178 Souvenir Shopping 2

公司副总裁Jason到上海出差,由Gina接待。Jason让Gina帮忙选礼物。

Jason: Hey! You know what might be good gifts for my business associates? Chinese antiques!

G: Well, we certainly have lots of antique art, statues and carvings, but in most cases it's not legal to take genuine antiques out of China.

J: Oh, I see. That makes sense. You have to preserve your heritage.

G: But there are many reproductions of antiques for sale.

J: you mean fakes?

G: A fake is when the dealer lies and says the piece is ancient. A reproduction is legal and they can be quite beautiful. You could take home some classical Chinese statutes as decorations for their offices.

Jason想给同事买中国古董antiques做礼物,但是Gina告诉他,古董不能带出中国,建议Jason考虑买reproduction,复制品。 Jason以为Gina是指fake假货,Gina解释说,fake,假货是商人故意欺骗顾客,以假乱真,而复制品则是合法生产和出售的。

J: Yeah! That would look cool. Maybe some scrolls or traditional paintings.

G: Good idea. Scrolls with Chinese cursive calligraphy look great on an office wall. And...they might even bring you luck!

J: You can't beat that! But what about the kids?

G: Humm...that's a bit trickier. There are of course, lots of counterfeit goods available like software or music, but buying them isn't recommended.

J: No, I don't buy counterfeits. Besides...my sons have loads of computer games and CDs.

Gina建议Jason买中国国画或是书法作品,挂在办公室墙上很气派,但是给孩子买什么礼物呢,Gina说, that's a bit trickier. 这可有些麻烦。Jason说,他不愿意给儿子买盗版软件或音乐,counterfeit is spelled c-o-u-n-t-e-r-f-e-i-t, counterfeit, counterfeit, 是盗版的意思。

G: Hey! I know. You could have old-style Chinese suits custom-made for them! They can go around looking like little Chinese emperors! I know a great tailor!

J; Ha! Perfect! They'd like that for sure. Wow Gina.. You're full of great ideas. I should tell your boss to give you a raise.

G: But you are my boss!

J: (Chuckle) Right! Then I'll make a note to myself! Really though... I can't thank you enough for all your help.

G: Not at all. Just demonstrating some traditional Chinese hospitality.

Gina突然来了灵感,说可以找裁缝给孩子量身定做中国的传统衣服,custom-made,是定做的意思,把他们打扮成中国小皇帝的样子。Jason对 Gina的建议非常满意,说要告诉Gina的老板,给她涨工资,give someone a raise,是给某人涨工资的意思。Gina笑着提醒Jason说,你就是我的老板啊,我不过是表现一下中国人的传统好客罢了。