意想不到的飛行

有道是：百世修來同船渡，那么搭上同一趟飛機又需要怎樣的緣分？千回百轉間，千千萬萬的偶然中，撞上了一段奇遇，誰又能說那不是必然呢？

Chris: (To a man) Excuse me， sir. I think you are in my seat. I have the window seat.

Christine: Yeah， they promised me the window seat too. But this guy already showed me his ticket. He’s definitely got the window. What seat number did you get?

Chris: 21D.

Christine: Yeah， that’s the aisle. You’re next to

me， buddy.

Chris: Who do these people think they are? They have a thing or two to learn about customer service.

Christine: Oh， ①you are preaching to the choir， honey. You wouldn’t believe what happened to me the last time I flew with them. ②I’m talking lost bags， delayed flights， ③the works!

Chris: Oh， ④I’ve been there. Well， it’s good to know ⑤I’m not the only one getting screwed over. (Pause) Where are you flying to?

Christine: I’m staying in Malaysia for a night， then going to visit friends in Singapore. How about you?

Chris: Heading to Sydney for a friend’s wedding. You traveling alone?

Christine: Well， I was with my friend， but the flight got overbooked somehow， ⑥so she got bumped to a

later flight.

Chris: Are you serious?!

Christine: I know. Don’t even get me started. I just started to cool down. How about you? Are you by yourself?

Chris: No. My sister is with me. She got bumped too…bumped up to business class.

Christine: ⑦The gods really have it in for us， don’t they?

Chris: It certainly seems that way. Anyway， nice to meet you. I’m Chris.

Christine: Oh， I’m Christine. Isn’t that weird? Chris and Christine. What are the chances?

Chris: Yeah， that’s a pretty funny 1)coincidence. (Pause) I’m picking up an accent in your voice. It’s very unusual. Do you mind if I ask you where you are from?

Christine: Hmm， that’s a long story. I’ll give you the short version. I was born in Germany， grew up in France and Switzerland but spent the last 10 years in America. So， I’ve been all over the place.

Chris: Whoa， I bet you’ve had an interesting life.

Christine: ⑧To say the least. Yeah， I’ve got family all over the world and I’ve been influenced so much by heaps of different cultures， you know. Thanksgiving in New York， Christmas in London， New Year’s in Paris. I’ve been lucky to have such a good life. I owe it all to my parents， really. They wanted me and my brothers to experience as much of the world as possible. They were never really 2)well off; they were just really good at saving money so we could move from place to place.

Chris: They sound like great parents.

Christine: (Sigh) They are. Ah， you’re gonna make me cry. Haha， sorry.

Chris: No， I’m sorry. Here I am complaining about not getting the window seat. There are much more important things in the world. Family.

Christine: Exactly.

克里斯：（對一個男人說）不好意思，先生。我想您坐了我的位子了。這靠窗的座位是我的。

克里斯?。核麄円哺冶ＷC過窗口位是我的。不過這家伙已經給我看過他的票了，他確實是坐窗口位。你的座位號是多少？

克里斯：21D。

克里斯汀：哦，那是通道位。你坐我旁邊，朋友。

克里斯：這些人以為自己是誰啊？他們應該好好學習一下客戶服務。

克里斯汀：噢，你這是多此一舉呢，親愛的朋友。你不會相信上次我乘坐他們的飛機時發生了什么事。我是說丟失行李、航班延誤啊，等等一系列的事情！

克里斯：噢，我也是過來人。噢，太好了，原來并不是只有我一個受到那種“禮遇”。（停頓了一下）你要飛到哪里去？

克里斯?。何以隈R來西亞過一晚，然后去新加坡探望朋友。你呢？

克里斯：我去悉尼參加一位朋友的婚禮。你一個人去嗎？

克里斯汀：我跟朋友一起，不過不知道為什么航班超員了，所以她被擠到晚一點的航班了。

克里斯：你說真的嗎？！

克里斯?。何抑?。別讓我再提這事了，我才剛剛冷靜下來。你呢？你也是一個

人嗎？

克里斯：不，我姐姐跟我一起。她也被迫……被迫坐到商務艙了。

克里斯?。豪咸鞝敶嫘母覀冞^不去啊，不是嗎？

克里斯：看來真是那樣。不管怎樣，很高興認識你，我叫克里斯。

克里斯?。亨?，我叫克里斯汀。真是太詭異了，克里斯與克里斯汀。這個概率有多大啊？

克里斯：對啊，真是非常有趣的巧合。（停頓了一下）我發現你說話帶有口音，還是很特別的那種。你介不介意告訴我，你是哪里人??？

克里斯?。亨?，說來話長。我就長話短說吧。我在德國出生，在法國和瑞士長大，不過最近10年在美國生活。所以，到處都有我的足跡。

克里斯：哇，我相信你的生活一定很

精彩。

克里斯?。褐辽倏梢赃@樣說吧。沒錯，世界各地都有我的家人，你知道嗎，同時我也深受許許多多不同的文化的影響。紐約的感恩節，倫敦的圣誕節，巴黎的新年。我很幸運有如此多彩的生活。這多虧了我的父母，真的。他們想讓我跟我的兄弟們盡可能多地體驗這個世界。他們絕對不是很富有，他們只是善于儲蓄，所以我們才能從一個地方搬到另一個地方去。

克里斯：聽起來，他們真偉大。

克里斯汀：（嘆了口氣）是啊。啊，你差點把我弄哭了。哈哈，不好

意思。

克里斯：不，我不好意思才對。你看，我還在這兒抱怨坐不到窗口位。其實在這個世界上，還有比這重要得多的事情。那就是，家庭。

克里斯?。簺]錯。

Smart Sentences

① You are preaching to the choir， honey. 你這是多此一舉呢，親愛的朋友。

preach to the choir: waste time trying to convince people of what they already believe（多此一舉）。例如：

You talked to Ed about donating blood. That’s preaching to the choir. He is already a regular blood donor.

你與艾德談獻血的事？你這是多此一舉，他早就經常那么

做了。

② I’m talking lost bags… 我是說丟失行李……

sb. is talking…: used to draw attention to what is being discussed（用以吸引對方注意正在談論的內容）。例如：

We’re talking big money this time.

我們這回說的可是巨資啊。

③ …the works! ……等等一系列的事情！

the works: everything that’s related（相關的所有事情）。例如：

Eva brought to the events her camera， lenses， tripod，

the works.

伊娃帶去了相機、好幾個鏡頭、三角架，應有盡有。

④ I’ve been there. 我也是過來人。

I’ve been there. = I’ve had the same experience.

I’ve been there: used to express sympathy（用以表達同情）。例如：

Sorry you failed the bar exam again. I’ve been there. I failed it four times.

很遺憾你又沒有通過律師資格考試。我也曾有相同經歷，我考砸了四次。

⑤ I’m not the only one getting screwed over. 原來并不是只有我一個受到這種“禮遇”。

get screwed over: be left in a bad situation due to events beyond one’s control（被動地處于一個不利局面）。

例如：

I got screwed over again this morning. My car broke down and I was late for the meeting.

今天上午我真倒霉。我的車壞了，開會遲到了。

⑥ So she got bumped to a later flight. 所以她被擠到晚一點的航班了。

get bumped: be replaced， or switched （被擠掉，被取代）。例如：

Getting bumped from a flight happens a lot during holidays.

因客滿而坐不上班機在假日期間是常有的事。

⑦ The gods really have it in for us， don’t they? 老天爺存心跟我們過不去啊，不是嗎？

have it in for sb.: dislike sb.， do not want things go well for sb.（對某人有惡感，與某人過不去）。例如：

I don’t think the boss has it in for you.

我覺得老板并不討厭你。

⑧ To say the least. 至少可以這樣說吧。

to say the least: used to suggest that a situation is actually much more serious than what is said（至少可以說）。例如：

His conduct last night， to say the least， was impolite.

客氣地說，他昨晚的舉動不太禮貌。