1. My parents never interfered with my plans too much. They advised me, but never forced me into doing anything I didn’t want to do.

参考译文：我的父母从来不会过分干涉我的计划。他们会给我一些建议，但是从来不会强迫我做不喜欢的事情。

2. Weddings in the United States vary greatly, there are weddings in the church，on mountain tops or even on the ocean floor with oxygen tanks for the guests. But no matter where and how, they all include certain traditional customs.

参考译文：在美国有各种不同的婚礼形式，有的在教堂和或是山顶举行，甚至有的在海底举行，为各位客人提供氧气罐。但是无论在何地以何种方式举行婚礼，其中都会包含一些传统风俗。

3. According to government statistics, in 1990, there were twice as many men smokers as women smokers in the country. But now, women smokers have far outnumbered men smokers.

参考译文：根据政府的数据显示，在1990，男性烟民的数量是女性烟民数量的两倍。但是现在，女性烟民的数量已经远远超过了男性烟民数量。

4. Since it is a big order, I’ll accept your price of $ 8.50. However, it is a very special offer and it leaves us little profit.

参考译文：既然这份订单很大，我接受你们8.5美元的出价。但是必须要说，我们已经给了很大的优惠，利润很小了。

5. Communication is much more than speaking and reading. True communication takes place when an understanding has been transferred from one party to another. Therefore, communication can be defined as the transfer of information.

参考译文：交流远不止于说和读。真正的交流是将语言含义含义从一方转换到另一方。因此，我们可以把交流定义为信息的转换。

1. America is a nation on wheels. Most Americans are car owners, and some are even obsessive about the subject. They can spend hours discussing whether to buy a foreign car or an American car, and deciding on the best family car or the best sports car. Car repair is also a popular topic. You can participate in their discussion by talking about cars you have owned or by sharing information you’ve read in automotive magazines such as “car and driver” or “popular mechanics”.

参考译文：美国是一个车轮上的国家，几乎每一个人都拥有自己的车，有些人甚至对此充满了狂热。美国人可以花上数小时讨论是要买进口车还是国产车，怎样的车型最适合家用，怎样的车型最适合运动。汽车修理也是非常流行的话题，你可以参与他们有关汽车的讨论，你可以谈谈自己的车，或者和大家分享从汽车杂志上读来的信息，比如《人车志》或者《大众机械》

2. Not long ago, individuals joined an organization and often stayed with it for their entire working career. And organizations frequently rewarded loyal employees. However, this concept of organizational loyalty has already faded. Starting in the mid-1980s the average 20-year old employees were expected to change jobs approximately six or seven times during his or her lifetime. According to current statistics, today’s college graduates will, on average, have eight to ten jobs and as many as three careers in their lifetimes.

参考译文：在不久之前，老百姓加入一个组织，并且在其整个就职期间都会是作为这个组织的成员，此组织会经常奖励忠诚的员工。然而，这样的职业忠诚已经渐渐小。时自20世纪80年代中期开始，20岁的年轻人平均一生可能会更换6~7次工作。目前有数据表明，现在的大学毕业生，平均每人一生可能做过8~10份工作，拥有3份事业。