Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, you don't look as tired as last week. Is the construction finished around your house?
京晶：马克，你看起来不像上周那么累了。你家邻居的装修结束了？
Mark: It's been on and off. But I've been staying out of the house mostly. If I don't have to go in to work, I do work at a coffee shop.
马克：时不时吧。但是我大部分时候都呆在外面。如果不是必须去办公室上班的话，我就在咖啡店办公。
Jingjing: And, are you getting more done, now that you're out of the house more often?
京晶：那么，你现在经常出门，是不是工作完成得更多了？
Mark: It's hard to say. For little projects, and stuff like answering emails, I'm better. I'm falling behind on some of my bigger projects.
马克：很难说。对于一些小工作，像回复邮件之类的，效率更高。在一些大项目上我落后了。
Jingjing: That makes me think about what Jack Ma said recently: When people are young, they should work from 9AM until 9PM six days a week. What do you think?
京晶：这让我想起了马云最近说的：当人们年轻的时候，应该从早上九点工作到晚上九点，一周六天。你怎么看？
Mark: That's a lot of hours to put in. What's the rationale?
马克：那得投入大量时间啊。理由是什么呢？
Jingjing: Well, when people get older, they won't remember what TV shows they watched when they were in their 20s and 30s. But, most likely, they'll have accomplished more at work, and will hopefully have better job titles and more money.
京晶：嗯，当人们长大后，他们不会记得20多岁和30多岁时看了什么电视节目。但是，最有可能的是他们在工作上会取得更大的成就，很可能有更好的工作头衔和更多的钱。
Mark: That sounds pretty reasonable. Anyway, it's hard to argue against hard work.
马克：听起来很有道理。不管怎么说，反对努力工作这种说法是很难的。
Jingjing: It sounds like you don't fully agree, though.
京晶：不过，听起来你不是完全同意。
Mark: Well, for one thing, some kinds of work require lots of concentration—like driving or piloting a jet. There are so many stories of trucks running red lights because drivers were too tired to focus.
马克：嗯，首先，有些种类的工作需要高度集中精力，像开车或驾驶喷气式飞机。有太多关于卡车闯红灯的故事，因为司机太累而无法集中注意力。
Jingjing: Yeah, I don't think anybody's suggesting that drivers spend more than 8 hours behind the wheel.
京晶：是的，我不认为有人会建议司机在方向盘后边呆超过8小时。
Mark: Also, I read somewhere that taxi drivers can't make a living if they just work regular hours. They have to work overtime.
马克：还有，我了解到，如果出租车司机只是按正常工时工作是无法养活自己的。他们必须加班。
Jingjing: That's a raw deal. What about office workers?
京晶：那不公平。办公室工作人员呢？
Mark: Sure, no one's going to lose their life if an office worker falls asleep at their desk.
马克：当然，如果一个上班族在办公桌上睡着了是不会失去生命的。
Jingjing: Ha ha. A desk is a good thing for a cat nap.
京晶：哈哈，办公桌是打盹儿的好地方。

New words : 习语短语
on and off 时不时地
sometimes happening, sometimes not (It's been raining on and off all morning.)
rationale 根本原因
a reason for doing something
raw deal 不公平
something unfair
cat nap 打盹儿，小睡
a short nap, usually 5-20 minutes, in a place where people don't usually sleep

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: That's good, at least. Hey, I remember being in a taxi with a sleepy driver. It was pretty scary.
京晶：至少这很好。我记得我乘坐一个昏昏欲睡的司机的出租车，那太吓人啦。
Mark: I bet—and, I'm sorry to hear that. Back to office workers, they might make better decisions and do better work without such long hours.
马克：很遗憾听到这种事，真的。说回办公室工作人员，不用长时间工作，他们可能会做出更好的决定，把工作完成得更出色。
Jingjing: Then again, office workers might not be as committed to their jobs if they're only working a few hours.
京晶：不过，如果办公室工作人员只工作几个小时，他们可能就不会那么全心全意投入工作了。
Mark: That probably has more to do with their personality than how many hours they're on the clock. Have you read about the four-hour work week?
马克：这可能与他们的个性有关，而不是他们的工作时间。你读过每周四小时工作吗？
Jingjing: Isn't that a book by Tim Ferris?
京晶：那不是蒂姆.费里斯的书吗？
Mark: Yeah, it's the next book I want to read. I think it's about creative jobs.
马克：是，这是我想读的下一本书。我想它是关于创造性工作的。
Jingjing: It's an interesting idea to do 8-12 hours worth of work in 4 hours. Let me know after you read it. I might read it also.
京晶：在4小时内完成8-12小时的工作是一个有趣的想法。读完后告诉我，我可能也会读。
Mark: Will do.
马克：会的。
Jingjing: But I think we're missing the point. Jack Ma was talking about getting more accomplished in life—and, if that means working six days a week for twelve hours each day, then it'd be worth it.
京晶：但是我想我们忽略了重点，马云谈论的是生命中取得更多的成就，如果这意味着每周工作6天，每天工作12小时，那这是值得的。
Mark: I'm with you on that. People should make the most of their careers in their prime years. I just hope people don't milk the clock or get into a rat race.
马克：我同意。人们应该在黄金年龄段充分发展自己的职业生涯。我只是希望人们不要磨洋工或陷入激烈的竞争。
Jingjing: Right. Hey, I read somewhere that only 5% of Americans can afford the luxury of retirement. What does that mean?
京晶：对。我了解到，只有5%的美国人能负担得起奢侈的退休生活。这是什么意思？
Mark: Only 1 in 20 Americans can keep the same standard of living they had after they stop working. Everyone else might survive, but would have to move to smaller houses or go on fewer trips.
马克：只有五分之一的美国人能保持他们停止工作后的生活水平。其他人也能凑合过日子，但不得不搬到更小的房子或去更少的旅行。
Jingjing: That's a good reason to work hard when young! I want to travel a lot when I get old.
京晶：那就是年轻时努力工作的好理由！当我老了以后，我想经常旅行。
Mark: Go for it, Jingjing! I'll let you get back to work now.
马克：去吧，京晶！我这就让你回去工作了。



New words : 习语短语
I'm with you (on that). 我同意你的看法
I agree with you (about that).
milk the clock 浪费时间，磨洋工
stay at the office longer just to make more money
rat race 激烈竞争
competitive society, people work harder and harder so that few people can keep up