Tom和Vivian是香港一家跨國(guó)公司的雇員。Vivian被升職，要調(diào)到美國(guó)奧蘭多的辦事處。她知道Tom是從芝加哥調(diào)到香港來(lái)的，所以向Tom征求意見(jiàn)。Tom談到利弊時(shí)說(shuō)：

T: On a financial note, you'll probably be able to save a lot more of your salary and have more disposable income, as rents and living costs in that area are reasonable.

V: Yes. From a financial standpoint relocating makes sense, but I just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot. Happiness is important, right?

Tom說(shuō)，要說(shuō)錢(qián)，奧蘭多房租、生活費(fèi)用很合理，reasonable, 所以Vivian會(huì)有更多可支配的收入，disposable income.

Vivian表示，如果光看錢(qián)，去奧蘭多確實(shí)很合適，make sense, 但是她不愿意搬起石頭砸自己的腳，I just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot. 因?yàn)殚_(kāi)心還是很重要的。

T: Oh, absolutely. But Florida is a beautiful state with a nice climate. You'll be able to enjoy the beaches and take vacations in Miami!

V: Sounds good. It's just such a hard decision for me. I want to branch out and spread my wings, but there's so many "unknowns."

Vivian說(shuō)，她想擴(kuò)大發(fā)展，展開(kāi)雙臂，branch out and spread my wings, 但是又有太多的未知數(shù)，Unknowns.

T: Yeah, I also had mixed emotions when they first offered me this job. But I have a favorite quote by the poet John Berryman that helped me a lot.

V: Which is?

T: "We must travel in the direction of our fear."

V: That's a great quotation. So let's say I'm leaning towards relocating. Got any practical tips?

Tom用詩(shī)人John Berryman的一句話(huà)鼓勵(lì) Vivian. "We must travel in the direction of our fear." 我們必須要面對(duì)恐懼前行。Tom還有哪些建議呢？

T: Yeah...do your homework. Get online and research where you're going. Learn about the history, geography, climate...etc. Then when you get there, you'll feel like you already know the place a bit.

V: How long did it take you to settle into your new environment?

T: I have to be honest. For the first 3 months I was pretty unhappy. I didn't like the food, couldn't figure out the subway system and, for me, Hong Kong is a noisy place. But after the four month-mark, I began to feel much better.

Do your homework? 這是英語(yǔ)里很常用的一種說(shuō)法，意思是事先準(zhǔn)備。Tom建議Vivian去了解一下奧蘭多的情況。 Tom還說(shuō)，他剛來(lái)香港的時(shí)候，也很不習(xí)慣。你記得他是什么時(shí)候開(kāi)始適應(yīng)的嗎？沒(méi)錯(cuò)，四個(gè)月。

V: Now how does it feel? You've been here for a full year, right?

T: My one-year anniversary is next week, and I have to say, I've never been happier.

V: Thanks for sharing your experiences with me, Tom. I really appreciate it. You helped me clarify my own feelings.

T: Glad to be of help. Don't forget to invite me to your going away party!

V: I won't!

Vivian謝謝Tom幫忙，Tom說(shuō)，不要忘記請(qǐng)我參加你的going away party臨行聚會(huì)。