公司副总裁Jason到上海出差，由Gina接待。Jason让Gina帮忙选礼物。
Jason: Hey! You know what might be good gifts for my business associates? Chinese antiques!
G: Well, we certainly have lots of antique art, statues and carvings, but in most cases it's not legal to take genuine antiques out of China.
J: Oh, I see. That makes sense. You have to preserve your heritage.
G: But there are many reproductions of antiques for sale.
J: you mean fakes?
G: A fake is when the dealer lies and says the piece is ancient. A reproduction is legal and they can be quite beautiful. You could take home some classical Chinese statutes as decorations for their offices.
Jason想给同事买中国古董antiques做礼物，但是Gina告诉他，古董不能带出中国，建议Jason考虑买reproduction,复制品。Jason以为Gina是指fake假货，Gina解释说，fake,假货是商人故意欺骗顾客，以假乱真，而复制品则是合法生产和出售的。
J: Yeah! That would look cool. Maybe some scrolls or traditional paintings.
G: Good idea. Scrolls with Chinese cursive calligraphy look great on an office wall. And...they might even bring you luck!
J: You can't beat that! But what about the kids?
G: Humm...that's a bit trickier. There are of course, lots of counterfeit goods available like software or music, but buying them isn't recommended.
J: No, I don't buy counterfeits. Besides...my sons have loads of computer games and CDs.
Gina建议Jason买中国国画或是书法作品，挂在办公室墙上很气派，但是给孩子买什么礼物呢，Gina说, that's a bit trickier. 这可有些麻烦。Jason说，他不愿意给儿子买盗版软件或音乐，counterfeit is spelled c-o-u-n-t-e-r-f-e-i-t, counterfeit, counterfeit, 是盗版的意思。
G: Hey! I know. You could have old-style Chinese suits custom-made for them! They can go around looking like little Chinese emperors! I know a great tailor!
J; Ha! Perfect! They'd like that for sure. Wow Gina.. You're full of great ideas. I should tell your boss to give you a raise.
G: But you are my boss!
J: (Chuckle) Right! Then I'll make a note to myself! Really though... I can't thank you enough for all your help.
G: Not at all. Just demonstrating some traditional Chinese hospitality.
Gina突然来了灵感，说可以找裁缝给孩子量身定做中国的传统衣服，custom-made，是定做的意思，把他们打扮成中国小皇帝的样子。Jason对Gina的建议非常满意，说要告诉Gina的老板，给她涨工资，give someone a raise，是给某人涨工资的意思。Gina笑着提醒Jason说，你就是我的老板啊，我不过是表现一下中国人的传统好客罢了。 |