Dialogue 1
Mark: Hi Jingjing, how's work these days?
馬克: 嗨，京晶，最近你工作忙嗎?
Jingjing: It's a bit busier than usual, but mostly routine. How about you? Are you all ready for the fall semester to begin?
京晶: 比平時忙一些，但基本上是常規動作。你呢? 你準備好秋季開學了嗎?
Mark: Yeah, I think so. I have a pretty crazy schedule. I got light hours from my school, which is great, but scheduled a lot of extra classes.
馬克: 我想是的。我這學期的日程安排得相當瘋狂。雖然好在我學校的課并不多，負荷較輕，但安排了很多額外課程。
Jingjing: Do you think you have an easier time, as a foreigner, compared to local teachers?
京晶: 作為一個外國人，你覺得和當地老師比，你的工作相對輕松些嗎?
Mark: Hmm, that's a can of worms we could open later, when we have more time to talk.
馬克: 這可就說來話長了，等有空的時候我們再細聊吧。
Jingjing: Ok. Well, Teacher's Day was earlier this week. Do you think teachers in general are excited this time of year?
京晶: 好吧。對了，這周剛剛過完教師節，你覺得普遍來說，老師們在每年的這個時候都會很興奮嗎?
Mark: It's back to school season. One of the enviable things about a teacher's job is that they have time to step back and reflect.
馬克: 這個時候是每年的開學季。教師工作最令人羨慕的一點就是他們有時間(在假期里)回顧和反思過去，新學期重新出發。
Jingjing: Yeah. Hopefully teachers are refreshed and looking forward to the classes they'll have for the next half-year.
京晶: 是這樣，希望老師們能煥發精神，對他們下半年的課程充滿期待。
Mark: Most of the teachers I know have some flexibility in their schedule. If they want to be very busy, they can.
馬克: 我認識的大多數老師在工作時間上都有一定的靈活性。如果他們想非常忙，也是可以做到的。
Jingjing: Right, and if they want to have more time to work carefully, or accompany their family, they can arrange it.
京晶: 嗯，但如果他們想有更多的時間精細地工作，或是陪伴家人，也是可以安排的。
Mark: Teachers work as hard as other people, harder sometimes. I know 6 hours of teaching makes me more tired than 8 to 10 hours of office work.
馬克: 老師和其他職業一樣辛苦，有時甚至更辛苦。我知道6個小時的教學比8到10個小時的辦公室工作更讓我感到疲憊。
Jingjing: But it's nice to have long holidays and planning periods, isn't it?
京晶: 但是能有長假和規劃期簡直太好了，不是嗎?
Mark: It definitely is. I'm grateful to be a teacher, and glad that teachers have schedules that make sense for the kind of work they do.
馬克: 一點沒錯。我很感恩能成為一名老師，也很高興老師的工時安排對他們的工作性質發揮著積極的作用。

New words : 習語短語
light hours 輕負荷
fewer hours of work than usual, in a week
a can of worms 一個說來話長的主題
a topic that would take a long time to discuss
reflect 反思，反省
think about what you've done well, what mistakes you've made
flexibility 靈活性
some freedom to work and play at different times

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Mark, what do you think of the sayings people have about teachers?
京晶: 馬克，你對人們有關老師的言論怎么看?
Mark: None are coming to mind at the moment. Could you give me an example?
馬克: 我一時想不起來有什么。你能給我舉個例子嗎?
Jingjing: Sure. I heard one that goes: The B students work for the C students, and the A students teach.
京晶: 當然。 我聽過這樣一句話: 成績得B的學生長大后為成績得C的學生打工，而得A的優等生后來都成了老師。
Mark: I think we mentioned that before. A students really like mastery learning, and do well at training others. C students have money already and are good at networking. And B students are hard workers.
馬克: 我想我們之前提到過這句話。成績最優秀的學生喜歡精熟學習，并且擅長培訓他人。不太用功的學生不差錢，而且又擅長人際關系，適合做老板。而成績中等的學生則是最勤奮的打工者。
Jingjing: That's a pretty concise interpretation.
京晶: 這個解釋很精準。
Mark: Ok; give me another one.
馬克: 再給我說一個吧。
Jingjing: Here's a toughy: Those who can, do. And those who can't—they teach.
京晶: 有一句犀利的: 那些能干事業的，都去干事業了。而那些不能干事業的，都去教書了。
Mark: Ha ha, that's a little harsh.
馬克: 哈哈，這句確實有點尖銳了。
Jingjing: Do you agree with it?
京晶: 你同意這種說法嗎?
Mark: Well, if it suggests that teachers are incompetent members of society, unable to do anything outside of their own classroom, I of course disagree. A lot of teachers I had came from other careers. Some of them got tired of the corporate world and taught business at my university.
馬克: 這種說法暗示著老師是社會上無能的人，出了課堂做不了任何事情。我當然不同意。但我知道的許多老師都是從其他行業轉行來的。他們中的一些人厭倦了待在企業，所以才來我的大學里教商科。
Jingjing: Was that true for most of them?
京晶: 大多數人都是這樣嗎?
Mark: I guess not. Then there were others, in the theoretical fields like economics, that held down a teaching position and did research. That's a good combination.
馬克: 也不是。在類似經濟學這樣的理論領域里，有些人一邊工作在教學崗位上一邊做研究。這是種很好的結合。
Jingjing: What about people who teach young learners?
京晶: 那那些教小孩子的人呢?
Mark: Well, if you're a parent and a teacher of little kids, the skills carry over pretty well.
馬克: 如果你為人父母，職業又是小孩的老師，那很多技能都是相通的。
Jingjing: That makes sense. Most of those sayings are thought-provoking.
京晶: 有道理。這些言論大多發人深省。
Mark: Yeah, I don't think you have to agree or disagree fully.
馬克: 是的，但我認為你大可不必完全同意或不同意這些觀點。

New words : 習語短語
mastery learning 掌握學習法，精通式學習
studying something a lot, fully understanding it and knowing how to apply it
networking 主動積累人脈網
making friends and new business relationships, helping introduce people to each other
a toughy 難以理解的事，難以回答的問題
a hard thing to understand, a difficult question to answer
hold down (a job) 保有（工作）
keep a job, do your work well enough
carry over 蔓延至，應用至，
transfer, apply to both A and B