Unit 3 Family
One Modern dating
现代约会

1 Introduction
A For millions of singles, e-mail has become an essential tool in the dating game. It's a good tool for casually getting to know people. It expedites the whole dating routine.
对于成百万的单身者来说，电子邮件往来已经变成了谈朋友期的一个必不可缺的工具。是人们无意间彼此认识的一个好方法。它可以加速别人谈朋友进程。

B It's easier to have the courage to ask her/him out over e-mail because it saves the embarrassment of rejection. And you're also not putting the other person on the spot. So nowadays many more people prefer this way to ask people.
以电子邮件的方式把她/他邀请出来比较容易一些，不需要有那么多勇气，因为拒绝的话，也不会有那么难堪。而且你也没有把别人杵在一边。所以现在很多人都比较喜欢通过这种方式邀请对方。

C There are some popular ways for singles to meet in America. Internet personals are very popular these days. Single people – some are divorced – attend special activities held just for the purpose of meeting other single people.
在美国，让单身者互相认识有很多很受欢迎的方式。目前，网上刊登个人广告就很流行。单身者——有些是离过婚的——参加一些特殊的活动，目的就在于结识另外一些单身者。

2 Sample Sentences
1. We talked online a couple of times then decided to meet.
我们在网上聊过几次，然后决定见面。
2. He lived 180 miles away, but I figured we would just be online friends, and distance was irrelevant.
他住在180英里之外，但是我在想我们只会成为网上的朋友，所以距离不是问题。
3. From the very first e-mail exchange, we both knew there was something different - we just "clicked", if you'll pardon the pun.
从第一次交换电子邮件以来，我们都知道这里面有些不一样——我们只是连接了一下，（上网连接，感情连接），请原谅我的俏皮话。
4. What were the odds that Peter, a PhD candidate from Germany, and I, a public health worker from Los Angeles, would have ever met without Yahoo?
如果没有雅虎，彼特，德国的一个博士攻读者，和我，洛杉矶的一个公共医疗工作者，在一起相遇的机会又有多大了！？
5. So I responded, came to find out I had known this girl from high school and she had a crush on me then.
所以我回信了，发现我以前在中学认识她，从那后她就爱上了我。
6. When Brian responded to my ad on the 28th of September, I had no idea what I was getting myself into by arranging to meet in person.
当九月二十八日布赖恩回我的征婚启事时，我根本不知道安排见面会给我带来什么结果。
7. It seemed so difficult to find someone suited to me and Internet made it all so much easier.
找到一个适合我的人似乎很难，但是互联网让这一切都变得容易多了。
8. So there I was, browsing the personals and there he was.
所以就是在我浏览征婚启事时，而他就在那里。
9. We began talking and e-mailing each other daily for a while.
有段时间，我们开始每天谈话以及互相发电子邮件.
10. We kept e-mailing one another because we could never catch each other online.
我们彼此保持电子邮件往来，因为我们从来在网上都不能碰到一起。

3 Conversations
1. Fast love.
Judy: So, where are you going to spend your winter vacation?
Charles: Oh, I’m going to meet my girlfriend in Thailand1.
Judy: You have a girlfriend in Thailand? Interesting. How come I have never heard of that?
Charles: Actually it will be my first time to meet her.
Judy: You mean you haven’t seen her before? Then, how could she be your girlfriend? Maybe you don’t even know her.
Charles: That’s true. But we have known each other over the Internet for a few months now. Actually we are on an intimate2 level. We even plan to be engaged next month.
Judy: Congratulations! It’s good to follow your heart. But I just didn’t expect to be so fast.
Charles: The Internet is making interaction3 much faster. People are getting to know each other much more quickly this way.
Judy: Probably you’re right.
Charles: Don’t call me crazy, though. There are 75 million singles in America, so the market for romance-related Web sites is huge. In the last year alone, nearly 6 million people logged on4 to find their soul mates.
Judy: Oh, my gosh! You must be kidding！ Then those dating agencies5 must have been closed now.

【译文】
——那么，你准备去哪里度寒假？
——噢，我准备去泰国见我的女朋友。
——你在泰国有个女朋友？太有意思了。我怎么就没听说过了？
——老实说这将会是我第一次见到她。
——你是说你以前还没见过她？那么，她又怎么会是你的女朋友呢？也许你根本不了解她。
——也许。但是现在我们在网上已经认识几个月了。实际上，我们关系很亲密。我们甚至打算下个月定婚。
——恭喜！跟着感觉走是好的。但是我只是没想到会这么快。
——互联网使相互交流更快了。通过这种方式，人们可以更快地了解对方。
——也许你说得对。
——但不要叫我疯狂。美国有七千五百万单身者，所以与谈情说爱相关的网站市场很大。就去年一年，将近六百万的人上网寻找爱情。
——哦，天啊！你肯定在说笑！这么说那些婚姻介绍所现在都该关门了。

2. Over the Internet.
Tina: What are you up to?
Allen: I'm busy chatting with someone over the Internet.
Tina: Over the Internet? Who?
Allen: Some girl I met in a chat room.
Tina: Really? I rarely go to those things; there are too many weirdoes6.
Allen: Maybe you're just not going to the right ones. I know where to look, and because I've found the perfect girl for me.
Tina: Perfect girl? What has she told you about herself?
Allen: Well, let's see… she's a twenty year old college student studying literature7 at Harvard, and she's a former model.
Tina: Seems good so far. Anything else you know about her?
Allen: What else do I need to know?
Tina: Well, it sounds a bit sketchy8 to me. I mean, what else do you really know about her?
Allen: Listen, why do you need to rain on my parade9?
Tina: I'm not saying there's anything wrong, only that you should be careful. There are a lot of pranksters10 on the Internet.
Allen: I don't care what you say. I love Jasmine and she loves me!
Tina: Loves you? How long have you two been chatting?
Allen: About two hours. But I know it is love.
Tina: Here, let's learn more about your chat partner… here, see? It says that your ‘perfect’ girl is a twelve-year-old boy. He's been playing with you for over two hours.
Allen: Damn!

【译文】
——你最近在忙什么？
——我忙于和别人在互联网上聊天。
——在互联网上？谁？
——我在聊天室遇到的一个女孩。
——真的吗？我很少做这些事；怪人很多。
——或许你只是没有去对地方。我知道去那儿看，因为我碰到了我理想中的女孩。
——理想中的女孩？她告诉过你有关她的什么？
——唔，让我想想……她是一名21岁的大学生，在哈佛大学学文学，而且她以前还是个模特。
——听起来不错。你知道她其它的事吗？
——我还需要知道什么？
——唔，在我看来听起来有点不完全。我是说，你真的知道她其它的事情吗？
——听着，你为什么要给我泼冷水？
——我没有说有什么问题，只是你应该小心。互联网上有许多恶作剧的人。
——我不介意你说什么。我爱茉莉，而且她也爱我！
——爱你？你们俩聊天有多久了？
——大约两小时。但我知道那是爱。
——这儿，让我们对你的聊天朋友多做些了解……这儿，看见了吗？上面说你“理想中的”女孩是一个12岁的男孩。他已经玩弄你两个多小时了。
——该死！

3. Some good ways to meet people.
James: This has got to stop! Another Friday night without a date! What can I do?
Joanna: What about looking through the personal ads on the Internet? That’s how I met Steven.
James: Actually, I’ve tried that. But the people you meet are always different from what you expect.
Mike: Do you often go to a chat room on the Internet?
Joanna: No, that’s the last thing I would do. You never know what kind of people you’re talking to. People hide their true status11. It’s just a waste of time.
Mike: I bet many people don’t agree with you. They think it’s very interesting and relaxing. They find an outlet12 to express their inner13 feelings, which they may not want to talk about to anyone in person.
Joanna: But a lot of traps14 too. To tell you the truth, I was trapped one time and it really hurt my feelings. The Internet pal turned out to be homosexual15.
Mike: Well, why don’t you join a dating service? A friend of mine met his wife that way.
Joanna: That’s not a bad idea.
Mike: Also, it might be a good idea to check out single’s night at the bookstore.
Joanna: Yeah. If I don’t find a date, at least I might find a good book!
【译文】
——不能再这样下去了！又一个星期五的晚上没有约会! 我怎么办？
——去网上浏览一下征婚启事怎么样？我就是这样认识斯蒂芬的。
——其实我也试过。但是你遇见的人总是和你所期待的很不一样。
——你经常上网聊天吗？
——不，这是我最不愿做的事。你根本想不到你是在和什么样的人谈话。人们隐藏他们的真实身份。这只是浪费时间。
——我想很多人不会同意你的意见。他们认为这很有意思，很令人轻松。他们找到一个出口发泄他们内心深处的感情，这些他们可能不想面对面地和任何人讲的感情。
——但是也有很多陷阱。说实话，我就被陷进去一次，这真伤了我的感情。网友结果是个同性恋。
——那么，你为什么不参加一个婚介机构？我的一个朋友就那样认识了他的妻子。
——这个主意不错。
——而且，去书店的单身晚会看看，可能也不失为一个好主意。
——是啊。如果我没有找到一个伴，至少我可能找到一本好书！

4 Words and Expressions
1. Thailand 泰国
2. intimate 亲密的,熟悉的
3. interaction 互相影响，交互
4. log on ]开机
5. dating agency 约会代办处
6. weirdo 怪人;怪物
7. literature 文学;文学作品
8. sketchy 概略的;不完全的
9. rain on my parade 破坏气氛，泼冷水
10. prankster 爱开玩笑的人;恶作剧的人
11. status 地位,身份
12. outlet 出口;发泄途径(或方法)
13. inner 内部的,里面的
14. trap 陷阱,圈套,诡计
15. homosexual 同性恋的，同性恋者