Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, our conversation last week got me thinking.
京晶：馬克，我們上周的談話引發了我的思考。
Mark: Oh yeah, what about?
馬克: 哦？關于哪方面？
Jingjing: Well, you know how Gaofeng and Meili are facing a dilemma, right?
京晶：你知道高峰和美麗正面臨一個進退兩難的選擇，對吧?
Mark: You mean, they're choosing between a tiny house in the city center and a spacious place in the suburbs?
馬克: 你是說他們要在市中心的蝸居和郊區大房子之間做出選擇？
Jingjing: Yes. Well, that made me curious about some of those super tiny living spaces people have in expensive cities like London and Paris.
京晶：是的。這讓我特別想了解一下地處像倫敦和巴黎這樣生活成本高昂城市中一些超級狹窄的居住空間。
Mark: I've seen some pictures of those, apartments mostly.
馬克: 我看過一些這類圖片，大多是公寓。
Jingjing: Some of them are stand-alone houses, most are apartments, and of course there are also dorm rooms.
京晶：有一些是獨棟房，但大部分是公寓，當然也有集體宿舍。
Mark: I remember my smallest dorm room in college. It was less than 8 square meters. I painted the trim along the walls and put in some tiny floor-standing lamps to make the place look bigger.
馬克: 我還記得我大學住過的那間最小的宿舍。不到8平方米。我沿墻刷上了裝飾線，安裝了一些小號的落地燈，讓空間看起來更大。
Jingjing: Well, the University of British Columbia just opened a building full of micro dorm rooms. Guess how large each one is.
京晶：啊噢，不列顛哥倫比亞大學剛剛開放了一棟全是微型宿舍的大樓。你猜猜每一間有多大。
Mark: I don't know—six square meters.
馬克: 我還不知道——有六平米?
Jingjing: Four.
京晶：四平米。
Mark: Four?! No way that includes a bathroom or a kitchen.
馬克: 只有四？那怎么可能還有浴室或廚房。
Jingjing: Of course not. There's just a small sink. Kitchens and bathrooms are in common areas on each floor of that building.
京晶：當然沒有。只有一個洗手槽。廚房和浴室在這棟樓每一層的公共區域。
Mark: That makes sense. In each of those dorms, though, is there a place to study and a place to sleep?
馬克: 這還差不多。那每間宿舍，有學習和睡覺的地方嗎？
Jingjing: Yes. The bed comes down over the desk.
京晶：是的。上層床，能拉下來放在下層書桌上。
Mark: I guess that's reasonable, if people want to live on campus yet have their own space—not much of it though.
馬克:如果想住在學校并擁有自己的空間的話，這也合理，雖然地方不大。

New words : 習語短語
dilemma: 進退兩難的境地，困境
a difficult decision, having to choose one of two things
spacious: 寬敞的
roomy, a place with enough space
stand-alone houses: 獨棟房
a home that is in its own building, like a villa or a bungalow
trim: 包邊鑲邊 裝飾配件
wood or stone features on walls (often around doors or where the wall meets the floor), to reduce wear and tear and to make a room look nicer
common area: 公用區
a part of a building that is shared by several people who live there, semi-public space

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Mark, I was just looking at some other pictures of micro apartments. Want to see?
京晶：馬克，我正在看一些別的微型公寓的照片。要看嗎？
Mark: Sure. Show me what you found.
馬克: 好啊。給我看看你找到了些什么。
Jingjing: OK, so this first one is in Paris.
京晶：好的，這第一張是在巴黎。
Mark: Wait, what? Isn't that just a walk-in closet?
馬克: 等等, 這是什么? 不就是個步入式衣帽間嗎?
Jingjing: No, look in that upper compartment. That's a bed.
京晶：不呢，看看上面那個隔層，是張床。
Mark: Great for people who are not claustrophobic. Let me guess, another door opens and pulls out a kitchen. And a toilet rolls out of another one.
馬克: 對沒有幽閉恐懼癥的人來說還挺好的。讓我猜猜看，這一扇門一打開，里面拉出一個廚房。另一扇門拉出來是廁所。
Jingjing: Basically, yes. Best of all, it only takes up 8 square meters.
京晶：差不多就是這樣。最棒的是，它只占地8平。
Mark: And the bookshelf is a steep little stairway. How cute.
馬克: 還有書架是個陡峭的小階梯。太可愛了。
Jingjing: Yeah, here's the next one. It's in Stockholm.
京晶：是的，這是下一個。它在斯德哥爾摩。
Mark: Well, at least that one looks like a home. It makes sense to have a loft bed and to run the entryway, kitchen and bathroom underneath that.
馬克: 挺好，至少那個看起來像個家。一張高架床，下面有出入通道，廚房和浴室，說得過去。
Jingjing: I think so too. Look at what they've done with the trim. It has an old-country look to it, but a modern layout.
京晶：我也這么認為。你看他們還做了鑲邊裝飾，讓房間看起來有種老歐式風格，但布局很現代。
Mark: I guess people have to be careful what they cook.
馬克: 我猜在這兒做飯的時候一定要小心了。
Jingjing: Ha ha, right: hot pot or stir-fry would really get into the bedsheets. I think these are meant for someone who needs a short commute and works 60+ hours per week.
京晶：哈哈，對: 火鍋或者炒菜會真的濺到床單上。我想這些是為那些需要短途通勤且每周都工作60小時以上的人準備的。
Mark: Right. It's a good idea, even with a bit larger place for a DINK couple.
馬克: 對，如果空間再更大一些，給丁克夫婦住也是個好主意。
Jingjing: Do you think I should show these pictures to my friends, Meili and Gaofeng?
京晶：你覺得我應該把這些照片給我的朋友美麗和高峰看看嗎?
Mark: Nah. Let them make their own choices and tell me what they're place looks like after you visit.
馬克:不要了。讓他們自己拿主意吧，等你參觀完后再告訴我他們房子什么樣。

New words : 習語短語
micro apartments: 微型公寓
a full apartment home with an area of less than 20 or so square meters
walk-in closet: 步入式衣帽間
a storage room large enough for a person to walk into
compartment: 隔間；隔層
a large storage cabinet, built into the wall or a large shelving unit
claustrophobic: 幽閉恐怖癥患者
when a person is afraid of being in small spaces
DINK: 丁克一族；有雙薪收入而沒有小孩的夫婦
dual/double-income, no kids (a married couple, both with full-time jobs, and no children)