Part 1 The Travel Bug

friends. That’s better than getting great photos!

Kathryn: Can’t argue there. Do you think it was easy to make friends because you were all on an adventure together?

Tom: Without a doubt. I really wish I could keep on meeting and talking with other travelers…but now that I’m home， I guess it’s back to the same-old-sameold.

Kathryn: Well， not so fast! If you really like being a part of traveler culture， even when you’re not traveling， I think I know what you should do.

Tom:⑥I’m all ears!

Kathryn: It’s called “couch surfing.”

Tom: Well， that’s a funny name!

Kathryn: Maybe so， but it’s an awesome idea. You see， travelers who don’t want to pay for hotels or who want to meet more local people can decide to look for local people to stay with while they’re in town. Often， local people are willing to let travelers stay on their couches for free. Tom: And therefore， “couch surfing.”Got it. Well， I’m sold—I’ve got an extra couch， and I want in! How do I start?

Kathryn: Wow， ⑦you’re really 1)chomping at the bit for this! Well， you’ve got a couple of options. You could look up the local couch surfing club， or you could just look for applications online.

Tom: People write applications to sleep on other peoples’ couches? How have I never heard about this?

Kathryn: Beats me!

Tom: Well， there’s no time to lose! ⑧I’m gonna go home and drop off all these bags， then get right on the computer.

Kathryn: Actually， now I’m pretty curious， too! Mind if I 2)tag along?

Tom: Not at all! myself away from my book to go and eat lunch!我現在很餓了，但我舍不得放下我的書去吃午飯。

to be on the edge of sb.’s seat: to be very eager to hear about sth.（很渴望聽某事）。例如：

I couldn’t wait until the next Harry Potter book came out! I was on the edge of my seat to know what happens to Harry.我迫不及待地等哈利·波特的書面市！我很想知道哈利發生了什么事。

see sth. coming: expect sth. to happen（預料到某事會發生）。例如：

Everyone else was surprised when Ed got a good grade on the exam， but I’d seen him studying hard， so I had seen it coming.

當埃德在考試中取得好成績時，其他人都驚訝不已，但是我看到他在努力學習，所以在我的預料之中。

to be all ears: to be eager to receive advice（渴望接收建議）。例如：

If you have any suggestions about how to solve this problem， then I’m all ears!

如果你對解決這個問題有任何建議，我將洗耳恭聽！

to be chomping at the bit: to be eager to begin sth.（熱切地想開始做某事）。例如：

She loved swimming， and she was chomping at the bit for the pool to open again in summer.

她曾喜歡游泳，夏天一到就迫不及待地盼望游泳池的再次開放。

get (right) on sth.: begin a task quickly and with energy（投入精力迅速開始一項任務）。例如：

—Can you write this report for me?

你能給我寫份報告嗎？

—I’ll get right on it!

我馬上就去寫！