自助游如何？

Tom： Hey Gracie. You havent booked that package tour yet， have you？

Grace： Not yet. Im still ironing out which days I can take off from work.

Tom： Alright. ①So…I dont mean to beat a dead horse. But—

Grace： Lemme guess. You wanna do a self-guided tour， right？

Tom： Well look at you， a regular know-it-all！

Grace： And I suppose youve gathered up evidence for your argument， to present before the honorable Judge Grace？

Tom： Thank you， your honor. If it pleases the court， Id like to file exhibit A.

Grace： And what is this Im looking at， counselor？

Tom： Your honor， these are the honest， if not sworn， testimonials of thousands of tourists who claim to have enjoyed their French adventures without the accompaniment of a group or tour guide bogging them down the whole time.

Grace： I see. And do they all claim to have been bogged down by tours on prior occasions？

Tom： Yes， your honor. And many also claim to have been annoyed to the point of insanity.

Grace： Alright. Well， if theres nothing more…

Tom： Actually， thats just the tip of the iceberg. We also have this…

Grace： And this is what？ A bunch of places no ones ever heard of？

Tom： With good reason. This is a list of sites， well off the beaten path， that can only be found by avoiding all the tourists and finding our own path; the kind of places for people like us， who color outside the lines and follow the beat of a different drum.

Grace： Counselor， you are aware that you dont get extra points for overused clichés？

Tom： Understood. But before you make your final ruling， take a look at this…

Grace： Wait！ Did you—

Tom： I know your honor cares about relaxing during a vacation， and doesnt wanna worry about making hotel arrangements and travel plans and budgets and everything.

Grace： This is all true. Go on...

Tom： ②So， I took the liberty of planning out every last detail. And because I know you better than some creepy， mustachioed travel agent， I was able to incorporate all of your favorite activities. ③Including， the coup de grace， a revitalizing spa retreat with couples massages and hikes through the hills and valleys of Southern France. ④So， how do you like them apples？

Grace： I just cant believe you went to all this trouble. But if we follow your plan， the timing has to be perfect. If we miss one connecting train or bus， the whole schedule will fall apart.Tom： Yeah， well have our work cut out for us. But， what do you say？

Grace： Eh…Im not sold. But the case isnt closed yet.

汤姆：嘿，格雷西。你还没报那团吧？

格蕾丝：还没。我还在琢磨我哪几天能休假。

汤姆：好。那么……我不是想白费唇舌。不过……

格蕾丝：我来猜猜。你想自助游是吧？

汤姆：哇看你，总是洞悉一切！

格蕾丝：我猜你已经准备好一切反驳的呈堂证供来呈现给尊敬的格蕾丝法官了吧？

汤姆：谢谢，法官阁下。如果庭上允许的话，我想呈递物证A。

格蕾丝：律师，你给我看的是什么？

湯姆：法官阁下，这些是成千上万的旅游者提供的真实可靠的（即便没发过誓）证据，他们声称在全程没有受到旅游团或者导游搅和的情况下，他们的法国之旅都很开心。

格蕾丝：我知道了。他们所有人都声称在之前的旅行中被搅和了吗？

汤姆：是的，法官阁下。而且很多人声称被烦得几乎神经错乱。

格蕾丝：好的，如果没有更多的……

汤姆：实际上，那些声明都只是冰山一角。我们还有这个……

格蕾丝：这是什么？一堆没人听说过的地方？

汤姆：没听说过很正常。这张清单上的景点，都是不为人所知的线路，是只有当我们避开所有游客、按自己的路线走才能找到的地方;也是适合我们这些喜欢打破常规、不走寻常路的人的线路。

格蕾丝：律师，你该知道反复地老调重弹对你没什么好处的吧？

汤姆：明白。但在你做出最终裁决之前，请看看这个……

格蕾丝：等等，你是不是……

汤姆：我知道法官阁下你想要一个轻松的假期，不想为酒店安排、旅游计划、经费以及其他一切而操心。

格蕾丝：没错。继续说……

汤姆：那么我就自己做主计划好了每一个细节。而且因为我比那些让人害怕的、留着络腮胡子的导游更了解你，所以我可以在行程设计中安排所有你喜欢的活动。包括两个让人叫绝的活动：一个是在水疗度假村来个夫妻按摩，可以让你迅速恢复精力;另一个是在法国南部的山林和峡谷里徒步。你没意见了吧？

格蕾丝：真不敢相信你竟然花了这么多功夫。不过假如我们按你的计划，时间必须安排得很紧凑。如果我们错过了一班火车或汽车，整个计划就泡汤了。

汤姆：是的，我们是得好好计划。但是，你是否愿意自助游呢？

格蕾丝：嗯……我可没被说服。不过这案子还没结。

Smart Sentences

① So…I dont mean to beat a dead horse.

那么……我不是想白费唇舌。

beat a dead horse： insist on talking about sth. that has already been thoroughly discussed（白费口舌，白费劲）。例如：

—Judy， I was thinking of asking Mom again about going to Jasons birthday.

茱迪，我想再去问问妈妈去贾森生日派对的事。

—Well， I think thats just beating a dead horse.

这个嘛，我觉得那是白费劲。

② So， I took the liberty of planning out every last detail.

那么我就自己做主计划好了每一个细节。

take the liberty of： do sth. without permission（冒昧，擅自）。例如：

—Hey， dear， I took the liberty of organizing your desk while you were on vacation. It looks nice， doesnt it？

嘿，亲爱的，你度假的时候我自己做主收拾了你的桌子。看起来真舒服，对吧？

—What？！ No wonder I cant find a thing！

什么？！怪不得我找不到东西呢！

③ Including， the coup de grace， a revitalizing spa retreat with couples massages and hikes through the hills and valleys of Southern France. 包括两个让人叫绝的活动：一个是在水疗度假村来个夫妻按摩，可以让你迅速恢复精力;另一个是在法国南部的山林和峡谷里徒步。

the coup de grace： the finishing and decisive stroke（最后决定性的一击）。例如：

The landing accident last month was the coup de grace for the failing airlines.

上个月的降落事故给正在走下坡路的航空公司致命的打击。

④ So， how do you like them apples？

你没意见了吧？

How do you like them apples？： sth. you say mockingly when you want to show sb. how successful you are， especially when you have done sth. better than they have（在你成功完成某事，特别是做得比对方好的时候，嘲笑对方的话）。例如：

Hey， David， I thought you said you were the king of spelling. But I beat you again， three times in a row. How do you like them apples？

喂，大卫，我记得你说过自己是拼写大王啊，我连续三回都赢你了。现在没话说了吧？