美国总公司代表Pete来北京视察，Jack和Henry陪他出去吃饭。Jack 说，
J: You two gentlemen wait here for a second and I'll go make reservations and pick up the car.
H: Alright. So Pete...first time in China?
P: Second. The first time we spent the whole visit at the factory in Guangzhou. Beijing is good...I like it.
H: Yeah, I'm not so fond of Guangzhou. Too crowded and hot. Beijing is more like New York, I guess.
P: Except New York has a population of eight million while Beijing has like 20 million.
Jack去订位拿车的功夫，Henry跟Pete开始闲聊。两个人都不太喜欢广州，觉得北京跟自己的家乡纽约很象，除了北京人口要远远多出纽约以外。
H: Yeah...but you know...for having that many people, the city seems to flow quite well.
P: How bad is the crime rate?
H: It's reasonably low. Beijing has crime, of course, but compared to most other places...it's very safe. You could take a stroll at two o'clock in the morning without worrying.
P: Really! That's pretty amazing. You think it's safer here than back home?
Henry说，考虑到北京的人口，整个城市管理得还是不错的。Crime rate is reasonably low. 犯罪率相对低，夜里两点在大街上逛都不用担心。Pete觉得不可思议，问北京是不是比back home美国还安全。
H: Actually, yes. Last time I was in Baltimore...I saw a mugging happen less than 10 feet away from me. One night I could hear gunshots from my hotel room!
P: New York has gotten a lot better over the last 10 years or so. These days I feel pretty safe if I know the neighborhood. But you're right---many places in the States are crazy.
Henry说，他觉得北京确实比美国安全，上次回美国在巴尔的摩他亲眼目睹拦路抢劫，mugging is spelled m-u-g-g-i-n-g, mugging 是拦路抢劫的意思，晚上在旅馆还听到过枪声。
P: But overall, the cities are safe for tourists and business people?
H: Right. Only once in a blue moon do we hear stories of foreigners becoming victims of crime. It's likely the worst thing that could happen to you is you lose your wallet to a pickpocket. Oh, Jack is back, Hungry?
P: Starving! Let's go eat!
总体上看，外国游客和商人在中国大城市里的安全还是有保障的。Henry说，只有在很偶尔的情况下，才会听说外国人成为犯罪的受害者。他这里说的，once in a blue moon是一种习惯用法，意思是很少见的。Henry还说，做为外国人，你遇到的最倒霉的事，可能就是钱包给小偷偷走。小偷扒手英语是 pickpocket. p-i-c-k pick后面加上 pocket, pickpocket是小偷的意思。正说着， Jack 回来了，三个人一起去吃饭。 |