美国总公司代表Pete来北京视察,Jack和Henry陪他出去吃饭。Jack 说,

J: You two gentlemen wait here for a second and I’ll go make reservations and pick up the car.

H: Alright. So Pete…first time in China?

P: Second. The first time we spent the whole visit at the factory in Guangzhou. Beijing is good…I like it.

H: Yeah, I’m not so fond of Guangzhou. Too crowded and hot. Beijing is more like New York, I guess.

P: Except New York has a population of eight million while Beijing has like 20 million.

Jack去订位拿车的功夫,Henry跟Pete开始闲聊。两个人都不太喜欢广州,觉得北京跟自己的家乡纽约很象,除了北京人口要远远多出纽约以外。

H: Yeah…but you know…for having that many people, the city seems to flow quite well.

P: How bad is the crime rate?

H: It’s reasonably low. Beijing has crime, of course, but compared to most other places…it’s very safe. You could take a stroll at two o’clock in the morning without worrying.

P: Really! That’s pretty amazing. You think it’s safer here than back home?

Henry说,考虑到北京的人口,整个城市管理得还是不错的。Crime rate is reasonably low. 犯罪率相对低,夜里两点在大街上逛都不用担心。Pete觉得不可思议,问北京是不是比back home美国还安全。

H: Actually, yes. Last time I was in Baltimore…I saw a mugging happen less than 10 feet away from me. One night I could hear gunshots from my hotel room!

P: New York has gotten a lot better over the last 10 years or so. These days I feel pretty safe if I know the neighborhood. But you’re right—many places in the States are crazy.

Henry说,他觉得北京确实比美国安全,上次回美国在巴尔的摩他亲眼目睹拦路抢劫,mugging is spelled m-u-g-g-i-n-g, mugging 是拦路抢劫的意思,晚上在旅馆还听到过枪声。

P: But overall, the cities are safe for tourists and business people?

H: Right. Only once in a blue moon do we hear stories of foreigners becoming victims of crime. It’s likely the worst thing that could happen to you is you lose your wallet to a pickpocket. Oh, Jack is back, Hungry?

P: Starving! Let’s go eat!

总体上看,外国游客和商人在中国大城市里的安全还是有保障的。Henry说,只有在很偶尔的情况下,才会听说外国人成为犯罪的 受害者。他这里说的,once in a blue moon是一种习惯用法,意思是很少见的。Henry还说,做为外国人,你遇到的最倒霉的事,可能就是钱包给小偷偷走。小偷扒手英语是 pickpocket. p-i-c-k pick后面加上 pocket, pickpocket是小偷的意思。正说着, Jack 回来了,三个人一起去吃饭。