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Dialogue 3
下面是电影里的一段对白，B(Ben)无所事事地在游泳池中漂流，A 对他这种颓废的表现十分不满，对话由此展开：
A:：Ben, what are you doing?
B： Well, I would say that I’m just ⑴ drifting ---- here, in the pool.
A： Why?
B: Well, it’s very comfortable just to drift here.
A： Have you ⑵ thought about ⑶ graduate school?
B： No.
A: ⑷ *Would you mind telling me then — what were those four years of college for? What was the point of all that hard work?
B： ⑸ You got me.
A： Now ⑹ listen, Ben. Look, I think it’s a very good thing that a young man — *after he’s done some very good work — should have a chance to relax and enjoy himself, and lie around, and drink beer and so on. But after a few weeks I believe that person would want to take some stock in himself and his situation and start to think about ⑺ getting off his ass.
【词句解析】
⑴ drift：意思是“漂流、漂浮”
⑵ thought about：要注意thought 最后一个字母“t”和about 的第一个字母“a”连读，且“t”非重读，所以实际读音接近“d”。
⑶ graduate school：意思是“研究生院”。
⑷ Would you mind telling me?：美国习语，意思是 “你介意把这件事告诉我吗？”。或者翻成再口语化一点的意思“你能跟我说说某事吗？”
⑸ You got me.：美国习语，意思是“你问住我了或我不知道”。
⑹ listen：其中的“i”为短的,所以实际读音接近[З]。
⑺ getting off his ass.：美国俚语，意思是“不要懒惰，开始工作”，再口语化一点的翻译是“该挪动屁股干活去了”。
【思维解析】
1. Would you mind telling me?
这是美语中非常客气的说法，美国是个人主义盛行的国家，所以尊重别人的隐私是非常重要的。当你要别人为你干某事时，这是非常合适的句型，即使你们俩人的关系非常亲密，比如：父子、夫妻、母子等，也千万不要用命令的口气让别人为你干事。
例如：有人抽烟，你觉得很受打扰，可以用一种比较严肃的语气说“Would you mind?”，来委婉的进行提醒。
2. After he’s done some very good work ―― should have a chance to relax and enjoy himself.
在努力的工作之后，进行全身心地放松是典型的美国人的工作和生活方式。美国人崇尚 hard work。在他们工作时，非常敬业，进取心非常强；一旦完成了工作，就会进行娱乐活动，甚至是过分的娱乐，比如：喝得大醉，通霄跳舞等都是美国社会价值观可以接受的。
中国人或者亚洲人，会认为如果大家关系很好，那么在工作的时候可以互相给予便利。
但是，美国人是公私比较分明的，他们常会说 Let’s get down to business.，Business is nothing you can play with.。那么当工作之后，他们就会特别放松。So, next time when you are doing business with the American, it’s very nice to you,when you are at work, do not expect them to treat you in the same way the next on the negotiation table.
