B： I can，t tell yet. I haven，t got beyond the first chapter.
A： If it，s any good， I，ll buy a copy when it comes out in the pocket edition.
Notes：
best seller 畅销书(或物品，但常指书)
had a hold in 预订(借阅)
rental library 出租书籍的图书馆
can，t tell - cannot be certain
pocket edition 价格较低的平装书
译文：
A：你手上挟着的那本是什么书？
B：这是最近六个月来人人都在谈论的最畅销的书。
A：你怎么会搞到的？我在公共图书馆已经预约几个星期了，现在还在等着轮到我。
B：我是在出租图书馆借到的，每天只要五分钱。
A：它真是值得花钱去租来看吗？
B：我还吃不准。我还没有看完第一章。
A：如果这本书还不错，等下次出袖珍本时我就买一本。
15. Planning a Picnic
准备一次野餐
A： You know， let，s do something we haven，t done for a long time. I，d like to go on a picnic. Where could we go？ Over to the park？
B： No. I want to drive out into the country， find a little creek someplace away from the highway， and have a real oldfashioned picnic lunch with fried chicken， and potato salad， and dill pickles， and lemonade.
A： Sounds like a good idea. Why don，t we go this Sunday？
B： I can，t make it. I，m busy all weekend， but next Sunday I，m free.
A： It，s a date. You furnish the lunch and I，ll provide the transportation.
Notes：
real old - fashionedtypical
sound like 像是
译文：
A：喂，让我们搞一点长时间没搞过的活动。我想去野餐。我们去哪儿？到公园那边？
B：不，我想开车到乡下去，在离开公路的地方找一条小溪，搞一次真正的老式野餐，有炸鸡、土豆色拉、泡菜和柠檬水。
A：听起来是个好主意。我们在这个星期日去好吗？
B：我没法去，整个周末我都有事，但下个星期日我有空。
A：就定这天。你负责野餐的食物，我提供交通工具。
16. Getting a Tan
晒晒黑
A： What have you got there？
B： It，s my sun lamp. I，m taking it down to the electric shop to be fixed. There，s something wrong with the wiring. It blows fuses whenever I plug it in.
A： What in the world do you need a sun lamp for？
B： Well， I want to get a tan and I haven，t time to lie in the sun， so I lie under the sun lamp every night for five minutes.
A： That，s fine， as long as you don，t fall asleep. An hour under one of those things and you，d be just a cinder.
Notes：
sun lamp 紫外线
fix 修理
in the world 到底(加强语气)
get a tan 晒黑(通常指去野外或海滩)
cinder - ash
译文：
A：你那是什么东西？
B：我的紫外线灯。拿它到电器店去修理。电线上有些毛病，我一插上插座就把保险丝烧断了。
A：你要紫外线灯到底有什么用？
B：嗯，我想晒晒黑，但又没有时间躺在阳光下，只能每天晚上在紫外线灯下躺五分钟。
A：那不错，只要你不睡着。在这种东西下照一个小时，你就变成灰了。
17. Going Walking
去散步
A： Yesterday my landlady seemed surprised when I told her I went for a walk every day. I think she didn，t believe me.
B： Oh， she probably believed you， but people don，t do much walking anymore for pleasure， or even for exercise. Almost everyone has a car nowadays.
A： I，ve noticed that no one I meet ever appears to be walking just for walking，s sake. Perhaps I，d better stop doing it.
B： No. I wouldn，t stop. It，s supposed to be good exercise， and there are a few walkers left. Probably more people would take walks if we valued exercise more and time less.
Notes：
landlady 女房东
value 认为……是重要的
译文：
A：昨天我对我的女房东说，每天我都出外散步。看来她感到很惊奇。大概她不相信我的话。
B：哦，她也许相信你的话，不过人们很少为了消遣或锻炼身体而再去散步了。现在差不多每个人都有汽车。
A：我发现我所遇到的人中好像没有人是纯粹出来散步的。或许我也最好停止散步。
B：不，我不会停止。这应该是一种很好的锻炼，而且仍然有一些人在散步。如果我们更加重视锻炼而不吝惜时间，可能有更多的人去散步。
18. Looking for a Job
寻找工作
A： Yesterday I started job hunting.
B： Oh， did you have any luck？
A： I haven，t found a job yet.
B： What kind of work are you looking for？
A： I thought maybe I could get into someone，s training program. The books all say that industry needs college people with a general education， but none of the personnel officers who interviewed me seemed to have read those books. They all wanted people who could do specific things. I suppose the books are right， but maybe there are more people with liberal educations looking for jobs， and there probably aren，t as many of those jobs available anyway.
Notes：
job hunting 寻找工作
personnel officers 人事官员
liberal education (大学)文科教育
译文：
A：昨天我开始寻找工作。
B：哦，你碰到好运气了吗？
A：我还没有找到一份工作。
B：你想找什么样的工作？
A：我想也许我可以参加某一个单位的实习计划。书上总是说，业务部门需要受过普通教育的大学生，但是看来没有一位对我进行过面试的人事官员读过这些书。他们都想要能够从事具体工作的人。我想书上说的是对的。但是寻找工作的学文科的学生可能太多了。毕竟现在又没有那么多的这类工作可以提供。
19. Coffee Break
喝咖啡的休息时间
A： If that man gives me any more letters to type I，ll scream. He，s given me ten already today， and there，ll be more when I get back from coffee. I，ll be here till midnight.
B： Simmer down， Franny. He can，t make you stay after five.
C： Sure，Francs. Finish what you can， and leave the rest for Monday.
A： But they，re important letters， Joe. They should go out tonight.
C： That，s not your worry. If they，re that urgent， he should，ve given them to you earlier.
B： Joe，s right， Fran. You won，t catch him staying in the office after five on a Friday. He，s got better things to do.
Notes：
scream 大叫大嚷(要做某事)
simmer down 别激动
make you stay 要你留下
you won，t catch him - he would never
译文：
A：如果那个人再给我一些信要我打字，我就要大声嚷嚷了，今天他已经给了我十封信。等我喝完咖啡回来还会有更多的信。我在这儿要呆到午夜了。
B：别激动，弗兰尼。他不会让你呆到五点以后的。
C：是的，弗朗西斯，你能干多少就干多少，剩下的留到星期一再做。
A：可是这都是些重要信件，乔，今天晚上应该发出去。
C：这用不着你担心。如果这些信那么紧急，他应该早一点交给你。
B：乔说得对，弗朗。每星期五他从来不会在办公室呆到五点以后。他有有意思的事要做。
20. Free Will
自由意志
A： Do you believe in free will， Frank？ Or do you think that everything a person does is determined in advance？
B： I think that man always has free choice.
A： But look. Suppose you knew everything about someone， where he was born， what his parents were like， everything that happened to him since he was a baby， even what he had for breakfast and how his shoes were tied. If you know all those things， don，t you think you could predict his behavior？
B： Stated that way I might be tempted to agree. But surely you don，t believe one can ever know all these things about people. For all practical purposes， you，d have to say man has free will.
Notes：
free will 自由的选择
stated - said， presented
tempted - induced， lured
译文：
A：你相信自由意志吗，弗兰克？或者你认为一个人做的每件事都是事先定好的？
B：我想每人都可能随时做出选择。
A：但是，假定你知道某人的一切：他在何处出生，他的父母是什么模样，从幼儿起他所经历的一切事，甚至他早餐吃些什么和他鞋如何系鞋带。如果你知道所有这些事，难道你不认为你能预知他的行为吗？
B：在这个意义上，我会同意你的说法。但是你肯定不会认为一个人能够了解到有关别人的所有这些细节。因此，现实地说，你还是应该承认人有无法预计的自由行动的可能。