Part 2 We Can Work It Out

這天，Charlotte正學著自己理財，Peter對此頗感興趣，迫不及待地讓Charlotte教他幾招……

（Two students， who are half-way through university， are talking in a bar.）

Peter： Hey Char！

Charlotte： Hey Pete！

Peter： Fancy a drink？

Charlotte： Sure why not？ ①I could bite your arm off for one.

Peter： What do you want？

Charlotte： Ill have what youre having.

Peter： Great…By the way what are you doing？ Are you studying？

Charlotte： Yeah. Im studying my expenses！

Peter： What do you mean？ Are you studying to become an 1）accountant？

Charlotte： Haha no！

Peter： What are you doing it for then？

Charlotte： It really helps me 2）monitor how much Im spending and check I dont get into any debt！

Peter： That doesnt sound like a bad idea. I havent checked my account in weeks.

Charlotte： Yeah. ②I dont wanna leave university with a big debt hanging over my head.

Peter： So you set yourself a budget？

Charlotte： Sure.

Peter： I might start doing that. Itll help save the pennies for after I graduate.

Charlotte： There are loads of things you can do to cut your costs.

Peter： Ill tell you what， you tell me and Ill buy you this drink！

Charlotte： Haha， sure！ I wont need to put that down on my expense sheet then！

Peter： Go on then， hurry up. Im 3）parched！

Charlotte： Well， you know the obvious student one， dont you！

Peter： Always go to bars that have buy one get one free on drinks？！

Charlotte： No！ Always get the books you need second hand. Bookstores on campus are usually really expensive.

Peter： Oh yeah， I did that one already！

Charlotte： Oh， and while we are on the subject of books， dont 4）rack up any late fines with the library.

Peter： You reminded me！ I must return a book this afternoon！

Charlotte： Peter！

Peter： I wont forget！ Go on， carry on…

Charlotte： By the way， what did you have for lunch？

Peter： Oh！ I had a delicious burger and chips from that restaurant down the road. Its my favourite！ I go there all the time！

Charlotte： Well， thats my next point！

Peter： Dont eat？

Charlotte： No！ You can save money by cooking and eating at home.

Peter： Yeah， I guess I do eat out too much！

Charlotte： Yeah， you dont want to graduate from university being poor and fat！

Peter： Hey！ ③Dont take the mickey！

Charlotte： I didnt say you were now！

Peter： Good！ What else？

Charlotte： Actually speaking of being healthy， did you sign up that new gym at the start of term？

Peter： Yeah its great！

Charlotte： When was the last time you went？

Peter： The day I signed up…④Ah， I see where you are going with this.

Charlotte： Got the hint？

Peter： I should cancel my 5）subscription if I am not using it.

Charlotte： Right. If youve got a pair of 6）trainers you can run around the whole city as exercise！

Peter： Any last advice before I die of thirst？！

Charlotte： Yeah. Ask your parents for money sooner rather than later.

Peter： ⑤What are you on about？

Charlotte： Better telling them when youre a little bit overdrawn rather than when youre a lot！ ⑥Otherwise theyll tell you to get on your bike.

Peter： ⑦Fair point！ Ill be back soon with the drinks！

Smart Sentences

① I could bite your arm off for one.很想喝呢。

bite ones arm off for sth.： overly excited to get sth.（非常想得到某物）。例如：

I could bite your arm off to get a piece of your home-made cake.

我好想吃你自制的蛋糕。

② I dont wanna leave university with a big debt hanging over my head. 我不想帶著一大堆的債務離開大學。

have sth. hanging over ones head： have sth. bothering or worrying one（某事讓人擔憂）。例如：

I have next weeks finals hanging over my head.

我擔心下周的期末考試。

③ Dont take the mickey！ 別取笑我！

take the mickey： make fun of sb.， usu. in an unkind way（取笑他人，通常是惡意的）。例如：

Kids often took the mickey out of me because I was short.

因為我太矮小，其他孩子常常取笑我。

④ Ah， I see where you are going with this. 啊，我明白你的意思了。

I see where you are going with this： used to express ones understanding of anothers thinking（用以表達自己明白對方的思路）。例如：

——Dad might say no to a Sunday picnic， but Mom loves to sit by the lake on a sunny day.

老爸可能不會同意在星期天去野餐，可老媽喜歡在大晴天到湖邊坐坐。

——Haha， I see where you are going with this. We should talk to Mom tonight.

哈哈，我明白你怎么想的了，我們今晚就找老媽談談。

⑤ What are you on about？ 你想說什么？

What are you on about？： used to clarify the others intention， usu. when confused， same as “Im confused” or “I dont understand”（用以詢問對方的用意，等同于“Im confused”或“I dont understand”）。例如：

——I think Mom doesnt like Jim， but Dad does.

我覺得媽不喜歡吉姆，但爸喜歡。

——What are you on about？

你想說什么？

⑥ Otherwise theyll tell you to get on your bike. 否則他們會將你掃地出門。

get on sb.s bike： used to tell sb. to leave， go away； a British expression（用以告訴某人離開，英式用法）。例如：

If you do that again， Im going to tell you to get on your bike.

如果你再那么干的話，我就會讓你離開。

⑦ Fair point！ 有道理！

Fair point： used to express acknowledgement to an argument（用以表達對一個觀點的認同）。例如：

——If the teacher has not talked about the last two chapters， students shouldnt be tested on those content.

我覺得如果老師沒有講過最后的兩個章節，那考試就不應該就這些內容考查學生。

——Thats a fair point.

有道理。