对话文本
T: do you mind if I sit here?
P: no, of course not. Go ahead.
T: don't I know you?
P: yes, now that you mention it, I think we had a chemistry class together in high school.
T: you're right! How are you? It's been a long time!
P: What did you do after high school?
T: I went straight to university afterwards. What about you?
P: I took a year off to go travelling.
T: that sounds exciting. Where did you go?
P: I went all over the world. It was the best year of my life. Where did you go to school?
T: I went to a small school in Connecticut. It has a very good reputation for its languages department.
P: Oh, did you study a foreign language?
T: yes, I got a grant to study Chinese.
P: that's a very difficult language to learn, isn't it?
T: it is, but it's very rewarding.
P: so you can speak Chinese?
T: I can, but not as well as I'd like to. I'll be studying Chinese until the day I die!
P: I think most languages take a lifetime to learn well.

参考翻译
我坐这儿你不介意吧?
不,当然不介意,坐吧.
我该不会是认识你吧?
对了,说起来还真认识.我想我们高中时曾经在一起上过化学课.
没错!你好吗?那是很久以前的事了!
你高中毕业后干了什么?
我直接上大学了.你呢?
我休学一年出去旅游了.
听起来很有意思.你都去哪里了?
我走遍了全球.那是我生命中最美好的一年.你去哪个学校了?
我去了康涅狄格州的一个小学校.那儿的语言学院名声很好.
你学的是外语吧?
对,我拿了奖学金学中文.
那是一门很难学的语言,对吧?
是的,但是很值得一学.
那你现在可以讲中文了?
可以,但是我希望自己能说的更好些.对于中文,我会活到老学到老的.
我觉得大多数语言要想掌握好都要花上一辈子的时间.

核心词组词汇
afterwards:at a later time; after an event that has already been mentioned 以后;后来
Afterwards she was sorry for what she'd said.
后来她后悔说了那些话.
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterwards.
咱们先去看戏,然后吃饭.
Shortly afterwards he was seen in a bar in town.
不久以后,有人在城里一家酒吧见到了他.

rewarding:(of an activity, etc. 活动等) worth doing; that makes you happy because you think it is useful or important 值得做的;有益的
a rewarding experience/job
有益的经历／工作
Teaching is not very financially rewarding(= is not very well paid).
教书不会有很高的报酬.

lifetime:the length of time that sb lives or that sth lasts 一生;终身;有生之年;(某物的)存在期,寿命,使用期限
His diary was not published during his lifetime.
他的日记在他生前未曾发表过.
a lifetime of experience
毕生的经验
in the lifetime of the present government
在本届政府的任期内