Trouble in the Kicthen

Justin tries to cook for his friends. But can he really cook?

Mar.12

More new friends!

Life has really been fun lately. But I only got a 74 on my last Chinese quiz. Maybe I'm having too much fun! :-) I need to study more. But I do speak Chinese with people a lot. So at least my cconversational Chinese is improving! :-)
I'm enjoying getting to know my classmates, too. There's a businessman named Rob in one of my classes. He invited me to his house for dinner tonight. I'm excited! I love Chinese food, but I haven't had any American home cooking in three months!
posted by Justin

Meeting Rob's family

(at Rob's apartment)
Rob: Hi, Justin. Come in!
Justin: Thanks! I hope I'm not too early. I'm really looking forward to this!
Rob: No, you're fine. Justin, this is m wife, Marie. Marie, this is Justin Matthews.
Marie: Nice to meet you!
(A baby cries.)
Marie: I'll be right back!
(Marie comes back holding a baby.)
Marie: Justin, this is our daughter, Abby. She's 11 months old.
Justin: Hi, Abby! Aren't you cute!
Rob: She's just learning to talk. She can say "mama", "dada" and "bye-bye".
Marie: Rob's trying to teach her "再见". But she's a little slow to catch on.
Justin: (laughing) That's Ok. So am I!
Marie: Well, I'm going to finish feeding Abby. I'll let you know when dinner's ready.
Rob: Thanks, honey. Have a seat, Justin.
Justin: Thank you. (looking around the apartment) You have a lot of pictures from all around Taipei. How long have you guys lived here?
Rob: Three years. And we hope we can stay here a long time. We love it.
Justin: Me too. Taipei's a fun city.
Rob: Have you explored Taipei much yet?
Justin: Yes. I love the night markets. And Ximending(西门町)and Danshui(淡水).
Marie: Ok, guys, dinner's ready. I hope you're hungry, Justin!
Justin: I'm always hungry!

Word Bank:

Conversational (adj.) 会话的
My conversational Japanese is OK, but I can't read or write anything.
Look forward to (idiom) 期待
This has been a very busy week. I am looking forward to the weekend, so I am relax.
Catch on (phr v.) 跟上
When my German friend talk fast, it is hard for me to catch on.
Night market (n.) 夜市
The night market is a great place to find clothes and shoes that are not expensive.

Mar.13


A delicious dinner

(Rob, Marie and Justin are finishing dinner.)
Justin: Dinner was wonderful, Marie. The roast beef tasted just like my mom's!
Marie: Thank you, Justin. Well, it's time for dessert. I made a chocolate cake.
Justin: It looks delicious!
Rob: So, Justin, do you cook?
Justin: Sure. I make excellent instant noodles! What about you?
Rob: I like to barbecue and make pizza.
Justin: Actually, I would like to invite you two to my apartment for dinner tomorrow. It's my way to thank you for this lovely dinner.
Marie: That's very sweet, but you don't have to do that.
Justin: It's no problem. I’d love to, and I'm going to make my favorite meal!
Rob: Instant noodles?
Justin: Ha-ha, No.
Marie: So you really can cook, Justin? That's great!
Justin: Sure, this meal is easy to make. I've watched my mom makes it lots of times. Can you come tomorrow at 6:30? You will also meet my roommate, Tom.
Rob: We'll be there!

Justin's cooking!

(The next evening, Justin is in the kitchen. Justin's roommate, Tom, comes in.)
Tom: Hi, Justin! How are you doing?
Justin: Ok. Making dinner really takes up a lot of time.
Tom: What are you making? Is that going to be lasagna?
Justin: Yes. With vegetables and garlic bread. It's going to be a little different from my mom's thought. I couldn't find all the ingredient I needed.
Tom: I'm sure it will still be delicious. Do you need any help?
Justin: No, I'll be fine. You just relax tonight.
Tom: Well...you need an hour if you are going to bake that lasagna. You still need to make the vegetables and bread, and your guests are coming in 10 minutes.
Justin: Uh-oh, I didn't know it was that late! Could you start cooking the vegetables?
Tom: No problem.
Justin: These noodles are too long for this pan!
Tom: Here, let me make the lasagna. You cook the vegetables.

Word Bank:

Roast beef (n.) 烤牛肉
My mom makes roast beef and potatoes every Sunday for lunch. It's my favorite meal.
Barbecue (v.) 烤肉
We are going to barbecue at the beach tonight. Do you want to come with us?
Garlic (n.) 大蒜
The garlic in this spaghetti sauce makes it taste really good.
Ingredient (n.) 食材，用料
What is the special ingredient that makes this soup smell so wonderful?

Mar.14


Cooking troubles

(Tem minutes later, Tom puts the lasagna in the oven. Rob and Marie arrive.)
Justin: Hi, guys. Come on in! Where's Abby?
Marie: Our neighbor is taking care of her. She goes to bed pretty early.
Justin: OK. Well, I'd like you to meet my roommate, Tom. Tom, this is Rob and Marie.
Tom: Nice to meet you.
Rob: You, too.
Marie: Um...is something burning?
Justin: Oh, no! It's the peas! I’ll be right back. (goes to the kitchen.)
Tom: Have a seat, Rob, Marie. Make yourselves at home.
Justin: (from the kitchen) I burned the peas! Do we have any other vegetables in the refrigerator?
Tom: Sure. We have salad ingredients.
Justin: Ok. Where do we keep them?
Tom: I'll get them.
Marie: Do you need any help? I really don't mind. I love to cook!
Justin: No, you two are guests. Please just make yourselves at home.
Marie: (laughing) If I were at home, I'd be cooking!
Justin: Well, then, please come into the kitchen!

The new deal

(An hour later, they are eating dinner.)
Marie: The lasagna is delicious, Justin!
Justin: Tom did most of the work. Watching my mother make it was easier than making it by myself.
Tom: You should start with something easier, like spaghetti.
Justin: Or instant noodles!
Marie: Don't feel bad. Lasagna is hard to make.
Justin: But even the salad and garlic bread were hard for me. I couldn't do anything well!
Rob: That's not true. You did an excellent job of setting the table.
Justin: Thanks. But I feel bad. I eat other people's cooking all the time. I want to cook for you guys sometimes too!
Marie: Maybe Tom could teach you.
Justin: That would be great. But Tom already spends a lot of time helping me learn Chinese.
Tom: Well, let's kill two birds with one stone. I'll teach you how to cook in Chinese!
Justin: It's a deal!

Word Bank:

Peas (pl. n.) 豆子
My mom always made us eat carrots and peas when I was little. Now I never do.
Make oneself at home (idiom) 就当在自己家一样，不要拘束
Everybody feels welcome at Jane's house because she always tells them to make themselves at home.
Set the table (idiom) 摆设餐桌
At dinnertime Mom cooks, Dad sets the table, and Mary does the dishes.
It's a deal (phrase) 就这么说定了
John said, "I'll teach you to play baseball if you teach me math." And Fred said. "It's a deal!"

More Information

Lasagna (n.) 千层面
Kill two birds with one stone (idiom) 一石二鸟，一箭双雕

Usage Tip

Aren't you cute!
以be动词开头的句子却不是问句，加了not在句中却没有否定的意思。这个句子相当特别！在口语中，Aren't you cute!其实是在赞叹对方，“你真可爱！”别忘了！为了要配合赞叹的预期，说得时候一定要用一点戏剧化的口吻，把情感放进去哦！
Isn't she adorable!
Aren't you brilliant!

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