常春藤生活英語：House Hunting 購屋大作戰(zhàn)
Dialogue A
Zoe and Burt are looking for a new house.
Zoe:Look! I found some great houses in the newspaper we can visit.
Burt:OK. I'll look at them later.
Zoe:You agreed that we would move to a bigger house, but it seems like I'm the only one who has kept the ball rolling.
Burt:I know. I guess I'm just nervous about it right now.
Zoe:Well, I still want to move, but we need to decide on this together. The ball is in your court now. Let me know when you make up your mind.
柔依和伯特正在找新房子。
柔 依：你看!我在報(bào)紙里找到一些好房子，我們可以去看看。
伯 特：好。我等會兒再看。
柔 依：你答應(yīng)說我們要搬到大一點(diǎn)的屋子，不過好像只有我在找而已。
伯 特：我知道。我想現(xiàn)在我只是對這件事情有點(diǎn)緊張罷了。
柔 依：嗯，可是我還是想搬家，不過事情要我們兩人一同決定。現(xiàn)在就看你要怎么做了。你決定好再告訴我吧。
Dialogue B
The next day, Burt apologizes to Zoe.
Burt:I'm sorry I wasn't being helpful. I know I originally said we would look for a new house together.
Zoe:Yes, you did. Frankly, I was really excited about decorating a new house. I think we would have a ball.
Burt:You're right. It would be great. I promise that from now on, I'll be on the ball.
Zoe:I'm so happy to hear that! Now go get the newspaper. I bet there are some new houses in it today.
隔天，伯特向柔依道歉。
伯 特：很抱歉我都沒幫上忙。我知道原先我說過我們會兩個(gè)人一起找新房子。
柔 依：是啊，你是這么說過。坦白講，我對裝潢新房子這件事真是超興奮的。我想我們會做得很開心。
伯 特：妳說得沒錯(cuò)。一定會很好玩。我保證從現(xiàn)在起，我會更投入。
柔 依：我真高興聽到你這么說!現(xiàn)在快去拿報(bào)紙吧。我敢說今天報(bào)上一定有一些新房子。
Building Your Vocabulary
1.apologize vi. 道歉，謝罪
You must apologize for the trouble you caused.
你必須為你惹出來的麻煩致歉。
2.frankly adv. 坦承地，坦率地
Frankly, I don't agree with your opinion.
老實(shí)說，我不同意你的意見。
Phrases for Learning
1.keep the ball rolling 使事情繼續(xù)進(jìn)行
While the boss was on vacation, his son kept the ball rolling with the project.
老板去度假的時(shí)候，這個(gè)企劃的執(zhí)行就由他兒子負(fù)責(zé)。
2.the ball be in + 所有格 + court 現(xiàn)在輪到某人(做出反應(yīng)或采取行動)
I left Fiona a note. Now the ball is in her court.
我留了一張便條給菲歐娜?，F(xiàn)在就看她怎么做了。
3.have a ball 玩得很開心
Josie and May had a ball in Las Vegas.
喬西和阿梅在拉斯韋加斯玩得很開心。
4.be on the ball 投入的，有反應(yīng)的
Randy wasn't on the ball because he didn't sleep well last night.
蘭迪有點(diǎn)沒進(jìn)入狀況，因?yàn)樗蛲硭貌惶谩?/p>
Tips In Use
I bet there are some new houses in it today.
(我敢說今天報(bào)上一定有一些新房子。)
本句雖然用了 bet 這個(gè)字，卻沒有要跟任何人打賭的意思。"I bet..."在口語中表『我敢肯定……』。以下為各位讀者介紹其它跟 bet 有關(guān)的常見口語用法：
1.You bet! 的確∕當(dāng)然∕一點(diǎn)不錯(cuò)!
A: Would you like some ice cream?
B: You bet!
(甲：你要吃點(diǎn)冰淇淋嗎? 乙：當(dāng)然啰!)
2.You can bet your bottom dollar + that 子句 有把握∕確信……
You can bet your bottom dollar that it'll rain this afternoon.
(今天下午鐵定會下雨。)
