Dialogue1

Jingjing: Mark, are you getting out much these days?
京晶: 馬克，你這些天出去看表演了嗎?
Mark: Not as much as I'd like to—mostly just shopping and going out to eat.
馬克: 沒有我希望的多，出去主要都是購物和吃飯。
Jingjing: Same with me. I wonder if you know about any shows coming to Beijing.
京晶: 我也一樣。那你知道北京最近會有什么演出嗎？
Mark: I hear about them on the radio sometimes, but only remember them if they sound perfect.
馬克: 我有時會在收音機里聽到一些演出信息，只能記住一些聽上去還不錯的。
Jingjing: There was a Shakespeare performance recently. Did you hear about that?
京晶: 最近有一個莎士比亞的劇目。你聽說了嗎?
Mark: Yes, I did, and I wanted to go. But I missed the chance to get tickets.
馬克: 嗯我聽過，我本想去來著，但是錯過了買票的機會。
Jingjing: That's too bad. Have you seen any of Shakespeare's plays performed live?
京晶: 那太可惜了。你看過莎士比亞戲劇的現場表演嗎?
Mark: Have I? I've seen four: two productions of Hamlet, and also the Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and a Winter's Tale.
馬克: 豈止是看過呀，我看過四部呢，《哈姆雷特》的兩個版本，還有《威尼斯商人》、《麥克白》和《冬天的故事》。
Jingjing: Where were they performed？
京晶: 他們都是在哪里演出的?
Mark: Three different places. My favorite was a theater modelled after the Globe, with two or three three levels of open-air seating.
馬克: 三個不同的地方。我最喜歡的是一個模仿環球劇場的劇院，有兩三層露天觀眾席。
Jingjing: You mean it was built just like the Globe Theater?
京晶: 你的意思是它建造得跟環球劇場一模一樣?
Mark: I don't know if they replicated it exactly. But it was the same basic design, a semi-circle of seating, and a stage with a built-up backdrop instead of curtains.
馬克: 我不知道他們是否完全復制了環球劇場，但基本設計是一樣的，有一個半圓形的觀眾席，舞臺背景與觀眾席相融合，而不是用幕簾阻隔。
Jingjing: That sounds just about the same as the Shakespeare's original venue.
京晶: 這聽起來和莎士比亞的原作劇院是一樣的。
Mark: Yeah. And what I liked best was that the play started at dusk. That gave it an intimate feeling.
馬克: 是的。而且我最喜歡的是演出開始于黃昏，這營造了一種溫馨的感覺。
Jingjing: That sounds great. Where was that, in England?
京晶: 聽起來真不錯。那劇院是在什么地方？英格蘭?
Mark: England has a better one, I bet. But I haven't been there. This one was in Ashland, Oregon. Every summer, they have a Shakespeare festival.
馬克: 我敢打賭英格蘭會有一個更好的。但我去的那個是在俄勒岡州的阿什蘭。每年夏天，他們都會舉辦莎士比亞節。
Jingjing: Wow, I'll have to check it out.
京晶: 哇，那我得去看看。

New words: 習語短語

get out much 出門參與文娛活動
go out to theater or museums
open-air seating 露天座位
seats in a theater or a stadium that are not under a roof
backdrop 背景，背景幕布
what you see behind the stage
venue 場館
a theater or stadium

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: Hey, last time I ran in to you, we got to talking about live theater.
京晶: 嘿，上次我們碰面的時候，聊了很多劇院的事。
Mark: Yeah, I remember. We didn't talk much about goings-on in Beijing, though.
馬克: 是的, 我記得。不過我們并沒有談到很多北京正在上演的劇目。
Jingjing: There's so much going on in Beijing. It's a world-class city. I feel silly to be living here and missing so many shows.
京晶: 北京是一個世界級的城市，有很多演出資源。身在北京卻錯過了那么多表演，我覺得自己很傻。
Mark: Right. I used to go out for that stuff more, when I lived inside the Third Ring. Living out in the suburbs, it makes it such a late night.
馬克: 是啊。原來我住在三環內的時候，我經常晚上出去看劇。但現在住在郊區，看劇回來就太晚了。
Jingjing: Past your bedtime, eh grandpa?
京晶: 超過你日常的睡覺時間了，是嗎，老爺爺?
Mark: Hey, go easy on me. What about you? You don't live that far out of town. Do you get out to see much?
馬克: 嘿，別戲弄我了。那你呢? 你住的地方離市區不遠，你經常出去看劇嗎?
Jingjing: Like you, I hear about the big ones, and then forget to get tickets.
京晶: 我跟你一樣，我聽說過很多重要的演出，但最后總忘了買門票。
Mark: Well, it's worth it a few times a year, if it's a show you really wanna see, even if the cheap seats are sold out.
馬克: 嗯，每年去看幾場演出還是很值得的，如果真的是你想看的表演，即使便宜的票賣完了也要去看。
Jingjing: Right. I saw an Italian modern composer a few years back. I liked his movie scores.
京晶: 沒錯。幾年前我看過一位意大利現代作曲家的現場表演。我很喜歡他的電影配樂。
Mark: Wait, was that Ennio Morricone?
馬克: 等等，你說的是埃尼奧·莫里康嗎?
Jingjing: Yeah, he gave a concert at the Great Hall of the People. Did you know about it?
京晶: 是的，他在人民大會堂舉辦了一場音樂會。你知道這件事嗎?
Mark: Know about it? I was there! It's a small world after all.
馬克: 知道嗎? 我也在現場! 這世界太小了。
Jingjing: Hmm. Besides that and the National Theater, are there any good concert halls you'd recommend.
京晶: 嗯。除了那兒，還有國家大劇院，你還有什么推薦的好的音樂廳嗎?
Mark: Try the Forbidden City Concert Hall. It's not so huge, and they sometimes have world-famous solo musicians. So tickets are reasonable, but you get a great performance.
馬克: 你可以試試故宮音樂廳。它不是很大，有時會有世界著名的獨奏音樂家表演。所以門票不太貴，但你能享受到很好的表演。
Jingjing: I'll look in the listings for shows there. Any others?
京晶: 嗯，我會去關注一下那里的演出。還有其他推薦嗎?
Mark: Well, as for drama, you could check out some of the small theaters inside the second ring. There are two or three. I'll text you the names or links to their sites next time I'm online.
馬克: 嗯，如果看戲劇的話，你可以去二環內的一些小劇院，有兩三個不錯。下次我上線的時候，我會把劇院的名字或者鏈接發給你。
Jingjing: All right. I really need to get out more. So, I'll start paying more attention to upcoming events.
京晶: 好的。我真的需要多出去看看演出。接下來有什么新的演出我一定要仔細關注一下。

New words: 習語短語

goings-on 活動，表演
events, performances
world-class 世界級水平的
the best in the world, as good as can be found anywhere (She's a world-class doctor.)
solo musicians 獨奏音樂家
an artist performing alone, rather than with a band or as part of a symphony (also, this can be used if the artist is the only famous one giving a performance but is accompanied by other musicians)