Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Mark, you look chipper. Anything new?

京晶: 马克，你看起来精神很抖擞呀，最近有何好事?

Mark: Not exactly. Work's been the same. I finally got my WeChat wallet working, though. That's been the highlight of my week.

马克: 没什么特别的，工作还是老样子。不过，我终于启用了微信钱包这个功能，这是我这周最开心的事情。

Jingjing: Were you living under a rock the last few years? Online payment's been around for a while now.

京晶: 难道过去几年你一直生活在山洞里吗? 在线支付已经存在很长一段时间了。

Mark: Don't I know it. I was starting to feel embarrassed, as the only one still paying with cash.

马克: 我怎么会不知道呢? 我越来越觉得尴尬了，因为我是唯一一个还在用现金结账的人。

Jingjing: So, what happened? Why are you on the bandwagon all of a sudden.

京晶: 那是发生了什么事，让你突然就下定决心去追赶时代的步伐了?

Mark: Well, I was waiting to have a half day free—one that I wanted to spend at the bank. That didn't happen. Then people started putting money in my WeChat wallet. So: bye bye bank, hello online payment.

马克: 我本来想腾出半天的空闲时间去银行，但没有实现。而且越来越多的人习惯通过微信钱包给我转账。所以：再见，银行；你好，在线支付。

Jingjing: That's cool. I'm happy for you, Mark. It's a snap, isn't it?

京晶: 那很好呀，马克，我很替你开心。在线支付很方便，不是吗?

Mark: For sure. I don't have to worry about having small bills with me or having to break a hundred.

马克: 确实。我再也不用为兜里攒着一堆小额钞票或者100元破不开而发愁了。

Jingjing: Hmm. I got used to it gradually. But, for someone who has started to pay with their phone at a time when a phone could be used to pay for anything, would you say you spend more or less money every day?

京晶: 嗯。我是一点点习惯在线支付的。但是，对于你来说，在一个手机支付已经几乎万能的时代才刚刚开始启用这个功能，你觉得你每天花的钱是多了还是少了呢?

Mark: I know what you're getting at. Because it doesn't feel like real money, I might make more impulse buys, right?

马克: 我知道你的意思。你是说因为在线支付感觉不像真的在花钱，我可能会更多地冲动购物，对吧?

Jingjing: Yeah. Do you buy more junk food and sweet drinks?

京晶: 是的。你会买更多的垃圾食品和甜饮料吗?

Mark: At my university, there's a vending machine that makes fresh-ground coffee. I tried that, once. But I get the same weekly allowance from my wife every week. And I know that'd be gone pretty quickly if I bought snacks.

马克: 在我工作的大学里，有一台自动贩卖机出售现磨咖啡，但我只买过一次。因为我每周从我太太那里得到的零用钱是固定的，我知道如果我买零食的话，这些钱很快就会花光的。

Jingjing: Well, then, it sounds like you have at least some self-control.

京晶: 这么听起来你还是有点自制力的嘛。

Mark: Ha ha. Right, some.

马克: 哈哈，是的，有一点。

New words : 习语短语

a snap 简易便捷的事物

something convenient, quick and easy

to break (a hundred) 破开（百元钞)

use a 100yuan bill to pay for something small and get lots of change

what you're getting at 你的意图，所指

what you're suggesting

an impulse buy 冲动消费

something you buy without thinking carefully

a vending machine 自动售卖机

a machine that sells snacks and drinks

Dialogue 2

Jingjing: So, Mark, now that you've caught up with the times, do you have any ideas about the future of online payment?

京晶: 马克，既然你现在已经跟上了时代的步伐，你对在线支付的未来有什么看法吗?

Mark: Yeah. Facial recognition is being used already by police. The technology could easily be applied to POS.

马克: 现在警方都已经在使用面部识别技术了，我觉得这项技术应该可以很容易地应用在收银处。

Jingjing: That'd be a little weird. Imagine, at the supermarket, you'd just look up at something like a camera as you leave.

京晶: 这想法有点奇怪。想象一下，当你离开超市的时候，只需要抬头看看一台像相机一样的东西。

Mark: Exactly! You wouldn't even have to put your stuff down on a counter. Just push the cart out of the store, and everything would get scanned.

马克: 就是这样! 你甚至不用把东西一一放在柜台上，只要把购物车推出商店，所有的东西就会自动被扫描。

Jingjing: I guess the merchandise would all have to be tagged with special electronic chips.

京晶: 那估计所有的商品都必须贴上特殊的电子芯片。

Mark: Yeah, those are pretty cheap nowadays. And they might be something people could recycle, like bottle caps.

马克: 嗯，那东西现在成本已经很低了。而且以后它们很可能会被回收利用，就像瓶盖一样。

Jingjing: Do you think online payment is safe?

京晶: 你觉得网上支付安全吗?

Mark: Well, people keep their nest egg separate from their mad money and weekly budget.

马克: 挺安全的吧，毕竟人们都会把积蓄和娱乐零花钱、日常开销分开来储存

Jingjing: What about hackers?

京晶: 那黑客呢?

Mark: Smartphone technology will have to get better and better. Meanwhile, the biggest danger is probably people misreading price tags, and walking out of the store with a 1000yuan bottle of wine that they thought cost 100.

马克: 智能手机技术肯定会发展得越来越好的。目前最大的危险很可能是人们会误读价格标签，拿着一瓶1000元的红酒走出商店，还以为只卖100。

Jingjing: Ha ha. Oops!

京晶: 哈哈。那可尴尬了!

Mark: Oops is right. I've caught mistakes like that at the check stand. For now, at least, I'm more careful to check prices and read totals before clicking the “pay now” button.

马克: 确实很尴尬。我在收银台就犯过类似的错误。至少我现在在点击“支付”按钮之前，会更仔细地检查单价和支付总额。

Jingjing: Ok then. Let's hope you don't make any major mistakes and run out of your allowance!

京晶: 好吧。希望你不要犯什么大错误，把你的零用钱花光光!

Mark: I know, right! I'm down to my last 100 and the week isn't over yet!

马克: 可不是么! 这周还没结束呢，我的零花钱只剩100块了!

Jingjing: I'll buy you a cup of coffee. How about that?

京晶: 那我请你喝杯咖啡，怎么样?

Mark: Thanks, Jingjing!

马克: 谢谢你，京晶!

New words : 习语短语

catch up with the times 赶上时代潮流

start to do something modern

facial recognition (technology) 人脸识别技术

computer equipment to recognize someone by their face

POS 销售终端

point-of-sale (pronounced pee ooh ess) - a checkout counter, cash register, etc

merchandise 商品

stuff for sale in a store

nest egg 备用的钱，储备金

a person's savings and investments

mad money 较为随意支配的花费

the money a person allows themselves to spend on small fun stuff (spend madly)

weekly budget 每周日常预算

money for food, transportation, etc

hackers 黑客

people who steal electronic information