Part 1 Post-70s—Hidden Hearts

Daguo： Hi there.

Jianjun： Hello.

Daguo： I’m Daguo.

Jianjun： My name is Jianjun.

Daguo： Nice to meet you Jianjun.

Jianjun： Nice to meet you too.

Daguo： I haven’t seen you around campus before. Are you new here？

Jianjun： Yes. I just transferred here.

Daguo： Oh？ Where from？

Jianjun： A school 1）upstate.

Daguo： Have you chosen an area of study yet？

Jianjun： Yes. I will study agriculture.

Daguo： Agriculture？ ①Have you got a green thumb or something？

Jianjun： My family has been farming for many generations， and I plan to carry on that proud legacy.

Daguo： I’m studying economics. My family owns a 2）modest shop in Shanghai. I will inherit it one day. Have you ever been to Shanghai？

Jianjun： Uh oh. You’re from Shanghai？ ②My papa warned me about silver-tongued city-slickers like you. Boys like you lack morals and are not to be trusted…

Daguo： Boys like me？ You don’t even know me. Your father told you not to trust city people？ Jianjun： Not just him. My mother told me I shouldn’t talk to strangers. And my auntie told me that boys like you have only one thing on their minds， and it’s not marriage…

Daguo： ③Well， I’m certainly no smooth-talker. I didn’t mean to offend you.

Jianjun： It’s OK. Maybe you city folk really aren’t all bad. You’re the first one I’ve ever met， after all.

Daguo： I was under the assumption that all farm people were dumb 3）rednecks， and you don’t seem that way at all.

Jianjun： What？ I am no redneck. How dare you？ Daguo： I said you weren’t like what I imagined. Jianjun： So you imagine my family members are all 4）uneducated 5）toothless 6）hicks？

Daguo： Not at all. ④I think we just got off on the wrong foot.

Jianjun： ⑤Can’t you take a hint？ ⑥I want nothing to do with you， you wolf in sheep’s clothing. I bet you have more girlfriends than days of the week.

Daguo： I’m terribly sorry. I can tell you’re a rather serious girl， and I wouldn’t want to 7）corrupt you with my modern urban behavior.

Jianjun： I am serious， and you are obviously far from it. Didn’t your parents teach you anything？ ⑦If you want to succeed in life， you need to buckle down and focus on what’s important.

Daguo： And what exactly is important in life？ What does success mean to you？

Jianjun： It’s getting good grades and working hard to support my family—not being distracted by naughty boys.

Daguo： I’m not a naughty boy. I’ve actually been told that I’m mature for my age.

Jianjun： Whatever. You seem like bad news to me， or for some other 8）unsuspecting young girl.

Daguo： What do you know？ You’re just some stupid farm girl. Jianjun： I’m not stupid， you are.

Daguo： Whatever you say. Goodbye.

Jianjun： Wait！

Daguo： What？

Jianjun： Never mind…

Daguo： （sigh）

Smart Sentences① Have you got a green thumb or something？你有園藝才能嗎？

have a green thumb： have the ability to grow plants well（有高超的種植樹木蔬果的技能）。例如：

My uncle has a green thumb and has a very beautiful garden.

我叔叔對種植有一手，他家的花園非常漂亮。

② My papa warned me about silver-tongued city-slickers like you. 我爸爸讓我小心像你這樣油嘴滑舌的城里老油子。

silver-tongued： skillful in persuading others to believe what he/she says（能言善辯）。例如：

Many believe that a politician has to be silver-tongued.

許多人認為政客必須要能言善辯。

city-slicker： a worldly， well dressed city dweller（城里的老油子，打扮時髦老于世故的城里滑頭）。例如：

Leo hates being called a city-slicker by his fellow villagers just because he dresses nicely and talks with no hometown accent.

利奧不喜歡他的同鄉說他是城里的老油子，他只不過是穿得光鮮些，說話沒有鄉音罷了。

③ Well， I’m certainly no smooth-talker. 好吧，我絕對不是花言巧語的人。

smooth-talker： sb. who uses sweet words to persuade others（巧言哄騙者）。例如：

People usually relate salesmen with smooth-talkers.

人們常常把推銷員看成是花言巧語的哄騙者。

④ I think we just got off on the wrong foot. 我想我們的談話沒有開一個好頭。

get off on the wrong foot： make a bad start by doing sth. the wrong way（開局不利）。例如：

The ceremony got off on the wrong foot as the hall was not even half full.

禮堂不滿一半人，儀式開局不利。

⑤ Can’t you take a hint？ 你沒察覺嗎？

take a hint： understand sth. suggested indirectly（領會暗示）。例如：

Carol failed to take a hint and kept on talking for another 20 minutes.

卡羅爾未能心領神會，又繼續說了二十分鐘。

⑥ I want nothing to do with you， you wolf in sheep’s clothing. 我不想和你有任何關系，你這只披著羊皮的狼。

wolf in sheep’s clothing： a dangerous person pretending to be harmless（披著羊皮的狼）。例如：

Don’t be fooled by his sweet words. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

別讓他的甜言蜜語蒙騙了，他可是一只披著羊皮的狼。

⑦ If you want to succeed in life， you need to buckle down and focus on what’s important. 如果你想成功，你就要傾全力專注于重要的事。

buckle down： start working on sth. seriously（認真干起來）。例如：

The IELTS is very important to me， so I’ll buckle down and work hard for the next two months.

雅思考試對我來說非常重要，我會認真起來，在以后的兩個月里努力學習。