Part 3 Traveling at Home

Tom招待了第一個沙發(fā)客，盡管開頭不是很順利，但是最終還是非常令人開心的，通過對沙發(fā)客的招待，Tom感覺自己仿佛仍然在旅行的路上。

Kathryn: Hey， Tom! Been a while since I’ve seen you. I was beginning to think you’d gone off traveling again!

Tom: Oh， come on! It’s only been a week! And of course I haven’t run off somewhere. I had to stay in town to host Laurence.

Kathryn: Your couch surfer? Ah， I’d completely forgotten! How was it?

Tom: It was great! He’s a really cool guy. ①We did get off to kind of a rocky start， though.

Kathryn: Uh oh! What happened?

Tom: Well， like you said， I decided to be careful， so I asked him to meet me in a coffee shop before letting him come over to my place.

Smart Sentences① We did get off to kind of a rocky start， though. 盡管我們開頭確實不順利。

get off to a rocky start: have a bad beginning（有個壞的開頭）。例如：

The movie got off to a rocky start， but in the end I liked it.

那部電影雖然開始不好，但是最后我喜歡。

② Good call. 做得好。

good call: used to express that someone has made a good decision（用于表達某人作了個很好的決定）。例如：

—I decided to eat a salad instead of a steak.

我決定不吃牛排改吃沙拉。

—Good call. Salad is much healthier.

做得對，沙拉健康得多。

③ But it was like squeezing blood from a stone! 但似乎都不可能。

squeeze blood from a stone: try to get sth. from sb.， even though it’s almost impossible（努力從某人那里得到某物，盡管幾乎是不可能的）。例如：

Getting money from my dad is like squeezing blood from a stone.

想從我爸爸那里得到錢，那是不可能的。

④ He finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip. 他最后承認因為旅途勞頓，他累壞了。

to be (totally) beat: to be very tired from hard work or activity（由于工作或活動而非常累）。例如：

After playing football all afternoon， I was beat.

踢了整個下午的足球，我累壞了。

slip sb.’s mind: to be momentarily forgotten by sb. （完全忘記某事）。例如：

George never called me back. It must have slipped his mind.

喬治從沒給我回電話，他可能完全忘記這回事了。

1) tension [???????] n. 緊張（狀態(tài)），不安，壓力

2) squeeze [??????] v. 壓榨，擠，擠榨

3) prod [????] v. 刺

4) shuteye [??????] n. 睡覺

Kathryn: ②Good call.

Tom: I thought so， too. But when we sat down to have some coffee， it seemed like there was some 1)tension in the air. I tried to make conversation， ③but it was like 2)squeezing blood from a stone!

Kathryn: Not a promising start. Did you ever figure out what the problem was?

Tom: Yeah. After a little bit of 3)prodding， ④he finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip， and he really just needed to sleep.

Kathryn: Ah， a simple fix.

Tom: Indeed. After he got a bit of 4)shuteye， he really opened up. We shared war stories about our travels.

Kathryn: Sounds like exactly what you were looking for! Tom: Without a doubt! Then， on Saturday， I showed him around town. He had a great time at the lake.

Kathryn: Come to think of it， the lake is a really fun place! I’m so used to it that I don’t think about it anymore. I guess an outsider can help you see your hometown in new ways!

Tom: Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Kathryn: So， what about Sunday?

Tom: Before he left， he decided to check out the couch surfers’ lunch we learned about from that website.

Kathryn: Oh! ⑤That slipped my mind as well! Was it everything you dreamed it’d be?

Tom: Yes， and more! Surrounded by so many travelers， I felt like I was on the road again， even though I was still in my own back yard!

Kathryn: You got the best of both worlds， then! Maybe I’ll come with next time.

Tom: You really should!

Kathryn: Maybe I’ll even take on a couch surfer myself! I do have a spare room， and I have been feeling kind of bored lately.

Tom: That’s a great idea—but it was a little scary letting Laurence into my place. No matter how nice a stranger seems， you never know what’s beneath the surface!

Kathryn: Noted. I’ll watch my back. Speaking of which， it’s time for me to get back to work! See you later， and keep me updated on your adventures!

Tom: Will do! Catch you later!