Melissa回想起自己懷孕八個(gè)月時(shí)讓座給一位老人和一位拄拐杖的女人的艱難經(jīng)歷,心里仍然很生氣,覺得很多人都太自私。而David也覺得健全的年輕人就應(yīng)該給有需要的人讓座。
David: Wow, it’s getting crowded on here today.
Melissa: Yeah, but rush hour is always like this.①Everyone packed in like sardines.
David: And just as 1)stinky, with sweaty 2)armpits in my face. Not you sir, sorry.
Melissa: Woah! That guy just shot you the stink-eye, no pun intended.
David: (3)chuckles) Passengers are always so 4)touchy on the bus, like their patience is a tightly wound rubber band that’s about to 5)snap.
Melissa: Well, we all work hard, ②and it’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re all in the same boat here.
David: ③Like a boat that’s up a creek without a paddle. It brings out the worst in people.
Melissa: I know what you mean. Back when I was about eight months pregnant, I had a 6)plum seat next to the window.
David: Lucky you!
Melissa: Not really.
David: Why not?
Melissa: It was pretty crowded that day.
David: That’s nothing new.
Melissa: Well, I saw this 80-year-old man get on, and he looked for a seat, but no one would give theirs up.
David: So what happened? Did he have to stand the whole time? That’s a pretty common story.
Melissa: I told him to take my window seat.
David: But you were carrying a child inside of you. You shouldn’t have had to do that.
Melissa: Obviously, but people are selfish.
David: Geez…
Melissa: But that’s not all. Even though I tried to give him my seat, the woman in the 7)aisle seat wouldn’t move over to the window. And the man was too weak to climb over, so he gave up and told me to just sit back down.
David: These are the kind of stories that make me hate everyone.
Melissa: But wait! It gets worse…
David: Really? Same ride?
Melissa: Yeah. Later, a woman on 8)crutches got on. So, I gave up my seat again and moved to the back of the bus. But a stop or two later, as the bus filled up further, I saw the woman on crutches moving toward the back of the bus, because some other able-bodied person had taken the seat!
David: Ugh…That makes me sick.
Melissa: ④So you can understand why I made a stink about a pregnant lady giving up her seat for someone on crutches.
David: I don’t blame you. ⑤I would’ve gone ballistic!
Melissa: Well, at least, at that point, people did offer us both seats.
David: But you shouldn’t have to scold people, and you shouldn’t even have to ask. They should just offer their seats, because it’s the right thing to do.
Melissa: Oh, excuse me, Miss? Here, you can take my seat.
David: See, now that’s what I’m talking about.
戴維:哇,今天這里的人越來越擁擠。梅利莎:是啊,但上下班高峰期總是這樣的。每個(gè)人擠得像罐頭里的沙丁魚。戴維:就好像充滿汗臭的腋窩就在我面前。不是說你,先生,對不起。
梅利莎:哇哦!那個(gè)人剛才給你投來鄙視的眼光,我沒有別的意思。
戴維:(吃吃地笑)公車上的乘客總是那么容易暴躁,他們的耐性就像一根繃得很緊的橡皮筋,隨時(shí)都要斷掉。
梅利莎:沒錯(cuò),我們都很努力做到,然而有時(shí)很容易忘記我們在這里的處境是一樣的。
戴維:就如同劃無槳之船,把人們最丑惡的一面展露無遺。
梅利莎:我明白你的意思。回想我懷孕八個(gè)月的時(shí)候,我坐在一個(gè)靠窗的好座位上。
戴維:你真幸運(yùn)!
梅利莎:不見得。
戴維:為什么?
梅利莎:那天車上很擁擠。
戴維:那已是司空見慣的事。
梅利莎:嗯,我看到一位80歲的老人上了車,他想找個(gè)座位,但是沒有人愿意讓座。
戴維:接下來發(fā)生什么事了?他得一直站著嗎?那是相當(dāng)普遍的現(xiàn)象。
梅利莎:我告訴他來坐我的靠窗座位。
戴維:但是你懷著寶寶呀,你沒必要這樣做。
梅利莎:顯然是的,但是人們都很自私。
戴維:天啊……
梅利莎:然而那還不止這樣。盡管我想要給他讓座,但坐在靠走廊座位的女人不愿意挪到窗口座位。而老人家太孱弱,無法翻越過來,所以他只好放棄,叫我坐回座位算了。
戴維:這些類似的故事讓我討厭每一個(gè)人。
梅利莎:但是等等!更糟糕的是……
戴維:真的嗎?同一趟車嗎?
梅利莎:是的。后來,有個(gè)拄著拐杖的女人上了車。于是,我再次讓座,并且移步到車廂的后面。但是一兩個(gè)站過后,隨著車上的人越來越多,我看到那個(gè)拄拐杖的女人向車廂后面挪著,因?yàn)槠渌∪税涯莻€(gè)座位占了!
戴維:呸……真讓我惡心。
梅利莎:所以你能理解為什么我會(huì)因?yàn)橐晃辉袐D讓座給一個(gè)拄拐杖的人而大動(dòng)肝火。
戴維:我不怪你,我也會(huì)暴跳如雷的!梅利莎:呃,至少在那時(shí),人們確實(shí)給我們倆都讓座了。
戴維:但你不必責(zé)備人們,你甚至不應(yīng)該問。他們就應(yīng)該讓座,因?yàn)槟鞘钦_的事情。
梅利莎:哦,不好意思,小姐?來,我把座位讓給你。
戴維:看吧,那就是我正在談?wù)摰脑掝}。
Smart Sentences
① Everyone packed in like sardines. 每個(gè)人擠得像罐頭里的沙丁魚。
packed in like sardines: packed very tightly(擁擠得像罐頭里的沙丁魚,擠得滿滿的)。例如:
The bus was full. The passengers were packed in like sardines.
公共汽車上擠滿了人,乘客擠得像罐頭里的沙丁魚。
② And it’s easy to forget sometimes that we’re all in the same boat here. 然而有時(shí)很容易忘記我們在這里的處境是一樣的。
in the same boat: in the same unpleasant situation as others(處境相同,在同一條船上)。例如:
I’m ugly and old, and you are fat and old, so we’re in the same boat. No man will look at us twice.
我又丑又老,你又胖又老,咱倆境況相似,不會(huì)有男人多看我們一眼。
③ Like a boat that’s up a creek without a paddle. 就如同劃無槳之船。
up a creek without a paddle: without necessary resources to finish a job(劃無槳之船,沒有完成工作必要的工具)。例如:
Nowadays, trying to write a paper without the Internet is like going up a creek without a paddle for a college student.
現(xiàn)如今,一名大學(xué)生不用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)就要寫論文,那就如同劃無槳之船。
④ So you can understand why I made a stink about a pregnant lady giving up her seat for someone on crutches. 所以你能理解為什么我會(huì)因?yàn)橐晃辉袐D讓座給一個(gè)拄拐杖的人而大動(dòng)肝火。
make a stink (about sth.): make a great fuss (about sth.)(為某事或某人大鬧,大發(fā)脾氣)。例如:
Jim’s parents made a stink about his breaking the old family china set.
詹姆的父母因?yàn)樗蛩榱四翘鬃鎮(zhèn)鞯拇善鞫蟀l(fā)雷霆。
⑤ I would’ve gone ballistic! 我也會(huì)暴跳如雷的!
go ballistic: become extremely upset and angry(大怒,暴跳如雷)。例如:
The boss went ballistic when he saw my expense report.
老板一看到我的支出報(bào)告就暴跳如雷。