Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, let me tell you what recently happened to my friends Gao Feng and Mei Li. It's crazy.
京晶：馬克，我給你說說我的朋友高峰和美麗最近發生的事兒吧，可瘋狂了。
Mark: This sounds like it will be a good story.
馬克：聽起來是個好故事。
Jingjing: They were in a cinema in Zhejiang , watching Ne Zha, and the theater started to flood.
京晶：他們當時在浙江的一家電影院看《哪吒》，然后電影院就開始進水了。
Mark: Wait a second: don't they live in Beijing? And didn't they know there was a typhoon in the south?
馬克：等等：他們不是住在北京嗎? 他們不知道南方有臺風嗎?
Jingjing: Right. I guess they didn't pay attention to the red alert. Anyway, they'd been too busy to see Ne Zha in Beijing. Mei Li had a business trip and Gao Feng went to join her on the weekend. The weather was bad. So, they decided to take in a movie.
京晶：是啊，我猜他們沒留意到紅色預警。總之，他們之前太忙了沒來得及在北京看哪吒。美麗去出差，到周末高峰也跟過去了。天氣很糟糕。所以，他們決定去看場電影。
Mark: Yeah, we've been reading all the news about how bad the weather was. Were they ok?
馬克：是的，我們一直都在關注這些災害天氣的所有新聞。他們還好嗎？
Jingjing: They were. The cinema was in the basement of a shopping mall. When it started to flood, they told everyone to leave the building.
京晶：他們還好。電影院在一家購物中心的地下層。開始進水時，電影院告知大家離開大樓。
Mark: Did any water actually get in the theater?
馬克：水真的漫進放映廳了嗎？
Jingjing: People started to leave through the exit near the screen. But then ushers opened up the door at the rear of the theater, where people usually come in. Mei Li said she saw water flowing into the front of the theater just as they were going out the back.
京晶：人們開始從幕布附近的出口離開。隨后領位員打開了影廳后部的門，也就是入場的地方。美麗說他們剛從后方走出的時候就看到水一下子就涌到了影廳最前面。
Mark: Wow, that sounds like a close call.
馬克：哇，聽起來好險啊。
Jingjing: The funny thing was, this happened during the scene in the movie when Ao Bing was visiting the dragon king under water. If the ushers hadn't come in to shout at everyone to leave the theater, they might have thought it the flood was part of the 4D experience.
京晶：最有趣的是，發生這一切的時候電影剛好演到敖丙回到水下見龍王的一幕。如果那時領位員沒有進來呼喊大家離開電影院，他們可能還以為水是4D體驗的一部分。
Mark: Ha ha. Well, it's good to hear about Mei Li and Gao Feng's narrow escape. Is anything else happening with those two? They've been married for a while now, haven't they?
馬克：哈哈。好了，很高興聽到美麗和高峰逃過一劫。這倆最近還有什么情況嗎？他們結婚已經有一段時間了，是吧?
Jingjing: Well, in other news, they've been house hunting here in Beijing.
京晶：哦，其他的事情是，他們一直在北京找房子。
Mark: That's far less dangerous than seeing a movie during a typhoon. Tell me about it when I come back from the coffee shop. Would you like anything?
馬克：那可比在臺風期間看電影安全多了。等我從咖啡店回來后再接著說吧。你想來點什么嗎？
Jingjing: I'm fine with warm water here.
京晶：我這有溫水，不用了
Mark: Ok. See you in a few.
馬克：好的。待會兒見。

New words : 習語短語
take in 觀看;欣賞;參觀
watch, go to see (usually a performance, perhaps also a museum or other exhibit, or “take in the tourist sites in Shanghai”)
ushers 領位員 引座員
people who work at a theater and guide people to their seats
a close call 僥幸脫險 逃過一劫 差一點就趕上
something bad that almost happened (or a win in a competition where the second-place winner almost got first place)
4D experience 4D體驗
a 3D movie with other effects like vibrating chairs
narrow escape
九死一生，幸免于難 死里逃生
getting out of danger, almost too late

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: You're back, Mark. Ready to hear about house hunting?
京晶：馬克，你回來了。準備好聽聽找房子的事嗎？
Mark: Let me down some of this coffee first. I'll be more alert.
馬克：讓我先喝口咖啡吧。這樣我能更留心聽。
Jingjing: Well, let me put it in a nutshell while you sip at that coffee. They have two properties in mind. One is outside the Fifth Ring, and pretty big. The other is tiny, but it's centrally located.
京晶：好吧，你喝咖啡的時候讓我簡單地說一下。他們現在考慮的有兩處房子。一個位于五環外，面積很大。另一個很小但地處市中心。
Mark: Hmm. My first thought is to go for the place near the city center.
馬克：嗯。我的第一反應還是選市中心。
Jingjing: Why would that be better? It'd be cramped, especially if a baby comes and relatives stay there to help.
京晶：為什么市里更好？那樣會很擁擠，特別是一旦有了孩子，親戚們過來住這幫忙。
Mark: That's a good point. Well, look at the schools and hospitals around that house in the suburbs. If those are good, it might be a better choice.
馬克：這一點說得對。那看看郊區那所房子周圍的學校和醫院。如果配套齊全，也可能是個更好的選擇。
Jingjing: I think they said something about an extension campus. But that's only for middle school. I doubt if the primary schools and kindergartens are as good out in the suburbs as they are inside the city.
京晶：我想起來他們說過分校區的事情。但只有中學部。我不確定郊區的小學和幼兒園能和城里的質量一樣好。
Mark: Yeah, I think, unless they can afford a really ritzy part of the suburbs, it's better to get something inside the Fourth Ring. Is the smaller house near where they work?
馬克：是的，我想，除非他們能負擔得起郊區的高檔地區，否則還是選四環內吧。小一點的那套房子離上班近嗎？
Jingjing: It's near where Mei Li works. Gao Feng would still have to go a long way.
京晶：在美麗工作地方附近。但是高峰上下班還比較遠。
Mark:That's life, I guess. Anyway, if their total commute time is shorter, the small place is better.
馬克：這就是生活啊。不管怎么樣，如果他們總的通勤時間縮短了，小房子就更好。
Jingjing: Right. That way, if they get a car, one car is enough for the family.
京晶：非常對。這樣的話，他們家如果買車，一輛車也夠了。
Mark: Yeah, but parking is a major pain around communities near downtown.
馬克：是啊，但是市中心的小區，停車是個頭疼的問題。
Jingjing: I don't know if it has an underground garage or not.
京晶：我不知道那有沒有地下車庫。
Mark: That's a lot of stuff to keep in mind. Hopefully they make the best choice.
馬克：腦子里得考慮好多東西。希望他們做出最好的選擇。
Jingjing: Me too. I'll let them know what we talked about. I think they're leaning toward the place inside the city.
京晶：我也希望。我會告訴他們我們聊的這些。我認為他們傾向于選市里。
Mark: Hopefully they'll be happy there.
馬克：希望他們在那能過得開心。

New words : 習語短語
down 大口喝下；快速吃下
eat or drink quickly
cramped 狹窄的，狹小的
small, not enough space
an extension campus 分校區
a school or university with buildings far away from the main location
ritzy 昂貴時髦的；豪華的
expensive, fancy, luxurious, full of wealthy people
pain 討厭的人（或事）；令人頭痛的人（或事）
troublesome, bothersome, unpleasant, too difficult to deal with
(someone is) leaning toward 偏愛 傾向于
someone prefers A over B currently