另覓新居

要換個(gè)好環(huán)境的確不是易事。不說別的，單是找房子就有可能讓你崩潰掉。地段、價(jià)錢、房子間隔、配套設(shè)施等等問題都要逐一考慮——那可都是我們“奔向新生活”的入門必修課。

Justin: Now， you are in charge of inspecting the places. I couldn’t sleep at all last night. I just kept thinking about the fight with Tony. ①So I need a fresh pair of eyes to tell me if the places are nice or not.

Grace: Hey， I’m not checking these apartments out for your benefit; I’ll be living there， too. I’m going to make sure I get the best bedroom. ②It’s every man for himself.

Justin: That’s OK; as long as we leave the worst room for Craig.

Grace: Well obviously. Haha. ③I can’t believe you are still hung up on that fight with Tony. Just think about the great new life we are gonna have…AWAY from the dorms.

Justin: It’s going to be great， eh? So much more freedom.

Grace: But also more responsibility. Paying bills， working to pay

the rent…

Justin: Yeah. ④Too bad we can’t all be like Craig and have our parents pay for everything.

Grace: ⑤At least if we get strapped for cash we know we can lean on him.

Justin: Oh， that must be the 1)realtor.

Realtor: Hi， guys. Nice to meet you. Now， I’ve picked out a few places to look at today; all within the price range you mentioned. So， let’s get started， shall we?

Grace: Great.

(They enter the third apartment.)

Realtor: I know you didn’t like the first two. So， ⑥I hope this one strikes your fancy. This one includes all the furniture and 2)appliances you see: TV， 3)refrigerator， new beds and sofa. And has two bathrooms， which I know is one thing you were really looking for.

Grace: It’s just that I’m a girl with two boys. I need my own privacy when it comes to the bathroom.

Justin: And we need access to a bathroom when she is spending hours in there doing whatever girls do.

Grace: This place looks great. ⑦But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it’s not quite within our budget?

Realtor: It is slightly higher， yes. ⑧But the owner might be open to

4)negotiation.

Justin: ⑨If we can meet in the middle， I think this is the place for us.

Grace: Agreed!

賈斯汀:現(xiàn)在由你全權(quán)來負(fù)責(zé)檢查這些房子了。昨天晚上我根本就睡不著，一直想著跟托尼吵架的事兒。所以，我需要一個(gè)旁觀者來告訴我這些地方哪好哪不好。

格蕾斯:嘿，我可不是為了你而看房子的，我自己也要住的。我要確保我能拿到最好的房間，人不為己，天誅地滅。

賈斯汀:沒問題;我們只要把最差那間留給克雷格就是了。

格蕾斯:噢，那當(dāng)然，哈哈。難以置信你還在為跟托尼吵架的事而心煩。想一想我們以后的精彩新生活吧……我們終于脫離宿舍啦。

賈斯汀:一切都會(huì)好起來的，對(duì)吧?自由多了。

格蕾斯:但同時(shí)也承擔(dān)更多的責(zé)任。要付賬單，還得為了交房租而去工作……

賈斯汀:對(duì)啊。太郁悶了，我們不像克雷格那樣有父母幫我們付賬。

格蕾斯:最起碼我們知道要是手頭緊的話，我們還可以依靠他。

賈斯汀:噢，一定是地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì)來了。

地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì):嗨，大家好。很高興見到你們。現(xiàn)在，我已經(jīng)挑選了幾個(gè)準(zhǔn)備今天去看的地方了，所有房子的租價(jià)都在你們要求的范圍之內(nèi)。那么，我們現(xiàn)在就出發(fā)吧，好嗎?

格蕾斯:太好了。

(他們走進(jìn)第三間公寓。)

地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì):我知道你們不喜歡前面看過的兩間，所以我希望這一間能對(duì)你們的胃口。這所房子家電齊全:電視、冰箱、新的床和沙發(fā)。而且有兩個(gè)浴室，據(jù)我所知這也是你們一直真正想要的。

格蕾斯:那是因?yàn)槲乙粋€(gè)女孩子要跟兩個(gè)男孩合租。在浴室這方面，我需要自己的私人空間。

賈斯汀:而對(duì)我們而言，在她花數(shù)小時(shí)在里面做所有女孩都做的事情時(shí)，我們得有機(jī)會(huì)進(jìn)浴室。

格蕾斯:這地方看起來不錯(cuò)。但我得冒點(diǎn)兒險(xiǎn)，我想它超過我們的預(yù)算了吧?

地產(chǎn)經(jīng)紀(jì):沒錯(cuò)，稍微高一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。不過也許業(yè)主愿意議價(jià)。

賈斯汀:如果我們能各退一步的話，我想我們會(huì)租的。

格蕾斯:同意!

Smart Sentences

① So I need a fresh pair of eyes… 所以，我需要一個(gè)旁觀者……

a fresh pair of eyes: someone who is not familiar with the situation(不熟悉情況的人)。例如:

I am going to find someone outside the department， a fresh pair of eyes， to look at the design.

我要找一個(gè)部門外不熟悉情況的人來看看這個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)。

② It’s every man for himself. 人不為己，天誅地滅。

every man for himself: everyone thinks/acts for his/her own benefit(各人為各自的利益著想)。例如:

You can’t blame Gould for keeping the news to himself， for it’s every man for himself.

你不能怪高德封鎖消息，人人都得為自己著想。

③ I can’t believe you are still hung up on that fight with Tony. 難以置信你還在為跟托尼吵架的事而心煩。

hang up on sth./sb.: think or worry too much about sth./sb. (煩心，心神不寧)。例如:

It will be a long time before people aren’t hung up on the spread of Influenza A.

人們需要在很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間里為甲型流感煩心。

④ Too bad we can’t all be like Craig.太郁悶了，我們不像克雷格那樣。

We can’t all be like Craig. = Not all of us can be in Craig’s situation.

we can’t all be like sb.: used to express how special sb. is(用以表明某人的特殊性)。例如:

We can’t all be like Grey， the smartest guy in school. So we all have to put up with sleepless nights before the finals.

我們不像格雷，他是全校最聰明的學(xué)生，所以期終考試前我們都得熬好幾個(gè)通宵。

⑤ At least if we get strapped for cash we know we can lean on him. 最起碼我們知道要是手頭緊的話，我們還可以依靠他。

strapped for money/cash: not having enough money/cash to buy or pay for things(缺錢，缺資金)。例如:

In the current financial crisis， a lot of small companies are really strapped for cash.

在當(dāng)今的金融危機(jī)中，許多小企業(yè)真的缺少資金。

⑥ I hope this one strikes your fancy. 我希望這一間能對(duì)你們的胃口。

strike sb.’s fancy: appeal to sb. (吸引某人，惹某人高興)。例如:

She has enough money to buy whatever strikes her fancy.

她有錢買她看上的任何東西。

⑦ But I’m going to go out on a limb. 但我得冒點(diǎn)兒險(xiǎn)。

go out on a limb: do sth. even though it’s risky or extreme(冒險(xiǎn))。例如:

Gale really went out on a limb， deciding to postpone his surgery.

加爾決定推遲手術(shù)，確實(shí)有不少風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

⑧ But the owner might be open to negotiation. 不過也許業(yè)主愿意議價(jià)。

open to: ready and willing to consider or accept suggestions or ideas， etc.(接受，愿意考慮)。例如:

I’m open to any ideas that would improve the efficiency.

我愿意考慮所有可以提高效率的想法。

⑨ If we can meet in the middle， … 如果我們能各退一步的話，……

meet in the middle: compromise(妥協(xié))。例如:

Meeting in the middle with my sister? Impossible! She won’t give an inch.

跟我妹妹達(dá)成妥協(xié)?不可能!她絕對(duì)不會(huì)讓步的。