Steve： Hey Laura， what are you doing back in China， and at a job fair no less？

Laura： Its a long story…How about you Steve？ How has life in Guangzhou been treating you？

Steve： Well， the job markets same as ever—lots of jobs， tons of competition. But who cares about all that. Tell me about the European market， and how it all compares to living and working here in China.

Laura： Not much to tell really…

Steve： ①Cmon， stop holding out on me！ Whatever it is， it cant be that bad， can it？

Laura： You have no idea. I never felt so worthless and discriminated against.

Steve： Really？ You faced a lot of racism in Italy？

Laura： I faced a lot of challenges in Italy. Racism was probably the least of my problems.

Steve： Will you stop hinting at what happened and just spill it？

Laura： Well， first off， the food was to die for. The coffee was strong and indulgent. ②The men were all very friendly and flirty， and the scenic views were out of this world！ But living and working there proved to be much harder than I had anticipated.

Steve： This is like pulling teeth…Just tell me what happened already！

Laura： OK. I got a job working for a Chinese company that produces solar panels and related equipment. And then they choose me for a position they had in Italy， probably because Im under-30 and still single with no kids.

Steve： Yeah， that probably had something to do with it…

Laura： At that time， I was making a good 20，000 Yuan per month at the companys headquarters in Shenzhen. But they offered me 20，000 US Dollars to work at their Italian base.

Steve： Woah！ Thats a nice chunk of change. ③Seems like you could start up a good nest egg with that kind of salary.

Laura： That was the plan. ④But you know what they say about plans， right？ “Man plans， God laughs.”

Steve： So I take it things didnt go according to plan？

Laura： Very perceptive Sherlock！

Steve： Alright， I deserve that.

Laura： Can I continue？

Steve： Please.

Laura： So， you know how when overseas workers come to China， their companies arrange everything for them.

Steve： Yeah， its common practice.

Laura： Well， thats not the case for Chinas outbound expats. I had to handle all my food， accommodations， visa issues， even training！ It was ridiculous.

Steve： So how did you survive not being able to communicate with anyone？

Laura： It was the hardest thing Ive ever had to do， and a truly pride-swallowing experience. Because the locals didnt trust me， it took weeks to find a landlord whod rent to me， and the only apartment I could afford was a tiny， run-down， one-bedroom flat.

Steve： Thats crazy！ Wha！ How much was the rent？

Laura： 700 Euros a month.

Steve： 700， times eight-and-a-half， thats…Thats over 6000 Yuan！ For that kind of cash， you could rent a 200-meter place with like four or five bedrooms here in Guangzhou.

Laura： （sigh） I know…Ive gotta say， it feels great to be back home. And I plan on staying here for the foreseeable future.

史蒂夫：嘿，劳拉，你回国做什么，怎么又去招聘会了？

劳拉：说来话长……你呢，史蒂夫？你在广州的生活怎么样？

史蒂夫：好吧，求职市场还是和从前一样——职位很多但却竞争激烈。但是谁关心那些呢。告诉我欧洲求职市场的情况，以及与中国相比，那里的生活和工作环境怎么样。

劳拉：真的没什么可说的……

史蒂夫：来吧，别跟我隐瞒什么！不管怎样，不可能那么糟糕，不是吗？

劳拉：你根本无法想象。我从来没有感到那么没有价值、饱受歧视。

史蒂夫：真的吗？你在意大利受到了很多种族歧视吗？

劳拉：我在意大利要面对许多挑战，种族歧视也许是我最小的一个问题。

史蒂夫：你能别再暗示直接告诉我发生了什么吗？

劳拉：好吧，首先，那里的食物好吃得要死，咖啡浓郁可口。那里的男人都很友好而且爱调情，景色美翻了！但是事实证明，在那里生活和工作比我预想的要困难得多。

史蒂夫：这就像拔牙那样折磨我……你只要告诉我发生了什么事！

劳拉：好的。我在中国一家生产太阳能电池板以及相关设备的公司谋得一职。他们选择我去担任他们在意大利的一个职务，也许是因为我没过30岁、还单身、没有孩子吧。

史蒂夫：嗯，可能跟这有点关系……

劳拉：当时我正在公司的深圳总部每个月赚两万元。但是他们给我两万美元的薪酬去意大利的分公司。

史蒂夫：哇！这真是个不错的转变。有了那样的薪酬，看起来你可以开始存一笔不少的钱了。

劳拉：这是我的计划。但是你知道人们怎么说计划的，对吧？“计划赶不上变化。”

史蒂夫：所以我可以理解为事情没有按计划进行？

劳拉：你真的像神探夏洛克那样思维敏捷。

史蒂夫：好吧，我确实如此。

劳拉：我能继续吗？

史蒂夫：请。

劳拉：那么，你应该知道当外派员工来到中国，他们的公司会给他们安排好一切。

史蒂夫：嗯，这是惯例。

劳拉：好吧，中国的外派员工却没有这样的待遇。我得处理自己的食宿、签证、甚至培训的事情！这太荒谬了。

史蒂夫：那么你是如何在语言不通的情况下在那里生存下来的？

劳拉：这是我做过的最困难的事，也真的是一个失去尊严的经历。因为当地人不信任我，我花了好几个星期才找到一个愿意租房给我的房东，而我能负担起的唯一一间公寓是一个狭小的、破旧的、一室的房子。

史蒂夫：太夸张啦！哇！租金多少呢？

劳拉：700欧元一个月。

史蒂夫：700再乘以8.5，那就是……那就是6000多元！这个租金你能在广州租到一个200平方米4室或者5室的房子了。

劳拉：（叹气）我知道……我得说，回家的感觉很好。未来的这段时间我会留在这里。

Smart Sentences

① Cmon， stop holding out on me！ 来吧，别跟我隐瞒什么！

hold out on sb.： refuse giving sb. information he/she wants（对某人隐瞒信息）。例如：

If you want Terry and Tom to work on the project， you cant hold out on them.

如果你想特里和汤姆为这个項目工作，你就不能对他们隐瞒情况。

② The men were all very friendly and flirty， and the scenic views were out of this world！ 那里的男人都很友好而且爱调情，景色美翻了！

out of this world： great and impressive（非常好的）。例如：

Look at that corner， the flowers are just out of this world！

看看那个角落，那些花实在是太漂亮了！

③ Seems like you could start up a good nest egg with that kind of salary. 有了那样的薪酬，看起来你可以开始存一笔不少的钱了。

a nest egg： a sum of money saved for a particular purpose（储备金）。例如：

My parents have a little nest egg for a rain day.

我父母为防万一留了一点储备金。

④ But you know what they say about plans， right？ “Man plans， God laughs.” 但是你知道人们怎么说计划的，对吧？“计划赶不上变化。”

Man plans， God laughs： plans usually dont work， a Yiddish proverb（计划通常行不通，犹太人谚语）。例如：

None of my summer vacation plans ever worked. No wonder they say Man plans， God laughs.

我的暑假计划从没有实现的，怪不得他们说计划是没用的。

I Lost 我输了

It was at a five oclock tea. A young man came to the hostess to apologize for his lateness.

“So good of you to come， Mr. Jones， and where is your brother？”

“You see were very busy in the office and only one of us could come， so we tossed up for it.”

“How nice！ And so original， too！ And you won？”

“No，” said the young man absently， “I lost.”

五点钟，下午茶的时间，一个年轻人因为迟到向女主人致歉。

“您能来可真好，琼斯先生，您的兄弟在哪儿呢？”

“您知道我們在办公室里有非常忙，我们俩只能来一个，所以就掷币来决定由谁来。”

“太有意思了！还那么有独创性！那您赢了？”

“不，”年轻人心不在焉地说，“我输了。”