Topics for Daily English Situations)

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1.Beauty and Cosmetics美容化妝
    Dialogue 1A(Addison)J(James)Addison: How can I help you?
    James: Id like to buy some perfume for my girlfriend.
    A: Do you know what kind of scent she usually wears?
    J: She usually doesn’t wear anything but a few drops of Chanel No. 5. But I’d like to buy her a new fragrance.
    A: Ok, here are some of our most popular perfumes.
    J: Which one would you recommend?
    A: Personally, I quite like the new perfume by Clinique. It’s a subtle flowery scent. What do you think?
    J: That smells great. I’ll take one bottle, please.
    A: Would you like to buy any other cosmetics for your girlfriend? We have a full range of products from cosmetics to skin cleansers and moisturizers.
    J: That’s ok. She normally just wears a little foundation and some loose powder, and I wouldn’t know what shade to buy.
    A: How about some lipstick? Every woman needs a nice tube of red lipstick.
    J: She doesn’t usually wear lipstick. She thinks it makes her nose look too big.
    A: How about some mascara? That will make her eyes look bigger.
    J: No thank you. She has big enough eyes as it is.
    A: I know what she would like some whitening cream.
    J: No thanks. Western women usually try to make their skin darker, not lighter.
    A: Will that be all then?
    J: That will be all. You’ve been very helpful, thanks.
    安德森:需要我?guī)湍闶裁矗?BR>    詹姆斯:我想給我女朋友買點香水。
    A:你知道她平常愛用哪種香型的嗎?
    J:她一般除了香奈兒5號不用別的。但是我想給她買一種新的。
    A:好的,這有一些我們賣的特別好的香水。
    J:你推薦哪一種?
    A:就個人而言,我非常喜歡倩碧的這個新款。屬于神秘花香型。你覺得怎么樣?
    J:聞起來感覺好極了。請給我拿這瓶。
    A:你想不想給你女朋友買些其他的化妝品?我們有各種產(chǎn)品,從彩妝到潔膚和潤膚用品。
    J:沒關(guān)系。她一般只用一點粉底和散粉,我也不知道該買哪種顏色的。
    A:唇膏呢?每個女人都需要一支好口紅。
    J:她很少用口紅。她覺得涂口紅會使她的鼻子顯得很大。
    A:那睫毛膏呢?睫毛膏能使眼睛看起來更大。
    J:不用了,謝謝。她的眼睛已經(jīng)很大了。
    A:我想她會喜歡美白潤膚霜。
    J:不了,謝謝。西方女子通常想讓她們的皮膚更黑一些,而不是更白。
    A:這些就行了嗎?
    J:就這些了。你幫了不少忙,謝謝。
    2. Feelings情緒
    Parker: Why are you in such a good mood today?
    Jayden: Well, yesterday, I decided to face my fear of heights.
    P: I didn’t know you were scared of heights! Was it really bad?
    J: Let me put it this way. I’ve never seen a professional sports game in a stadium because I could never get myself to walk to the top of the stairs to sit down!
    P: So what did you do about it yesterday?
    J: I went skydiving!
    P: You’re kidding me! That sounds really scary!
    J: It was scary, but it felt great, too.
    P: Weren’t you scared?
    J: Of course I was scared. But I had an instructor that went with me and that helped.
    P: So have you cured your fear of heights?
    J: I think so. After I jumped out of the plane, I realized that I should just enjoy life. Worrying about it or not doing things out of fear is just plain silly.
    P: I’m impressed.
    J: Are you scared of anything?
    P: Well, sometimes I get scared when I’m in my apartment all by myself.
    J: What do you think is going to happen?
    P: I always worry that the door is unlocked or that a window is open and that a stranger will come in and steal my things.
    J: It sounds like you just need to be more careful.
    P:你今天心情怎么這么好?
    J:嗯,昨天我下定決心正視自己的恐高問題。
    P:我不知道你恐高!嚴重嗎?
    J:這么跟你解釋吧。我從來沒去體育館看過任何一場職業(yè)比賽,因為我不敢從樓梯走上去找座位坐下。
    P:那你昨天怎么做的?
    J:我去高空跳傘了。
    P:你開玩笑吧!這聽起來太恐怖了!
    J:確實很恐怖,不過感覺棒極了。
    P:你不害怕了嗎?
    J:我當然害怕。不過有個教練一直陪著我,指導我。
    P:那你的恐高癥就這么好了?
    J:我覺得是。從飛機上跳下去的那一刻,我意識到我應(yīng)該盡情享受生活。總是怕東怕西或者陷入恐懼什么都不敢做,實在是太傻了。
    P:我明白了。
    J:你有什么害怕的嗎?
    P:嗯,有時候,我獨自一人呆在房間里時會有點害怕。
    J:你覺得會發(fā)生什么事情嗎?
    P:我總是擔心門或窗沒鎖,會有小偷進來偷東西。
    J:聽起來你做事需要更謹慎一些。
    3. Is There Any Other Life Out There? 外星生物存在嗎?
    Ben: Guess what! I know something you don’t know!
    Layla: What’s that?
    B: How many planets are there in the solar system?
    L: That’s easy. Everyone knows that there are nine.
    B: Not anymore! Can you believe it? They’ve decided that Pluto is not a planet anymore!
    L: Nice try. I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.
    B: I’m dead serious. They’ve decided that it’s too small to be a planet, but actually they haven’t yet agreed on how big something has to be in order to be a planet anymore.
    L: That sounds crazy. They can’t just change their mind about things like that.
    B: Yes, they can. If you remember correctly, people used to believe that the world was flat.
    L: I suppose you’re right. They also used to think that they were so important that the sun revolved around them, not the other way around.
    B: We actually know relatively little about space and the cosmos.
    L: Do you think that we’ll one day be able to travel to another planet for a vacation?
    B: I suppose we could actually live on a planet outside of the milky way.
    L: Do you think we’ll ever get to meet an alien from outer space?
    B: I hope not. I think they would be a threat to those of us that lived on Earth.
    L: You’re so old fashioned. That’s what people used to think about people from another country!
    B: Point taken. Hopefully one day, we’ll live in an interplanetary society.
    B:你猜怎么著?我知道一些你不知道的事情!
    L:什么事?
    B:你知道太陽系有多少行星嗎?
    L:很簡單。大家都知道有九大行星。
    B:現(xiàn)在可不是啦!你相信嗎?他們決定取消冥王星的行星資格了。
    L:想得美。別哄我了,我又不是昨天才生出來(我又不是三歲的孩子)。
    B:我是認真的。他們認為冥王星太小了,不夠做行星的資格,不過他們尚未對行星的體積究竟該有多大而達成一致的意見。
    L:這聽起來簡直是瘋了!他們不能對這種事情隨便亂改主意。
    B:是的,他們可以。如果你還記得的話,以前人們曾經(jīng)認為地球是平的。
    L:我覺得你說的有道理。他們過去還認為人類是特別重要的,以至于太陽都是圍繞著我們轉(zhuǎn)的,不存在其他運行的方式。
    B:可能我們對空間和宇宙的了解只是非常有限的一點點。
    L:你覺得未來我們有可能去其它星球度假嗎?
    B:我想我們可以居住在銀河系以外的其他星球上。
    L:你覺得咱們會在外太空遇到外星人嗎?
    B:我希望不會。我覺得他們可能對生活在地球上的人類是一種威脅。
    L:你的思想可太老派了。這就好像人們以前對外國人的看法一樣!
    B:知道啦。希望未來有一天,我們能生活在一個行星際的社會里。
    4. Mind Your Posture注意姿態(tài)
    Isabella: Matthew, do you know much about body language in countries around the world?
    Matthew: Sure. I’ve picked up a few things from travelling around for work. Why?
    I: Well, I had a meeting today with a woman from Japan and she wouldn’t stop bowing! I didn’t know what to do!
    M: Did you bow back?
    I: No, I tried to shake her hand, but her hand was so limp I was a bit offended.
    M: Well, Japanese businessmen and women typically bow to greet each other in Japan. She might have been offended by your strong handshake.
    I: But she was in America! Shouldn’t she have known that strong handshakes in America signify confidence and respect?
    M: Things are different in Japan. You know, in some countries, making eye contact with others is considered rude.
    I: Is that why she wouldn’t look at me in the meeting?
    M: I think it’s highly possible, yes.
    I: The meeting really didn’t go down well at all. I think I need to read up about intercultural communication before I have another meeting with someone from another country.
    M: That’s a good idea. When you don’t know much about other cultures, the simplest thing can offend someone.
    I: That’s so true. It’s great that we see eye to eye on this
    .伊莎貝拉:馬修,你了解世界各國的身體語言嗎?
    馬修:當然。我工作中有很多出差的機會,了解到一些這方面的知識。怎么了?
    I:好哎,我今天參加了一個會議,會上有個日本女子總是不停地鞠躬!我不知道該怎么辦!
    M:你鞠躬還禮了嗎?
    I:沒有。我試圖跟她握手,可是她的手握上去很無力,我好像有點冒犯她了。
    M:哦,在日本,談生意的人無論男女一般都會互相鞠躬致意。你握手那么用力她很可能因此而有點不愉快。
    I:但她這是在美國!難道她不知道,在美國用力握手意味著信任和尊重嗎?
    M:這跟日本的習俗完全不同。你知道嗎,在有些國家,直視對方的眼睛被認為是無禮的舉動。
    I:這就是她為什么在開會時一直不看我的原因吧?
    M:我覺得很可能是這個緣故。
    I:這次的會晤進行得非常不順利。我想下次再出席類似這樣有外國人參加的會議之前,一定要熟知一些有關(guān)跨文化交流方面的知識。
    M:這是個好主意。當你對另一種文化缺乏了解的時候,即使是最簡單的舉止也會冒犯到別人。
    I:一點沒錯。真高興咱倆對這件事情看法一致。
    5. Chinese Food中餐
    Morgan: Are you good at cooking?
    John: No, but I’m pretty good eating!
    M: Do you prefer Chinese food or Western food?
    J: Well, to be honest with you, Chinese food is really different from western food.
    M: Are you used to the food here?
    J: I’m not really used to it yet.
    M: What’s your favourite Chinese dish?
    J: Like most foreigners, I really like Sweet and Sour Pork and Kung Pao Chicken. I eat them almost every day.
    M: Have you tried traditional Chinese dumplings yet?
    J: I tried once, but they are quite difficult to eat with chopsticks.
    M: You know, foreigners are not expected to use chopsticks proficiently. If you do, you’ll give your Chinese friends quite an impression.
    J: That’s good to know. I’d like to try more Chinese food, but since I can’t read any of the menus in the restaurants near my home, it’s difficult to try new food.
    M: If you want, I can introduce you to some typical Chinese dishes.
    J: That would be great. I really only want to taste real Chinese food, not just the food that foreigners like to eat!
    M: If you haven’t tried Beijing duck yet, I’d like to treat you to a meal at a famous duck restaurant near Qianmen. It would be a pity if you left without tasting it!
    摩根:你擅長做飯嗎?
    約翰:不太擅長,不過我是個美食家!
    M:你喜歡吃中餐還是西餐?
    J:嗯,坦白說,中餐和西餐可是大相徑庭。
    M:你吃得慣這兒的飯菜嗎?
    J:還沒習慣呢。
    M:你最喜歡中餐的哪道菜?
    J:和大多數(shù)外國人一樣,我喜歡吃咕嚕肉和宮保雞丁。我?guī)缀跆焯於汲浴?BR>    M:你吃過中國傳統(tǒng)的餃子嗎?
    J:吃過一次,不過用筷子夾太難了。
    M:要知道,中國人并不要求老外能對筷子運用自如。但是如果你能用好,會讓人對你印象深刻。
    J:知道這個真是太好了。我很想品嘗更多的中餐,可是我家附近餐館里的菜單我都讀不懂,所以要想嘗試新的品種就很困難。
    M:如果你愿意,我可以向你介紹幾種經(jīng)典菜式。
    J:那可太好了。我是真的想吃正宗的中餐,而不是外國人喜歡吃的那種!
    M:如果你還沒吃過烤鴨,我請你去前門附近的那家有名的烤鴨店去吃一頓。你要是沒吃過烤鴨就離開北京那可太遺憾了!