尷尬萬分時

我想人生最尷尬的事情莫過于Brad碰到的這事了（居然要親口跟未來的丈母娘坦言無錢舉辦婚禮）。幸好善良的Carol很好地化解了尷尬，相信也給了Brad創造美好生活的信心。

Brad: Hi， Carol.

Carol: It’s great to see you. Did you have much trouble finding my new place?

Brad: Oh， no， not too much. Your directions were very good.

Carol: Please come inside.

Brad: Would you like me to take off my shoes?

Carol: No， that’s fine. ①Just make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink?

Brad: No， thank you. I’m OK for now.

Carol: Are you OK? You sounded very worried on the phone.

Brad: Well， I’m really quite embarrassed to come and see you actually. There are some things I need to discuss with you.

Carol: Sure. Brad， you are my son; well almost. It’s only a month till the wedding now. You don’t need to be embarrassed. You can ask me anything you want. What’s up?

Brad: Well， it’s about the wedding actually…

Carol: Is everything alright between you and Jane?

Brad: I don’t know how to say this. I’ve called the

wedding off.

Carol: Oh， no! Why?

Brad: That’s the thing…I haven’t told anyone the

real reason.

Carol: ②I’m sure it’s something that can be worked out. Are you and Jane having problems in your relationship?

Brad: Well， we are—only she isn’t aware of it.

Carol: What sort of problems?

Brad: Financial problems. See， I lost my job with my company almost six months ago. And I’ve been working two jobs in factories just out of town ever since. It was the only work I could get.

Carol: Oh Brad， that’s terrible. Why didn’t you say something?

Brad: I didn’t want Jane to worry. ③I know how much the wedding means to her. If I stopped working， there would be no way we could afford it. I really tried everything I could to get enough money. So， ④I’ve come to see you as a last resort.

Carol: Brad， ⑤why didn’t you come to me sooner? I kept asking Jane if she needed help with the wedding. But she insisted you were making more than enough at your job.

Brad: Well， I feel really awkward， you know. I should be able to provide for my wife. I figured if I couldn’t afford the wedding then I should not be starting a life together with someone. I told her it’s best that we don’t see each other for a while.

Carol: And Jane doesn’t know about this at all? About you working two jobs?

Brad: No. She’s been having such a great time with her new friends; I just wanted to leave her in peace.

Carol: How are you feeling? You must be exhausted from all the extra hours?

Brad: Yeah. Over the past few months I’ve barely had enough time to call her or keep in touch. ⑥I think she deserves better than me.

Carol: Don’t be silly. We can work this out. ⑦I’ll pitch in for the wedding and ⑧I will lend you some money until you get back on your feet.

Brad: Thanks， Carol. I really appreciate it.

Carol: There is only one thing left to do.

Brad: What’s that?

Carol: Call Jane and explain all of this!

布拉德：嗨，卡羅爾。

卡羅爾：很高興見到你。我的新住處很難找嗎？

布拉德：哦，不，一點也不。你的指引非常清晰。

卡羅爾：請進來吧。

布拉德：你想我脫掉鞋子嗎？

卡羅爾：不，沒關系，別客氣（就當在自己家里好了）。你要喝點什么嗎？

布拉德：不用了，謝謝。我現在還好。

卡羅爾：你還好？但是在電話里你聽起來非常焦慮。

布拉德：嗯，事實上我真的覺得很不好意思到你這兒來。有些事情我想和你商量一下。

卡羅爾：好的，布拉德，你是我的兒子啊；差不多就是我兒子。現在離婚禮只有一個月了。你不需要感到尷尬。你想問我什么都可以的。發生什么了？

布拉德：嗯，是關于婚禮的……

卡羅爾：你和簡還好吧？

布拉德：我不知道該怎么說。我取消了婚禮。

卡羅爾：噢，不！為什么？

布拉德：事情是這樣的……我沒有告訴過任何人真正的原因。

卡羅爾：我相信一定是可以克服的困難。你和簡的關系出了什么問題嗎？

布拉德：嗯，是的——只是她還沒有意識到。

卡羅爾：什么樣的問題？

布拉德：經濟問題。差不多六個月前我就失業了。之后我在近郊的工廠找了兩份活一直干到現在。我也只能找到這么點活兒了。

卡羅爾：噢，布拉德，真是太糟了。為什么你沒說出來呢？

布拉德：我不想讓簡擔心。我知道個婚禮對她有多重要。如果我不工作，我們就沒有可能負擔得起。真的，為了籌到足夠的錢，我已經試過所有的方法。所以，我到你這兒來尋求最后幫助。

卡羅爾：布拉德，為什么你不早點到我這兒來呢？我一直在問簡婚禮是否需要幫助。但她堅持說你工作賺到的錢早就足夠了。

布拉德：呃，你知道嗎，我真的覺得很難為情。我應該養得起自己的妻子的。我想如果我連個婚禮都負擔不起，就不配和別人一起開始新的生活。我告訴她，我們最好分開一段時間，暫時不要見面了。

卡羅爾：那簡一點也不知道嗎？關于你打了兩份工？

布拉德：不知道。她和她的新朋友們玩得很開心；我希望她能過平靜的生活。

卡羅爾：你感覺怎么樣？超負荷的工作一定讓你累壞了吧？

布拉德：是的。在過去的幾個月里，我幾乎沒有時間給她打電話或聯系。我想她應該找到個比我更好的（丈夫）。

卡羅爾：別傻了。我們一定會度過難關的。我會協助籌備婚禮的，還會借一些錢給你，直到你的情況好轉（擺脫困境）。

布拉德：謝謝，卡羅爾。我真的很感激。

卡羅爾：還有一件事要做。

布拉德：是什么？

卡羅爾：給簡打電話，把一切解釋清楚！

Smart Sentences

① Just make yourself at home. 別客氣（就當在自己家里好了）。

make yourself at home: used to make your guest feel welcome and behave in an informal and relaxed way（請隨便，別客氣）。例如：

Come in. Make yourself at home. What can I get you?

進來吧，請隨便。你需要點什么嗎？

② I’m sure it’s something that can be worked out. 我相信一定是可以克服的困難。

work out: manage to find a solution to a problem or a difficult situation（想辦法找到解決問題或困境的方法）。例如：

Come on and listen to me. I have all the answers worked out in

my mind.

來嘛，聽我說。我已經想好了辦法。

③ I know how much the wedding means to her. 我知道這個婚禮對她有多重要。

sth./sb. means something to sb.: sth./sb. is important to sb. in some way（某事物/某人對某人來說很重要）。例如：

It would mean a lot to them to win.

獲勝對他們來說很重要。

④ I’ve come to see you as a last resort. 我到你這兒來尋求最后幫助。

last resort: the very last option to get out of a difficult situation or solve a problem（擺脫困境或解決問題的最后一個選擇）。例如：

Working two jobs in summer is far from my last resort to earn my own tuition.

在暑假里打兩份工還遠遠不是我掙學費的最后選擇方式。

⑤ Why didn’t you come to me sooner? 為什么你不早點到我這兒來呢？

come to sb.: seek help from sb.（從某人處尋求幫助）。例如：

You can come to me any time.

你隨時都可以來找我的。

⑥ I think she deserves better than me. 我想她應該找到個比我更好的

（丈夫）。

deserve better: sb. should have sth. better than what he/she currently has（應該得到比目前更好的）。例如：

With his performance， John deserves better than what he got.

以約翰的表現，他應該得到更多。

⑦ I’ll pitch in for the wedding. 我會協助籌備婚禮的。

pitch in: to join force with others， to help（協力，幫助）。例如：

Everyone pitched in with the preparation for the department party.

所有人都參與了部門派對的準備工作。

⑧ I will lend you some money until you get back on your feet. （我）會借一些錢給你，直到你的情況好轉（擺脫困境）。

get back on one’s feet: go back to one’s normal position， usually after a difficult period（通常指在經歷一段困難時期之后，重新恢復過來）。例如：

Joe finally got back on his feet five years after his bankruptcy.

在破產五年后，喬終于恢復了元氣。