零距離美語會話[家庭]Lesson 1:Modern dating

Unit 3 Family
One Modern dating
現代約會

1 Introduction
A For millions of singles, e-mail has become an essential tool in the dating game. It's a good tool for casually getting to know people. It expedites the whole dating routine.
對於成百萬的單身者來說，電子郵件往來已經變成了談朋友期的一個必不可缺的工具。是人們無意間彼此認識的一個好方法。它可以加速別人談朋友進程。

B It's easier to have the courage to ask her/him out over e-mail because it saves the embarrassment of rejection. And you're also not putting the other person on the spot. So nowadays many more people prefer this way to ask people.
以電子郵件的方式把她/他邀請出來比較容易一些，不需要有那麼多勇氣，因爲拒絕的話，也不會有那麼難堪。而且你也沒有把別人杵在一邊。所以現在很多人都比較喜歡通過這種方式邀請對方。

C There are some popular ways for singles to meet in America. Internet personals are very popular these days. Single people – some are divorced – attend special activities held just for the purpose of meeting other single people.
在美國，讓單身者互相認識有很多很受歡迎的方式。目前，網上刊登個人廣告就很流行。單身者——有些是離過婚的——參加一些特殊的活動，目的就在於結識另外一些單身者。

2 Sample Sentences
1. We talked online a couple of times then decided to meet.
我們在網上聊過幾次，然後決定見面。
2. He lived 180 miles away, but I figured we would just be online friends, and distance was irrelevant.
他住在180英里之外，但是我在想我們只會成爲網上的朋友，所以距離不是問題。
3. From the very first e-mail exchange, we both knew there was something different - we just "clicked", if you'll pardon the pun.
從第一次交換電子郵件以來，我們都知道這裏面有些不一樣——我們只是連接了一下，（上網連接，感情連接），請原諒我的俏皮話。
4. What were the odds that Peter, a PhD candidate from Germany, and I, a public health worker from Los Angeles, would have ever met without Yahoo?
如果沒有雅虎，彼特，德國的一個博士攻讀者，和我，洛杉磯的一個公共醫療工作者，在一起相遇的機會又有多大了！？
5. So I responded, came to find out I had known this girl from high school and she had a crush on me then.
所以我回信了，發現我以前在中學認識她，從那後她就愛上了我。
6. When Brian responded to my ad on the 28th of September, I had no idea what I was getting myself into by arranging to meet in person.
當九月二十八日布賴恩回我的徵婚啓事時，我根本不知道安排見面會給我帶來什麼結果。
7. It seemed so difficult to find someone suited to me and Internet made it all so much easier.
找到一個適合我的人似乎很難，但是互聯網讓這一切都變得容易多了。
8. So there I was, browsing the personals and there he was.
所以就是在我瀏覽徵婚啓事時，而他就在那裏。
9. We began talking and e-mailing each other daily for a while.
有段時間，我們開始每天談話以及互相發電子郵件.
10. We kept e-mailing one another because we could never catch each other online.
我們彼此保持電子郵件往來，因爲我們從來在網上都不能碰到一起。

3 Conversations
1. Fast love.
Judy: So, where are you going to spend your winter vacation?
Charles: Oh, I’m going to meet my girlfriend in Thailand1.
Judy: You have a girlfriend in Thailand? Interesting. How come I have never heard of that?
Charles: Actually it will be my first time to meet her.
Judy: You mean you haven’t seen her before? Then, how could she be your girlfriend? Maybe you don’t even know her.
Charles: That’s true. But we have known each other over the Internet for a few months now. Actually we are on an intimate2 level. We even plan to be engaged next month.
Judy: Congratulations! It’s good to follow your heart. But I just didn’t expect to be so fast.
Charles: The Internet is making interaction3 much faster. People are getting to know each other much more quickly this way.
Judy: Probably you’re right.
Charles: Don’t call me crazy, though. There are 75 million singles in America, so the market for romance-related Web sites is huge. In the last year alone, nearly 6 million people logged on4 to find their soul mates.
Judy: Oh, my gosh! You must be kidding！ Then those dating agencies5 must have been closed now.

【譯文】
——那麼，你準備去哪裏度寒假？
——噢，我準備去泰國見我的女朋友。
——你在泰國有個女朋友？太有意思了。我怎麼就沒聽說過了？
——老實說這將會是我第一次見到她。
——你是說你以前還沒見過她？那麼，她又怎麼會是你的女朋友呢？也許你根本不瞭解她。
——也許。但是現在我們在網上已經認識幾個月了。實際上，我們關係很親密。我們甚至打算下個月定婚。
——恭喜！跟着感覺走是好的。但是我只是沒想到會這麼快。
——互聯網使相互交流更快了。通過這種方式，人們可以更快地瞭解對方。
——也許你說得對。
——但不要叫我瘋狂。美國有七千五百萬單身者，所以與談情說愛相關的網站市場很大。就去年一年，將近六百萬的人上網尋找愛情。
——哦，天啊！你肯定在說笑！這麼說那些婚姻介紹所現在都該關門了。

2. Over the Internet.
Tina: What are you up to?
Allen: I'm busy chatting with someone over the Internet.
Tina: Over the Internet? Who?
Allen: Some girl I met in a chat room.
Tina: Really? I rarely go to those things; there are too many weirdoes6.
Allen: Maybe you're just not going to the right ones. I know where to look, and because I've found the perfect girl for me.
Tina: Perfect girl? What has she told you about herself?
Allen: Well, let's see… she's a twenty year old college student studying literature7 at Harvard, and she's a former model.
Tina: Seems good so far. Anything else you know about her?
Allen: What else do I need to know?
Tina: Well, it sounds a bit sketchy8 to me. I mean, what else do you really know about her?
Allen: Listen, why do you need to rain on my parade9?
Tina: I'm not saying there's anything wrong, only that you should be careful. There are a lot of pranksters10 on the Internet.
Allen: I don't care what you say. I love Jasmine and she loves me!
Tina: Loves you? How long have you two been chatting?
Allen: About two hours. But I know it is love.
Tina: Here, let's learn more about your chat partner… here, see? It says that your ‘perfect’ girl is a twelve-year-old boy. He's been playing with you for over two hours.
Allen: Damn!

【譯文】
——你最近在忙什麼？
——我忙於和別人在互聯網上聊天。
——在互聯網上？誰？
——我在聊天室遇到的一個女孩。
——真的嗎？我很少做這些事；怪人很多。
——或許你只是沒有去對地方。我知道去那兒看，因爲我碰到了我理想中的女孩。
——理想中的女孩？她告訴過你有關她的什麼？
——唔，讓我想想……她是一名21歲的大學生，在哈佛大學學文學，而且她以前還是個模特。
——聽起來不錯。你知道她其它的事嗎？
——我還需要知道什麼？
——唔，在我看來聽起來有點不完全。我是說，你真的知道她其它的事情嗎？
——聽着，你爲什麼要給我潑冷水？
——我沒有說有什麼問題，只是你應該小心。互聯網上有許多惡作劇的人。
——我不介意你說什麼。我愛茉莉，而且她也愛我！
——愛你？你們倆聊天有多久了？
——大約兩小時。但我知道那是愛。
——這兒，讓我們對你的聊天朋友多做些瞭解……這兒，看見了嗎？上面說你“理想中的”女孩是一個12歲的男孩。他已經玩弄你兩個多小時了。
——該死！

3. Some good ways to meet people.
James: This has got to stop! Another Friday night without a date! What can I do?
Joanna: What about looking through the personal ads on the Internet? That’s how I met Steven.
James: Actually, I’ve tried that. But the people you meet are always different from what you expect.
Mike: Do you often go to a chat room on the Internet?
Joanna: No, that’s the last thing I would do. You never know what kind of people you’re talking to. People hide their true status11. It’s just a waste of time.
Mike: I bet many people don’t agree with you. They think it’s very interesting and relaxing. They find an outlet12 to express their inner13 feelings, which they may not want to talk about to anyone in person.
Joanna: But a lot of traps14 too. To tell you the truth, I was trapped one time and it really hurt my feelings. The Internet pal turned out to be homosexual15.
Mike: Well, why don’t you join a dating service? A friend of mine met his wife that way.
Joanna: That’s not a bad idea.
Mike: Also, it might be a good idea to check out single’s night at the bookstore.
Joanna: Yeah. If I don’t find a date, at least I might find a good book!
【譯文】
——不能再這樣下去了！又一個星期五的晚上沒有約會! 我怎麼辦？
——去網上瀏覽一下徵婚啓事怎麼樣？我就是這樣認識斯蒂芬的。
——其實我也試過。但是你遇見的人總是和你所期待的很不一樣。
——你經常上網聊天嗎？
——不，這是我最不願做的事。你根本想不到你是在和什麼樣的人談話。人們隱藏他們的真實身份。這只是浪費時間。
——我想很多人不會同意你的意見。他們認爲這很有意思，很令人輕鬆。他們找到一個出口發泄他們內心深處的感情，這些他們可能不想面對面地和任何人講的感情。
——但是也有很多陷阱。說實話，我就被陷進去一次，這真傷了我的感情。網友結果是個同性戀。
——那麼，你爲什麼不參加一個婚介機構？我的一個朋友就那樣認識了他的妻子。
——這個主意不錯。
——而且，去書店的單身晚會看看，可能也不失爲一個好主意。
——是啊。如果我沒有找到一個伴，至少我可能找到一本好書！

4 Words and Expressions
1. Thailand 泰國
2. intimate 親密的,熟悉的
3. interaction 互相影響，交互
4. log on ]開機
5. dating agency 約會代辦處
6. weirdo 怪人;怪物
7. literature 文學;文學作品
8. sketchy 概略的;不完全的
9. rain on my parade 破壞氣氛，潑冷水
10. prankster 愛開玩笑的人;惡作劇的人
11. status 地位,身份
12. outlet 出口;發泄途徑(或方法)
13. inner 內部的,裏面的
14. trap 陷阱,圈套,詭計
15. homosexual 同性戀的，同性戀者