Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hey Mark, do you know next week we'll have a holiday?
京晶：嗨，马克，你知道下周我们要放假吗？
Mark: Another one? That's cool if we'll have a day or two off.
马克：又放假？不错呢如果我们能放一两天假。
Jingjing: Yeah, we'll have Monday and Tuesday off. Tuesday's the actual holiday.
京晶：是呀，下周一二休息，周二是正节日。
Mark: Hold on, I'm looking it up on my phone. You're right: it's the Dragon Boat Festival May 30th.
马克：稍等，我正查手机（日历）呢。你说得对，那天是5月30日，端午节（龙舟节）。
Jingjing: Do you know why the holiday is celebrated?
京晶：你知道为什么要庆祝这个节日吗？
Mark: Yeah, so we can get out of the city for a day or two and enjoy the great outdoors before it gets to be too hot every day.
马克：嗯，在天越来越热之前，我们能够有一两天的时间离开城市，去享受美好的户外吧。
Jingjing: Hey, are you looking that up on your phone too? I'm trying to give you the scoop on Chinese culture.
京晶：这也是你在手机上查到的吗？我这是在带你了解中国文化呢。
Mark: I found something about Qū Yuán. Isn't that the poet who killed himself more than 2000 years ago?
马克：我找到了一些关于屈原的东西。这不是那个两千多年前自杀的诗人吗？
Jingjing: What do you need friends for when you've got Wikipedia? But yeah, it was during the warring states period, around 300 b.c. Do you know why he killed himself?
京晶：你都有维基百科了还需要朋友干嘛。但确实，事情发生在在公园前三百年的战国时期。你知道他为什么要自杀吗？
Mark: Is there ever a good reason? Well, it says here he drowned himself in a river because he was depressed about having been exiled. But before that, he had written a bunch of folk tales and poems.
马克：这还需要理由吗？这里说他是溺水而亡因为对流放的命运感到绝望。但在那之前，他创作了不少民歌和诗句。
Jingjing: Where does the tradition of dragon boats come from then? Any ideas about that one?
京晶：那赛龙舟的习俗又从何而来呢？知道吗？
Mark: Some people wanted to rescue Qū Yuán. So, it's a tradition, now, to go out on the river in dragon-shaped boats.
马克：有些人要去把他救起来，所以，这就成了一个传统。如今，人们就在水上划着龙形的小舟。
Jingjing: Are you going to try to find a dragon boat next weekend?
京晶：下周末你会想办法找一条龙舟吗？
Mark: Maybe I'll rent a kayak at Beidaihe—and, if not there, then just Houhai.
马克：也许我会去北戴河租一艘皮划艇吧。如果不去那儿的话，就在北京的后海吧。
New words: 习语短语
get out of the city
走出城市透透气
(go on a trip for pleasure and relaxation, to a quiet town or scenic spot)
I've got to get out of the city for a while, or else I'll be depressed.
the great outdoors
户外，自然景点
(a natural scenic spot)
Spring is a good chance to see the great outdoors.
give you the scoop on
给某人有用的信息
(give you useful information about something, what most people should know)
Let me give you the scoop on my new colleagues before you meet them.
exiled 流放
(punished by not being allowed to enter a city/country, usually one's own city/country)
kayak 皮划艇
(a long, narrow boat, with a seat for one or two people in the middle, usually propelled by a double-bladed paddle)

Dialogue 2

Jingjing sees Mark one more time before the holiday.
假期前，京晶和马克又见面了
Mark: This year feels like it's flying by. I remember the Dragon Boat Festival being closer to summer every year.
马克：这一年感觉时光飞逝如电啊。我还记得端午节每年不是靠近夏天的时候到来吗？
Jingjing: It's been in June for the previous several years.
京晶：之前都是在六月份。
Mark: Is that because of the lunar calendar?
马克：是按农历吗？
Jingjing: Yep. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
京晶：是的。端午节是在每年的农历五月初五。
Mark: Yeah, in America, some cities have a festival. But I don't think they set the dates the same way.
马克：是呢，在美国，有的城市也过这个节，但我不认为他们按这样的方式来安排节日。
Jingjing: Really? Does your home town have one?
京晶：真的吗？你的家乡也有一个这样的节吗？
Mark: Yeah, it'll be on September 9th and 10th this year. My dad used to do a dragon boat race, competing with his company against other companies that sponsored boats.
马克：是的。今年是在9月9日与9月10日。我父亲过去还参加划龙舟比赛呢，和他的公司一起与龙舟赞助方公司之间进行比赛。
Jingjing: That must have been quite a sight.
京晶：那一定相当夺眼球哦！
Mark: Yeah, it was pretty awesome. He'd train for it with his co-workers, and then came the big day of the race every year.
马克：嗯，很棒的。他还要和同事一起训练，然后参加每年的这个大日子大活动。
Jingjing: Did his company win?
京晶：那他的公司赢了吗？
Mark: What do you think? He worked as a computer systems engineer in a company that did medical databases for large hospitals. Portland is also home to Nike.
马克：你觉得呢？他是公司里的一个电脑系统工程师，他们公司是为大医院做医疗数据库的。我们波特兰也是耐克的总部哦。
Jingjing: Um, well, I'm glad he got involved in that. It's cool to hear how Chinese traditions are being adopted around the world.
京晶：还是很开心知道他参与了这样的活动，听说中国的传统被全世界采纳还挺酷的。
Mark: Yeah, I'm looking forward to going boating this weekend. I'll be thinking about tradition while I bask in the sun.
马克：是啊，我很期待这周末去划船，我沐浴在阳光下的时候会记得这个传统的。
Jingjing: That's cool. I got you something. It's a stuffed dragon that you can put on the head of your boat.
京晶：酷！我给你带了个东西，是一个龙玩具，你可以挂在你的船头。
Mark: Wow, it's super cute! Thanks, Jingjing!
马克：哇，太萌啦！谢谢京晶
New words: 习语短语
flying by 时间飞逝
(time passing by quickly)
This weekend is flying by so quickly that I haven't caught up on work yet.
lunar calendar农历
(a calendar based on the phases of the moon)
quite a sight 特别夺眼球的景象
(something that looks impressive, especially a public spectacle or a piece of architecture)
When the glass bridge was opened to the public, it was quite a sight.
home to总部，大本营
(the place where something originates or is headquartered)
New York is home to the Yankees baseball team and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
bask in the sun 阳光浴
(sunbathe, or enjoy a day out in sunny weather)