Unit 3      Family
One    Modern dating
現(xiàn)代約會(huì)

 1    Introduction
A     For millions of singles, e-mail has become an essential tool in the dating game. It's a good tool for casually getting to know people.  It expedites the whole dating routine.
對(duì)于成百萬的單身者來說，電子郵件往來已經(jīng)變成了談朋友期的一個(gè)必不可缺的工具。是人們無意間彼此認(rèn)識(shí)的一個(gè)好方法。它可以加速別人談朋友進(jìn)程。

B     It's easier to have the courage to ask her/him out over e-mail because it saves the embarrassment of rejection.  And you're also not putting the other person on the spot.  So nowadays many more people prefer this way to ask people.
以電子郵件的方式把她/他邀請(qǐng)出來比較容易一些，不需要有那么多勇氣，因?yàn)榫芙^的話，也不會(huì)有那么難堪。而且你也沒有把別人杵在一邊。所以現(xiàn)在很多人都比較喜歡通過這種方式邀請(qǐng)對(duì)方。

C    There are some popular ways for singles to meet in America.  Internet personals are very popular these days.  Single people – some are divorced – attend special activities held just for the purpose of meeting other single people.
在美國(guó)，讓單身者互相認(rèn)識(shí)有很多很受歡迎的方式。目前，網(wǎng)上刊登個(gè)人廣告就很流行。單身者——有些是離過婚的——參加一些特殊的活動(dòng)，目的就在于結(jié)識(shí)另外一些單身者。

 2   Sample Sentences
1. We talked online a couple of times then decided to meet.
我們?cè)诰W(wǎng)上聊過幾次，然后決定見面。
2.  He lived 180 miles away, but I figured we would just be online friends, and distance was irrelevant.
    他住在180英里之外，但是我在想我們只會(huì)成為網(wǎng)上的朋友，所以距離不是問題。
3.  From the very first e-mail exchange, we both knew there was something different - we just "clicked", if you'll pardon the pun.
從第一次交換電子郵件以來，我們都知道這里面有些不一樣——我們只是連接了一下，（上網(wǎng)連接，感情連接），請(qǐng)?jiān)徫业那纹ぴ挕?br /> 4.  What were the odds that Peter, a PhD candidate from Germany, and I, a public health worker from Los Angeles, would have ever met without Yahoo?
如果沒有雅虎，彼特，德國(guó)的一個(gè)博士攻讀者，和我，洛杉磯的一個(gè)公共醫(yī)療工作者，在一起相遇的機(jī)會(huì)又有多大了??？
5.  So I responded, came to find out I had known this girl from high school and she had a crush on me then.
所以我回信了，發(fā)現(xiàn)我以前在中學(xué)認(rèn)識(shí)她，從那后她就愛上了我。
6.  When Brian responded to my ad on the 28th of September, I had no idea what I was getting myself into by arranging to meet in person.
當(dāng)九月二十八日布賴恩回我的征婚啟事時(shí)，我根本不知道安排見面會(huì)給我?guī)硎裁唇Y(jié)果。
7.  It seemed so difficult to find someone suited to me and Internet made it all so much easier. 
找到一個(gè)適合我的人似乎很難，但是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)讓這一切都變得容易多了。
8.  So there I was, browsing the personals and there he was.
所以就是在我瀏覽征婚啟事時(shí)，而他就在那里。
9.  We began talking and e-mailing each other daily for a while.
有段時(shí)間，我們開始每天談話以及互相發(fā)電子郵件.
10.  We kept e-mailing one another because we could never catch each other online. 
我們彼此保持電子郵件往來，因?yàn)槲覀儚膩碓诰W(wǎng)上都不能碰到一起。

 3   Conversations
1.   Fast love.
Judy:  So, where are you going to spend your winter vacation?
Charles:  Oh, I’m going to meet my girlfriend in Thailand1.
Judy:  You have a girlfriend in Thailand?  Interesting.  How come I have never heard of that?
Charles:  Actually it will be my first time to meet her.
Judy:  You mean you haven’t seen her before?  Then, how could she be your girlfriend?  Maybe you don’t even know her.
Charles:  That’s true.  But we have known each other over the Internet for a few months now.  Actually we are on an intimate2 level.  We even plan to be engaged next month.
Judy:  Congratulations!  It’s good to follow your heart.  But I just didn’t expect to be so fast.
Charles:  The Internet is making interaction3 much faster.  People are getting to know each other much more quickly this way.
Judy:  Probably you’re right.
Charles:  Don’t call me crazy, though.  There are 75 million singles in America, so the market for romance-related Web sites is huge.  In the last year alone, nearly 6 million people logged on4 to find their soul mates.
Judy:  Oh, my gosh!  You must be kidding！ Then those dating agencies5 must have been closed now.

《零距離美語會(huì)話[家庭]Lesson1:Moderndating》永久閱讀地址: http://www.jiazhineng.cn/yingyu/2600/