Situation: In the break room one afternoon， Bill announces that he's planning to buy a new car.

Ryan: I really don't see the point， Bill. You live， what， twenty minutes walk from the office? You already have one car， why on earth would you need another?

Bill: The wife has decided she needs the car to get to work in the mornings. She doesn't like taking the bus – she says it's inefficient and very expensive. She spends almost pound;35 a week on bus tickets!

Ryan: And how much do you think she'll spend on gas and insurance? Heck， Bill， you could give HER the car and walk to the office. It'd be good exercise， and it would really chill you out after a busy day at work.

Susan: I disagree. If she's having so much stress and hassle getting to work on the bus， then she should have the car. It'll make life much more tolerable.

Ryan: You're seriously advocating putting another unnecessary car onto the streets? Look outside! The roads are packed out as it is! At rush hour when you go home， at least on the bus you have bus lanes. Living 45 minutes from work like your wife does… she'll take hours to get home at the best of times!

Bill: Relax， Ryan， there's no need to get so wound up about it. It's just a suggestion， something to make both our lives a little easier.

Susan: What's the big deal， Ryan? It's not like it's your money he's going to be spending.

Ryan: I just think that owning more cars than you actually need is a very irresponsible thing to do.

Susan: Why? It's not like he's buying a Hummer or some big， gas-guzzling SUV. He's planning on getting a little car with a tiny engine to make his wife a bit happier. What's wrong with that? Just because you ride a bicycle to work doesn't mean we all have to， you know.

Bill: Easy， guys! It's not that big a deal， certainly nothing to get this worked up about. Why does it bother you so much， Ryan?

Ryan: I just think we use far too many natural resources as it is， and nowadays for people who work 9-5 a car is a complete waste of time， because it spends half its operational time stuck in traffic jams.

Bill: Hm， maybe you're right. I think I'll have to give it a little more thought.

情景：一天下午，比爾在休息室宣布他打算買部新車。

瑞恩：比爾，我真不明白你怎么想的。你住的地方離公司只有20分鐘是吧？你已經(jīng)有一輛車了，究竟為什么要再買一輛??？

比爾：我太太決定早上要開車上班。她不想擠公交——她說坐公交效率低還費錢。每周光公交車票錢大約就要花35英鎊。

瑞恩：那你想想買汽油和上保險她要花多少錢？比爾，你可以把車給她開，你步行上班啊。這可是個不錯的鍛煉機會啊，你工作忙了一天之后也能放松一下。

蘇珊：我不同意。如果她擠公交上班覺得麻煩、壓力大，應該買輛車啊。生活會變得輕松些。

瑞恩：你真的主張馬路上再多一輛不必要的車嗎？往外面看看吧！路上堵滿了車。你回家時可是高峰期，至少在公交車有公交車專用車道吧。像你太太那樣離公司45分鐘的路，高峰時要花上幾個小時才能回家。

比爾：別那么激動啊，瑞恩，沒必要搞得這么緊張吧。這只是個建議，讓我們的生活都容易些。

蘇珊：這是多大個事啊，瑞恩？他又不花你的錢。

瑞恩：我只是覺得買輛不需要的車是十分不負責任的。

蘇珊：為什么？他又不是去買悍馬或者“喝油”的SUV。他想買輛小排量的汽車讓自己老婆開心啊。這有什么不對嗎？你騎自行車上班并不代表我們都要這樣，知道嗎？

比爾：輕松點，伙計們！沒什么大不了的，當然也沒什么可激動的。這為什么讓你這么不安呢，瑞恩？

瑞恩：我只是覺得我們消耗了太多自然資源，現(xiàn)在那些朝九晚五的上班族買車完全是個浪費，自己的一半業(yè)余時間都花在堵車長龍里了。

比爾：嗯，或許你們是對的。我想我得再考慮一下了。

Notes

1. on earth

在文中的意思是“到底、究竟”。

例句:

What on earth do you do that for?

你究竟要干什么？

2. chill someone out

指使某人情緒緩和、心情放松、冷靜。

例句:

I’m really enjoying this. A good cup of coffee and some nice relaxing music always helps me to chill out.

這樣的時光我感到愜意，一杯咖啡、一些輕柔舒緩的音樂，都使我倍感放松。

3. advocating

提倡、主張做某事，advocate后要跟動名詞形式，即advocate doing something. 也可作名詞使用，當“倡導者、擁護者”講。

例句:

The Chinese government advocates a greener way of life， and one of the specific measures they use to encourage this is the prohibition of plastic bags.

中國政府倡導一種更加環(huán)保的生活，其中一條具體鼓勵措施就是禁止使用塑料袋。

Many of his advocates paraded in the street yesterday to show their support.

他的許多支持者昨天上街游行，以示對他的支持。

4. get so wound up

指“變得緊張”。

例句：

He isn't going to go to his ex-girlfriend's wedding ceremony because he reckons his presence will make her wound up.

他不打算去參加前女友的婚禮，因為他的出現(xiàn)或許會使她緊張。

5. work up

在文中指“激動、生氣”。

例句：

The more the other kids teased him， the more wound up he got..

別的孩子們越奚落他，他越生氣。