ACT 3 -1 這是很了不起的經(jīng)歷！

【故事梗概】

Grandpa 在 John Marchetta先生的辦公室里接受面試。Marchetta 先生瀏覽了Grandpa的簡歷，給了他很高的評價。

Grandpa: Hi. I’m Malcolm Stewart.

Marchetta: John Marchetta. Sit down, sit down.

Grandpa: Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.

Marchetta: She says a lot of wonderful things about you too, Mr. Stewart.

Grandpa: That’s always nice to hear, Mr. Marchetta.

Marchetta: Call me John. May I call you Malcolm? Let’s talk business.

Grandpa: That’s music to my ears.

Marchetta: I understand you used to be in the construction business.

Grandpa: Yup. Forty-three years. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.

Marchetta: That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.

Grandpa: Thank you. Yup. Forty-three years. Half that time in my own construction company. Big jobs -- factories, shopping malls. That kind of thing.

Marchetta: Then you retired.

Grandpa: Yes. After my wife died, and I felt I should spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I lived in Florida, and they lived in New York.

Marchetta: I understand. My daughter, Cami lives in New York. I like being near her.

【語言點精講】

1. Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.

Susan跟我說了不少有關你的事，她說你是個很了不起的人。

a great deal: 很多。也可以說 a great deal of sth. , 但后面的名詞只能是不可數(shù)的。

You’re quite a man. 你真是個了不起的人。

2. Call me John．

叫我John好了。在對方稱自己為某先生或用其它尊稱時，欲使對方直呼己名以示親近，常這樣說。也可以: “John to you．”

3. Let’s talk business.

talk business: 談工作, 談生意。這是個慣用語，talk 在這里用作及物動詞。

類似的不帶介詞，以talk為及物動詞的用法還有: talk politics/sport（談論政治/體育），talk shop（說行話，談本行業(yè)或本職工作的事），talk sense/nonsense，talk nonsense/rubbish（說胡話，胡說八道）等。

4. That’s music to my ears.

正合我意。正是我想聽的。

5. I understand you used to be in the construction business.

我聽說你過去是在建筑業(yè)工作的。

I understand: 在這里的意思是“我聽說，我知道這樣的信息”。

used to do: 過去曾做過某事。用來談論過去的經(jīng)歷。

6. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.

這兒有一份材科，簡短地記錄了我四十三年的工作經(jīng)歷。

a brief description: 簡單的敘述。這里指簡歷。

on-the-job training: 指工作經(jīng)歷。美國人很重視實際工作經(jīng)驗，所以他們把工作經(jīng)歷稱為“工作時的培訓”。

7. That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.

這是很了不起的經(jīng)歷！你是個很寶貴的人才，Malcolm，非常寶貴。

some: 了不起的，相當于“a wonderful…”。這是一種非正式用法。

asset: 資產(chǎn), 財富, 人才。

8. I like being near her.

我喜歡離她近一點。

這里like后面接-ing形式，表示“經(jīng)常或總是或習慣性地”喜歡某事。