Part 2 We Can Work It Out

这天，Charlotte正学着自己理财，Peter对此颇感兴趣，迫不及待地让Charlotte教他几招……

（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. 我不想带着一大堆的债务离开大学。

have sth. hanging over ones head： have sth. bothering or worrying one（某事让人担忧）。例如：

I have next weeks finals hanging over my head.

我担心下周的期末考试。

③ Dont take the mickey！ 别取笑我！

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

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

因为我太矮小，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（用以表达自己明白对方的思路）。例如：

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

老爸可能不会同意在星期天去野餐，可老妈喜欢在大晴天到湖边坐坐。

——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，我们今晚就找老妈谈谈。

⑤ What are you on about？ 你想说什么？

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

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

我觉得妈不喜欢吉姆，但爸喜欢。

——What are you on about？

你想说什么？

⑥ Otherwise theyll tell you to get on your bike. 否则他们会将你扫地出门。

get on sb.s bike： used to tell sb. to leave， go away； a British expression（用以告诉某人离开，英式用法）。例如：

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

如果你再那么干的话，我就会让你离开。

⑦ Fair point！ 有道理！

Fair point： used to express acknowledgement to an argument（用以表达对一个观点的认同）。例如：

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

我觉得如果老师没有讲过最后的两个章节，那考试就不应该就这些内容考查学生。

——Thats a fair point.

有道理。