Dialogue 1
Mark: Jingjing, I haven't asked you in a while about your friend Meili and that guy she was dating.
馬克：京晶，我有一陣子沒(méi)有問(wèn)你有關(guān)你朋友美麗和她約會(huì)的那個(gè)人的事了。
Jingjing: Gaofeng? Well, I have some news about them: they're getting married!
京晶：高峰？嗯，我了解到一些近況：他們要結(jié)婚了！
Mark: Really? Last I heard, they were kinda split up.
馬克：真的嗎？上一次聽(tīng)說(shuō)，他們似乎要分手了。
Jingjing: Gaofeng was just busy at work, and not ready for much of a relationship back then.
京晶：高峰只是忙于工作，那會(huì)兒還沒(méi)有準(zhǔn)備好談戀愛(ài)。
Mark: Wow, so they're tying the knot. Have they set a date for the wedding?
馬克：哇，所以他們要喜結(jié)連理。他們定了結(jié)婚的日子了嗎？
Jingjing: I don't think so. Why, you wanna pitch in for a wedding gift?
京晶：我想還沒(méi)有呢。怎么，你要贊助個(gè)結(jié)婚禮物嗎？
Mark: I could add one or two hundred to the red envelope that you give them.
馬克：我可以在你給他們的紅包里再加上個(gè)一二百。
Jingjing: They're going to need it. They want to have a big wedding and go to Europe for their honeymoon. Also, they're buying the rings now.
京晶：這他們還是需要的。他們想舉辦一個(gè)盛大的婚禮，還要去歐洲度蜜月。而且，他們正在買(mǎi)戒指。
Mark: Rings don't need to be that expensive.
馬克：戒指不需要那么貴。
Jingjing: She wants a big diamond.
京晶：她想要一顆大鉆石。
Mark: Well then they'd better be ready to shell out a lot of money for it. Once you get over one carat, a diamond is pretty pricey.
馬克：那他們最好準(zhǔn)備好花大錢(qián)了，一旦鉆石超過(guò)一克拉，將相當(dāng)昂貴。
Jingjing: Do you know much about diamonds?
京晶：你了解鉆石嗎？
Mark: Are you kidding? I used to sell them.
馬克：你開(kāi)玩笑吧？我以前就是賣(mài)鉆石的。
Jingjing: Oh, then you could give some advice.
京晶：哦，那你可以給些建議。
Mark: There's not so much advice to give. Diamonds are not like rubies or sapphires.
馬克：沒(méi)什么好給的。鉆石不像紅寶石或藍(lán)寶石。
Jingjing: What do you mean?
京晶：什么意思？
Mark: Well, most precious gemstones are valued by how unique they are, of course also their size, and whether they're natural or treated.
馬克：嗯，大多數(shù)珍貴寶石的價(jià)值取決于它們的獨(dú)特性，當(dāng)然也在于它們的大小，以及它們是天然的還是經(jīng)過(guò)處理的。
Jingjing: That sounds complex.
京晶：聽(tīng)起來(lái)好復(fù)雜。

New words:習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)
tying the knot
getting married, making a lifetime commitment
結(jié)婚，喜結(jié)連理
pitch in help, contribute
幫助，贊助
shell out spend (money)
消費(fèi)，花錢(qián)
carat
a unit of weight, for measuring diamonds and other gemstones
克拉
ruby
a precious gemstone, usually red
紅寶石
sapphire
a precious gemstone, usually blue
藍(lán)寶石

Dialogue 2
Mark: Well, a really beautiful gemstone might be surprisingly expensive. But there are lots of gems that are quite cheap, just because they're not rare.
馬克：嗯，一塊真正美麗的寶石可能出奇的昂貴，但有很多寶石也是很便宜的，就是因?yàn)樗鼈儾⒉缓币?jiàn)。
Jingjing: And what about diamonds?
京晶：那么鉆石呢？
Mark: Well, a company buys up most of the diamonds produced every year, and then resells them. So, the prices are kept high.
馬克：嗯，一家公司買(mǎi)光每年生產(chǎn)的大部分鉆石，然后再轉(zhuǎn)售。所以，這個(gè)價(jià)格一直居高不下。
Jingjing: I know about that. So, what's your advice about buying a diamond?
京晶：這一點(diǎn)我到是知道。那么，你對(duì)購(gòu)買(mǎi)鉆石有什么建議呢？
Mark: Go for D, E, or F color. That's nearly white.
馬克：選擇D、E或F色，那幾乎是白色的。
Jingjing: Anything else?
京晶：還有別的嗎？
Mark: Yeah, the diamond needs to be free of flaws. Lots of them have spots inside. So, get an IF* or VVS1 or VVS2.
馬克：是，鉆石需要沒(méi)有瑕疵。很多鉆石里面都有斑點(diǎn)。所以要買(mǎi)無(wú)暇級(jí)或極微瑕級(jí)的。
Jingjing: Is that all?
京晶：就這些？
Mark: Pretty much. Most diamonds are cut perfectly nowadays. But people who think they got lucky with a big cheap diamond are probably ignoring the other three C's.
馬克：差不多。現(xiàn)在大部分鉆石都被切割的很完美。但那些認(rèn)為自己幸運(yùn)的擁有一顆又大又便宜鉆石的人可能忽略了其他“三C”標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
Jingjing: You got ahead of yourself, Mark. The C's???
京晶：你說(shuō)得又快又不清楚了，馬克。C什么？？？
Mark: Those are cut, clarity, color, and carat. Carat is the size, based on weight.
馬克: 那是切割、純凈度、色澤和克拉。克拉就是根據(jù)重量計(jì)算的尺寸。
Jingjing: So, what's most important?
京晶：那么，什么是最重要的？
Mark: Basically, someone should get a perfect diamond, then consider what size of perfect diamond they can afford.
馬克：基本上，人們先挑一顆完美的鉆石，再考慮能夠支付起的完美鉆石的尺寸。
Jingjing: Yeah, Meili is going to get a solitaire. So that sounds like a good idea.
京晶：是，美麗想要買(mǎi)一顆獨(dú)粒鉆石。這聽(tīng)起來(lái)是個(gè)好主意。
Mark: I hope she doesn't have to break the bank for it.
馬克：我希望她不會(huì)因此傾家蕩產(chǎn)。
Jingjing: It might mean instant noodles for a few months.
京晶：這可能意味著得吃幾個(gè)月的泡面。
Mark: Haha. I don't have any advice about that.
馬克：哈哈，這我沒(méi)有意見(jiàn)。


New words:習(xí)語(yǔ)短語(yǔ)
buy up
buy all of one kind of thing that's for sale right now (buy up all the houses in the community)
買(mǎi)光，購(gòu)?fù)?br />the four C's
four qualities of diamonds, cut, color, clarity and carat
鉆石的4C標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
solitaire
a ring or other piece of jewellery with just one gemstone (a diamond solitaire is a traditional engagement ring worn by women)
獨(dú)粒鉆石
break the bank spend all your money to buy something (break the piggy bank)
傾家蕩產(chǎn)
IF (internally flawless)
VVS1 very-very slightly included (1 is clearer than 2) worse still is VS1, VS2, S1, S2
鉆石純凈度可分為從F—I的大致5個(gè)等級(jí)：FL無(wú)瑕級(jí)（完美無(wú)瑕）、IF無(wú)瑕級(jí)（內(nèi)部無(wú)瑕）、VVS極微瑕級(jí)（VVS1和VVS2的區(qū)別是后者有極微小的棉狀點(diǎn)和小毛茬等）、VS微瑕級(jí)、SI小瑕級(jí)。