make yourself heard 让别人听得见你说的话
译文：
A：我本以为自己的英语说得不错。现在我又不那么有把握了。
B：你说什么？
A：我说我以为自己英语说得不错，但人们老是要我重复我说过的话。或许我说的并不那么好。
B：你的英语没有问题。只是没有人听得见你在说什么。
A：毛病就在这里吗？可是我觉得大声说话是不礼貌的。
B：你不一定要大声喊叫，但你应该让别人听得见你的话。也许美国人说话声音比别的人要响。如果这样，你说话声音也大一些就是了。
9. American English Rhythm
美国英语的节拍
A： Hello， Harry. Where are you off to？
B： I，m going home to study my English lesson.
A： English lesson？
B： Yes. I，m trying to learn a little more. I don，t always understand what people say， and they don，t always understand me.
A： What，re you learning about？
B： Well. For instance， some words in a sentence. The time between two of these stressed words is always about the same， no matter how many words there are. This is what makes English sound jerky. First you go very fast， and then perhaps you slow up.
A： Hmmmm. I never noticed that. Give me an example.
B： Sure， Here，s a sentence we memorized for class. “You told me last night not to let you argue me out of getting you up on time.”It takes just as long to say.“not to let you argue me out of getting you up on time”as it does to say.“you told me last night”.
Notes：
accented - stressed
jerky 不规则地跳动
译文：
A：你好，哈里，你到哪儿去？
B：我回家去温习英语课。
A：英语课？
B：是的，我想尽量多学一点。我总是听不懂人家讲的话，别人也听不懂我讲的话。
A：你在学习什么呢？
B：嗯，例如，在一句话中的有些词是加重语气的，读音较重。不论一句中有多少加重的词，其中两个词间隔的时间总是几乎一样的。这就使英语的音调显得不平稳。开始你说得很快，后来可能慢下来。
A：哦，我倒从来没有注意到这点。给我举个例子。
B：可以。这儿有一句我们在上课时应记住的话：“You told me last night not to let you argue me out of getting you up on time.”在说“not to let you argue me out of getting you up on time”这段话的时间就和说“you told me last night”这句话一样长。
10. Invitation to Lunch
请吃午饭
A： Frances， do you know if the cafeteria around the corner，s open today？
B： Yes. They were open this morning when I came to work. They must，ve finished remodeling. Why，d you want to know？
A： Well， I thought that maybe we could go there for lunch today. That is. If you haven，t promised to go with someone else.
B： That，d be wonderful， Joe. But I hope you，re in a better mood than you were this morning.
A： I，m sorry I was such a grouch. It must，ve been the weather. When it rains I get depressed.
B： Forget it. I，ll see you at twelve thirty.
Notes：
remodel 重新装修(一般指商店的门面和内部装修)
why，d you - why did you
in a better mood 情绪好一些
grouch 脾气不好的人
it must，ve been the weather 大概是天气的缘故
译文：
A：弗朗西斯，你知道街角上的自助餐厅今天开门营业吗？
B：是的，今天早上我来上班时看到它开着。他们大概已经装修好了。为什么你想知道？
A：嗯，我想我们今天可以去那儿吃午饭。就是说，如果你没答应别人去的话。
B：那太好了，乔。不过我希望你现在的情绪比早上要好一些。
A：很抱歉，我的脾气那么不好。大概是天气的缘故。每当下雨我就很沮丧。
B：忘掉这事吧。十二点半再见。
11. Asking Directions
问路
A： Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get downtown？
B： Yes， of course. Are you familiar with the streets here？
A： No， I，m from out of town.
B： Well， let me see. What would be the quickest way？ I，ll tell you. Go to the end of this block， turn right， and walk six blocks. Then turn left for three blocks. There，s a big intersection there. You can，t miss it. The main business section is three or four blocks south of the intersection.
A： Thanks a lot. Oh， one more thing. Are there any buses running this time of night？
B： No. They stop at eleven p.m.
Notes：
from out of town 从外地来
block 两条横马路之间的街区，walk six blocks意即走过六条马路
intersection 几条街道的交叉点
译文：
A：对不起。您可以告诉我到市中心商业区如何走吗？
B：当然可以。您熟悉这里的街道吗？
A：不，我是从外地来的。
B：哦，让我想一想，哪一条是最近的路？我告诉您。顺这条街走到下一条横马路时向右转，再过六条马路，然后向左转再过三条马路，那儿有一个很大的交叉路口，你不会错过的，从交叉路口向南过三条或四条马路就是主要的商业区。
A：多谢。哦，还有一件事。在晚上这个时候这儿还有没有公共汽车行驶？
B：没有，晚上十一点就停止了。
12. At the Airport
在机场
A： Is the nine o，clock flight from Montreal on time？
B： Flight 496？ No， it，s running twenty minutes behind. They，re due on the field at nine twentyfive. Probably Gate 34.
A： I have reservations on Flight 27 to Mexico City.
B： May I see your tickets， please？ You confirmed your reservations？
A： Yes， this afternoon.
B： Here we are， Mrs. Jonhnson. Do you have any baggage？
A： No. Just this overnight case.
B： Fine. Let，s see， now. Flight 27 is right on time. You，ll be leaving from Gate 13 on the eastern concourse.
A： Is there anything else to do before flight time？
B： No， ma，am. Just show your ticket to the boarding officer as you get on the plane. The rest is our job. Have a good trip， Mrs.Johnson.
Notes：
they are due - they should arrive
confirm 确认(机票)
concourse 机场内的封闭式通道
译文：
A：九点钟从蒙特利尔来的一班飞机是否准时到达？
B：是496航班吗？不，它晚点二十分钟，应该在九点二十五分着陆。大概是34号门。
A：我预订了27航班去墨西哥城的票。
B：可以看看您的机票吗？您有没有确认您的机票。
A：是的，今天下午确认的。
B：我们查到了，约翰逊夫人。您有行李吗？
A：没有，只有这个随身带的旅行包。
B：好，现在我们来看看。27航班准时起飞。您走东部通道，从13号门登机。
A：在起飞前还有什么手续要办吗？
B：没有，夫人。您登机时只要向工作人员出示机票就可以了。余下的是我们的事。祝您旅途愉快，约翰逊夫人。
13. Trading Stamps
用赠券换东西
A： Every time I go to the grocery， the clerk asks me if I save stamps. I always say no， but sometimes I get them anyway.
B： Oh， never turn them down. You can always find someone who，ll take them. People spend hours pasting them in little books， and when a book is full， they drive miles to a redemption center where the stamps can be traded for things like pillow cases， or playing cards， or garden tools. But you have to save millions of them to get anything worth having.
Notes：
stamp 美国一些商店或超级市场送给顾客的(如邮票大小的)赠券，积到一定数量后可以换取实物礼品。
clerk 售货员
turn them down - refuse them
redemption center 用赠券换取礼品的商店
trade - exchange
译文：
A：每次我去杂货店，店员都问我是否收集赠券，我总是说“不”，不过有的时候我还是积下些赠券。
B：啊，别丢掉它。你总会找到回收赠券的人。有些人花时间把赠券粘贴在小本子上，当一本贴满后，开几英里的车到回收中心去，在那儿可以用赠券交换像枕头套、扑克牌或修整花园的工具等东西。不过你得收集相当多张才能换回一些有重要价值的东西。
14. Best Seller
畅销书
A： What，s that book you have under your arm？
B： It，s the best seller everyone，s been talking about for the last six months.
A： How in the world did you get a copy？ I，ve had a hold in at the public library for weeks， and I，m still waiting my turn.
B： I checked it out of the rental library. It only costs five cents a day.
A： Is it really worth paying for？