第一眼印象

Mark將要在中國度過他幾年的學習生活，他對中國的第一印象如何呢？一切的一切對他來說都太新鮮了，反差太大了。不管怎樣，即來之則安之，一切從零開始吧！

Mark: Hey， Pam! Whoa， I can’t believe I’m here.

Pam: How are you? It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you. Who would’ve thought we would end up in China together?

Mark: Tell me about it. ①Never in a million years would I have thought I would be here. ②It’s such a spin-out.

Pam: How was your flight? What time did you get in?

Mark: It was a really good flight. I got in yesterday morning， so I have had a brief look around， but still have a lot of exploring to do. It’s all a bit surreal.

Pam: Yeah， I remember when I first got here. The first few days are very dream-like. ③It takes a while for everything to grow on you. ④Give me a blow-by-blow of your first 24 hours.

Mark: It’s such an eye-opener compared to Western culture. There are so many contrasts. The Chinese people seem quite reserved and modest， yet at the same time they can be very outgoing.

Pam: That’s true. It takes a while for them to open up， but after they warm to you， they will go out of their way to

help you.

Mark: My first interaction with a local was when I met Mr. Huang， my boss’s husband， at the airport. I picked up my luggage then headed for the exit， and there was this little man holding a sign with my name on it.

Pam: Ha， how cute!

Mark: He waved me over and took my bags， and then took me to the van. Then we drove for about two hours till we got here. We didn’t speak a word the whole time.

Pam: He might have been too shy to speak English.

Mark: I guess so. Well， it was a good thing he didn’t speak any Chinese: I don’t know one word!

Pam: Seriously? “Ni Hao”， “Xie Xie”?

Mark: Nope， I have no idea what you just said.

Pam: Wow. OK， you need to study the basics as soon as possible. What did you think of the sights on the drive from the airport?

Mark: It was truly breathtaking; unlike anything you would see back home. Rice fields， animals roaming around， three people squeezed on an old motorbike， an old man pulling a cart of vegetables， but then there were BMWs and Mercedes cruising around too. I saw a lady rounding up some geese. She was running around after them waving a stick in the air.

Pam: ⑤A lot to take in， hey?

Mark: Yeah， I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. It’s an amazing country.

馬克：嘿，帕姆！哇，我不相信我來這

兒了。

帕姆：你還好嗎？自從上次見你已經過去很長時間了。誰會想到我們最終在中國相遇呢？

馬克：說得是啊。我萬萬沒想過我會在這兒。真是想不到啊。

帕姆：旅途怎么樣？你是什么時候到的？

馬克：很愉快。我昨天早上就到了，在附近大概看了一下，但還有很多地方等待我去發掘。這里的一切都太夢幻了。

帕姆：是啊，我還記得我剛到到這兒的情景。最初的幾天感覺像做夢一樣。過一段時間你就會慢慢喜歡上這里。跟我詳細說說你到這兒的第一天（是怎么樣的）。

馬克：相對于西方文化來說，這次真是讓我大開了眼界。反差太大了。中國人看上去挺保守謙遜的，但同時他們也可以很熱情友好。

帕姆：沒錯。要花點時間他們才會敞開心扉，一旦他們對你有了好感后，他們就會發自內心地主動幫助你。

馬克：我第一次與本地人互動，是我在機場見到我老板的丈夫黃先生的時候。當我拿著行李向出口走去的時候，這個小個子男人正舉著一個寫有我名字的牌子等我呢。

帕姆：哈，真好玩！

馬克：他揮手叫我過去，拿起我的行李，然后帶我上了車。我們大約開了兩個多小時的車才到。這段時間里我們沒有講一句話。

帕姆：他大概不好意思講英文。

馬克：我想是的。不過幸好他也沒有講中文——我可一點也不懂！

帕姆：真的嗎？“你好”，“謝謝”？

馬克：不懂，我完全不知道你說了

什么。

帕姆：哇。好了，你需要盡快從基礎學起。從機場過來的一路上景色怎么樣？

馬克：真是讓人興奮啊，一點都不像你在老家那邊看到的。成片的稻田，四處亂跑的牲口，三個人擠在一輛舊的摩托車上，一個老人拉著一車的蔬菜，但是馬上又看到了寶馬和奔馳車穿行。我還看到一個婦女趕著一群鵝。她在空中揮舞一根桿子在后面驅趕著它們。

帕姆：有很多要消化的，對吧？

馬克：是啊，我一直忍不住的笑。這是一個神奇的國家。

Smart Sentences

① Never in a million years would I have thought I would be here. 我萬萬沒想過我會在這兒。

in a million years: an exaggerated way to emphasize a long time（用夸張的方式表達時間很長）。例如：

I won’t come back again in a million years.

我估計一輩子都不會再回來了。

② It’s such a spin-out. 真是想不到啊。

spin-out: Australian slang， sth. not expected to happen， a shock（澳大利亞俚語，表示出其不意之事）。例如：

I haven’t heard from Joseph for months. Getting his letter is really a spin-out.

約瑟夫已經多月沒有音訊了，收到他的信真是想不到。

③ It takes a while for everything to grow on you. 要過一段時間你才會慢慢喜歡上這里。

grow on sb.: sb. starts to like sth. more and more（某人越來越喜歡某事）。例如：

The smoking habit grew on Amy.

艾米漸漸地有了煙癮。

④ Give me a blow-by-blow of your first 24 hours. 跟我詳細地說說你到這兒的第一天（是怎么樣的）。

blow-by-blow of sth.: every stage of sth. in great detail（極為詳細的細節，一五一十）。例如：

Mr. Black needs a blow-by-blow account of the incident.

布萊克先生要知道事件的所有細節。

⑤ A lot to take in， hey? 有很多要消化的，對吧？

take in sth.: understand sth. when hearing or seeing it （明白某事）。例如：

Though Joe was in room during the speech， I’m not sure if he took anything in.

雖說演講時喬人在那里，但我不能肯定他有沒有聽懂一點點。