Dialogue 1
Mark: Hey Jingjing, whatever happened with your friend who went on that blind date?
馬克：嘿，京晶，你那個去相親的朋友后來情況怎么樣了？
Jingjing: It's a long story, Mark.
京晶：這說來可就話長了，馬克。
Mark: Well, I have time if you have time. Anyway, “a long story” sounds like it's good for at least a little gossip.
馬克：我倒是有時間聽如果你有時間說。再說了，“說來話長”聽著到是值得小小八卦一下。
Jingjing: Um, ok. I should start by playing you a short recording from the date. My friend, Meili, used her phone under the table to get a little audio.
京晶：嗯，好吧。我應該一開始就給你放一段約會當天的短錄音，我的朋友美麗用她的手機在桌下錄的。
Mark: Oh did she? Let's have a listen.
是嗎？她錄的？讓我們來聽聽。
Gaofeng: So, I just got back a few months ago.
高峰：所以，我幾個月前才回來。
Meili: And you found a job already. That's pretty good.
美麗：你已經找到工作了，很不錯啊。
Gaofeng: It's ok. It doesn't pay very well.
高峰：還行。薪水不是特別好。
Meili: But if there are chances for you to be promoted, you should stick with it.
美麗：如果有機會獲得晉升，你應該堅持下去。
Gaofeng: There might be chances. They seem a little distant right now. It's not very clear. The good thing is I get to use a company car.
高峰：也許有些機會。現在還遙不可及呢，不太明朗。也是有好處的，我能用公司的車。
Meili: It's good to have a car, but even better to have one of your own.
美麗：有車是很好的，有一輛自己的車就更好了。
Gaofeng: I definitely agree. I plan to buy a house first, then a car later.
高峰：我完全同意。我計劃先買套房，再買車。
Meili: So, hopefully you'll make more money and still be able to use a company car.
美麗：那，希望你可以掙得更多，同時還能用公司的車。
Gaofeng: That's the idea.
高峰：現階段就是這樣的想法。
Meili: How soon do you think you can buy a house?
美麗：你覺得你多久能買套房呢？
Gaofeng: That depends on the location, and whether it's 70-year ownership or just 30.
高峰：這得取決于坐落的地點吧，還有是70年產權還是30年的。
Meili: 30 seems like a bad compromise to have to make You'd have retirement and sunset on home ownership on the same horizon.
美麗：30年聽上去像一個不怎么好的折中方案。等你退休的時候，房子的產權也到期了。
Jingjing: The recording stops there. I have to go pick up a delivery. When I come back, I want you to guess what was special about that blind date.
京晶：錄音就停在這里了。我得去拿個快遞。等我回來的時候，我想讓你猜一下這個相親有何特別之處。
Mark: Ok. See you in a few minutes.
馬克：好啊，一會兒見嘍。


New words : 習語短語
blind date 相親；第一次見面約會
a date between too people who have not seen each other before, usually set up by relatives or by an online dating service
It's a long story. 說來話長
There are a lot of details, and the story might be confusing or meaningless without making all those details clear.
gossip 八卦，小道消息
interesting stories about people we know, often with embarrassing details
promoted 工作晉升
received a better job within the company where you already work
retirement 退休
when an old person stops working but still has money to live comfortably
sunset （法律的）自動廢止期，效力消減期
the end of a contract period (or a law)


Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Well, Mark, can you guess what made that blind date unique?
京晶：馬克，能不能猜到這場相親有何獨特之處？
Mark: Hmm, did the guy have a house already and just say he didn't as a test of your friend's interest in him as a person?
馬克：是不是這個男方其實已經有了房，說沒有是為了試探你的朋友到底是不是對他這個人感興趣？
Jingjing: You're not far off the mark, Mark. Not only that, though, it was a stand-in guy.
京晶：你也猜得八九不離十了。馬克，不僅如此，這男的還是一個替身。
Mark: What?! How, then, could we know if your friend could be interested in him as a person?
馬克：啊？那怎么，那，我們怎么知道你朋友是不是對他本人感興趣呢？
Jingjing: That might be a little weird. But the real guy wanted to screen out girls who were only looking for guys with cars and houses already. The real guy has a house and a car, and didn't want to get stuck with someone too quickly.
京晶：是有點怪怪的。但是真男主就想篩選出只看男方車房條件的女人。真男主有車有房，同時不想太快進入一段關系。
Mark: Yeah, I get that.
馬克：哦，我明白了。
Jingjing: You know, even if someone has a house and a car, life is still pretty difficult.
Both people have to work hard and be optimistic.
京晶：你知道，就算有人有車有房，生活依然是非常難的，雙方都得努力工作，同時保持樂觀心態。
Mark: So, did your friend ever get in contact with the actual guy—the one with a house and a car?
馬克：那，你朋友到底有沒有跟真男主取得聯系呢——有車有房那個？
Jingjing: Well, the stand-in guy forwarded the real guy's contact information, but not before telling her that the real guy has already used the stand-in guy to screen dozens of girls.
京晶：那個替身給了她真男主的聯系方式。但是在這之前告訴了她他已經用此法篩選過好些女孩了。
Mark: Why did he give away information? That doesn't sound very professional.
馬克：他為什么要泄露信息呢？這聽著可不太專業啊。
Jingjing: The stand-in guy seemed like he was attracted to my friend. He was handsome and confident. Now my friend isn't sure how to take the next step.
京晶：這個替身吧，好像已經對我朋友有點好感了。他帥氣又自信的樣子，現在我的朋友不太確定下一步該如何行動了。
Mark: Hmm. She should be careful. A flirtatious stand-in guy might be another part of the test. Maybe the real guy is super rich. Otherwise, he wouldn't be fooling around so much and wasting money on blind dates that he doesn't even attend.
馬克：嗯…她得小心謹慎了。一個有誘惑力的替身也許是另一個試探的套路。也許這真男主是巨有錢，要不也不會搞這么多事浪費錢來相一個個他都不出席的親了。
Jingjing: The actor said the real guy is friends with the owner of the restaurant where they had the blind date, and gets a discount there. Anyway, beautiful girls keep showing up at the same restaurant. So, it's good advertising for his friend's business.
京晶：替身演員說真男主是他們約會這家餐廳主人的朋友，有折扣的。不過話說回來，老有漂亮女孩出現在這家店里，也等于在給朋友生意做廣告嘛。
Mark: Well then, that sounds like a win-win.
馬克：那，聽上去到是個雙贏啊。


New words : 習語短語
unique 不同尋常的
unusual, special
off the mark 大錯特錯，與實事大相徑庭
described in ways unlike what actually happened
stand-in 替身
an actor who pretends to be someone we expect to see
interested in him as a person 對本人這個人感興趣而不是其他
attracted to someone because of their personality, not their status or possessions
screen 篩選
meet with several people, as in job interviews, and eliminate several of them
flirtatious 舉止輕佻地挑逗
to act romantic without serious intentions
fooling around 游手好閑，不干正事，搞事情
having fun, while wasting energy and not accomplishing much