洋話(huà)美眉在紐約

大餐之后來(lái)點(diǎn)啥

After a big meal， everyone was full， so they finished up and left.

Jack:Hey， that food was terrific! My stomach isn't growling at me anymore. Are you sure you don't want another dish?

Amber:Nah， I'm stuffed. Thank you all the same.

Jack:How about you， Ethabella?

Ethabella:No，thanks. I can't eat another bite.

Jack:I know what you mean. I'm so full I could burst.Shall we go，then?

Amber:I'm all set.

Ethabella:Me too. Thanks for the dinner，Jack.

一頓大餐后，每個(gè)人都吃得很飽，稍做逗留之后他們離開(kāi)了飯店。

Jack:嘿！這頓飯可真棒啊！這下我的肚子不會(huì)再叫喚了。你們確實(shí)不想再點(diǎn)什么菜了嗎？

Amber:不用了，我吃飽了。謝謝你。

Jack:你呢？Ethabella？

Ethabella:不點(diǎn)了，謝謝。我一口都吃不下了。

Jack:我也有同感。我都撐死了。那么我們走吧？

Amber:我準(zhǔn)備好了。

Ethabella:我也準(zhǔn)備好了。 Jack，謝謝你請(qǐng)我們吃晚餐。

告訴媽媽新鮮事

Dear Mom，

Can you imagine that I'm now in the United States， a country so different from China? Everything is new and interesting! I made some friends on the trip over and they have been very kind and helpful. Still， you know how much I miss you and your cooking? My mouth waters at the mere thought of those delectable Chinese dishes you prepare. Last night， my friends invited me to dinner. They had some strange ways of describing their hunger. For instance， there was \"I'm starving to death\"，\"I'm famished\"， and \"I'm so hungry， I could eat a horse\"， which has a similar expression in Chinese，I'm sure you know the one. How about \"I'm making a pig of myself\"! A little confusing， hmm?Anyway，this stuff may be useful to you as an English teacher， so I'm also sending a tape. You can listen to our conversation and hear some real modern American English.

Your loving daughter，

Amber

親愛(ài)的媽媽?zhuān)?/p>

您能想象出，我在美國(guó)這樣一個(gè)與中國(guó)有著種種不同的國(guó)家里是如何生活的嗎？這里所有的事情都是那么新鮮有趣。我現(xiàn)在交了許多新朋友， 他們?nèi)撕芎茫o了我很多幫助。但是，我仍然想念您，想念您做的飯菜。一想到那些飯菜，我就忍不住要流口水。好在我有一些朋友，上星期他們邀請(qǐng)我去學(xué)校附近的一家餐館吃了一頓，我發(fā)現(xiàn)他們有很多古怪形容餓的說(shuō)法。像：“I'm starving to death.”“I'm famished.”等等。最有趣的一句是“I'm so hungry，I could eat a horse.”中文中有一句類(lèi)似的話(huà)，我想您是知道的。還有一句話(huà)理解起來(lái)可能就有些困難了----“I'm making a pig of myself!”是不是有點(diǎn)糊涂了？不管怎么說(shuō)，您在中國(guó)教英語(yǔ)，這些東西可能會(huì)有用。所以隨信寄去一盤(pán)磁帶，好讓您聽(tīng)一聽(tīng)我們的交談，了解一下“真正”的現(xiàn)代美國(guó)口語(yǔ)。

愛(ài)您的女兒

Amber

溫馨房間有學(xué)問(wèn)

Ethabella and Amber go to Jack's house for dinner Friday evening. Conversation centers on home decoration and improvement. Jack talks about the common problems every house owner encounters， and then how he'd like to spruce up the house sometime in the near future. Ethabella，who studied Western-style interior decoration as a hobby， offers some suggestions for his home. Is she good at it?

Ethabella:You have a lovely house， Jack.

Jack:Thank you. Yeah， it's home， but a number of things have been going wrong lately.

Amber:That's too bad. What problems are you having?

Jack:Oh， the whole house needs re-painting， for starters. The carpet in the living room is worn out， and I'd like to put in new wall-to-wall carpeting. Last week， I had to call the plumber to fix the toilet. Anyway， all par for the course when you own a house， I guess. I think I'm going to hire an interior decorator to look the place over.

Ethabella:I've studied Western home decoration as a hobby. Could I make some suggestions?

Jack:Go right ahead.

Ethabella:Well， I think a crystal chandelier would look great in your living room， and maybe some new drapes for the windows. Also， a grandfather clock would look great in the den. Perhaps you could buy some potted plants for the dining room.

Jack:Wow! You really do have a talent for this， Ethabella. Thanks for your suggestions.

Ethabella:Your welcome， Jack. Glad to be of help.

星期五晚上， Ethabella 和 Amber 一起去Jack的家吃晚飯。 他們的話(huà)題集中在家庭裝飾和布置的改進(jìn)上。Jack談了一些房子經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)的問(wèn)題，然后又談了談自己以后將怎樣裝修房子。室內(nèi)裝飾是 Ethabella的一個(gè)愛(ài)好，以前還專(zhuān)門(mén)學(xué)過(guò)，于是她給了Jack一些建議。 她是不是很在行呢？

Ethabella:Jack，你的房子真不錯(cuò)！

Jack:謝謝，是啊，這是一個(gè)家。但是最近有很多地方出了問(wèn)題。

Amber:那可太糟了， 出什么問(wèn)題了？

Jack:哦，剛剛住進(jìn)來(lái)， 整間房子都需要重新粉刷，臥室里的地毯也已經(jīng)很舊了， 我想裝一套新的。 上星期，我不得不打電話(huà)找水管工來(lái)修理廁所。不管怎么說(shuō)，如果你有一間房子，我覺(jué)得這都是最尋常不過(guò)的事。我看我要請(qǐng)一個(gè)室內(nèi)工程師來(lái)看看這個(gè)地方。

Ethabella:我曾學(xué)過(guò)室內(nèi)裝飾。我能給你提一些建議嗎？

Jack:太棒了，請(qǐng)講。

Ethabella:啊，我覺(jué)得在臥室里裝一盞水晶燈會(huì)很漂亮。另外呢，可能需要一些落地窗來(lái)裝飾窗戶(hù)。還有， 休息室里放一盞落地?zé)魰?huì)很漂亮的。 你還可以買(mǎi)一些盆栽裝飾飯廳。

Jack:哇噻！你在這方面，可真是天才啊，Ethabella。謝謝你的建議。

Ethabella:不客氣，Jack。很高興能幫助你。