Part 2 A Careful Choice

說做就做，Tom和Kathryn立刻上網了解“沙發客”的信息和挑選“沙發客”。找到完全符合條件的“沙發客”并不容易，畢竟要讓一個陌生人住進自己的家里，還是小心謹慎為好。

Smart Sentences① …but he also mentions that he’s “messy to a fault.” ……但是他也提到自己太過邋遢。

to be + adj. to a fault: to be so (adj.) that it creates problems[過度+（形容詞）而產生問題]。例如：

He’s picky to a fault. Picking one shirt can take him hours!

他太吹毛求疵，挑件襯衫都要花幾個小時！

② It’s better safe than sorry! 事后追悔不如事前穩妥！

better safe than sorry: used to warn that one might get a bad result if one is not cautious enough.（用于提醒別人，

Tom: Guess not! OK， here we go: contestant No.1…a guy named Michael.

Kathryn: Looks like a nice guy. But look: he doesn’t have any“references.”

Tom: What does that mean?

Kathryn: Well， think about it! Letting a perfect stranger come into your house can be dangerous， right? So， to take some of the danger out of it， couch surfers can “refer” each other. If somebody has loads of references， you can bet that they’ve been around the block a few times and haven’t caused any problems. Tom: That’s a great system! OK， then， since this guy is my first houseguest， I’ll look for an experienced surfer.

Kathryn: Not a bad plan. How about this guy， “Mariano”?

Tom: Hmm… looks pretty solid， except it seems his English isn’t very good.

Kathryn: Well， that could cause problems. Maybe you can take on that kind of challenge after you’ve done this a few times. Next! Tom: Look at Nathan. He has a few references…

Kathryn: ①…but he also mentions that he’s “messy to a fault.”Seems like you two wouldn’t get along!

Tom: You’re right! I couldn’t stand having someone trash my house. Wow， it seems like finding a couch surfer is harder than I’d thought!

Kathryn: Well， it’s better to be as careful as possible. As they say， ②it’s better safe than sorry!

Tom: ③Truer words were never spoken. ④But what if I can’t find anybody who fits the bill? That would be a real let-down.

Kathryn: Don’t give up yet! What about this guy: Laurence， twenty-one years old， lots of references， good English， seems nice enough…

Tom: What more could you ask for? It says he’s coming to town next weekend. I’m free then! Looks like we have a winner!

Kathryn: Indeed! But remember to be careful. You are letting someone into your home after all.

Tom: I know， I know. I’ll be careful. I’ll let you know how it goes， too!

Kathryn: I’ll look forward to it!