Dialogue 1
Mark: Hey Jingjing, whatever happened with your friend who went on that blind date?
马克：嘿，京晶，你那个去相亲的朋友后来情况怎么样了？
Jingjing: It's a long story, Mark.
京晶：这说来可就话长了，马克。
Mark: Well, I have time if you have time. Anyway, “a long story” sounds like it's good for at least a little gossip.
马克：我倒是有时间听如果你有时间说。再说了，“说来话长”听着到是值得小小八卦一下。
Jingjing: Um, ok. I should start by playing you a short recording from the date. My friend, Meili, used her phone under the table to get a little audio.
京晶：嗯，好吧。我应该一开始就给你放一段约会当天的短录音，我的朋友美丽用她的手机在桌下录的。
Mark: Oh did she? Let's have a listen.
是吗？她录的？让我们来听听。
Gaofeng: So, I just got back a few months ago.
高峰：所以，我几个月前才回来。
Meili: And you found a job already. That's pretty good.
美丽：你已经找到工作了，很不错啊。
Gaofeng: It's ok. It doesn't pay very well.
高峰：还行。薪水不是特别好。
Meili: But if there are chances for you to be promoted, you should stick with it.
美丽：如果有机会获得晋升，你应该坚持下去。
Gaofeng: There might be chances. They seem a little distant right now. It's not very clear. The good thing is I get to use a company car.
高峰：也许有些机会。现在还遥不可及呢，不太明朗。也是有好处的，我能用公司的车。
Meili: It's good to have a car, but even better to have one of your own.
美丽：有车是很好的，有一辆自己的车就更好了。
Gaofeng: I definitely agree. I plan to buy a house first, then a car later.
高峰：我完全同意。我计划先买套房，再买车。
Meili: So, hopefully you'll make more money and still be able to use a company car.
美丽：那，希望你可以挣得更多，同时还能用公司的车。
Gaofeng: That's the idea.
高峰：现阶段就是这样的想法。
Meili: How soon do you think you can buy a house?
美丽：你觉得你多久能买套房呢？
Gaofeng: That depends on the location, and whether it's 70-year ownership or just 30.
高峰：这得取决于坐落的地点吧，还有是70年产权还是30年的。
Meili: 30 seems like a bad compromise to have to make You'd have retirement and sunset on home ownership on the same horizon.
美丽：30年听上去像一个不怎么好的折中方案。等你退休的时候，房子的产权也到期了。
Jingjing: The recording stops there. I have to go pick up a delivery. When I come back, I want you to guess what was special about that blind date.
京晶：录音就停在这里了。我得去拿个快递。等我回来的时候，我想让你猜一下这个相亲有何特别之处。
Mark: Ok. See you in a few minutes.
马克：好啊，一会儿见喽。


New words : 习语短语
blind date 相亲；第一次见面约会
a date between too people who have not seen each other before, usually set up by relatives or by an online dating service
It's a long story. 说来话长
There are a lot of details, and the story might be confusing or meaningless without making all those details clear.
gossip 八卦，小道消息
interesting stories about people we know, often with embarrassing details
promoted 工作晋升
received a better job within the company where you already work
retirement 退休
when an old person stops working but still has money to live comfortably
sunset （法律的）自动废止期，效力消减期
the end of a contract period (or a law)


Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Well, Mark, can you guess what made that blind date unique?
京晶：马克，能不能猜到这场相亲有何独特之处？
Mark: Hmm, did the guy have a house already and just say he didn't as a test of your friend's interest in him as a person?
马克：是不是这个男方其实已经有了房，说没有是为了试探你的朋友到底是不是对他这个人感兴趣？
Jingjing: You're not far off the mark, Mark. Not only that, though, it was a stand-in guy.
京晶：你也猜得八九不离十了。马克，不仅如此，这男的还是一个替身。
Mark: What?! How, then, could we know if your friend could be interested in him as a person?
马克：啊？那怎么，那，我们怎么知道你朋友是不是对他本人感兴趣呢？
Jingjing: That might be a little weird. But the real guy wanted to screen out girls who were only looking for guys with cars and houses already. The real guy has a house and a car, and didn't want to get stuck with someone too quickly.
京晶：是有点怪怪的。但是真男主就想筛选出只看男方车房条件的女人。真男主有车有房，同时不想太快进入一段关系。
Mark: Yeah, I get that.
马克：哦，我明白了。
Jingjing: You know, even if someone has a house and a car, life is still pretty difficult.
Both people have to work hard and be optimistic.
京晶：你知道，就算有人有车有房，生活依然是非常难的，双方都得努力工作，同时保持乐观心态。
Mark: So, did your friend ever get in contact with the actual guy—the one with a house and a car?
马克：那，你朋友到底有没有跟真男主取得联系呢——有车有房那个？
Jingjing: Well, the stand-in guy forwarded the real guy's contact information, but not before telling her that the real guy has already used the stand-in guy to screen dozens of girls.
京晶：那个替身给了她真男主的联系方式。但是在这之前告诉了她他已经用此法筛选过好些女孩了。
Mark: Why did he give away information? That doesn't sound very professional.
马克：他为什么要泄露信息呢？这听着可不太专业啊。
Jingjing: The stand-in guy seemed like he was attracted to my friend. He was handsome and confident. Now my friend isn't sure how to take the next step.
京晶：这个替身吧，好像已经对我朋友有点好感了。他帅气又自信的样子，现在我的朋友不太确定下一步该如何行动了。
Mark: Hmm. She should be careful. A flirtatious stand-in guy might be another part of the test. Maybe the real guy is super rich. Otherwise, he wouldn't be fooling around so much and wasting money on blind dates that he doesn't even attend.
马克：嗯…她得小心谨慎了。一个有诱惑力的替身也许是另一个试探的套路。也许这真男主是巨有钱，要不也不会搞这么多事浪费钱来相一个个他都不出席的亲了。
Jingjing: The actor said the real guy is friends with the owner of the restaurant where they had the blind date, and gets a discount there. Anyway, beautiful girls keep showing up at the same restaurant. So, it's good advertising for his friend's business.
京晶：替身演员说真男主是他们约会这家餐厅主人的朋友，有折扣的。不过话说回来，老有漂亮女孩出现在这家店里，也等于在给朋友生意做广告嘛。
Mark: Well then, that sounds like a win-win.
马克：那，听上去到是个双赢啊。


New words : 习语短语
unique 不同寻常的
unusual, special
off the mark 大错特错，与实事大相径庭
described in ways unlike what actually happened
stand-in 替身
an actor who pretends to be someone we expect to see
interested in him as a person 对本人这个人感兴趣而不是其他
attracted to someone because of their personality, not their status or possessions
screen 筛选
meet with several people, as in job interviews, and eliminate several of them
flirtatious 举止轻佻地挑逗
to act romantic without serious intentions
fooling around 游手好闲，不干正事，搞事情
having fun, while wasting energy and not accomplishing much