Joshua Odgen-Davis/肝脑涂地

童鞋们，你们在选择一份工作时，通常会考虑些什么因素呢？公司的名气、是否与专业对口、还是薪酬？据调查显示，对于现在的90后大学毕业生来说，工作地点是否离家近已经成为他们求职时的首要考虑因素。

Pedro： Hi， Anissa！ Youre leaving the office pretty late today.

Anissa： Yeah， I had to work overtime to get ready for that project next month. Whats your excuse？

Pedro： Me？ Nothing， really. I was just watching some YouKu videos at my desk before heading out.

Anissa： Really？ ①Youre not 1）itching to get home after a full day at the office？

Pedro： Cant say that I am.

Anissa： I just cant wait to get out the door. It takes me about an hour and a half to get home， so I always want to leave as early as I can.

Pedro： Thats the difference； I live just around the block， so being at work or being at home are basically the same.

Anissa： ②You lucky dog！ How can you afford a downtown flat on your salary？

Pedro： Oh， I dont have to. I still live with the rents.

Anissa： ③Holy mackerel！ How do you do it？

Pedro： What do you mean？

Anissa： ④If I still lived with my parents， I think wed be at each others throats every day. I just couldnt wait to get out of there； when I went to college， I ran away from my hometown and never looked back.

Pedro： Well， I kind of know what you mean. It can be a tricky situation， but moving in with my parents after college actually kind of made sense， after I thought about it.

Anissa： What kind of sense could that possibly make？

Pedro： Financial sense， for one. Tell me， why do you live so far away from the office？

Anissa： You mean， why do I live out in the 2）boonies？ Because thats the only place I can afford to live. Id love to live closer in， but rent is sky high these days！

Pedro： Exactly. Living with my parents， I get a great place in the middle of the city， and I just pay them a little bit of rent every month.

Anissa： Fair enough. But I still dont think I could take it. My rent payments are worth the peace and quiet！

Pedro： Wait， I thought you hated your roommate.

Anissa： Well， uh， yeah. I guess you got me there.

Pedro： And yesterday， you told me how much you hated cooking.

Anissa： ⑤Dont get me started！ Sometimes I wish I was living with a chef who would just cook all my meals for me.

Pedro： Actually， my mom is a chef.

Anissa： Youve got to be kidding me！ But now that you bring it up， my moms cooking wasnt half bad.

Pedro： So， are you rethinking your decision to move so far away from home？

Anissa： Nope. Not even a little bit.

Pedro： ⑥Wow， you must really be on bad terms with your parents！

Anissa： Not really. The reason I came to this city to work is that this was my dream job.

Pedro： Im sure you could have found a job like this in your hometown， though.

Anissa： Not necessarily. The job market is tough and getting tougher. After graduation， I decided to cast a wide net and see what I could get.

Pedro： And？

Anissa： I applied to over thirty companies all over the country. This one is the only one that took me to do the job I want.

Pedro： Ah， I see！ No wonder youre willing to brave evil roommates and strange cities. Guess youre pretty brave after all！

Anissa： Of course！ But...hey， do you think your mom would mind if I came over for dinner tonight？

佩德罗：嗨，安妮莎！你今天很晚才离开办公室啊。

安妮莎：对，我必须加班来准备下个月的项目。你留下来的理由是？

佩德罗：我？真的什么事也没有。我只是在离开前看一些优酷的视频。

安妮莎：真的吗？在办公室一整天后，你不想飞奔回家吗？

佩德罗：我不想。

安妮莎：我会迫不及待地想走。我得花一个半小时才回到家，所以我总是想尽早离开。

佩德罗：这就是区别。我住得离公司很近，所以上班和在家对我来说基本上是一样的。

安妮莎：你真幸运！你的工资怎么能够负担得起租市区的公寓呢？

佩德罗：噢，我不用。我还跟我爸妈住在一起呢。

安妮莎：哇！你怎么能做到的？

佩德罗：你什么意思？

安妮莎：如果我还跟父母住一块儿，我想我们每天都会吵架。我都迫不及待地想从那里出来。当我上大学时，我头也不回地离开了家。

佩德罗：好吧，我大概懂你的意思了。这是个艰难的处境，但是当我考虑过后，觉得上大学后跟父母住确实有道理。

安妮莎：这样做有什么道理呢？

佩德罗：经济的因素是一点。告诉我，你为什么住得离公司那么远？

安妮莎：你的意思是，我为什么住在郊区？因为这是我唯一能够支付的住所。我也想住得离市区近点，但是现在的租金都是天价了！

佩德罗：对。如果和我爸妈一起住，我就可以住在市中心的一个好位置，我只需每个月给他们很少的租金就可以了。

安妮莎：有道理。但是我还是不能接受。为了清静，我的租金是值得的！佩德罗：等等，我想你不喜欢你的室友吧。

安妮莎：好吧，嗯，对，那倒也是。佩德罗：昨天，你才告诉我你有多讨厌煮饭。

安妮莎：别提了！有时候我真希望能和厨子住在一起，他能帮我做一日三餐。

佩德罗：事实上，我妈就是一名厨师。

安妮莎：你在开玩笑吧！但是既然你提起来，我妈的厨艺也不差。

佩德罗：那么，你会再考虑不要搬得离家那么远吗？

安妮莎：不，我一点也不会考虑。

佩德罗：哇，看来你跟你父母的关系真的很差！

安妮莎：不是这样。我来到这座城市是因为这是我理想的工作。

佩德罗：但是我确定你在家乡也能找到类似的工作。

安妮莎：不一定。就业市场的形势变得越来越严峻。毕业后，我打算四处撒网，看能有什么结果。

佩德罗：然后呢？

安妮莎：我给全国30家公司投了简历。现在这家公司是唯一一家能给我提供理想工作的。

佩德罗：啊，我懂了！难怪你愿意接受可怕的室友和陌生的城市。我想你确实很勇敢！

安妮莎：当然啦！但是……嘿，你妈会介意我今晚去你家吃饭吗？

Smart Sentences

① Youre not itching to get home after a full day at the office？ 在办公室一整天后，你不想飞奔回家吗？

itch to do sth.： very eager or impatient to do sth.（渴望做某事）。例如：We are all itching to win next weeks game.

我们都急着要赢下周的比赛。

② You lucky dog！ 你真幸运！

lucky dog： a lucky person（幸运的人）。例如：

No， you didnt get the position because you are a lucky dog. Its because youve worked really hard these past four years.

不对，你不是因为运气好才得到那个职位，你在过去的四年里真的很努力。

③ Holy mackerel！ 哇！

Holy mackerel： used to express exclamation， same as “wow”（用以表达惊叹等同于“wow”）。例如：

Holy mackerel！ Is that the latest iPhone？

哇！那是最新款的苹果手机吗？

④ If I still lived with my parents， I think wed be at each others throats every day. 如果我还跟父母住一块儿，我想我们每天都会吵架。

at each others throats： quarrelling violently with each other（激烈争吵）。例如：

John and Bill have been at each others throats from the beginning over the color of the sofa.

约翰跟比尔从一开始就为沙发的颜色激烈争吵。

⑤ Dont get me started！ 别提了！

Dont get me started： used to attempt to avoid a discussion that the speaker or hearer may wish to avoid（用以回避说话者或听者不愿意提及的话题）。例如：

—I heard you had quite a discussion with the Accounting Dept. yesterday.

我听说你与财务部在昨天有过一次不一般的讨论。

—Oh， dont get me started. Ive had enough of it.

噢，别问我这事儿，我受够了。

⑥ Wow， you must really be on bad terms with your parents！哇，看来你跟你父母的关系真的很差！

on bad terms with sb.： unfriendly with sb.（与某人关系不好）。例如：

John has been on bad terms with Nancy in QC.

约翰与质量管理部的南希一直关系不好。