結交網友現在已經毫不新鮮，但真的能通過網絡找到心靈契合的朋友還真不容易。《電子情書》可以算是最早表現網戀的電影之一了。湯姆漢克斯和梅格瑞恩在影片中分別飾演開連鎖圖書超市的大老板和經營街角書店的小店主。小書店對面出現了圖書巨頭，日子一定不好過。生意上的競爭關系讓二人見面便冷嘲熱諷也就不奇怪了。電影的輕喜劇風格讓人從頭至尾都沉浸在輕松愉悅的氛圍當中。 今天我們首先來聽聽他們發給彼此的一封電子郵件。
(From Joe)
Welcome. You've got mail. 歡迎。你有新郵件。
Brinkley is my dog. He loves New York streets as much as I do. 布克林是我的狗。他和我一樣都喜歡紐約的街道。
Although he likes to eat pizza and bagel off the sidewalk...and I prefer to buy them. Brinkley is a great catcher who was offered a tryout on the Mets farm team, but he chose to stay with me so he could spend 18 hours a day...sleeping on a large green pillow the size of an inner tube. Don't you love New York in the fall? Makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils...if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.只是他會去人行道上撿pizza和百吉餅，而我寧愿去買。布克林很會接棒球，網隊曾經請他去面試。但是他寧愿和我在一起，這樣他就可以一天18個小時都躺在和內胎般大的綠枕頭上。你喜不喜歡紐約的秋天？這讓我有沖動去買學校用品。如果我知道你的名字和地址，我會送給你一盒新削好的鉛筆。換個角度想，不知道也可以制造些神秘感。
……
(from Kathleen)
Dear friend: I like to start my notes to you...as if we're already in the middle of a conversation. I pretend that we're the oldest and dearest friends as opposed to what we actually are: People who don't know each other's names...and met in a chat room where we both claimed we'd never been before. "What will NY152 say today?" I wonder. I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online...and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: "You've got mail. " I hear nothing, not even a sound on the streets of New York. Just the beat of my own heart. I have mail... from you. 親愛的朋友，我喜歡剛開始給你寫信息的時候，假裝我們已經談到一半。我喜歡假裝我們是老朋友了，雖然事實不然。我們連對方的名字都不知道，在這個我們都沒有來過的聊天室遇到彼此。我在想“紐約152”今天會說什么。我打開電腦，很不耐煩的等上線。上線后，我摒住呼吸直到聽到那三個字“有郵件”。我聽不到任何聲音，甚至紐約街頭的聲音。我只聽到我的心跳聲。我收到你的來信。

在網絡上結交朋友比較吸引人的一點，就如Joe 郵件中所說this not knowing has its charms. 動名詞作了句子的主語，句子表示“（彼此）不了解有它的魅力在。”充滿想象，充滿期待。
而Kathleen在等待郵件的時候，也是my breath catches in my chest，這一短語表示“摒住呼吸”，也可用breath catches in the throat, 表達相同意思。
同居一座城市，也許兩個人原本就常常相見，只是不知道彼此是誰而已。終于有一天，他們還是認識，并成為了彼此的敵人。Joe家族的圖書連鎖超市讓街角書店舉步維艱，兩個人也水火難容。
他們是如何發現對方就是自己的網友呢？一起聽下期內容吧。