, there are so many convenience stores around here.
京晶：不會啦，我可以吃點零食。你知道，這附近有很多便利店。
Mark: It sounds like you manage your time pretty well. I know too many people who have to check in at exactly 9:00, or face a penalty.
馬克：聽起來你把自己的時間管理的不錯。我認識很多人每天都必須9點之前打卡上班，否則就得挨罰。
Jingjing: Yeah, those fingerprint machines are pretty common. We used to have one, but it stopped working. Our boss is happy with us as long as our projects are going well.
京晶：是的，指紋打卡機現在很常見。我們單位也有過一臺，但后來不用了。只要我們的工作能順利完成，我們的老板就對我們挺滿意的。
Mark: That's a good way to handle it. Outside of customer service or tech support, punching the clock doesn't make much sense in today's workplace.
馬克：這種方法不錯。除了客服或技術支持方面的工作以外，在當今的工作場所，上下班打卡其實沒什么意義。
Jingjing: There are lots of jobs that call for people to be there 9 to 5.
京晶：有很多工作要求員工必須早九晚五。
Mark: Yeah, I guess so. Oh, here comes our food already.
馬克：是的，我想也是。哦，開始上餐了。
Jingjing: Thanks for ordering a lot! I didn't realize how hungry I was until I sat down here.
京晶：點這么多菜！謝謝啦！我坐下來才意識到自己有多餓。

New words: 習語短語

envious 妒忌的，令人羨慕的
adjective, about a person who wants what other people have (enviable is the adjective for the thing/situation people want to have)
flex time 自由時間
(flexible time) permission from your company to work arrive and leave work at different times, if enough hours are worked in a week and projects are finished
mid-morning 9:30 to 11:30 AM
(the mid-afternoon is 2:30 to 4:30)
sleep in 睡懶覺
continue sleeping, later than usual, in the morning
cut (something) short 在某事做完之前就停止
stop doing something before you've finished
me time 做自己喜歡做的事情的時間
a few minutes or hours when you do things you enjoy
keeps me at/in (some place) 要求某人待在某處
requires me to stay some place
rush hour 通勤高峰
8:00-9:00AM, 5:00-6:00PM
(the time during which most people are commuting to/from work
call for 要求
(phrasal verb) need/require