Larry到小燕工作的“金龍”餐館去找她，發現餐館里很忙。今天我們要學兩個常用語，一個是jumping, 一個是joint.

(Sound of a busy restaurant)

LL: Hi, Xiaoyan. I was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop and say "Hi." -- Wow. This place is jumping!

XY: 沒錯，真是忙死我了，今天是星期五，每到星期五和星期六晚上，這是餐館最忙的時候。

LL: So, Xiaoyan, you obviously know that when a person says a place is "jumping" - they mean it is very busy.

XY: 這我還能不知道，別忘了，我可是餐館的領班。我早就知道，說什么地方jumping就是客人特別多，生意特別好的意思。

LL: Say, Xiaoyan, I'd like to stay and chat with you, but I know you have a lot of work to do. Is there a time when the restaurant isn't jumping?

XY: 你也知道，金龍是中國城生意最好的餐館，從來就沒有閑的時候。

LL: But surely there are times when "The Golden Dragon" is not as jumping as it is tonight.

XY: 相對來說，星期二晚上客人少一些，你要來吃飯，最好是星期二來。

LL: Okay, I will. See you later, Xiaoyan.

XY: 哎，別急著走??！雖然客人多，但我還是可以休息一小會兒。你等等啊，我跟同事交代一下。(用中文跟另外一位帶位小姐交代，對方用中文回答說，沒問題。)

LL: Are you sure she doesn't mind working for you when the place is jumping, Xiaoyan?

XY: 沒關系，就幾分鐘的時間，我怎么說也不能讓你白跑一趟啊！

LL: That's nice of you, Xiaoyan. You know, I was hoping to have dinner here at "The Golden Dragon", but I didn't expect that it would be jumping like this. How long is the wait for a table, anyway?

XY: 現在來，差不多要等半個小時，再過一會兒，可能就要等上一個小時才有空位了。

LL: Thirty minutes to an hour? That's too long. Is there anyplace nearby I can have dinner that isn't jumping?

XY: 我聽說街對面那家德國飯館挺不錯的，而且隨時有空位，要不然你去那邊試試看？

******

LL: Well, I guess I will have to try the German joint, Xiaoyan.

XY: 你剛才說joint, 我以前也經常聽人這么說，joint到底是什么意思啊？

LL: "Joint" is a slang for "place" - and it is often used to refer to restaurants, clubs or other places of entertainment.

XY: 哦，我明白了，joint指的是飯館、酒吧和夜總會這類地方。我今天又學了個新詞。You should go to the German joint then.

LL: I'm just sad I can't eat at your joint, Xiaoyan. After all, the Golden Dragon is the best Chinese restaurant in town.

XY: 金龍確實是這里最好的中餐館，但是我聽說，對面那家德國餐館真的很不錯，不僅味道正宗，價格也很合理，你不會失望的。

LL: Say, Xiaoyan, maybe I can come back after I have dinner and you get off work, and we can go grab a beer at some joint nearby. What do you think about that?

XY: 好啊，你吃完飯再回來找我，如果到時候，客人沒有那么多了，我就提前下班，怎么一起去喝兩杯。

LL: Okay. See you later!

(Incidental music, door opening sound)

LL: Hello, Xiaoyan.

XY: Larry, 你回來了！Good to see you again.

LL: Good to see you, too, Xiaoyan. So, is this joint still jumping or has business slowed down since earlier this evening?

XY: 現在客人少多了，你等一下，我跟老板打個招呼，就可以走了。

LL: Do you know of any good joints nearby, Xiaoyan, where you can have a beer and listen to music?

XY: 我知道附近有一個愛爾蘭酒吧，可以一邊喝酒一邊聽愛爾蘭音樂，氣氛特別好。

LL: That does sound like fun, Xiaoyan. How do we get to this Irish Pub from here anyway?

XY: 走過去，三條街就到了。

LL: Well, let's hurry over to the Irish joint, Xiaoyan. I could really use a beer!

我們今天學習了兩個常用語。一個是jumping, 是指一個地方客人多，生意繁忙。另一個是joint, 是指餐館、酒吧、夜總會和俱樂部等消遣的地方。