Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Welcome back, Mark. How was your holiday?
京晶：欢迎回来，马克。假期过得如何？
Mark: It was short, but restful. How about yours?
马克：短暂，但是休息得不错。你呢？
Jingjing: It was meaningful.
京晶：很有意义。
Mark: How so?
马克：怎么个好法？
Jingjing: Well, a friend and I went to visit a dog we rescued four years ago.
京晶：我和我的一个朋友去看了我们四年前救助的一只小狗。
Mark: Where is the dog now?
马克：小狗现在在何处？
Jingjing: It got adopted by some people who run a ranch in Pingu District—do you know where that is?
京晶：被平谷的一家有农场的人家领养了。你知道这地方在哪儿吗？
Mark: Yeah, just outside Beijing, to the east. So, that's where you spent your holiday, right?
马克：知道啊，北京郊区东边的地方. 那就是你过假期的地方吗？
Jingjing: We just went out there for a day.
京晶：我们只是去了一天。
Mark: I'm curious about the dog. After four years, did it remember you?
马克：我很好奇那条小狗，四年之后，还记得你吗？
Jingjing: Yeah. We kinda took it by surprise, though. We sat down at a table near the kitchen, ordered our lunch, and then nonchalantly walked over to pet it where it was resting.
京晶：记得呢，当我们还是有些惊讶。我们坐在厨房旁的一张桌子旁，正点餐，不经意地走过去在它休息的地方拍拍它。
Mark: So, it thought you were just regular guests up until the moment it looked up.
马克：所以，它觉得你们只是普通客人直到抬起头来。
Jingjing: Exactly. Then it got all excited. It knocked over its own water bowl with its wagging tail. Also, my friend and I got paw prints all over our pants.
京晶：是的。然后它变得非常兴奋，开心地摇着尾巴把水盆都打翻了。我的朋友裤子上到处是爪印。
Mark: That's charming! Did you get to enjoy the scenery while you were out there?
马克：很可爱啊！去玩的时候喜欢那里的景色吗？
Jingjing: Absolutely. We picked some fruit and went for a long walk.
京晶：当然了。我们摘了些水果，走了长长的一段路。
Mark: Sounds like you had a great time!
马克：听上去玩得很愉快哦！

New words: 习语短语

ranch 农场
a kind of house in the countryside, with rooms only on the first floor, surrounded by land
nonchalantly 漫不经心地
(adverb form of nonchalant) to do something calmly, without seeming to be interested (Even though I wanted to buy the car very much, I walked around it nonchalantly and waited for the seller to talk to me.)
paw prints 小动物的爪印
marks left by an animal like a dog, from its feet

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: So, Mark, what did you do on the holiday?
京晶：那，马克，你假期做了什么呢？
Mark: I also went out to a scenic spot. West Mountain—have you heard of it?
马克：我也去了一个景点，西山——听说过吗？
Jingjing: Of course. That's not even outside the city. It's more of a hill than a mountain.
京晶：当然了，都还是城里呢。它更是一个山丘而不是大山。
Mark: Right. We lucked out, though. The weather was cool. And I think a lot of people expected rain, because it wasn't all that crowded there.
马克：是的。我们很幸运，天气凉爽，我想大多数人都以为要下雨，因为那地方人也不太多。
Jingjing: Let me guess, you went there on Tuesday.
京晶：我猜，你周二去的。
Mark: Yep, yesterday. I got sick at the end of last week. And my wife had to work two days during the long weekend we were supposed to have. So, yesterday was our chance to get out of the city.
马克：是的，昨天，我上周末病了，我们本来有个长周末，我太太必须得工作两天。所以，昨天我们才有机会出城玩。
Jingjing: Did you go for a hike there?
京晶：去那儿远足了吗？
Mark: Well, it was more like a walk in the park.
马克：更像是公园里的散步吧。
Jingjing: Was the scenery nice?
京晶：景色好吗？
Mark: That area is very well-maintained. I prefer something a little more wild. But I can understand, with the number of people that go there, everything needs to be covered with stone or surrounded by fences.
马克：那个区域保护得很好。我喜欢更郊野一些的地方，但是我能理解，有那么多人去的地方，一切都需要被石头盖起来，被围栏围起来。
Jingjing: Right. Most importantly, you got a chance to enjoy nature.
京晶：好的。更重要的是，你有了个机会享受自然。
Mark: Yeah, it's good to do that a few times while we have these nice spring days. Besides, it's great to break away from the daily grind and have a good talk with a friend or a family member.
马克：是的。我们有这么好的春日，多来几次这样的活动是很好的。同时，也是一个很好的远离日常生活的缓冲，和朋友家人好好聊聊天。
Jingjing: I agree. Well, I bet you're refreshed, even though the holiday felt kind of short.
京晶：我同意。我打赌你已经恢复活力了，即使这假期感觉有点短。
Mark: I am. I also can't believe spring is going by so quickly.
马克：是的，同时我也不敢相信春天如此短暂。
Jingjing: Yep. We have to think about how to make the days meaningful.
京晶：是的，所以我们才要想想如何让这些日子过得更有意义。

New words: 习语短语

lucked out 非常幸运的
was very lucky, got the best possible result
well-maintained 保护得好的
kept in good condition, especially a house, a car or a garden (with many parts that could break or get ruined)
the daily grind 日常生活
the routine of daily life, especially ones job and housework