First Dates

Sydney had not been on a date in nearly four years. She had been in college, and instead of dating, she was studying; she was always busy reading a book or preparing for her next exam. By graduation, she felt like something was missing. Quickly, she realized that the missing ‘something’ might actually be a ‘someone’.

 

Date - n. 约会

Year - n. 年

College - n. 大学

Date - v. 约会

Study - v. 学习

Read - v. 阅读

Book - n. 书

Prepare - v. 准备

Exam - n. 考试

Graduation - n. 毕业

Something was missing. - 某物缺失了。

 

So Sydney began going to bars to see if she could meet someone. She didn’t have any luck. She went to all of those other places she had seen people fall in love at first sight in the movies—dancing, blind dates, and even to football games. Sydney still hadn’t found anyone she could see herself wanting to date, so finally she found a couple of dating websites and hoped that maybe the internet would connect her to the man of her dreams.

 

Bar - n. 酒吧

Luck - n. 运气

Love at first sight - 一见钟情

Movie - n. 电影

Dance - v. 跳舞

Blind Date - 相亲

Football game - 足球比赛

Dating website - 相亲网站

Internet - n. 互联网

Man of her dreams - 梦中情人

 

Finally, after weeks of waiting, Sydney logged on to one of her dating websites and found that many men had expressed interest in her! She began to click through their profiles. The first, Brad, had too big a nose and he liked to hunt. “Hunting!” Sydney gasped. She had mentioned on her profile that she was vegetarian, and absolutely loved animals. Brad was not going to be a good match. She moved on to the next profile, Justin.

 

Log on - 登录

Express interest - 表达了兴趣

Profile - n. 简介

Nose - n. 鼻子

Hunt - v. 捕猎

Vegetarian - n. 素食者

Animal - n. 动物

Good match- 非常般配的人

 

Justin was large—very large. He looked like he was at least one foot taller than Sydney and his profile said he was a bodybuilder. His muscles were huge! His best quality was his face. He had green eyes and brown hair and looked very kind, but his interests said he liked bodybuilding and sports, two things Sydney was not into. She liked board games, crafts, and reading. Sydney was very introverted. She wanted a man who would be social with her, but who would also give her time to be alone and enjoy those things she loved.

 

Large - adj. 大的

Foot (Measurement) - n. 一英尺（约30厘米）

Taller - adj. 更高的

Bodybuilder - n. 锻炼肌肉者，健身者

Muscle - n. 肌肉

Best quality - 最大的优点

Eye - n. 眼睛

Hair - n. 头发

Sport - n. 运动

Board Game - 棋牌游戏

Craft - n. 手工

Reading - n. 阅读

Introverted - adj. 内向的

Social - adj. 社交的

 

As they say, the third time is a charm. Sydney saw that a man named Ryan had liked her profile, so she began to look at his. He loved puzzles, math, and photography. He was skinny, but looked like he was nearly six feet tall. He had brown hair and incredibly straight teeth. They were almost as white as pearls, but not quite. Sydney could not believe that a guy like Ryan would like her profile! She liked his profile as well, and she waited to see if he would message her. She knew that it was okay for a girl to message a guy first, but she had no idea what to say to him, so she waited.

 

Third time is a charm - (Idiom) 第三次是最好的，第三次就会成功

Puzzle - n. 谜语

Math - n. 数学

Photography - n. 摄影

Skinny - adj. 骨瘦如柴的，皮包骨头的

Straight teeth - 整齐的牙齿

White as pearls - 白如珍珠

Message - v. 发送消息

Wait - v. 等待

 

Sydney waited what seemed like weeks, but it was only a few days. She had liked his profile on Monday, and it was now Thursday. By Thursday night at eight o’clock she had still not received a message from him, so she lay on her couch and began to read a book until she fell asleep late that night, too tired to move to her bed.

 

Seem like weeks - 仿佛是数周

Day - n. 天，日

Night - n. 晚上

Lie - v. 躺下（lie过去式lay，过去分词lain）

Couch - n. 沙发，躺椅

Read - v. 阅读

Book - n. 书

 

The next morning, she woke up to her alarm clock at seven and began to get ready for work. She showered, brushed her teeth, did her hair and put on makeup, and chose an outfit for the day. The library she worked at was her favorite place in the world. She was surrounded by books, and people who loved them as much as she did. She couldn’t imagine a better career for her.

 

The next morning - 第二天早上

Wake up - 醒来 （wake过去式woke，过去分词woken）

Alarm clock - 闹钟

Work - n. 工作

Shower - v. 洗澡

Brush her teeth - 刷牙

Do her hair - 梳理头发

Put on makeup - 化妆

Choose an outfit - 挑选一套套装（choose过去式chose，过去分词chosen）

Library - n. 图书馆

Favorite place - 最喜欢的地方

Career - n. 职业

 

Sydney went to check the time on her phone, but it was dead. She quickly grabbed her cell phone charger and left for work, nearly forgetting a couple of books she had to return before she would receive a fine. She drove to work and ran inside, trying to protect herself from the pouring rain outside.

 

Check the time - 查看时间

Phone - n. 电话

Dead – adj. 没电关机了

Charger - n. 充电器

Receive a fine - 受到罚款

Inside - adv. 里面

Protect herself – 保护自己

Rain - n. 雨

Outside - adv. 外面；户外

 

She put her purse and other things under her desk and plugged in her phone. Sydney’s day flew by. Because it was summer, the library was filled with kids who were checking out books and participating in activities the library offered to keep kids busy during their vacation from school. By noon, it was time for her to go enjoy her lunch and an hour of quiet. She grabbed her phone and a lunch she had packed, and sat down to eat.

 

Purse - n. 钱包

Desk - n. 桌子

Plug in - 插上电源

Fly by - 飞逝（fly过去式flew，过去分词flown）

Summer - n. 夏天

Check out books - 外借图书

Participate - v. 参加

Vacation - n. 假期，假日

Lunch - n. 午餐

 

When she looked at her phone, she noticed she had a message notification from one of her dating profiles. It was Ryan! Ryan wrote, “Hi! I really like your profile. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner tonight and get to know each other better.”

 

Notification - n. 通知

Have dinner - 吃晚餐

Get to know each other - 开始了解彼此

 

Sydney was speechless! Yes, she wanted to have dinner, but how should she reply? She had read somewhere that when you respond you should sound interested, but not too interested. “Why does dating have to be so complicated?” Sydney said to herself. She looked at a clock and realized her break was almost over. She had to reply and she had to reply quickly! “Hi Ryan! How about seven o’clock?” Sydney typed, adding, “Where would you like to meet?”

 

Speechless - adj. （因惊讶）而说不出话来

Reply - v. 回复

Interested - adj. 感兴趣的

Complicated - adj. 复杂的

Clock - n. 钟表

Break - n. 休息

 

She put her phone in her pocket and returned to work, casually checking to see if he replied every few minutes or so. A couple of hours later, he responded. Ryan wrote, “We should meet at Luciano’s! Have you been there? They have great pasta, and a lot of vegetarian meals, too.” Ryan chose one of Sydney’s favorite restaurants, and he saw she was vegetarian! I like him already, Sydney thought. She realized she needed to reply, and said, “That sounds great! I actually love Luciano’s. See you at seven!”

 

Check - v. 查看

Meet at - 在……地方见面

Pasta - n. 意大利面

 

After she sent that message, Sydney realized she had no idea what to wear! Usually she could wear whatever she wanted to work, so today she had on jeans and a nice shirt and her hair was in a bun because she was too lazy to do anything else with it. Sydney decided to leave work an hour early, at four, so that she could fix her hair and reapply her makeup. She also had to pick out a better outfit because she wanted to impress Ryan.

 

Send that message - 发送那条消息（send过去式sent，过去分词sent）

Wear - v. 穿

Jeans - n.[pl.] 牛仔裤

Shirt - n. 衬衫，汗衫

In a bun - 盘成丸子头

Lazy - adj. 懒惰的

Decide to leave - 决定离开

Impress - v. 给……留下深刻的印象

 

Once Sydney was home, she took a second shower to make sure she would smell good, and then blow-dried her hair. “Should I curl my hair, or leave it straight?” Sydney talked to herself in the mirror while she continued to dry her long, red hair. She decided that she would curl it so that she could impress him. After she finished, she began to apply her makeup and realized it was already five forty-five! She only had about thirty minutes left to get ready so she would arrive at the restaurant on time!

 

Smell good - 闻起来不错

Blow-dry - v. 吹干

Curl my hair - 弄卷头发

Straight - adj. 直的

Talk to herself - 自言自语

Mirror - n. 镜子

Arrive - v. 到达

Restaurant - n. 餐厅，饭店

On time - 准时

 

Sydney applied a bright red lipstick, foundation, and eyeliner. She double-checked herself in the mirror to make sure everything was perfect and then headed to her bedroom so she could search for an outfit in her closet. She could wear a dress, but that might seem too fancy. Jeans would seem too casual. Nothing she picked looked right!

 

Apply - v. 涂

Lipstick - n. 口红

Foundation - n. 粉底

Eyeliner - n. 眼线

Double-checke - n. 再次检查

Dress - n. 裙子

Jeans - n. 牛仔

Casual - adj. 随意

Look right - 看起来合适

 

When she heard her ringtone, Sydney went to check her phone and saw that Ryan had messaged her and said, “See you soon!” It was now six o’clock and Sydney did not have much time left. She quickly messaged him back saying, “Can’t wait!” and returned to her closet. She settled on a black, knee-length dress that had sunflowers all over it. She once again checked herself in the mirror and decided everything was perfect. She put on her brown sandals to complete the outfit and grabbed her keys, wallet, and phone, and then left for Luciano’s.

 

Ringtone - n.（手机）铃声

See you soon - 很快见到你

settle on - 选定

Knee-length - adj. 及膝盖的

Sunflower - n. 向日葵

Sandal - n. 凉鞋

Complete - v. 使齐全

Key - n. 钥匙

Wallet - n. 钱包

 

Sydney decided earlier that if she left at 6:30, she would be at Luciano’s before Ryan got there. Sydney ended up being twenty minutes early and ordered herself a drink and waited for Ryan at a table. She was nervously checking her phone, waiting for him, and trying to calm down so she did not sweat off her makeup.

 

Decide - v. 断定

End up - 最后来到（某地）

Early - adv. 早, 在原定的时间之前，提早

Order - v. 订货，预定

Drink - n. 饮料

Nervously - adv. 紧张

Calm down - 使冷静

Sweat - v. 出汗

 

Finally, at two minutes to seven, Ryan tapped Sydney on the shoulder. She was so startled that she spilled some of her drink on herself.

 

Tap - v. 轻拍

Shoulder - n. 肩膀

Startle - v. 受惊吓的

Spill - v. 使溢出，使溅出

 

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Ryan said to Sydney.

“It’s okay! It won’t stain,” Sydney said as she began drying her dress with a cloth napkin.

“Well, I’m Ryan. It’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Sydney responded. “It’s quite the first impression we had just now, isn’t it?”

“Definitely,” Ryan said, as he sat across from Sydney.

 

I’m so sorry - 很抱歉

Stain - v. （在某物上）留下污渍

Dry - v. 把……弄干

Cloth napkin - 布质餐巾

First impression - 第一印象

 

As he sat down, Sydney examined Ryan. He looked the same as he did in his pictures. He was wearing a light green button-down shirt with dark jeans. He looked great, Sydney thought. She hoped he would like her, too.

 

Examine - v. 仔细检查（看）

Picture - n. 照片

Wear - v. 穿

Button-down shirt - 系扣领衬衫

 

“So, your profile said you like board games,” Ryan said. “What are some of your favorites?”

“Well, I really like games like Clue and Monopoly, but I also love other games like Risk and Settlers of Catan!” Sydney responded.

“I played Clue once and I had a lot of fun!” Ryan began to ask Sydney another question, but he was interrupted by the waitress who had come to give them their menus.

 

Favorite - n. 最爱

Interrupt - v. 打断，打扰

Waitress - n. 女服务员

Menus - n. 菜单

 

“Hi, I’m Clare and I’ll be serving you this evening! What would you like to drink?”

“I’ll have water, please,” Sydney quickly responded. Ryan ordered the same. The waitress gave them their menus and left to get two glasses of water.

“What are you going to have to eat?” Sydney asked Ryan.

“I think I’ll have a big, bloody steak,” Ryan responded. Sydney glared at him, and he could tell she was not happy with the way he described what he was going to order.

“I’m sorry! That was a joke. The Alfredo here is incredible, so I think I’m going to have that,” Ryan said.

“That’s okay. Most people make fun of me for being vegetarian, so I have gotten used to it. I think I’m going to have the spaghetti. The sauce is perfect and I love the breadsticks!” Sydney responded, forgetting she was angry with Ryan shortly before.

 

Serve you - 为你们服务

Evening - n. 晚上

Have to eat -弄点东西吃

Bloody steak - 带血的牛排

Glare - v. 怒目而视

Happy - adj. 开心

Describe - v. 描述

Order - v. 点

Joke - n. 玩笑

 

The waitress arrived with drinks, took Ryan’s and Sydney’s orders, and left. Ryan and Sydney continued to talk. “So, what made you like my profile?” Sydney asked Ryan.

“Well … I … uh… a lot of girls don’t talk to me because I’m kind of quiet. I’m not exactly buff or manly. I’m introverted. I thought maybe I’d have a chance with you because you don’t look like most of the girls I have talked to before.” Ryan’s response offended Sydney, and he could see it in her eyes as she began to respond to him.

 

Buff - adj. [美式英语]体格健美的

Manly - adj. 男子气概的

Offend - v. 冒犯；使……不愉快

 

“What do you mean I’m different than most girls? I am completely normal, thank you!” Sydney crossed her arms and stared at Ryan, waiting for a response.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Ryan said. “You’re different in a good way. You like the things I like. You looked more down-to-earth than most of the girls I have met. I didn’t think I’d find a girl like you.”

“I’m sorry I responded like that,” Sydney said. “It’s been about four years since I have been on a date so I really don’t know how any of this works. I’ve never known how any of this works.” Sydney was ashamed of how she had responded to Ryan.

 

Different than most - 与众人不同

Completely normal - 完全很普通

Cross her arms - 交叉双臂

Stare - v. 怒目而视

Down-to-earth - adj. 切合实际的

Ashamed - adj. 羞愧的

 

Ryan looked at Sydney and said, “It’s okay. I haven’t really been on many dates either. Why don’t you tell me a little bit more about yourself? Your profile says that you’re a librarian. What did you go to college for?”

“Well, I have a major in English and a minor in library sciences. I also got a minor in art because I really enjoy painting and doing crafts.” Sydney responded, calmly this time. She didn’t want to offend Ryan again.

“That’s cool! I’ve always liked art but I am so bad at it,” Ryan said. Sydney liked that he was interested in art. She hadn’t met many people who were.

“I could teach you! It could be fun,” Sydney responded. “So what did you go to school for?” she asked him.

“I majored in math!” Ryan said, noticing that Sydney looked disgusted.

“I am terrible at math!” Sydney said. “I barely passed my math classes!”

“Well, I could teach you,” Ryan flirted with Sydney.

 

Librarian - n. 图书管理员

College - n. 大学

Major in English - 主修英语

Minor in library sciences - 辅修图书馆科学

Art - n. 艺术

Painting - n. 绘画

Interested in art - 对艺术感兴趣

Teach - v. 教

Math - n. 数学

Disgusted - adj. 厌恶的

Terrible - adj. 糟糕的

Barely pass - 勉强通过

Flirt - v. 调情

 

The waitress arrived with their food, and Ryan and Sydney began to eat. His plate was filled with Alfredo and breadsticks, and hers was the same but with spaghetti. Sydney ate a forkful of spaghetti and got the sauce all over her face. Sydney was awkward and embarrassed, but Ryan laughed and told her it was okay.

 

Begin to eat - 开始吃

Fill - v. 填充

Forkful - adj. 满满一叉子的

Sauce - n. 酱，调味汁

Awkward - adj. 尴尬的

Embarrassed - adj. 尴尬的

Laugh- v. 笑

 

After eating a few bites, Sydney was already full but she made herself finish the plate of food that Ryan was buying her. While she was eating, the waitress returned and asked if they would want dessert. Ryan asked for a dessert menu and continued slurping up Alfredo. Sydney was so full she could barely speak.

 

Full - adj. 饱的

Return - v. 返回

Dessert - n. 甜点

 

The waitress again returned to see if Ryan and Sydney would be ordering dessert. “We will have a brownie sundae to split,” Ryan said to the waitress and then turned to Sydney. “You like brownies, right?” he asked her. Sydney nodded her head and forced a smile.

 

Brownie sundae to split - 布朗尼圣代冰激凌

Nod - v. 点头

Force a smile - 勉强地笑

 

“So I know we haven’t had the best chance to get to know each other, but I would like to keep talking to you. Could I get your number?” Ryan asked Sydney.

Sydney really liked Ryan. She barely knew him, but she thought he must like her too if he was asking for her phone number! She responded with the ten digits of her phone number and received his, as well.

The waitress brought back the dessert Ryan ordered and Sydney was so full she could barely have a bite. She watched as he ate most of the dessert, and tried not to fall asleep. All of the food Sydney ate had made her very tired.

 

Could I get your number? - 我能要你的电话号码吗？

Digit - n. 数字

Fall asleep - 睡着

Tired - adj. 疲惫的

 

“Is there something wrong? I feel like you’re not interested,” Ryan said to Sydney.

“No! I’m just so full I can barely eat anymore,” she responded to him.

“Do you think we should call it a night?” Ryan asked, sounding sad.

“I think so,” Sydney responded. “Maybe this weekend I could teach you how to paint something?” she asked him. Sydney was surprised. She had never asked a person on a date before.

 

Call it a night - 今晚到此为止

Surprised - adj. 吃惊的，惊讶的

 

“I would love that!” Ryan said as the waitress placed the check on the table. Sydney went to pay for her meal, but Ryan would not let her. He walked her to her car and they parted ways. As soon as Sydney was home, she texted Ryan to let him know she had made it, and fell asleep. She knew there was something special about him, and she couldn’t wait to meet him again.

 

Check - n.（美式英语）餐馆账单

Part ways - 分开，分道扬镳

Text - v. 发送短信，发送消息

Something special - 特别的地方