Joshua Odgen-Davis/肝脑涂地
童鞋们,你们在选择一份工作时,通常会考虑些什么因素呢?公司的名气、是否与专业对口、还是薪酬?据调查显示,对于现在的90后大学毕业生来说,工作地点是否离家近已经成为他们求职时的首要考虑因素。
Pedro: Hi, Anissa! Youre leaving the office pretty late today.
Anissa: Yeah, I had to work overtime to get ready for that project next month. Whats your excuse?
Pedro: Me? Nothing, really. I was just watching some YouKu videos at my desk before heading out.
Anissa: Really? ①Youre not 1)itching to get home after a full day at the office?
Pedro: Cant say that I am.
Anissa: I just cant wait to get out the door. It takes me about an hour and a half to get home, so I always want to leave as early as I can.
Pedro: Thats the difference; I live just around the block, so being at work or being at home are basically the same.
Anissa: ②You lucky dog! How can you afford a downtown flat on your salary?
Pedro: Oh, I dont have to. I still live with the rents.
Anissa: ③Holy mackerel! How do you do it?
Pedro: What do you mean?
Anissa: ④If I still lived with my parents, I think wed be at each others throats every day. I just couldnt wait to get out of there; when I went to college, I ran away from my hometown and never looked back.
Pedro: Well, I kind of know what you mean. It can be a tricky situation, but moving in with my parents after college actually kind of made sense, after I thought about it.
Anissa: What kind of sense could that possibly make?
Pedro: Financial sense, for one. Tell me, why do you live so far away from the office?
Anissa: You mean, why do I live out in the 2)boonies? Because thats the only place I can afford to live. Id love to live closer in, but rent is sky high these days!
Pedro: Exactly. Living with my parents, I get a great place in the middle of the city, and I just pay them a little bit of rent every month.
Anissa: Fair enough. But I still dont think I could take it. My rent payments are worth the peace and quiet!
Pedro: Wait, I thought you hated your roommate.
Anissa: Well, uh, yeah. I guess you got me there.
Pedro: And yesterday, you told me how much you hated cooking.
Anissa: ⑤Dont get me started! Sometimes I wish I was living with a chef who would just cook all my meals for me.
Pedro: Actually, my mom is a chef.
Anissa: Youve got to be kidding me! But now that you bring it up, my moms cooking wasnt half bad.
Pedro: So, are you rethinking your decision to move so far away from home?
Anissa: Nope. Not even a little bit.
Pedro: ⑥Wow, you must really be on bad terms with your parents!
Anissa: Not really. The reason I came to this city to work is that this was my dream job.
Pedro: Im sure you could have found a job like this in your hometown, though.
Anissa: Not necessarily. The job market is tough and getting tougher. After graduation, I decided to cast a wide net and see what I could get.
Pedro: And?
Anissa: I applied to over thirty companies all over the country. This one is the only one that took me to do the job I want.
Pedro: Ah, I see! No wonder youre willing to brave evil roommates and strange cities. Guess youre pretty brave after all!
Anissa: Of course! But...hey, do you think your mom would mind if I came over for dinner tonight?
佩德罗:嗨,安妮莎!你今天很晚才离开办公室啊。
安妮莎:对,我必须加班来准备下个月的项目。你留下来的理由是?
佩德罗:我?真的什么事也没有。我只是在离开前看一些优酷的视频。
安妮莎:真的吗?在办公室一整天后,你不想飞奔回家吗?
佩德罗:我不想。
安妮莎:我会迫不及待地想走。我得花一个半小时才回到家,所以我总是想尽早离开。
佩德罗:这就是区别。我住得离公司很近,所以上班和在家对我来说基本上是一样的。
安妮莎:你真幸运!你的工资怎么能够负担得起租市区的公寓呢?
佩德罗:噢,我不用。我还跟我爸妈住在一起呢。
安妮莎:哇!你怎么能做到的?
佩德罗:你什么意思?
安妮莎:如果我还跟父母住一块儿,我想我们每天都会吵架。我都迫不及待地想从那里出来。当我上大学时,我头也不回地离开了家。
佩德罗:好吧,我大概懂你的意思了。这是个艰难的处境,但是当我考虑过后,觉得上大学后跟父母住确实有道理。
安妮莎:这样做有什么道理呢?
佩德罗:经济的因素是一点。告诉我,你为什么住得离公司那么远?
安妮莎:你的意思是,我为什么住在郊区?因为这是我唯一能够支付的住所。我也想住得离市区近点,但是现在的租金都是天价了!
佩德罗:对。如果和我爸妈一起住,我就可以住在市中心的一个好位置,我只需每个月给他们很少的租金就可以了。
安妮莎:有道理。但是我还是不能接受。为了清静,我的租金是值得的!佩德罗:等等,我想你不喜欢你的室友吧。
安妮莎:好吧,嗯,对,那倒也是。佩德罗:昨天,你才告诉我你有多讨厌煮饭。
安妮莎:别提了!有时候我真希望能和厨子住在一起,他能帮我做一日三餐。
佩德罗:事实上,我妈就是一名厨师。
安妮莎:你在开玩笑吧!但是既然你提起来,我妈的厨艺也不差。
佩德罗:那么,你会再考虑不要搬得离家那么远吗?
安妮莎:不,我一点也不会考虑。
佩德罗:哇,看来你跟你父母的关系真的很差!
安妮莎:不是这样。我来到这座城市是因为这是我理想的工作。
佩德罗:但是我确定你在家乡也能找到类似的工作。
安妮莎:不一定。就业市场的形势变得越来越严峻。毕业后,我打算四处撒网,看能有什么结果。
佩德罗:然后呢?
安妮莎:我给全国30家公司投了简历。现在这家公司是唯一一家能给我提供理想工作的。
佩德罗:啊,我懂了!难怪你愿意接受可怕的室友和陌生的城市。我想你确实很勇敢!
安妮莎:当然啦!但是……嘿,你妈会介意我今晚去你家吃饭吗?
Smart Sentences
① Youre not itching to get home after a full day at the office? 在办公室一整天后,你不想飞奔回家吗?
itch to do sth.: very eager or impatient to do sth.(渴望做某事)。例如:We are all itching to win next weeks game.
我们都急着要赢下周的比赛。
② You lucky dog! 你真幸运!
lucky dog: a lucky person(幸运的人)。例如:
No, you didnt get the position because you are a lucky dog. Its because youve worked really hard these past four years.
不对,你不是因为运气好才得到那个职位,你在过去的四年里真的很努力。
③ Holy mackerel! 哇!
Holy mackerel: used to express exclamation, same as “wow”(用以表达惊叹等同于“wow”)。例如:
Holy mackerel! Is that the latest iPhone?
哇!那是最新款的苹果手机吗?
④ If I still lived with my parents, I think wed be at each others throats every day. 如果我还跟父母住一块儿,我想我们每天都会吵架。
at each others throats: quarrelling violently with each other(激烈争吵)。例如:
John and Bill have been at each others throats from the beginning over the color of the sofa.
约翰跟比尔从一开始就为沙发的颜色激烈争吵。
⑤ Dont get me started! 别提了!
Dont get me started: used to attempt to avoid a discussion that the speaker or hearer may wish to avoid(用以回避说话者或听者不愿意提及的话题)。例如:
—I heard you had quite a discussion with the Accounting Dept. yesterday.
我听说你与财务部在昨天有过一次不一般的讨论。
—Oh, dont get me started. Ive had enough of it.
噢,别问我这事儿,我受够了。
⑥ Wow, you must really be on bad terms with your parents!哇,看来你跟你父母的关系真的很差!
on bad terms with sb.: unfriendly with sb.(与某人关系不好)。例如:
John has been on bad terms with Nancy in QC.
约翰与质量管理部的南希一直关系不好。