Sue跟坐在隔壁的同事George聊天。
S: That’s true…we might actually be making more work for ourselves by this constant need to stay in touch.
G: If they allow cell phones on airplanes…we’re going to have to hear even more hours of endless chatter.I heard that some trains have what are called “quiet cars” now. People in the quiet cars aren’t allowed to talk on cell phones. I think that’s an excellent idea! I wish there were more “quiet” places. I’d pay more to eat at a restaurant that banned cell phones.
Sue表示，无时无刻 stay in touch 保持联系，无疑会让自己的工作量增加。George也担心，如果容许大家在飞机上打电话的话，就又得听别人没完没了的聊大天儿了。George说，现在火车上有不让接听电话的”quiet cars”安静车厢，他希望有更多类似的公共场合，如果哪家餐馆禁止顾客接听手机的话，提高价格他都没有意见。
S: We really don’t get a lot of quiet time these days. My brother recently went to a meditation center where he didn’t speak for three days. He said after three days, he finally noticed how much noise there is everywhere.
G: I think being connected to the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year isn’t healthy. We sometimes need to be alone in order to think.
S: And you can’t think if it’s noisy.
G: Many famous people discovered important things when they were just sitting silently by themselves…you know the story about Isaac Newton, right?
Sue说，现在的生活实在嘈杂，她哥哥最近到一个meditation center 静思冥想中心去，三天没说一句话，三天过后才突然间意识到周围的环境是多么地嘈杂。George也觉得，一年365天，一天24小时随时随地 stay connected 跟别人保持联络其实是不利健康的，他还举例说，很多名人的重要发现都是在冥思苦想时发生，比如 Isaac Newton 牛顿。
S: Yep. He came up with the theory of gravity while sitting in a field and watching an apple fall from a tree.
G: He probably wouldn’t have had time to think about gravity if he was talking on his cell phone. Anyway, I really hope they don’t allow cell phones on planes. We need a few last places without cell phones!
S: All right, I can accept that. And besides, many airlines now allow you to use your laptop during the flight…if you really need to communicate, you can send an e-mail.
Sue说，没错，如果牛顿当时正忙着讲手机的话，就不会 came up with the theory of gravity 了。 to come up with 意思是想到，发现，the theory of gravity 意思是万有引力的理论。Sue 最后说，其实，现在很多航空公司都已经允许乘客使用 laptop手提电脑了，所以如果在飞行期间需要跟别人联系，发电子邮件就可以了。