2. Chan Lee, a visiting professor at Yale, is in Ella Lewis's apartment. He arrived from China a month ago.

Chan: Thanks for offering to give me a lift. I'm looking forward to this party, but I didn't want to go alone.
谢谢你的好意送我一程。我盼着参加这个晚会，但是我不想一个人去。
Ella: Don't mention it. It's my pleasure. Have you been to one of these large, sit-down dinner parties since you got to New Haven?
不用谢。是我的荣幸。自从你来纽黑文市，你有没有去过这种大型的、坐下来吃饭的聚会？
Chan: No, this is my first. Last week I went to a cookout for new professors at Dean Barksdale's home. I took a taxi because I didn't want to be late. But I was the first one there.
没有，这是第一次。上周我去巴克斯德尔主任家参加了一个为新来的教授在户外搞的一个野餐聚会。为了不迟到，我叫了一辆的士。我却是第一个到那里的。
Ella: I'll bet you were a little embarrassed.
我猜你有点尴尬。
Chan: You're right. The invitation said "two to seven". I was there at two o'clock, but most people didn't arrive until three or four. They didn't start cooking until five o’clock.
你说得对。邀请函上说“两点到七点”。我两点钟到那里，但是大部分人直到三、四点才来。他们到五点钟才开始做饭菜。
Ella: Cookouts often start slowly. A two o'clock start means you arrive any time after two.
户外野炊经常开始得很慢。两点钟开始意思是说两点钟以后的任何时间你都可以到。
Chan: Thanks for telling me this.
谢谢你告诉我这些。
Ella: I was late getting back from the mall, but I'm hurrying.
我从购物中心回来晚了，但是我在加快动作。
Chan: Why are you in such a hurry? They said, "Dinner at eight," and it's only seven-fifteen. I don't want to be the first one there again.
你为什么这么急？他们说，“八点吃饭”，现在才七点十五。我不想又是第一个到那里。
Ella: Don't worry. We won't be the first.
不要担心。我们不会是第一个的。

Helpful Information：

For a dinner date, it’s usually a good idea to be about five minutes early.
For a cookout at 2:00 o’clock, arriving between 2:00 and 2:30 is considered proper.
For a business appointment, it is considered proper to be five minutes early, but never late.
对于一个晚餐宴会，早到五分钟左右通常是很好的。
对于一个两点钟的户外野炊，在两点至两点半到是很合适的。
对于一个商务约会，提早五分钟到是很合适的，但一定不要迟到。

 

3. Wong is discussing meals with Marsha and David Gransee. She has been in the United States for only two days.

Wong: I want you to know how much I appreciate these terrific meals you've been cooking. Do you guys always eat this well?
我真的很感激你们做这么丰盛的饭菜。你们都经常吃这么好吗？
David: Not really. During the week, we're both busy with our jobs, so there isn't much time to cook anything fancy.
并不是这样。平时我们都忙于工作，所以没有多少时间烹饪出花样。
Marsha: We both enjoy cooking and experimenting, so we usually try to fix something special on Sundays.
我们都喜欢做饭、尝试，所以星期天我们都通常试着做些特别的菜。
Wong: This morning's breakfast was great: scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice! You surely don't eat that kind of breakfast every day.
今天的早餐真是美味：炒蛋、烟肉、烤面包，还有橙汁！你们肯定不是每天都吃这样的早餐。
Marsha: You're right! We don't. During the week, we usually have cold cereal and maybe a piece of fruit. Neither of us has the time to cook breakfast. Monday through Friday, it's “Every man for himself.” Don’t worry, though. You’ll never go to bed hungry.
你说得对！我们没有。一周之内，我们通常吃些冷麦片，大概一片水果。我们都没有时间做早餐。星期一到星期五，都是“个顾个地找些东西吃。” 但不要担心。你都不会饿着睡觉的。
David: That's true. And dinners are different, anyway. Some nights Marsha will fix a casserole or a pasta dish. Other nights, I like to throw fish or hamburgers onto the grill. And fix a green salad.
那倒是真的。不管怎么样，晚餐就不同。一些晚上马莎会做个砂锅或者通心粉。其它几个晚上，我喜欢把鱼或者汉堡牛排扔到烤架上，还弄个蔬菜沙拉。
Wong: So, you cook every night?
那么，你每天晚上都做饭吗？
Marsha: Well, not every night. Some nights we have leftovers, or maybe we'll just send out for a pizza. We even enjoy going out to a restaurant once in a while.
不是每个晚上。一些晚上我们吃剩菜，或许我们就干脆出去吃比萨饼。有时我们甚至喜欢出去到餐馆吃。

At a Thanksgiving dinner in Juneau [朱诺(美国阿拉斯加州之首府)]. There are fourteen guests at the Wrights' dinner table.

Tina: There's so much food on the table, I don't know where to begin.
桌上这么多菜，我都不知道从哪里开始。
Rachel: Pass your plate down to Chuck, Tina. He'll put meat on it. He always carves the turkey.
把你的盘子递给查克，蒂娜。他会把肉放在上面。他总是切火鸡。
Chuck: White meat or dark, Tina?
白色肉还是深色肉，蒂娜？
Tina: Dark, please. I like the drumsticks.
请给我深色肉。我喜欢鸡腿。
Chuck: (To his wife) Why don't you start passing the potatoes, honey?
（对他妻子）亲爱的，你为什么不开始传递土豆呢？
Rachel: You know, Tina, it's okay to pick up the leg with your fingers. You don't have to cut it from the bone. Around here, we think eating should be easy and fun.
蒂娜，你知道吗，用你的手指拿鸡腿是没关系的。你不必从骨头那里切。在这里我们觉得吃应该随意、有趣。
Chuck: And try a little bit of everything. Then you can go back for seconds, after you see which dishes you like best.
而且每一样都尝一点。你看你最喜欢哪道菜，你就可以马上回去拿。
Tina: (At the end of the meal) I feel so full; I don't think I could eat another bite. Thank you, Chuck and Rachel, for inviting me to share this delicious meal with you and all your friends.
(Chuck belches loudly.)
（进餐最后阶段）我觉得很饱，我一口都不能再吃了。查克和雷切尔，谢谢你们邀请我和你以及你们的朋友一起分享这些美味的食物。（查克大声地打了一下嗝。）
Rachel: Chuck!
查克！

Additional Information：

It’s very important to express your gratitude to the people who have cooked for you, or have invited you to a meal. Americans also find it important and necessary to say “thank you” even to their own mothers. It’s one of the ways to show your appreciation of the people who have given their time to do kind things for you.

向为你做饭的人或者邀请你吃饭的人表示感谢是很重要的。美国人甚至觉得向他们自己的妈妈说声“谢谢你”也是非常重要和有必要的。这是对别人牺牲他们自己的时间来帮助你表示感谢的方式之一。