Dialogue 1
Mark: Guten tag, Jingjing. Here we are on the final stretch before the holiday.
馬克：你好，京晶。再過(guò)幾天就春節(jié)假期啦！
Jingjing: Yeah, on what day are you making the trip to your wife's home town?
京晶：是啊，你們打算哪天啟程去你夫人的老家？
Mark: Her parents are moving to Beijing. So, we'll spend the Spring Festival here.
馬克：我岳父岳母要搬來(lái)北京住，所以我們今年就在北京過(guò)春節(jié)了。
Jingjing: Oh? That'll be nice. Beijing empties out quite a bit. It'll be nice and quiet.
京晶：哦？那不錯(cuò)啊。春節(jié)期間北京幾乎會(huì)變成空城。很好很清靜。
Mark: I'm looking forward to that. Plus, that way, my wife and I can focus on work during the busy times before and after the holiday.
馬克：很期待。這樣一來(lái)，我和夫人都可以在節(jié)前節(jié)后繁忙的時(shí)候?qū)Ｐ墓ぷ髁恕?br />Jingjing: Right. I know you're busier around the so-called holidays than you are during the times when it's week after week of regular work.
京晶：沒錯(cuò)。我知道你們?cè)谒^的假期前后比平時(shí)還忙。
Mark: This year is no exception. It'll be great to have my wife's parents supporting us at home. We lucked out on an apartment: walking distance from work, and a stone's throw away from a big park.
馬克：今年也不例外。不過(guò)，今年有我岳父岳母在家?guī)臀覀儯媸呛芎谩Ｎ覀兒苄疫\(yùn)地租到了一所公寓，步行就可以上下班，而且距離一個(gè)大公園僅有咫尺之遙。
Jingjing: That sounds ideal.
京晶：聽起來(lái)非常理想啊！
Mark: What about your plans, Jingjing?
馬克：春節(jié)假期你有什么計(jì)劃，京晶？
Jingjing: Well, I have to go back. Last year, I stuck around Beijing, and my parents stayed with me for a few days. So, now I'm overdue to see all the relatives.
京晶：嗯，我得回老家。去年我就逗留北京沒走成，父母前來(lái)陪我住了些天。所以，我早就該回家看看我的親戚們了。
Mark: I bet they've all missed you these many months. They can hear your voice on the radio; but that's not the same.
馬克：我確信他們這么多個(gè)月沒見到你一定非常想念你。他們能在電臺(tái)里聽到你的聲音，但那種感覺還是不太一樣。
Jingjing: Not even close. I have to be with them in person this year.
京晶：嗯，確實(shí)差遠(yuǎn)了。今年我必須跟他們當(dāng)面聚聚。
Mark: So, have you made the arrangements already?
馬克：那，你已經(jīng)安排好了嗎？
Jingjing: I'm doing that now, actually. I still haven't found a ticket.
京晶：實(shí)際上，我正在安排呢，但，還沒買到回家的票。
Mark: How about I go get us some milk tea. Good luck with the search.
馬克：我出去給咱倆買點(diǎn)兒奶茶怎么樣？祝你找票成功哈！
Jingjing: I'll need it. See you in a few.
京晶：好，我正想喝杯奶茶呢。一會(huì)兒見。

New words : 習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)
guten tag 德語(yǔ)（問(wèn)候語(yǔ)）白天好，你好
(German) “good day” (a way of saying hello)
empties out 清空了 (an area)
gets less crowded

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: It took you long enough, Mark. I was about to call the search party.
京晶：你總算回來(lái)啦，馬克。我都要打電話給救援搜索隊(duì)了。
Mark: Oh, there were some things on sale at the department store. I browsed for a while and then got the milk tea on the way back, so that it'd still be hot.
馬克：哦，商場(chǎng)有些商品正在打折，我逛了一會(huì)兒，然后在回來(lái)的路上買的奶茶，所以應(yīng)該還是熱的。
Jingjing: Thanks. Is that one for me?
京晶：謝謝啦。這杯是我的吧？
Mark: Yes, here. So, did you book a ticket?
馬克：是的，拿好了。你訂到車票了嗎？
Jingjing: There's still nothing. The day I can go back is the busiest day for high speed rail. Plan B, of course, is to fly. I need to decide this afternoon, or the prices will skyrocket.
京晶：還是沒有余票。我能回家的那天是高鐵最繁忙的一天。當(dāng)然，B計(jì)劃就是飛機(jī)。我得今天下午做出決定，不然機(jī)票價(jià)就該直沖云霄了。
Mark: Do you have a plan C?
馬克：那你還有C計(jì)劃嗎？
Jingjing: Ha! Actually, yes.
京晶：哈！還真有。
Mark: That peaks my curiosity, unless it's to give up on the trip.
馬克：這激起了我的好奇心。不會(huì)是放棄回家吧？
Jingjing: A friend of mine is driving back to the same city where my parents live. It's a small group, and there's still space for me in the car.
京晶：我有個(gè)朋友今年要開車回我父母住的城市。搭她車的人不多，目前車上還有我的位置。
Mark: Wow, a road trip! How long does it take?
馬克：哇，自駕出行啊！多久的車程？
Jingjing: We could either leave early in the morning and try to make it in one day, or stay somewhere along the way.
京晶：我們可以早晨早點(diǎn)兒出發(fā)，爭(zhēng)取當(dāng)天到；也可以沿途停歇。
Mark: I guess that'd depend on how many people can drive. You wouldn't want the same person behind the wheel for more than three or four hours straight.
馬克：我猜這要取決于你們有幾個(gè)人能開車。可不能讓同一個(gè)人連續(xù)開車三四個(gè)小時(shí)以上。
Jingjing: I'll have to check with my friend. I like the idea of splitting it over two days, but wouldn't want to get stuck in some dingy hotel.
京晶：我得和我朋友確認(rèn)一下。我傾向于把行程分成兩天，但不想在簡(jiǎn)陋的路邊小旅館湊合一宿。
Mark: You might not have a lot of options—unless you found an attractive city at the halfway point on the map and made a reservation.
馬克：你可能沒有太多選擇。除非，你能夠在行程一半的位置找到一座有魅力的城市，在那里預(yù)訂到酒店房間。
Jingjing: Oh, that gives me another thing to check online.
京晶：哦，我又多了一件需要上網(wǎng)查的事情。
Mark: I hope you work it out smoothly.
馬克：希望你能順利搞定！


New words : 習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)
I was about to call the search party.
我準(zhǔn)備要叫救援隊(duì)了
（一種表達(dá)太久不在的夸張說(shuō)法）
a way of expressing that someone has been gone for a long time
skyrocket 快速上升
go up quickly
peak my curiosity 讓我十分好奇
make me as curious as possible
a road trip 陸路行，自駕行
a long trip by car, usually more than one day of mostly driving
behind the wheel 開車，駕車
driving
dingy 不衛(wèi)生的，簡(jiǎn)陋的
dirty, poorly furnished