Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, let me tell you what recently happened to my friends Gao Feng and Mei Li. It's crazy.
京晶：马克，我给你说说我的朋友高峰和美丽最近发生的事儿吧，可疯狂了。
Mark: This sounds like it will be a good story.
马克：听起来是个好故事。
Jingjing: They were in a cinema in Zhejiang , watching Ne Zha, and the theater started to flood.
京晶：他们当时在浙江的一家电影院看《哪吒》，然后电影院就开始进水了。
Mark: Wait a second: don't they live in Beijing? And didn't they know there was a typhoon in the south?
马克：等等：他们不是住在北京吗? 他们不知道南方有台风吗?
Jingjing: Right. I guess they didn't pay attention to the red alert. Anyway, they'd been too busy to see Ne Zha in Beijing. Mei Li had a business trip and Gao Feng went to join her on the weekend. The weather was bad. So, they decided to take in a movie.
京晶：是啊，我猜他们没留意到红色预警。总之，他们之前太忙了没来得及在北京看哪吒。美丽去出差，到周末高峰也跟过去了。天气很糟糕。所以，他们决定去看场电影。
Mark: Yeah, we've been reading all the news about how bad the weather was. Were they ok?
马克：是的，我们一直都在关注这些灾害天气的所有新闻。他们还好吗？
Jingjing: They were. The cinema was in the basement of a shopping mall. When it started to flood, they told everyone to leave the building.
京晶：他们还好。电影院在一家购物中心的地下层。开始进水时，电影院告知大家离开大楼。
Mark: Did any water actually get in the theater?
马克：水真的漫进放映厅了吗？
Jingjing: People started to leave through the exit near the screen. But then ushers opened up the door at the rear of the theater, where people usually come in. Mei Li said she saw water flowing into the front of the theater just as they were going out the back.
京晶：人们开始从幕布附近的出口离开。随后领位员打开了影厅后部的门，也就是入场的地方。美丽说他们刚从后方走出的时候就看到水一下子就涌到了影厅最前面。
Mark: Wow, that sounds like a close call.
马克：哇，听起来好险啊。
Jingjing: The funny thing was, this happened during the scene in the movie when Ao Bing was visiting the dragon king under water. If the ushers hadn't come in to shout at everyone to leave the theater, they might have thought it the flood was part of the 4D experience.
京晶：最有趣的是，发生这一切的时候电影刚好演到敖丙回到水下见龙王的一幕。如果那时领位员没有进来呼喊大家离开电影院，他们可能还以为水是4D体验的一部分。
Mark: Ha ha. Well, it's good to hear about Mei Li and Gao Feng's narrow escape. Is anything else happening with those two? They've been married for a while now, haven't they?
马克：哈哈。好了，很高兴听到美丽和高峰逃过一劫。这俩最近还有什么情况吗？他们结婚已经有一段时间了，是吧?
Jingjing: Well, in other news, they've been house hunting here in Beijing.
京晶：哦，其他的事情是，他们一直在北京找房子。
Mark: That's far less dangerous than seeing a movie during a typhoon. Tell me about it when I come back from the coffee shop. Would you like anything?
马克：那可比在台风期间看电影安全多了。等我从咖啡店回来后再接着说吧。你想来点什么吗？
Jingjing: I'm fine with warm water here.
京晶：我这有温水，不用了
Mark: Ok. See you in a few.
马克：好的。待会儿见。

New words : 习语短语
take in 观看;欣赏;参观
watch, go to see (usually a performance, perhaps also a museum or other exhibit, or “take in the tourist sites in Shanghai”)
ushers 领位员 引座员
people who work at a theater and guide people to their seats
a close call 侥幸脱险 逃过一劫 差一点就赶上
something bad that almost happened (or a win in a competition where the second-place winner almost got first place)
4D experience 4D体验
a 3D movie with other effects like vibrating chairs
narrow escape
九死一生，幸免于难 死里逃生
getting out of danger, almost too late

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: You're back, Mark. Ready to hear about house hunting?
京晶：马克，你回来了。准备好听听找房子的事吗？
Mark: Let me down some of this coffee first. I'll be more alert.
马克：让我先喝口咖啡吧。这样我能更留心听。
Jingjing: Well, let me put it in a nutshell while you sip at that coffee. They have two properties in mind. One is outside the Fifth Ring, and pretty big. The other is tiny, but it's centrally located.
京晶：好吧，你喝咖啡的时候让我简单地说一下。他们现在考虑的有两处房子。一个位于五环外，面积很大。另一个很小但地处市中心。
Mark: Hmm. My first thought is to go for the place near the city center.
马克：嗯。我的第一反应还是选市中心。
Jingjing: Why would that be better? It'd be cramped, especially if a baby comes and relatives stay there to help.
京晶：为什么市里更好？那样会很拥挤，特别是一旦有了孩子，亲戚们过来住这帮忙。
Mark: That's a good point. Well, look at the schools and hospitals around that house in the suburbs. If those are good, it might be a better choice.
马克：这一点说得对。那看看郊区那所房子周围的学校和医院。如果配套齐全，也可能是个更好的选择。
Jingjing: I think they said something about an extension campus. But that's only for middle school. I doubt if the primary schools and kindergartens are as good out in the suburbs as they are inside the city.
京晶：我想起来他们说过分校区的事情。但只有中学部。我不确定郊区的小学和幼儿园能和城里的质量一样好。
Mark: Yeah, I think, unless they can afford a really ritzy part of the suburbs, it's better to get something inside the Fourth Ring. Is the smaller house near where they work?
马克：是的，我想，除非他们能负担得起郊区的高档地区，否则还是选四环内吧。小一点的那套房子离上班近吗？
Jingjing: It's near where Mei Li works. Gao Feng would still have to go a long way.
京晶：在美丽工作地方附近。但是高峰上下班还比较远。
Mark:That's life, I guess. Anyway, if their total commute time is shorter, the small place is better.
马克：这就是生活啊。不管怎么样，如果他们总的通勤时间缩短了，小房子就更好。
Jingjing: Right. That way, if they get a car, one car is enough for the family.
京晶：非常对。这样的话，他们家如果买车，一辆车也够了。
Mark: Yeah, but parking is a major pain around communities near downtown.
马克：是啊，但是市中心的小区，停车是个头疼的问题。
Jingjing: I don't know if it has an underground garage or not.
京晶：我不知道那有没有地下车库。
Mark: That's a lot of stuff to keep in mind. Hopefully they make the best choice.
马克：脑子里得考虑好多东西。希望他们做出最好的选择。
Jingjing: Me too. I'll let them know what we talked about. I think they're leaning toward the place inside the city.
京晶：我也希望。我会告诉他们我们聊的这些。我认为他们倾向于选市里。
Mark: Hopefully they'll be happy there.
马克：希望他们在那能过得开心。

New words : 习语短语
down 大口喝下；快速吃下
eat or drink quickly
cramped 狭窄的，狭小的
small, not enough space
an extension campus 分校区
a school or university with buildings far away from the main location
ritzy 昂贵时髦的；豪华的
expensive, fancy, luxurious, full of wealthy people
pain 讨厌的人（或事）；令人头痛的人（或事）
troublesome, bothersome, unpleasant, too difficult to deal with
(someone is) leaning toward 偏爱 倾向于
someone prefers A over B currently