Some people love buying presents as much as receiving them. Othersdon't enjoy going out in bad weather to wander around overheated, overcrowded shops. Here are some fiveconversations to talk about this seasonal activity.

　　有些人喜歡買禮物也喜歡收禮物，而有些人則不喜歡在惡劣的天氣里流連于燥熱而擁擠的商場。下面是五個與購物季有關的對話：

　　1 Round the Bend

　　發瘋了

　　Beth is in a cafe, waiting for Alex to finishhis Christmas shopping. Eventually he arrives。

　　貝絲在咖啡屋里等待去采購圣誕商品的阿力。終于，阿力來了。

　　Beth: Did you get everything?

　　Alex: Hardly. I haven't even got half my presents。

　　Beth: I told you it'd be busy。

　　Alex: Ok, clever clogs!

　　Beth: People go completely round the bend, don't they? You'd thinkthe shops were going to close for a whole month。

　　Alex: To be honest, I wish they would。

　　貝絲：要買的都買了嗎？

　　阿力：沒有啊，我連一半的禮物都沒買到。

　　貝絲：我就說現在購物會很擠嘛。

　　阿力：好吧，你總是對的。

　　貝絲：人們完全瘋了，難道不是嗎？你以為商店整個月都要關門吧。

　　阿力：說實話，我真希望如此。

　　2 Pretty Steep

　　太貴了

　　Alice and her boyfriend Scott are in a sportsshop。

　　愛麗絲和男友斯科特在一家體育用品商店里購物。

　　Alice: Got any ideas what you're gettingCraig for Christmas?

　　Scott: Christmas? That's three weeks away。

　　Alice: Exactly. You know how much you hate the last-minutepanic。

　　Scott: What did you have in mind?

　　Alice: This croquet set. It's right up Craig'sstreet, isn't it?

　　Scott: It looks great, but the price is a bit steep。

　　Alice: Yeah, but he's your brother, and he deserves it。

　　愛麗絲：想好給克雷格買什么圣誕禮物了嗎？

　　斯科特：圣誕？還有三個星期呢。

　　愛麗絲：是啊，可你清楚你是多么憎恨最后一分鐘的恐慌。

　　斯科特：你想到買什么了？

　　愛麗絲：買一套槌球游戲吧，這是克雷格喜歡的，沒錯吧。

　　斯科特：看起來不錯，但是價格太高了。

　　愛麗絲：嗯，可他是你兄弟，他該得到的。

　　3 A Big Bird

　　大火雞

　　Sidney and Esther are planning a Christmaslunch for 12 people。

　　西德尼和以斯帖正在規劃一頓12個人的圣誕大餐。

　　Esther: We'll need a big bird. I'd betterorder it this week。

　　Sidney: I just hope it fits in the oven this year. Do youremember...?

　　Esther: Don't remind me! Will you do the stuffing?

　　Sidney: Of course. That's my specialty。

　　Esther: And I need you to serve the drink, too。

　　Sidney: Ah, yes. We need some booze. What will people bedrinking?

　　Esther: Everything. And don't forget the port for UncleMaurice.[en]

　　以斯帖：我們需要只大火雞。這周我最好就訂一只。

　　西德尼：我只是希望今年它能塞進烤箱。你還記得......？

　　以斯帖：別說這個，你還負責往火雞里填料嗎？

　　西德尼：當然，這是我的特長。

　　以斯帖：我也需要你幫著端茶倒水。

　　西德尼：是啊，我們需要備些酒水。大家想喝些什么呢？

　　以斯帖：每樣都備點，別忘了墨里斯叔叔愛喝的葡萄牙葡萄酒。

　　4 Over the Moon

　　樂瘋了

　　Jenny is showing her sister Susan what she'sbought for Amelia。

　　珍妮向蘇珊顯擺她買給艾米莉亞的禮物。

　　Jenny: I've got her these earrings. I hopeshe'll like them。

　　Susan: Oh, she'll love them。

　　Jenny: They go in this little box。

　　Susan: She's been going on about getting jewellery for weeks.She'll be over the moon. They'll be her favourite present, I'msure。

　　Jenny: Well, it's nothing special。

　　Susan: No, they're lovely. There isn't a necklace that goes with them, too, is there?

　　珍妮：我給她買了一副耳環，希望她能喜歡。

　　蘇珊：她會喜歡的。

　　珍妮：它們裝進了這么一個小盒子里。

　　蘇珊：她念叨這個念叨了幾個星期了。她這下可要樂瘋了。我想這一定是她最喜歡的禮物。

　　珍妮：其實這也沒什么特別的。

　　蘇珊：它們確實很漂亮啊。就是缺條項鏈搭配，是不是？

　　5 Buying Nothing

　　無消費

　　Sarah is on the phone to her sisterDinah。

　　莎拉給她的姐姐黛娜打電話。

　　Sarah: "Buy Nothing Day"? What's that?

　　Dinah: It's supposed to make you think about what youconsume。

　　Sarah: That's silly. You still need to buy food, don't you?

　　Dinah: Yeah, but it's only one Saturday a year。

　　Sarah: Well, a friend of mine is buying her family a goat thisChristmas。

　　Dinah: Did you say a goat?

　　Sarah: Yes, you donate money to a charity, and they buy a goat or chickens for villagein Arica。

　　Dinah: Mmm! That's an idea! Can you send me a link?

　　莎拉：“國際無消費日”？那是什么？

　　黛娜：設這個日子就是想讓你思考該如何消費。

　　莎拉：真是愚蠢，難道你連食物也不需要買了？

　　黛娜：畢竟一年只有一個周六要這么做。

　　莎拉：恩，我的一個朋友正打算這個圣誕買頭山羊。

　　黛娜：山羊？

　　莎拉：是啊。就像你給慈善機構捐了錢一樣，他們通過慈善機構購買了阿里卡農村的山羊或者雞仔。

　　黛娜：哦，這個主意不錯。能給我發下這個活動的鏈接嗎？

　　本文選自五月的天蘭蘭的的博客