Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Welcome back, Mark. How was your holiday?
京晶:歡迎回來,馬克。假期過得如何?
Mark: It was short, but restful. How about yours?
馬克:短暫,但是休息得不錯。你呢?
Jingjing: It was meaningful.
京晶:很有意義。
Mark: How so?
馬克:怎么個好法?
Jingjing: Well, a friend and I went to visit a dog we rescued four years ago.
京晶:我和我的一個朋友去看了我們四年前救助的一只小狗。
Mark: Where is the dog now?
馬克:小狗現在在何處?
Jingjing: It got adopted by some people who run a ranch in Pingu District—do you know where that is?
京晶:被平谷的一家有農場的人家領養了。你知道這地方在哪兒嗎?
Mark: Yeah, just outside Beijing, to the east. So, that's where you spent your holiday, right?
馬克:知道啊,北京郊區東邊的地方. 那就是你過假期的地方嗎?
Jingjing: We just went out there for a day.
京晶:我們只是去了一天。
Mark: I'm curious about the dog. After four years, did it remember you?
馬克:我很好奇那條小狗,四年之后,還記得你嗎?
Jingjing: Yeah. We kinda took it by surprise, though. We sat down at a table near the kitchen, ordered our lunch, and then nonchalantly walked over to pet it where it was resting.
京晶:記得呢,當我們還是有些驚訝。我們坐在廚房旁的一張桌子旁,正點餐,不經意地走過去在它休息的地方拍拍它。
Mark: So, it thought you were just regular guests up until the moment it looked up.
馬克:所以,它覺得你們只是普通客人直到抬起頭來。
Jingjing: Exactly. Then it got all excited. It knocked over its own water bowl with its wagging tail. Also, my friend and I got paw prints all over our pants.
京晶:是的。然后它變得非常興奮,開心地搖著尾巴把水盆都打翻了。我的朋友褲子上到處是爪印。
Mark: That's charming! Did you get to enjoy the scenery while you were out there?
馬克:很可愛啊!去玩的時候喜歡那里的景色嗎?
Jingjing: Absolutely. We picked some fruit and went for a long walk.
京晶:當然了。我們摘了些水果,走了長長的一段路。
Mark: Sounds like you had a great time!
馬克:聽上去玩得很愉快哦!
New words: 習語短語
ranch 農場
a kind of house in the countryside, with rooms only on the first floor, surrounded by land
nonchalantly 漫不經心地
(adverb form of nonchalant) to do something calmly, without seeming to be interested (Even though I wanted to buy the car very much, I walked around it nonchalantly and waited for the seller to talk to me.)
paw prints 小動物的爪印
marks left by an animal like a dog, from its feet
Dialogue 2
Jingjing: So, Mark, what did you do on the holiday?
京晶:那,馬克,你假期做了什么呢?
Mark: I also went out to a scenic spot. West Mountain—have you heard of it?
馬克:我也去了一個景點,西山——聽說過嗎?
Jingjing: Of course. That's not even outside the city. It's more of a hill than a mountain.
京晶:當然了,都還是城里呢。它更是一個山丘而不是大山。
Mark: Right. We lucked out, though. The weather was cool. And I think a lot of people expected rain, because it wasn't all that crowded there.
馬克:是的。我們很幸運,天氣涼爽,我想大多數人都以為要下雨,因為那地方人也不太多。
Jingjing: Let me guess, you went there on Tuesday.
京晶:我猜,你周二去的。
Mark: Yep, yesterday. I got sick at the end of last week. And my wife had to work two days during the long weekend we were supposed to have. So, yesterday was our chance to get out of the city.
馬克:是的,昨天,我上周末病了,我們本來有個長周末,我太太必須得工作兩天。所以,昨天我們才有機會出城玩。
Jingjing: Did you go for a hike there?
京晶:去那兒遠足了嗎?
Mark: Well, it was more like a walk in the park.
馬克:更像是公園里的散步吧。
Jingjing: Was the scenery nice?
京晶:景色好嗎?
Mark: That area is very well-maintained. I prefer something a little more wild. But I can understand, with the number of people that go there, everything needs to be covered with stone or surrounded by fences.
馬克:那個區域保護得很好。我喜歡更郊野一些的地方,但是我能理解,有那么多人去的地方,一切都需要被石頭蓋起來,被圍欄圍起來。
Jingjing: Right. Most importantly, you got a chance to enjoy nature.
京晶:好的。更重要的是,你有了個機會享受自然。
Mark: Yeah, it's good to do that a few times while we have these nice spring days. Besides, it's great to break away from the daily grind and have a good talk with a friend or a family member.
馬克:是的。我們有這么好的春日,多來幾次這樣的活動是很好的。同時,也是一個很好的遠離日常生活的緩沖,和朋友家人好好聊聊天。
Jingjing: I agree. Well, I bet you're refreshed, even though the holiday felt kind of short.
京晶:我同意。我打賭你已經恢復活力了,即使這假期感覺有點短。
Mark: I am. I also can't believe spring is going by so quickly.
馬克:是的,同時我也不敢相信春天如此短暫。
Jingjing: Yep. We have to think about how to make the days meaningful.
京晶:是的,所以我們才要想想如何讓這些日子過得更有意義。
New words: 習語短語
lucked out 非常幸運的
was very lucky, got the best possible result
well-maintained 保護得好的
kept in good condition, especially a house, a car or a garden (with many parts that could break or get ruined)
the daily grind 日常生活
the routine of daily life, especially ones job and housework