Dialogue 1

Jingjing: How have you been, Mark. Have you settled into your new apartment yet?
京晶：最近怎么样，马克。你已经在新公寓安顿下来了吗？
Mark: Yeah. It's worth paying a little extra rent for something modern.
马克：是的。给这种更现代化的地方多花一点房租是值得的
Jingjing: Have you thought about buying a house?
京晶：你有没有想过买套房呢？
Mark: I've thought about it. But, with the prices so high, I'd rather just keep my money in the bank and invest in stocks.
马克：我考虑过这个问题。但是，现在房价这么高，我宁愿把钱放在银行里投资股票。
Jingjing: You should have bought a house a few years ago, when they were more within reach.
京晶：几年前你就应该买套房了，那会儿更能买得起。
Mark: Yeah, don't I know it. I was too busy enjoying life then, not thinking about the future.
马克：是啊，难道我还不知道吗。我那会儿太忙着享受生活了，也没多考虑未来。
Jingjing: Do you think the prices will keep going up?
京晶：你觉得房价还会继续涨吗？
Mark: I'm no expert, but I think the growth in sales prices will taper off, as we've been seeing.
马克：我也不是专家。但是我觉得房价的增长会逐渐放慢，就像我们一直以来看见的这样。
Jingjing: Do you think there's a housing bubble?
京晶：你觉得有房地产泡沫吗？
Mark: There might be, with vacation properties and satellite cities.
马克：可能会有吧。比如一些度假地的房产和卫星城市。
Jingjing: Yeah, here in major cities like Beijing, people are counting on their houses.
京晶：是啊，在这些主要的大城市比如北京，人们指着他们的房子呢。
Mark: I hear the prices are going up in the smaller cities now.
马克：我听说在一些小城市，房价也正在上涨。
Jingjing: They're still a lot cheaper; but the prices are climbing more quickly.
京晶：那些还是便宜很多，但是价格爬升的速度要快很多。
Mark: Let's hope they don't climb through the roof!
马克：让我们希望不要高的离谱吧！

New words: 习语短语：

settled into 安顿好
(gotten used to, gotten comfortable in, gotten well-situated in)
within reach 可触及的，价格可负担的，买得起的
(affordable for most people)
Don't I know it. 我难道还不知道吗
(I know already, and don't need to be told, because my situation makes it clear to me.)
taper off 逐渐减少，降低
(gradually reduce the rate of growth)
housing bubble 房地产泡沫
(housing prices within a certain market being so high that they are unsustainable and might suddenly lose their value) (This borrows from the metaphor of inflation.)
satellite cities 卫星城市，意指大城市边缘的小型城市
through the roof 上涨得离谱
(increase beyond reason, i.e. Prices in this market have gone through the roof.)

Dialogue 2

Jingjing and Mark talk later in the same day.
京晶和马克晚些时候又聊了起来
Jingjing: Mark, since you're renting your house, I wonder what you think is going to happen with rental prices.
京晶：马克，既然你是租的房，我在想，你会觉得租房价格会有什么变化吗？
Mark: I don't think about it very much.
马克：我没怎么想太多。
Jingjing: How do Beijing rentals compare with those in the US?
京晶：北京的房租跟美国比怎么样？
Mark: It's easier to find an inexpensive apartment in Beijing. I remember being up against the wall in the US before coming to China; but maybe that was because I was just starting work after graduation.
马克：在北京找到一处不贵的公寓并不难。还记得来中国之前，我在美国真是有些处境艰难，也许是因为那时我刚毕业后开始工作。
Jingjing: You mean it's cheaper to rent an apartment in Beijing than in your city in the US?
京晶：你是说在北京租个公寓比你在美国的城市租金还要便宜？
Mark: I wouldn't say that. It's just that there are so many old buildings and subway lines and small apartments everywhere.
马克：我也不是那个意思。就是说，到好处都有有许多老房子，地铁，还有小型公寓。
Jingjing: That helps to keep the prices down, I guess.
京晶：我猜，这些也帮着抑制着房价。
Mark: The cost of owning a house for 70 years, and renting it, is not all that much different here.
马克：在这里，拥有一个房子70年的花费，跟租着住价格也没有太大区别。
Jingjing: Yeah, but people would rather pay for their own house than give money to landlords. Also, according to Chinese tradition, people should have their own house before starting a family.
京晶：但是人们宁愿给自己的房花钱而不愿把钱都交给房东。而且，按照中国的传统，人们应该先有房然后组建家庭。
Mark: That's understandable. All the value for owning a house keeps rental prices down a bit.
马克：能理解。买房的重要性也让租房市场的价格低了那么一些。
Jingjing: But it seems rental prices are now going up at a faster rate than purchase prices.
京晶：但是看上去现在是租房价格上涨的速度比买房的涨幅还快。
Mark: That doesn't surprise me. The sky's the limit when it comes to rental prices.
马克：我不觉得意外。租房就是个无底洞。
Jingjing: We'll see what the market will bear.
京晶：我们等着看市场的承受能力吧。
Mark: Mmm, I'm dreaming of a harmonious bull and bear.
马克：嗯，我期待着一个和谐的牛市和熊市呢。（我期待价格能回归正常）

New words: 习语短语：

(be) up against the wall 碰壁，捉襟见肘，选择不多，窘迫
(being in a situation that offers too few alternatives or no choice at all, forcing you to take a certain action or give up, i.e. I have to live near my company, because I have no car and can't spend much time on daily commutes. So, I'm up against the wall and have to pay for an expensive yet small apartment downtown.)
a bit 一点，不多
(This adverbial describes a minor factor that generally has a small effect but potentially could have a great effect. The word, bit, comes from the piece of metal put into each side of a horses mouth, for a rider to pull to the left or right.)
The sky's the limit. 天空才是尽头，意指一切皆有可能
(aphorism, meaning that anything is possible)
We'll see what the market will bear. 我们拭目以待看市场能有多大的承受力
(aphorism, meaning ...what the market will tolerate and ...what the market will bear down on, as in a bear market)