对话精讲

1. Excuse me. My name is Richard Stewart. I'm a photographer.
这是Richard在与陌生人搭讪并介绍自己。
Excuse me 这个短语用来引起对方的注意。相当于汉语的“对不起，劳驾”。
自我介绍时可以先介绍自己的名字，再说明自己的职业。
介绍自己的名字时，可以像Richard一样，说My name is Richard Stewart.
也可以像Mrs. Vann那样，说I'm Martha Vann.

2. May I take a picture of you and your little boy?
May I...是一种很礼貌的征求别人的同意的说法，相当于“我可以...吗？”。
Richard 想要为Mrs. Vann 母子拍照片，他首先要征得当事人的同意。

3. I appreciate your help.
这是在受别人帮助或听了别人的忠告之后的感谢语。在Richard向Mrs. Vann说明了照片的用途后，Mrs. Vann欣然接受拍照的请求，之后Richard立即向对方表达了感谢。这里也可以说I really appreciate it.

4. Welcome to New York.
Welcome to… 是迎接客人的客套语。Richard与Mrs. Vann母子攀谈几句后得知母子二人来自于California，于是Richard对他们说，欢迎到纽约来。
又例如：Welcome to HJ English.

5. Can I help you?
在为别人提供帮助前，我们可以说Can I help you?
也可以说Let me...（让我，允许我），如本文中，Richard对Alexandra说"Hey, let me take your picture!" 但是这种说法没有Can I...的礼貌程度高。
如果我们愿意接受帮助，则可以回答"Oh, please." 或者"Yes, please."。也可以像Alexandra那样很可爱的讲"Wonderful. Please."

6. Great! / Terrific! / Nice!
在拍照的过程中，Mrs.Vann母子每在他的要求下摆一个新的姿势，Richard都会对他们的配合给予肯定。他用到的"Great! Terrific! Nice!" 都是用来表示“太好了，好极了，很好”的意思。

7. We'll be looking for your book.
这里的look for是寻找的意思。

8. My pleasure. / You're welcome.
当别人对你表示感谢时，可以用"My pleasure."或者"You're welcome."来进行回应。

9. Would you like some coffee?
Would you like...相当于“你想要...吗？”，在客气地请对方做某事或请客时用。
如本文中，Richard问Alexandra“想来一点咖啡吗”，他说 "Would you like some coffee?"
在谈到自己的书Family Album, U.S.A.时，他问对方“想要看一看吗”，"Would you like to see them?"
如果我们不想接受，就说"No, thank you."
如果愿意接受，则说"Yes. I'd like that." 或者"Yes. Please."

10. Here they are.
把东西给别人看时用。单数时用 Here it is.

11. Thanks.
在本情境中出现的两次"Thanks"都是对于别人赞美的回应。
称赞对方，或对方的家人，是美国人很重要的一种社交习惯，被人称赞时，要表示乐于接受并愉快地感谢，不要急于否认或自贬，也不要表现得扭捏不安。所以无论是人家说你的英语好--"Your English is very good."，还是称赞你的夫人很漂亮--"Oh, she's very pretty."，都不必不好意思，只要说声 "Thank you" 就可以了。

12. And what about your family?
What about…在这里用以询问别人的情况，相当于Tell me about…

13. the Bronx
是纽约市的五个行政区之一。另外的四个如下：
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island

14. Hispanic
意思是西班牙语系的，西班牙的。Alexandra和一个讲西班牙语的家庭一起生活。

15. It was nice meeting you. / It was a pleasure meeting you.
很高兴认识你。与新朋友第一次见面时可用此用语告别。

16. I've got to go.
这句表达的意思是“我必须得走了”，与 I must go, I must be off之类的告别语同义。

17. By the way…
此短语在转换话题或者作补充说明时用，相当于汉语中的“顺便说一下……” 。

对话概要：

Family Album, U.S.A. It's an album of pictures of the United States. Richard takes many pictures for his album. He photographs the cities like New York... and other special places. He photographs people working: police, ambulance drivers, steel workers, doctors. Philip Stewart, Richard's father, is a doctor. He's a pediatrician, a children's doctor. And Richard's mother, Ellen Stewart, is a home maker. His brother Robbie, is a student of Riverdale High School. He's 17. Richard has one sister. Her name is Susan. She works for a toy company in New York City. Malcolm Stewart is Richard's grandfather. He's 72 years old and lives in Florida. And this is Richard's wife, Marilyn Stewart. She is a fashion designer and a sales clerk in a boutique in New York City. You'll meet Marilyn Stewart and all of the other Stewarts in Family Album, U.S.A.