Dialogue 1
Jingjing: Mark, are you okay? You look a little tired.
京晶：马克，你还好吗？看上去有点疲惫呢。
Mark: I'm alright. Don't worry about it.
马克：我还行，没事别担心。
Jingjing: Your eyes are red, and you don't seem as relaxed as usual. Have you been getting enough sleep?
京晶：你眼睛红了，你看着也不像平时那么放松，你最近睡眠够吗？
Mark: I've been sleeping like a log. It's the daytime that's a problem.
马克：我一直睡眠挺好，睡得很沉。问题在于白天。
Jingjing: So, what's up?
京晶：那怎么了呢？
Mark: What's up and what's down—you could ask. I have construction above and below me where I live.
马克：你倒是可以问我，上面怎么了，下面怎么了，我住的地方楼上楼下都在搞装修。
Jingjing: This is the time of year for it! So, two houses in your building are being remodelled, right?
京晶：这不就是一年中装修的时节吗？所以说，你那栋楼两户人家都在重装房子是吗？
Mark: Yeah, one directly below me is being totally gutted, while another a few floors up is having some work done.
马克：是的，正楼下那家屋里全部拆了重来，几层楼上的另一户有些装修要干。
Jingjing: That must be pretty noisy!
京晶：那一定很吵吧！
Mark: My nerves are taking a beating. All that drilling noise really puts me on edge.
马克：我的神经真是受大罪了。那些钻头的声音简直让我烦躁极了。
Jingjing: But the workers are only allowed to make noise during the daytime. Aren't you usually out at work then?
京晶：可是工人们只被允许在白天时发出噪音吧。你通常那个时候不是出门上班了吗？
Mark: I am. But yesterday was my day off. I was hoping to chillax and catch up on some work, kinda do half and half—but I couldn't do anything.
马克：我是啊。但是我昨天休息啊。我本打算好好放松一下，然后赶点工作，或者说都平均做点，但什么也做不了。
Jingjing: Why didn't you get out of there and go to a coffee shop or something?
京晶：那你为什么不出门，去个咖啡店什么的？
Mark: I did. I couldn't even hear myself think. I had to go downstairs and ask the workers to stop for a few minutes so I could concentrate enough to gather my keys and stuff.
马克：我做了。我都听不见我自己在想什么（完全无法集中注意）。我不得不下楼请工人们停几分钟，这样我才能集中注意力拿好钥匙和东西。
Jingjing: Were they nice about it?
京晶：他们态度好吗？
Mark: Yeah, they were pretty friendly.
马克：嗯，还挺友善的。

New words：习语短语
sleep like a log 睡得沉
sleep deeply without moving
remodel 重整，装修
workers make major changes inside a building (not building construction, not decoration) (“Construction” is sometimes used as a general word for this work.)
gut (v) 内部完全拆除
totally remove the insides of something (for a house, this would mean taking out the non-load-bearing walls, pulling up the flooring, etc.)
put on edge 让人精神极度紧张
make someone nervous
chillax 放松休息
chill and relax
can't hear think 太吵而无法集中注意力
a place is too noisy/chaotic

Dialogue 2
Jingjing: That's good, at least.
京晶：至少，这还不错。
Mark: Also, when I talked with the workers, they told me it would just be a month of heavy noise.
马克：还有，我跟工人们交流时，他们告诉我重噪音只持续一个月左右。
Jingjing: You're lucky then. Last spring, my neighbors redid their bathroom and kitchen, and put in new floors. It took three or four months. I couldn't spend any time at home except at night.
京晶：那你算幸运了。去年春天，我邻居重做了卫生间和厨房，换了新地板。花了三四个月。我在屋里根本没法儿呆，除了晚上。
Mark: Wow, that must have sucked!
马克：哇哦，那可真是太难受了。
Jingjing: It did; and it was the kind of work where it was noisy for a while, then not so much, then super noisy again.
京晶：可不是吗，还是那种先喧闹一会儿，然后消停一下，然后又噪声巨大地来一会儿。
Mark: You must have spent a lot of time at coffee shops.
马克：那你一定在咖啡店呆了不少时候。
Jingjing: Well, you know me, I don't drink coffee. So, I just came in to the office earlier every day. My boss was pretty happy those months.
京晶：你知道我的，我不喝咖啡。所以我就每天早点去办公室，那几个月我老板还挺高兴的。
Mark: Jeez, you'd think spring would be the time to enjoy blossoming trees and warm weather. But everywhere, it's noisier than at other times of year.
马克：天了噜，本来你想的是春天是个多好的在暖意洋洋中赏赏花的时节，但是到处，你都发现比哪个季节都吵得厉害。
Jingjing: Hmm, all the extra noise in spring has gotten me out of doors more. Last year, because of the construction, I got in the habit of taking morning walks.
京晶：所有这些春季的噪声都让我出门更多了。去年，因为这些装修，我养成了早上散步的习惯。
Mark: That's a great way to start the day. It's better than what I do.
马克：那还真是一个开始一天的好方法。比我做的强。
Jingjing: Um, what do you do?
京晶：你做了什么？
Mark: I drink coffee. I've already burned through half of my allowance.
马克：我喝咖啡，都已经花完一半工资了。
Jingjing: Haha, you're so careless! We're only one-third through this month.
京晶：哈哈，你太大意了。这个月才刚过了三分之一呢。
Mark: I know, right. Anyway, the weather's getting perfect for sitting out in the park.
马克：我知道呢。对了，这天气很合适去公园里坐坐。
Jingjing: So, if you run out of money before you run out of month, you can have picnics and bring your notebook PC out into the sun.
京晶：所以，如果你一个月没过完就把这月钱花完了，你可以野餐嘛，带着你的笔记本电脑来阳光下工作。
Mark: That sounds alright! Thanks for cheering me up!
马克：这主意听着挺好的，谢谢让我打起精神来。

New words ：习语短语
redo 重新整修
remodel/fix (informal)
burn through 花，花光
spend, use up
run out of money before run out of month 月没过完这月钱先花完了
spend your monthly money before the month is over