青春校园玛丽莎：西雅图之行（音频）

Immediately after hanging up the phone with her aunt, Melissa begins planning a trip to Seattle with her mother. The following weekend, Melissa and her mother leave for a short visit to the place known as the “Emerald City.”

Melissa: Are you almost ready to go, mom? I’ll go and pull the car out of the garage.

Mrs. Jones: OK—just a minute. Could you see if there’s a map of Seattle in the glove box ?

Melissa (shouting from the garage): I don’t see one. Wait! I found it! It’s in the compartment in the driver’s door.

Mrs. Jones: Great! We’ll probably need it to find your aunt and uncle’s place. It’s a bit tricky finding their place—especially at night.

Melissa: Why don’t we just go online to get the driving directions to their place? The Internet is pretty handy, you know!

Mrs. Jones: So I’ve heard. In this situation, the Internet probably won’t be able to help us as we don’t know which direction we’ll be coming from.

Melissa: OK! I am pretty good at reading maps. We probably won’t get lost!

Mrs. Jones: Great! Let’s go, Missy! Let’s leave a note for your father reminding him to take out the dog when he gets home.

Melissa: Bye, Judd. Be a good boy!

Melissa and Mrs. Jones get into the car and begin their trip. Their first stop is the gas station.

Melissa: Just a second and I’ll fill the car up with gas. Do you want me to pay for it with cash or use the credit card?

Mrs. Jones (reaching into her purse): Let’s use the credit card. Here you go. Thanks, honey!

Melissa (jumping into the car): Can we grab a latte on the way out of town? I am feeling a bit drowsy and need a boost .

Mrs. Jones: That sounds like a great idea! I could use a tall mocha myself! Let’s go to the coffeehouse on Union Street—their mochas are the best!

Melissa: And don’t forget their famous cinnamon rolls!

Mrs. Jones: How about splitting one? I am watching my weight, you know!

Melissa: Sounds good to me!

Two hours later, Melissa and Mrs. Jones arrive in Seattle. As it is almost noon, they decide to go to lunch at their favorite French café in a local market known as Pike’s Place Market.

Mrs. Jones: Wow! That sure was lucky getting a parking space so close to the market. Sometimes it is really difficult finding a good parking place on the weekends!

Melissa: You’re not kidding! Remember that time we had to park four blocks away and hike to the market in the rain! That was crazy!

Mrs. Jones: Don’t worry. I always carry an umbrella in the trunk of the car these days! What are you going to get for lunch?

Melissa: I am going to get the lamb burger and fries. It is always fabulous! How about you?

Mrs. Jones: I think I’ll get the same thing that I always order—the quiche . We’re kind of boring, aren’t we?

Melissa (laughing): Why change a good thing? Can we go shopping after lunch? I’d like to pick up some of those dog cookies for Judd at the Doggy Bakery down the street.

Mrs. Jones: Sure! You can pick up some treats for Judd and I’ll get some chocolate chip cookies for your father while we’re at the market. That way, they’ll both be glad to see us when we get home!

Melissa: Do you think there will still be time to catch the new Spanish exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum? Isn’t it a couple of blocks up the street?

Mrs. Jones: I don’t see why not. The museum is within walking distance and I was hoping we could stop by and see what’s new. What’s the name of the exhibit, again?

Melissa: Spain and the Age of Exploration. I read a little about it in the newspaper. I think the exhibit focuses on several hundred years of Spanish expansion throughout the world and the discoveries that were made during this period.

Mrs. Jones: That sounds really fascinating! Why don’t we finish up our lunch and stop by the museum for a couple of hours?

Melissa: Great! Let’s go!

Melissa and Mrs. Jones spend the rest of the afternoon looking at the museum exhibit. Later that day, they check in to a hotel.

玛丽莎一挂她姨妈的电话，就立即着手计划她和母亲的西雅图之行。下个周末，玛丽莎和母亲出发，去短暂拜访这座名为“翡翠城”的地方。

玛丽莎：妈妈，差不多准备好走了吗？我去车库把车子开出来。

琼斯夫人：好的——马上就好。你看看手套箱里有没有一张西雅图的地图？

玛丽莎（在车库里大声喊道）：没看见啊。等等！我找到了！就在驾驶位侧门的隔层里。

琼斯夫人：太好了！我们可能要靠它去你姨妈姨父那儿。要找到他们那儿还真有点难——尤其是在晚上。

玛丽莎：我们为什么不上网查查去他们那儿的开车路线呢？要知道，现在网络可方便了！

琼斯夫人：这个我也听说过，但这回互联网恐怕帮不上我们了，因为我们连自己从哪边过去都不知道呢。

玛丽莎：好吧！我很会看地图的。我们大概不太会走丢！

琼斯夫人：太好了！玛莎，我们走吧！给你父亲留个言，提醒他回家后记得带狗出去溜溜。

玛丽莎：再见，贾德。要听话哦！

玛丽莎和琼斯夫人坐上车，开始了她们的旅程。她们的第一站是加油站。

玛丽莎：稍等一下，我去给车子加满油。你说我是用现金还是信用卡付钱呢？

琼斯夫人（手伸进钱包）：我们用信用卡吧，给你。宝贝儿，谢谢！

玛丽莎（跳进车里）：我们能不能在出城的路上弄点拿铁咖啡喝？我有点儿困，需要刺激一下。

琼斯夫人：听上去不错啊！那我自己可以来一个中杯摩卡！我们去联盟街上的那间咖啡馆吧——他们的摩卡最好喝了！

玛丽莎：还有，别忘了他们的肉桂面包卷也很有名哦！

琼斯夫人：咱俩合吃一个怎么样？你知道，我得注意着点儿自己的体重！

玛丽莎：我觉得听起来不错哦！

两小时后，玛丽莎和琼斯夫人到达西雅图。这时将近中午，她们决定去吃午饭，她们要去当地一个叫作“派克市场”的地方，那儿有一家她们最喜欢的法国餐厅。

琼斯夫人：哇！真是走运，在离市场这么近的地方找到了一个停车位。有时候周末真的很难找到一个好车位。

玛丽莎：没错儿！还记得有一回我们不得不把车停在离这儿四个街区远的地方，然后冒雨走到了市场！太荒唐了！

琼斯夫人：别担心，我现在总会在车的后备箱里备把伞！你午饭打算吃什么？

玛丽莎：我要吃羊肉汉堡和炸薯条。味道总是好极了！你吃什么？

琼斯夫人：我想，还是点老样子吧——蛋奶火腿馅饼。我们真没新意，对吧？

玛丽莎（大笑）：为什么要换掉好东西呢？吃完午饭我们去购物好吗？我想去街那头的狗狗面包店给贾德买点儿狗饼干。

琼斯夫人：当然可以！你可以给贾德买些点心，我就在市场里给你父亲买点儿巧克力薄饼干。这样他们看到我们回家就能皆大欢喜了！

玛丽莎：那我们还有时间赶到西雅图艺术博物馆去看新的西班牙主题展吗？是不是沿着这条街向北过几个街区就能到？

琼斯夫人：应该没什么问题。博物馆走着就能到，之前我就希望咱们能顺道去那儿，看看有什么新东西。再有，展览的名字是什么来着？

玛丽莎：“西班牙和探索时代”。我在报纸上读到了一些相关介绍。我觉得这次展览主要展现的是西班牙几百年来在全世界的扩张以及在这段时期的一些发现。

琼斯夫人：听着很吸引人啊！咱们吃完午饭，不如顺便去博物馆呆上几个小时？

玛丽莎：太好了！我们走吧！

那天下午接下来的时间，玛丽莎和琼斯夫人都在博物馆里看展览。那天晚些时候，她们住进了一家酒店。

Vocabulary:

1. Emerald City: 翡翠城，西雅图的别称，有关其渊源，请参考下文“Did You Know”一栏。

2. glove box: 手套箱，也作glove compartment，即汽车仪表板上存放手套零星小物件的贮物箱。

3. tricky: 难对付的，棘手的。

4. latte: 拿铁咖啡，是意式浓缩咖啡和牛奶的混合，一般不加入奶泡。

5. boost: 激励，促进，鼓舞。

6. mocha: 摩卡咖啡，和拿铁咖啡很相似，不过它还会加入少量巧克力，有时还会在咖啡表面加点奶油、可可粉和绵花糖等来加重咖啡的香味和作装饰用。咖啡的大、中、小杯的英文分别为Grande, Tall和Short。

7. trunk: 〈美〉（一般设在汽车后部用以装东西的）行李箱，后备箱。

8. quiche: 什锦烘饼，蛋奶火腿馅饼。

9. chocolate chip cookie: 巧克力薄饼干，又叫巧克力奇普饼干，是把巧克力的小粒或小薄片加在曲奇饼中烘培做出的甜饼干。

（来源：英语学习杂志 编辑：丹妮）