Part 1 The Same Old

Louis下班后經常宅在家里，而McKenzie也幾乎一成不變地做著同樣的事情：去健身、吃晚飯、看看書，然后上床睡覺。他們想嘗試一些新的生活。

McKenzie: Hey， Louis! What’s shakin’?

Louis: Not much， not much. Been kinda quiet lately.

McKenzie: Really? ①Yesterday you shot out of the office like a bat out of hell right at five o’clock. I thought maybe your house was on fire!

Louis: Haha， fortunately， nope. Actually， ②I was just going to catch a movie with my friend.

McKenzie: At five o’clock? That’s almost a 1)matinee.

Louis: Almost. The thing is， my friend has a 2)toddler at home， so he can’t really be a night owl anymore. We have to wrap things up by eight or nine o’clock.

McKenzie: Geez! That doesn’t leave much time for going out. Louis: Not at all. But you know me， I don’t get out much.

McKenzie: I have noticed that you’re kind of a stay-at-home guy. Well， how was the movie?

Louis: It was all right. Just another 3)action flick—nothing to write home about.

McKenzie: I hate going to the movies. These days， everybody keeps playing with their phones and talking during the movie. It really destroys the experience!

Louis: Really? It was pretty quiet when we were there. ③Actually， truth be told， I really got into the movie. I felt like I was in the middle of the action!

McKenzie: Well， then， you’re a lucky one! But I guess not too many people usually show up for a five o’clock show.

Louis: Come to think of it， it was a pretty empty theater. Well， what did you do last night?

McKenzie: Not much. I just went through the same old routine—went to the gym， had dinner， read a book and went to sleep.

Louis: Well， that sounds great!

McKenzie: Haha， you WOULD say that， you 4)homebody!

Louis: No， really! Not many people really exercise every day. It’s really healthy—you should be proud of that habit!

McKenzie: I guess so. It’s just such a huge bother to 5)lug my gym bag to work every day. And I’m always dead tired after a good 6)workout.

Louis: Hey， health first. If you don’t have your health， you don’t have anything!

McKenzie: I guess not. And at least the gym is close to my house. It’s actually pretty convenient.

Louis: So， doing the same thing tonight?

McKenzie: You betcha! And you?

Louis: Well， ④I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and get out of the house. I think I’m gonna go with some other friends to a bar.

McKenzie: Well， look at you! Let me know how it goes. ⑤For now I’ve gotta get back to the grind!

Louis: Me too. Later!

Smart Sentences

① Yesterday you shot out of the office like a bat out of hell right at five o’clock.昨天你一到五點就飛一般地沖出了辦公室。

like a bat out of hell: very fast or sudden（如飛般，不顧一切地）。例如：

The mouse took off like a bat out of hell at the sight of the cat.

老鼠一看到貓，就飛一般地跑了。

② I was just going to catch a movie with my friend. 我只是要跟我的朋友一起去看電影。

catch a movie: see a movie（看一場電影）。例如：

Read a book? No way. I’d rather catch a movie instead.

看書？沒門兒，我寧愿看場電影。

③ Actually， truth be told， I really got into the movie. 事實上，說實話，我完全投入到電影中。

truth be told= to tell the truth: used to indicate that you are telling sb. sth. honestly without trying to hide anything（說實話）。例如：

Mom， truth be told， I don’t like the bed sheet you bought me.

媽，說實話，我不喜歡你給我買的床單。

④ I’m trying to turn over a new leaf and get out of the house. 我在努力嘗試新的生活，走出家門。

turn over a new leaf: begin a new and improved course of behavior; begin anew（掀開新的一頁，重新開始，改過自新）。例如：

He realized he had been rough and promised to turn over a new leaf and be nice.

他意識到自己一直很粗暴，就承諾改過自新，友善待人。

⑤ For now I’ve gotta get back to the grind! 因為現在我要回去工作了！

get back to the grind: get back to the job at hand， get back to what one was doing（回到工作崗位，回去工作）。例如：

I need to finish this project before the end of the week， so I should get back to the grind now.

我一定要在這周結束前完成這個項目，所以我現在得回去干活了。