常春藤生活英语【72】母子之约

Patricia and her husband, Mike, were having an argument about another woman in Mike's life—his mother. "You two haven't dined² together for so long," Patricia said. Mike replied by saying that his busy job occupied most of his time. He also said that he knew his mother was happy enough when she was around his beautiful wife and two lovely daughters. "I've made a reservation1 for you both at Tony's Steakhouse for tomorrow at seven," his wife told him as she handed him the phone.

"Hello, Mother, would you like to go to Tony's tomorrow night for dinner?" Mike asked, "You know, it's Mother's Day." His mother thought something was wrong when Mike told her it would only be the two of them. "Don't worry, Mom. The family is great. I just think it'll be fun if only the two of us go out, like we used to do in the old days."

The next day, when Mike picked up his mother, she was all dressed up. Mike complimented2 her, but she just said, "I'm really looking forward to our dinner." They drove to the restaurant and sat at the same table they used to sit at 30 years ago. Mike's mother said she wanted to focus on happy things, but she needed to tell him one thing first. "Son, I know you have to work hard to be successful, but make sure you spend as much time with your family as possible."

派翠西亚正和她丈夫麦克争吵，为的是麦克生命中的另一个女人，也就是他的母亲。派翠西亚说：『你们两个已经很久没一起吃饭了。』麦克则回答说他忙碌的工作就占去了他大部分的时间。他还说他知道光是跟他美丽的太太和两个可爱的女儿在一起，他母亲就够开心了。他太太边拿电话给他边说：『我已经帮你们俩在东尼牛排馆订好明晚七点的位子了。』

麦克问：『喂，妈，妳明天晚上想不想去东尼牛排馆吃晚饭？妳知道的，明天是母亲节。』当麦克告诉他母亲只有他们母子俩要去时，她觉得事有蹊跷。『别担心，妈。家里一切都很好。我只是觉得如果只有我们两个人去的话会很好玩，就像以前一样。』

隔天麦克去接他母亲时，她已经盛装打扮好了。麦克赞美她一番，不过她只是说：『我真的很期待我们的晚餐。』他们驱车前往餐厅，然后坐在他们三十年前坐过的同一张桌子。麦克的母亲说她想专注在开心的事情上，不过得先告诉他一件事。『儿子，我知道你为了成功得努力工作，但你一定要尽量多花时间陪陪家人。』

Building Your Vocabulary

1. dine¹　vi. 进餐
Al dined at a Thai restaurant on his birthday.
艾尔生日时在一间泰国餐厅用餐。
2. occupy　vt. 占用（一段时间或空间）
The bed occupied most of Jack's bedroom.
这张床就占掉了杰克卧房的大半空间。

Phrases for Learning⁵

1. have an argument　　争吵
We had an argument about the wedding.
我们为了婚礼的事吵架。
2. used to + 原形动词　　过去曾∕常做……
Paul used to go hiking when he was young.
保罗年轻时常去健行。
3. be/get all dressed up　　盛装打扮
Joan got all dressed up for the party.
乔安妮盛装打扮准备参加派对。
4. look forward to + 名词∕动名词　　期待∕盼望……
Nancy is looking forward to opening her gifts.
南西期待着要拆开她的礼物。

参考字词

1. reservation³　n.（座位、房间等的）预订
2. compliment⁴　vt. 赞美，恭维

Tips In Use

...his mother was happy enough...
（……他母亲就够开心了。）
1. enough 作副词用时，表『足够可以』，可修饰形容词或副词，采后位修饰，即 enough 恒置于该形容词或副词之后，而不可置于其前。本句即为此例。
Allen studied hard enough to keep up with his classmates.
（艾伦够用功，足以跟上他的同学。）
2. enough 亦常作形容词，表『充份的』，修饰名词时，通常置于该名词前，但亦可置于其后（罕用）。
Bill doesn't have enough time for lunch.
=Bill doesn't have time enough for lunch.
（比尔不够时间吃午餐。）
注意:
enough 不论作副词或形容词，其后通常接不定词词组（to + 原形动词）或"for + 名词"。

1 dine   

vi.吃饭，进餐；vt.宴请

参考例句：

• I wish I could afford to dine off fresh meat every day.我要是能天天吃到新鲜的肉就好了。
• Let's dine out tonight，I'm too tired to cook.我太累了，不想做饭，今晚咱们到外面吃吧。

2 dined   

v.吃饭，进餐( dine的过去式和过去分词 )；设宴款待，请客

参考例句：

• We dined with my parents at a restaurant in town. 我们同我父母在城里一家餐馆吃饭。
• We dined in sumptuous surroundings. 我们在富丽堂皇的环境中用餐。

3 reservation   

n.保留条件，限制条件；预订座位

参考例句：

• The instruction should be carried out without any reservation.应当不折不扣地执行这个指示。
• I accept your statement without reservation.我完全相信你的话。

4 compliment   

n.[pl.]问候，致意；n./v. 称赞，恭维

参考例句：

• The manager paid her a compliment on her work.经理赞扬了她的工作。
• Your presence is a great compliment.承蒙光临，不胜荣幸。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。