【大家说英语】 第254期:免费座位

 Lesson 11 Talk About It 第十一课 主题讨论

September 25 9月25日

A Free Seat? 免费座位？

Kendra had a great summer. 坎德拉过了一个很棒的暑假。

But now, the new semester¹ was starting. 不过，现在新学期开始了。

At school, Kendra saw her friend Alison. 在学校，坎德拉看见她的朋友艾莉森，

It was the first time since last semester. 这是她们自从上学期放假后第一次见面。

"Hey, Alison. Let's go to the coffee shop when class is over. “嘿，艾莉森， 我们下课后一起去咖啡馆吧。

We can talk about the summer and do homework." 我们可以聊聊暑假事情，也一起做功课。”

That sounded like a good plan. 这计划听起来不错。

Alison had a lot to talk about, too. 艾莉森也有很多事情想说，

But she also wanted to study. 可是她也想看书。

After class, Kendra went to the coffee shop. 下课后，坎德拉到了咖啡馆。

There was a table available² in the back. 咖啡馆后方有一张桌子没有人坐，

Kendra sat down. 坎德拉坐了下来。

She spent half an hour playing with her phone. 她花了半个小时玩手机，

Then Alison showed up. 然后艾莉森来了。

Kendra was happy, but the person working behind the counter³ was not. 坎德拉很高兴，可是柜台后方的那个员工不高兴。

Students came to the shop almost every day to catch up with each other. 学生几乎每天都会到咖啡馆来聊聊近况，

But they often didn't buy anything. 可是他们通常都不会消费。

Alison went to the counter and ordered a pie. 艾莉森走到柜台前点了一个派。

The person behind the counter was grateful⁴ and smiled. 柜台后方的员工相当感激，脸上露出了微笑。

Kendra moved her backpack, and Alison sat down. 坎德拉把背包挪到一旁，艾莉森坐了下来。

After talking for a while, Alison realized something. 她们聊了一会儿之后，艾莉森才注意到一件事。

"Kendra, didn't you order something? “坎德拉，妳没有点东西吗？

Do you plan on ordering anything?" she asked. 妳打算点东西吗？”她问。

"Well…," Kendra started to say. “这个嘛…”坎德拉开口说。

Alison was surprised by what Kendra did. 艾莉森对于坎德拉的行为感到很惊讶，

Should Alison tell Kendra to order something? 艾莉森应该叫坎德拉点些东西吗？

Or should she ignore⁵ the problem? 还是她应该对这个问题视而不见？

What would you do? 你会怎么做？

1 semester   

n.一学期，半学年，六个月的时间

参考例句：

• A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
• I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。

2 available   

adj.可用到的，可利用的，有用的，有空的，接受探访的

参考例句：

• My bicycle is not available,and it is being repaired.我的自行车现在不能用，因为正在修理。
• This book is not easily available.这本书可不好买。

3 counter   

n.柜台；计数器；adj.相反的；adv.与…相反地；vt.反对，反击；vi.反对，反击

参考例句：

• This counter is closed now.这个柜台现在已停止营业。
• Set the counter to zero and you'll know where the recording starts.把计数器拨到零，你就会知道录音从哪儿开始。

4 grateful   

adj.感谢的，感激的，受欢迎的，表示谢意的

参考例句：

• If you will help us, we shall be very grateful.如果你愿意帮助我们，我们会很感激你。
• He closed his letter with expression of grateful thanks.他在那封信的结尾表达了自己的感激之情。

5 ignore   

vt. 不理睬, 忽视, 驳回, 忽略;

参考例句：

• Do not ignore others dream for ever.永远不要忽视别人的梦想。
• We chose to ignore her rudeness.我们决定忽视她的粗暴无理。