2. Chan Lee, a visiting professor at Yale, is in Ella Lewis's apartment. He arrived from China a month ago.

Chan: Thanks for offering to give me a lift. I'm looking forward to this party, but I didn't want to go alone.
謝謝你的好意送我一程。我盼著參加這個(gè)晚會(huì)，但是我不想一個(gè)人去。
Ella: Don't mention it. It's my pleasure. Have you been to one of these large, sit-down dinner parties since you got to New Haven?
不用謝。是我的榮幸。自從你來(lái)紐黑文市，你有沒(méi)有去過(guò)這種大型的、坐下來(lái)吃飯的聚會(huì)？
Chan: No, this is my first. Last week I went to a cookout for new professors at Dean Barksdale's home. I took a taxi because I didn't want to be late. But I was the first one there.
沒(méi)有，這是第一次。上周我去巴克斯德爾主任家參加了一個(gè)為新來(lái)的教授在戶外搞的一個(gè)野餐聚會(huì)。為了不遲到，我叫了一輛的士。我卻是第一個(gè)到那里的。
Ella: I'll bet you were a little embarrassed.
我猜你有點(diǎn)尷尬。
Chan: You're right. The invitation said "two to seven". I was there at two o'clock, but most people didn't arrive until three or four. They didn't start cooking until five o’clock.
你說(shuō)得對(duì)。邀請(qǐng)函上說(shuō)“兩點(diǎn)到七點(diǎn)”。我兩點(diǎn)鐘到那里，但是大部分人直到三、四點(diǎn)才來(lái)。他們到五點(diǎn)鐘才開始做飯菜。
Ella: Cookouts often start slowly. A two o'clock start means you arrive any time after two.
戶外野炊經(jīng)常開始得很慢。兩點(diǎn)鐘開始意思是說(shuō)兩點(diǎn)鐘以后的任何時(shí)間你都可以到。
Chan: Thanks for telling me this.
謝謝你告訴我這些。
Ella: I was late getting back from the mall, but I'm hurrying.
我從購(gòu)物中心回來(lái)晚了，但是我在加快動(dòng)作。
Chan: Why are you in such a hurry? They said, "Dinner at eight," and it's only seven-fifteen. I don't want to be the first one there again.
你為什么這么急？他們說(shuō)，“八點(diǎn)吃飯”，現(xiàn)在才七點(diǎn)十五。我不想又是第一個(gè)到那里。
Ella: Don't worry. We won't be the first.
不要擔(dān)心。我們不會(huì)是第一個(gè)的。

Helpful Information：

For a dinner date, it’s usually a good idea to be about five minutes early.
For a cookout at 2:00 o’clock, arriving between 2:00 and 2:30 is considered proper.
For a business appointment, it is considered proper to be five minutes early, but never late.
對(duì)于一個(gè)晚餐宴會(huì)，早到五分鐘左右通常是很好的。
對(duì)于一個(gè)兩點(diǎn)鐘的戶外野炊，在兩點(diǎn)至兩點(diǎn)半到是很合適的。
對(duì)于一個(gè)商務(wù)約會(huì)，提早五分鐘到是很合適的，但一定不要遲到。

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3. Wong is discussing meals with Marsha and David Gransee. She has been in the United States for only two days.

Wong: I want you to know how much I appreciate these terrific meals you've been cooking. Do you guys always eat this well?
我真的很感激你們做這么豐盛的飯菜。你們都經(jīng)常吃這么好嗎？
David: Not really. During the week, we're both busy with our jobs, so there isn't much time to cook anything fancy.
并不是這樣。平時(shí)我們都忙于工作，所以沒(méi)有多少時(shí)間烹飪出花樣。
Marsha: We both enjoy cooking and experimenting, so we usually try to fix something special on Sundays.
我們都喜歡做飯、嘗試，所以星期天我們都通常試著做些特別的菜。
Wong: This morning's breakfast was great: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice! You surely don't eat that kind of breakfast every day.
今天的早餐真是美味：炒蛋、煙肉、烤面包，還有橙汁！你們肯定不是每天都吃這樣的早餐。
Marsha: You're right! We don't. During the week, we usually have cold cereal and maybe a piece of fruit. Neither of us has the time to cook breakfast. Monday through Friday, it's “Every man for himself.” Don’t worry, though. You’ll never go to bed hungry.
你說(shuō)得對(duì)！我們沒(méi)有。一周之內(nèi)，我們通常吃些冷麥片，大概一片水果。我們都沒(méi)有時(shí)間做早餐。星期一到星期五，都是“個(gè)顧個(gè)地找些東西吃。” 但不要擔(dān)心。你都不會(huì)餓著睡覺(jué)的。
David: That's true. And dinners are different, anyway. Some nights Marsha will fix a casserole or a pasta dish. Other nights, I like to throw fish or hamburgers onto the grill. And fix a green salad.
那倒是真的。不管怎么樣，晚餐就不同。一些晚上馬莎會(huì)做個(gè)砂鍋或者通心粉。其它幾個(gè)晚上，我喜歡把魚或者漢堡牛排扔到烤架上，還弄個(gè)蔬菜沙拉。
Wong: So, you cook every night?
那么，你每天晚上都做飯嗎？
Marsha: Well, not every night. Some nights we have leftovers, or maybe we'll just send out for a pizza. We even enjoy going out to a restaurant once in a while.
不是每個(gè)晚上。一些晚上我們吃剩菜，或許我們就干脆出去吃比薩餅。有時(shí)我們甚至喜歡出去到餐館吃。

At a Thanksgiving dinner in Juneau [朱諾(美國(guó)阿拉斯加州之首府)]. There are fourteen guests at the Wrights' dinner table.

Tina: There's so much food on the table, I don't know where to begin.
桌上這么多菜，我都不知道從哪里開始。
Rachel: Pass your plate down to Chuck, Tina. He'll put meat on it. He always carves the turkey.
把你的盤子遞給查克，蒂娜。他會(huì)把肉放在上面。他總是切火雞。
Chuck: White meat or dark, Tina?
白色肉還是深色肉，蒂娜？
Tina: Dark, please. I like the drumsticks.
請(qǐng)給我深色肉。我喜歡雞腿。
Chuck: (To his wife) Why don't you start passing the potatoes, honey?
（對(duì)他妻子）親愛(ài)的，你為什么不開始傳遞土豆呢？
Rachel: You know, Tina, it's okay to pick up the leg with your fingers. You don't have to cut it from the bone. Around here, we think eating should be easy and fun.
蒂娜，你知道嗎，用你的手指拿雞腿是沒(méi)關(guān)系的。你不必從骨頭那里切。在這里我們覺(jué)得吃應(yīng)該隨意、有趣。
Chuck: And try a little bit of everything. Then you can go back for seconds, after you see which dishes you like best.
而且每一樣都嘗一點(diǎn)。你看你最喜歡哪道菜，你就可以馬上回去拿。
Tina: (At the end of the meal) I feel so full; I don't think I could eat another bite. Thank you, Chuck and Rachel, for inviting me to share this delicious meal with you and all your friends.
(Chuck belches loudly.)
（進(jìn)餐最后階段）我覺(jué)得很飽，我一口都不能再吃了。查克和雷切爾，謝謝你們邀請(qǐng)我和你以及你們的朋友一起分享這些美味的食物。（查克大聲地打了一下嗝。）
Rachel: Chuck!
查克！

Additional Information：

It’s very important to express your gratitude to the people who have cooked for you, or have invited you to a meal. Americans also find it important and necessary to say “thank you” even to their own mothers. It’s one of the ways to show your appreciation of the people who have given their time to do kind things for you.

向?yàn)槟阕鲲埖娜嘶蛘哐?qǐng)你吃飯的人表示感謝是很重要的。美國(guó)人甚至覺(jué)得向他們自己的媽媽說(shuō)聲“謝謝你”也是非常重要和有必要的。這是對(duì)別人犧牲他們自己的時(shí)間來(lái)幫助你表示感謝的方式之一。
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