新年帶來新的期望與變化，萬變的生活展現(xiàn)一個個驚喜，看看喬治在新的一年有什么好消息吧！

Joe: Good to see you! Happy New Year!

Lin Zhi: Happy New Year!

Joe: So, did you make any resolutions this year?

Lin Zhi: Oh, just to try and diet more. I really put on some weight over Christmas. All that delicious food. Do you remember the turkey dinner we went to? I think that put an inch on my thighs.

Joe: You're not showing it.

Lin Zhi: That's very kind of you, but I can see it on the scales, you know. What about you? You give up anything?

Joe: I promised myself I'd stop smoking, but that isn't going very well. Perhaps I should try and get some nicotine patches.

Lin Zhi: You should have a little self-discipline! It's not so hard to quit.

Joe: That's easy for you to say – you never smoked. It's tougher than it looks.

Lin Zhi: I guess so. So, big year for you, I suppose?

Joe: Yes, lots of changes. I start the new job on the twentieth.

Lin Zhi: Are you looking forward to it?

Joe: Kind of, though I'm very nervous. I've been at the old one so long that it feels like I was born there. It was hard to say goodbye to people - I really had a lot of friends there, and even though I promised I'd keep in touch, you always lose contact with some people. And the new one will be a lot of work at first. There's a whole bunch of new stuff to learn, and the company's a lot bigger.

Lin Zhi: Yes, I remember when I came to Beijing to start work here. Everything moved so much faster than in my hometown, and my boss was always calling me on my mobile to come in late.It was a nightmare!

Joe: It always takes a lot of getting used to. And this time I've actually got people underneath me, so that'll be new. Plus the work's a lot harder than before, even though the pay's better.

Lin Zhi: How far's your commute now? You were always grumbling about how long you had to spend on the subway before.

Joe: Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm moving apartments. About halfway across town.

Lin Zhi: Really? So you'll be closer to where I am, at least. That'll be nice – we can meet up for dinner more!

Joe: It took me a while to find the new place, but it's pretty cool. They showed me some really bad places first, though. One of them was very nice on the outside, very modern, but inside - there was a glass wall between the bedroom and the toilet! You could see right through.

Lin Zhi: Oh no! Really?

Joe: And they didn't even see anything wrong with this! All of the apartments in the building were like that, and they were wondering why they weren't selling!

Lin Zhi: I think sometimes Chinese builders just pick things randomly, you know.

Joe: Maybe you're right. All the lightbulbs in my apartment are different sizes, that really bugs me.

Lin Zhi: So what's the new apartment like? Solid walls, I hope.

Joe: It's two bedrooms, with a big sitting room in the middle. Bathroom's very good – even a real bath. That'll make a nice change; I was sick of just showering.

Lin Zhi: Yeah, in the winter it's good to sink into a proper bath instead. Especially with a book.

Joe: Or a friend …

喬：很高興見到你！新年快樂！

林芝：新年快樂！

喬：你今年有沒有下定決心要做什么？

林芝：哦，爭取再減減肥。圣誕節(jié)期間我真的胖了不少，都是那些美食惹的禍。你還記得我們吃的那個火雞晚餐嗎？我覺得那頓飯讓我的大腿肥了一英寸。

喬：可你一點(diǎn)兒也看不出來啊。

林芝：你太善良了，但我在磅秤上能看出來。你呢？決心要戒掉什么嗎？

喬：我向自己保證要戒煙，但沒什么進(jìn)展，或許我應(yīng)該用尼古丁貼片。

林芝：你應(yīng)該要有點(diǎn)自控力！戒煙沒那么難。

喬：你站著說話不腰疼,你又沒抽過煙。這看起來容易，做起來就難了。

林芝：我想也是。那么，看來這一年對你來說很重要啊。

喬：是啊，好多變化啊。20號我要開始新的工作了。

林芝：你很期待嗎？

喬：有點(diǎn)兒，但是我很緊張。我在以前的單位待了那么長時間，都覺得自己打出身就在那兒了。跟大家告別很難，我在那兒真的交了不少朋友，雖然我保證會跟他們保持聯(lián)系，但你總是會與一些人失去聯(lián)系。在新的單位一開始會有很多活兒，有很多新東西要學(xué)，而且那家公司比以前的也大很多。

林芝：是啊，我記得我剛來北京開始工作的時候，與我的家鄉(xiāng)相比，一切運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)得太快了，我的老板經(jīng)常在深夜給我打電話讓我過去，這真是噩夢??！

喬：總是需要花些時間才能適應(yīng)。這回我有下屬了，所以這將是個新的開始。雖然薪水更多了，但工作比以前的難得多。

林芝：那你現(xiàn)在上班離家有多遠(yuǎn)？以前你總是抱怨坐地鐵的時間太長。

喬：哦，我沒跟你說過嗎？我要搬家了，大概只需要穿過半個城了。

林芝：真的??？那你至少離我住的地方更近了。太好了，我們有更多機(jī)會一塊兒碰面吃飯了。

喬：我花了點(diǎn)時間才找到新的住處，不過那兒真的很不錯。一開始他們給我介紹了一些真的很差勁的地方。其中有一處外面看上去很不錯，很現(xiàn)代化，但是里面——臥室和廁所之間只隔著一塊玻璃！透過玻璃什么都看得到。

林芝：哦不！不是吧？

喬：而且他們好像還覺得這很正常！整幢樓的房間都是這樣，他們還奇怪為什么房子賣不出去。

林芝：我覺得有時中國的建房者只是隨意地挑選材料，你知道吧。

喬：也許你說對了。我們家所有燈泡的大小都不一樣，真讓我崩潰。

林芝：那么新房子怎么樣?。课蚁Ｍ薪Y(jié)實(shí)的墻。

喬：兩室一廳。浴室很好，有個不錯的浴缸。這真是個好變化啊，我受夠了淋浴。

林芝：對啊，冬天的時候泡個澡感覺真的很棒，特別是還可以看書。

喬：或跟一個朋友……

Notes

1. put on weight

意為“體重增加”，lose weight 則表示“體重減少”，節(jié)食減肥則是on diet。

例句：He has put on weight since I last saw him.

自從我上次見到他以來，他又長胖了。

2. go well

意為“進(jìn)展順利”，go well with則表示“與……搭配得好、相適合。”

例句：Things didn't go well for us at first, but everything is fine now.

我們起初不是很順利, 但現(xiàn)在一切都好了。

This dish goes well with rice.

這道菜好下飯。

3. self-discipline

意為“自律、自我約束、自我修養(yǎng)”。

例句：Dieting demands self-discipline.

節(jié)食需要自我約束力。

4. look forward to

意為“期望、展望”。

例句：We look forward to the return of spring.

我們期待春天的到來。

We should look forward to the future.

我們應(yīng)該展望未來。

5. contact with

意為“與……聯(lián)系、交往”。

例句：In contact with the right people.

和正當(dāng)?shù)娜藖硗?/p>

That boy was in direct contact with their boss.

那個男孩兒與他們的頭兒有直接聯(lián)系。

6. meet up

意為“偶然地碰到、會面”。

例句：We met up at the supermarket.

我們在超市偶然相遇。

Let's meet up after the play.

看完戲，我們碰個頭。

7. take a while to

意為“費(fèi)了一小段時間才……”。

例句：It took me a while to figure out what he meant.

我尋思了一會兒才明白她的意思。

8. sick of

意為“厭煩、討厭”。

例句：I'm sick of it.

我都膩了。