Carrie: While at home, all the English I seemed to encounter was "bills, bills, bills." I envied Amalita. Her life was a blur of rich men, designer clothes and glamorous resorts. She didn't actually work for a living, yet possessed a dazzling sexual power that she exploited to her full advantage. Which presented a certain conundrum: Where's the line between professional girlfriend and just plain professional?
Samantha: Women have the right to use every meansat their disposalto achieve power.
Miranda: Short of sleeping their way to the top.
Samantha: Not if that's what it takes to compete.
Charlotte: But that's exploitation!
Samantha: Of men-- which is perfectly legal.
Carrie: Saturday night. In an effort to save money and maybe even pick up a few extra bucks, I invited the girls over for poker.
Charlotte:I'll buy two.
Carrie:I'm in for three.So you advocate a double standard. Women can use their sexuality to get ahead whenever possible, but men should not be allowed to take advantage of it?
Samantha: No. I'm just saying that men and women are equal-opportunity exploiters.
Miranda: Ifold.
Charlotte: What if you sense that someone is giving you a professional advantage because they find you charming?
Miranda: Charming?
Samantha: This I gotta hear.
Charlotte: Well, a few days ago, Neville Morgan, the notoriously reclusive painter paid a visit to the gallery.
Carrie: Neville was making his yearly pilgrimage to Manhattan to check out what was new and hot on the art scene. And he found it--Charlotte. It was only a matter of moments before he invited her to his farm upstate to view his latest work.
Charlotte: So, if I could get him to show at the gallery, it would be an incredible coup. But what if he wants me to, you know.
Carrie: Hold his brush?
Miranda: If he so much as suggests what she's suggesting you give me a call and we'llsue the hell out ofhim. That's the only proper way to trade sex for power.
Samantha: I can't believe what I'm hearing. You're like the Harvard Law Lorena Bobbitt.
Miranda: It's Skipper. I told him I was here. He insisted on picking me up, but he's not supposed to be here till 11:00.
Carrie: He's like a sweet little seal pup.
Miranda: That you sometimes want to club. You're an hour early.
Skipper: Oh, I can wait in the hall.
Carrie: No, Skipper, come in.
Miranda: It's all right. I'm leaving anyway. You guys havecleaned me out. Good night, ladies. Charlotte,keep me posted.
Carrie: A couple of hours later, I was looking forward tocalling it an early night, when-- Hello?
Amalita: Carrie, you bitch! What are you doing?
Carrie: Actually I'm getting ready to go to sleep.
Amalita: Why don't you come and join us? We are at Balzac, and there is someone here Iam dying foryou to meet.
Carrie: I'd love to, but I'm really trying tocut back. You know, pinch a few pennies.
Amalita: You are crazy, you know that? Why don't you just come down here and be your fabulous self?
Carrie: The truth was I could barely afford that either. But I rationalized that my new shoes shouldn't be punished just because I can't budget.
妙语佳句,活学活用
1. At someone's disposal
意为"由某人做主,听某人之便,受其管理,由其支配",例如:They put their car at our disposal for our entire stay.
2. Fold
这里的fold 特指玩游戏时的一种行为--收回:在失利时收回(手),如把牌面朝下放在桌上。
上文中Charlotte 提到"I'll buy two.",Carrie 提到" I'm in for three. "均指玩牌时赌的钱数。
3. Sue the hell out of
"Hell" here is simply a swear word used for emphasis. "Sue"指得是"诉讼",意思是"(打官司)让某人输得一败涂地"。
4. Clean out
意思是"to drive out by force",例如:The new CEO tried to get away with cleaning out all employees over the age of 60.
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