Larry正在跟李华谈他最近回家看到哥哥和妹妹的情况。 李华今天会学会两个常用语people person和know-it-all。
LL: So, Li Hua, I just got back from seeing my family. It was a nice visit, and I was so impressed with my little sister Emily. She is such a people person.
LH: 你说你妹妹Emily是什么？A people person? Hey, Larry, 妹妹Emily当然是人嘛。
LL: Oh, a people person is someone who is good around people and likes people. Emily definitely is a people person, and she has what we call “people skills.”
LH: 噢，原来people person就是喜欢而且善于跟人交往的人。
LL: Right, people skills include being friendly, being a good conversationalist, and making other people comfortable. So, seeing Emily again reminded me what a people person she is.
LH: 我真是很羡慕那些善于跟人交往的人。他们总是显得很友好、也很健谈，让人喜欢。 你哥哥Ron呢? 他也是a people person?
LL: No, Ron is very, very smart, but he is a not a people person. He likes to keep to himself, and when he is in a group, he doesn’t talk very much.
LH: 我知道你哥哥Ron很聪明。他是不太爱讲话。原来他性格比较内向。你和你哥哥的性格是不是有点相似？
LL: Well, I think I am somewhere in the middle. I am not as much of a people person Emily is, but I think I have more people skills than my older brother Ron.
LH: 我看你也是处于中间，在人际关系方面赶不上Emily，但比哥哥要强一些。Larry, 那你觉得我是什么水平呢？
LL: You are a people person, Li Hua. I think you need to be a real people person to be a Chinese teacher.
LH: 那倒不见得教中文的老师必须善于和人交往，其实任何老师都应该如此。 我们每天都要跟学生打交道嘛。
LL: Being a people person can also be very useful when interviewing for a job.
LH: 没错，找工作面试的时候， 公司总是喜欢能与人相处的雇员。
LL: Yes, and my sister Emily told me she has an interview for an internship at a law firm. With her people skills, I am sure she will get it.
LH: 没错，像Emily那样讨人喜欢的人，那律师事务所肯定会要她去实习的。
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LL: My older brother Ron drives me crazy sometimes, because he is such a know-it-all.
LH: A know-it-all? 他什么都知道。这不是好事吗？
LL: A know-it-all is someone who acts like they know every thing and want to show everyone that they know everything. But, they don’t necessarily really know what they are talking about.
LH: 噢，这儿说的a know-it-all不是真正的有知识，而是指那种喜欢喧耀自己什么都知道， 可是其实并不见得都懂的人。
LL: Let’s take my older brother Ron as an example. Because Ron is such a know-it-all, you can’t say a word without him correcting you or arguing with you.
LH: 我碰到过这样的人。不管你说什么他都要更正你。 Larry, 如果你说得对呢？比如你说地球是圆的？
LL: Well, in this case my know-it-all older brother would say to me, “You know, Larry, technically the earth is not round.”
LH: 什么?! 他会说， 地球实际上并不是圆的？人人都知道地球是圆的。看来你哥哥并不是无所不知啊。
LL: I’ll give you another example. During this visit with my family, I said I thought Star Wars was the greatest science fiction movie of all time.
LH: 许多人都认为[星球大战]是科幻影片中最棒的。
LL: No, Ron, said, “Actually, Larry, ‘The Matrix’ did much better at the box office.”
LH: 他怎么这么爱抬杠啊？ The Matrix这部电影的票房收入比《星球大战》还要高？我没有调查，可是我才不信呢。
LL: That’s why Ron drives me crazy sometimes. I just want to have one conversation with him where he doesn’t have to act like such a know-it-all.
LH: 其实，我觉得Ron未必喜欢和你争论，他可能是自卑，所以才装出什么都懂的样子。
LL: Oh, No, Li Hua, don’t you start sounding like a know-it-all, too!
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是people person，这是 指喜欢并善于跟人打交道的人。还有一个是know-it-all，这是指那种自以为什么都懂的人。