2. Chan Lee, a visiting professor at Yale, is in Ella Lewis's apartment. He arrived from China a month ago.

Chan: Thanks for offering to give me a lift. I'm looking forward to this party, but I didn't want to go alone.
謝謝你的好意送我一程。我盼著參加這個晚會，但是我不想一個人去。
Ella: Don't mention it. It's my pleasure. Have you been to one of these large, sit-down dinner parties since you got to New Haven?
不用謝。是我的榮幸。自從你來紐黑文市，你有沒有去過這種大型的、坐下來吃飯的聚會？
Chan: No, this is my first. Last week I went to a cookout for new professors at Dean Barksdale's home. I took a taxi because I didn't want to be late. But I was the first one there.
沒有，這是第一次。上周我去巴克斯德爾主任家參加了一個為新來的教授在戶外搞的一個野餐聚會。為了不遲到，我叫了一輛的士。我卻是第一個到那里的。
Ella: I'll bet you were a little embarrassed.
我猜你有點尷尬。
Chan: You're right. The invitation said "two to seven". I was there at two o'clock, but most people didn't arrive until three or four. They didn't start cooking until five o’clock.
你說得對。邀請函上說“兩點到七點”。我兩點鐘到那里，但是大部分人直到三、四點才來。他們到五點鐘才開始做飯菜。
Ella: Cookouts often start slowly. A two o'clock start means you arrive any time after two.
戶外野炊經(jīng)常開始得很慢。兩點鐘開始意思是說兩點鐘以后的任何時間你都可以到。
Chan: Thanks for telling me this.
謝謝你告訴我這些。
Ella: I was late getting back from the mall, but I'm hurrying.
我從購物中心回來晚了，但是我在加快動作。
Chan: Why are you in such a hurry? They said, "Dinner at eight," and it's only seven-fifteen. I don't want to be the first one there again.
你為什么這么急？他們說，“八點吃飯”，現(xiàn)在才七點十五。我不想又是第一個到那里。
Ella: Don't worry. We won't be the first.
不要擔(dān)心。我們不會是第一個的。

Helpful Information：

For a dinner date, it’s usually a good idea to be about five minutes early.
For a cookout at 2:00 o’clock, arriving between 2:00 and 2:30 is considered proper.
For a business appointment, it is considered proper to be five minutes early, but never late.
對于一個晚餐宴會，早到五分鐘左右通常是很好的。
對于一個兩點鐘的戶外野炊，在兩點至兩點半到是很合適的。
對于一個商務(wù)約會，提早五分鐘到是很合適的，但一定不要遲到。

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3. Wong is discussing meals with Marsha and David Gransee. She has been in the United States for only two days.

Wong: I want you to know how much I appreciate these terrific meals you've been cooking. Do you guys always eat this well?
我真的很感激你們做這么豐盛的飯菜。你們都經(jīng)常吃這么好嗎？
David: Not really. During the week, we're both busy with our jobs, so there isn't much time to cook anything fancy.
并不是這樣。平時我們都忙于工作，所以沒有多少時間烹飪出花樣。
Marsha: We both enjoy cooking and experimenting, so we usually try to fix something special on Sundays.
我們都喜歡做飯、嘗試，所以星期天我們都通常試著做些特別的菜。
Wong: This morning's breakfast was great: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice! You surely don't eat that kind of breakfast every day.
今天的早餐真是美味：炒蛋、煙肉、烤面包，還有橙汁！你們肯定不是每天都吃這樣的早餐。
Marsha: You're right! We don't. During the week, we usually have cold cereal and maybe a piece of fruit. Neither of us has the time to cook breakfast. Monday through Friday, it's “Every man for himself.” Don’t worry, though. You’ll never go to bed hungry.
你說得對！我們沒有。一周之內(nèi)，我們通常吃些冷麥片，大概一片水果。我們都沒有時間做早餐。星期一到星期五，都是“個顧個地找些東西吃。” 但不要擔(dān)心。你都不會餓著睡覺的。
David: That's true. And dinners are different, anyway. Some nights Marsha will fix a casserole or a pasta dish. Other nights, I like to throw fish or hamburgers onto the grill. And fix a green salad.
那倒是真的。不管怎么樣，晚餐就不同。一些晚上馬莎會做個砂鍋或者通心粉。其它幾個晚上，我喜歡把魚或者漢堡牛排扔到烤架上，還弄個蔬菜沙拉。
Wong: So, you cook every night?
那么，你每天晚上都做飯嗎？
Marsha: Well, not every night. Some nights we have leftovers, or maybe we'll just send out for a pizza. We even enjoy going out to a restaurant once in a while.
不是每個晚上。一些晚上我們吃剩菜，或許我們就干脆出去吃比薩餅。有時我們甚至喜歡出去到餐館吃。

At a Thanksgiving dinner in Juneau [朱諾(美國阿拉斯加州之首府)]. There are fourteen guests at the Wrights' dinner table.

Tina: There's so much food on the table, I don't know where to begin.
桌上這么多菜，我都不知道從哪里開始。
Rachel: Pass your plate down to Chuck, Tina. He'll put meat on it. He always carves the turkey.
把你的盤子遞給查克，蒂娜。他會把肉放在上面。他總是切火雞。
Chuck: White meat or dark, Tina?
白色肉還是深色肉，蒂娜？
Tina: Dark, please. I like the drumsticks.
請給我深色肉。我喜歡雞腿。
Chuck: (To his wife) Why don't you start passing the potatoes, honey?
（對他妻子）親愛的，你為什么不開始傳遞土豆呢？
Rachel: You know, Tina, it's okay to pick up the leg with your fingers. You don't have to cut it from the bone. Around here, we think eating should be easy and fun.
蒂娜，你知道嗎，用你的手指拿雞腿是沒關(guān)系的。你不必從骨頭那里切。在這里我們覺得吃應(yīng)該隨意、有趣。
Chuck: And try a little bit of everything. Then you can go back for seconds, after you see which dishes you like best.
而且每一樣都嘗一點。你看你最喜歡哪道菜，你就可以馬上回去拿。
Tina: (At the end of the meal) I feel so full; I don't think I could eat another bite. Thank you, Chuck and Rachel, for inviting me to share this delicious meal with you and all your friends.
(Chuck belches loudly.)
（進餐最后階段）我覺得很飽，我一口都不能再吃了。查克和雷切爾，謝謝你們邀請我和你以及你們的朋友一起分享這些美味的食物。（查克大聲地打了一下嗝。）
Rachel: Chuck!
查克！

Additional Information：

It’s very important to express your gratitude to the people who have cooked for you, or have invited you to a meal. Americans also find it important and necessary to say “thank you” even to their own mothers. It’s one of the ways to show your appreciation of the people who have given their time to do kind things for you.

向為你做飯的人或者邀請你吃飯的人表示感謝是很重要的。美國人甚至覺得向他們自己的媽媽說聲“謝謝你”也是非常重要和有必要的。這是對別人犧牲他們自己的時間來幫助你表示感謝的方式之一。
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