Daguo: Hi there.
Jianjun: Hello.
Daguo: I’m Daguo.
Jianjun: My name is Jianjun.
Daguo: Nice to meet you Jianjun.
Jianjun: Nice to meet you too.
Daguo: I haven’t seen you around campus before. Are you new here?
Jianjun: Yes. I just transferred here.
Daguo: Oh? Where from?
Jianjun: A school 1)upstate.
Daguo: Have you chosen an area of study yet?
Jianjun: Yes. I will study agriculture.
Daguo: Agriculture? ①Have you got a green thumb or something?
Jianjun: My family has been farming for many generations, and I plan to carry on that proud legacy.
Daguo: I’m studying economics. My family owns a 2)modest shop in Shanghai. I will inherit it one day. Have you ever been to Shanghai?

Jianjun: Uh oh. You’re from Shanghai? ②My papa warned me about silver-tongued city-slickers like you. Boys like you lack morals and are not to be trusted…
Daguo: Boys like me? You don’t even know me. Your father told you not to trust city people? Jianjun: Not just him. My mother told me I shouldn’t talk to strangers. And my auntie told me that boys like you have only one thing on their minds, and it’s not marriage…
Daguo: ③Well, I’m certainly no smooth-talker. I didn’t mean to offend you.
Jianjun: It’s OK. Maybe you city folk really aren’t all bad. You’re the first one I’ve ever met, after all.
Daguo: I was under the assumption that all farm people were dumb 3)rednecks, and you don’t seem that way at all.
Jianjun: What? I am no redneck. How dare you? Daguo: I said you weren’t like what I imagined. Jianjun: So you imagine my family members are all 4)uneducated 5)toothless 6)hicks?
Daguo: Not at all. ④I think we just got off on the wrong foot.
Jianjun: ⑤Can’t you take a hint? ⑥I want nothing to do with you, you wolf in sheep’s clothing. I bet you have more girlfriends than days of the week.
Daguo: I’m terribly sorry. I can tell you’re a rather serious girl, and I wouldn’t want to 7)corrupt you with my modern urban behavior.
Jianjun: I am serious, and you are obviously far from it. Didn’t your parents teach you anything? ⑦If you want to succeed in life, you need to buckle down and focus on what’s important.
Daguo: And what exactly is important in life? What does success mean to you?
Jianjun: It’s getting good grades and working hard to support my family—not being distracted by naughty boys.
Daguo: I’m not a naughty boy. I’ve actually been told that I’m mature for my age.
Jianjun: Whatever. You seem like bad news to me, or for some other 8)unsuspecting young girl.
Daguo: What do you know? You’re just some stupid farm girl. Jianjun: I’m not stupid, you are.
Daguo: Whatever you say. Goodbye.
Jianjun: Wait!
Daguo: What?
Jianjun: Never mind…
Daguo: (sigh)
Smart Sentences① Have you got a green thumb or something?你有園藝才能嗎?
have a green thumb: have the ability to grow plants well(有高超的種植樹木蔬果的技能)。例如:
My uncle has a green thumb and has a very beautiful garden.
我叔叔對(duì)種植有一手,他家的花園非常漂亮。
② My papa warned me about silver-tongued city-slickers like you. 我爸爸讓我小心像你這樣油嘴滑舌的城里老油子。
silver-tongued: skillful in persuading others to believe what he/she says(能言善辯)。例如:
Many believe that a politician has to be silver-tongued.
許多人認(rèn)為政客必須要能言善辯。
city-slicker: a worldly, well dressed city dweller(城里的老油子,打扮時(shí)髦老于世故的城里滑頭)。例如:
Leo hates being called a city-slicker by his fellow villagers just because he dresses nicely and talks with no hometown accent.
利奧不喜歡他的同鄉(xiāng)說他是城里的老油子,他只不過是穿得光鮮些,說話沒有鄉(xiāng)音罷了。
③ Well, I’m certainly no smooth-talker. 好吧,我絕對(duì)不是花言巧語的人。
smooth-talker: sb. who uses sweet words to persuade others(巧言哄騙者)。例如:
People usually relate salesmen with smooth-talkers.
人們常常把推銷員看成是花言巧語的哄騙者。
④ I think we just got off on the wrong foot. 我想我們的談話沒有開一個(gè)好頭。
get off on the wrong foot: make a bad start by doing sth. the wrong way(開局不利)。例如:
The ceremony got off on the wrong foot as the hall was not even half full.
禮堂不滿一半人,儀式開局不利。
⑤ Can’t you take a hint? 你沒察覺嗎?
take a hint: understand sth. suggested indirectly(領(lǐng)會(huì)暗示)。例如:
Carol failed to take a hint and kept on talking for another 20 minutes.
卡羅爾未能心領(lǐng)神會(huì),又繼續(xù)說了二十分鐘。
⑥ I want nothing to do with you, you wolf in sheep’s clothing. 我不想和你有任何關(guān)系,你這只披著羊皮的狼。
wolf in sheep’s clothing: a dangerous person pretending to be harmless(披著羊皮的狼)。例如:
Don’t be fooled by his sweet words. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
別讓他的甜言蜜語蒙騙了,他可是一只披著羊皮的狼。
⑦ If you want to succeed in life, you need to buckle down and focus on what’s important. 如果你想成功,你就要傾全力專注于重要的事。
buckle down: start working on sth. seriously(認(rèn)真干起來)。例如:
The IELTS is very important to me, so I’ll buckle down and work hard for the next two months.
雅思考試對(duì)我來說非常重要,我會(huì)認(rèn)真起來,在以后的兩個(gè)月里努力學(xué)習(xí)。