ACT 3 -1 这是很了不起的经历！

【故事梗概】

Grandpa 在 John Marchetta先生的办公室里接受面试。Marchetta 先生浏览了Grandpa的简历，给了他很高的评价。

Grandpa: Hi. I’m Malcolm Stewart.

Marchetta: John Marchetta. Sit down, sit down.

Grandpa: Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.

Marchetta: She says a lot of wonderful things about you too, Mr. Stewart.

Grandpa: That’s always nice to hear, Mr. Marchetta.

Marchetta: Call me John. May I call you Malcolm? Let’s talk business.

Grandpa: That’s music to my ears.

Marchetta: I understand you used to be in the construction business.

Grandpa: Yup. Forty-three years. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.

Marchetta: That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.

Grandpa: Thank you. Yup. Forty-three years. Half that time in my own construction company. Big jobs -- factories, shopping malls. That kind of thing.

Marchetta: Then you retired.

Grandpa: Yes. After my wife died, and I felt I should spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I lived in Florida, and they lived in New York.

Marchetta: I understand. My daughter, Cami lives in New York. I like being near her.

【语言点精讲】

1. Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.

Susan跟我说了不少有关你的事，她说你是个很了不起的人。

a great deal: 很多。也可以说 a great deal of sth. , 但后面的名词只能是不可数的。

You’re quite a man. 你真是个了不起的人。

2. Call me John．

叫我John好了。在对方称自己为某先生或用其它尊称时，欲使对方直呼己名以示亲近，常这样说。也可以: “John to you．”

3. Let’s talk business.

talk business: 谈工作, 谈生意。这是个惯用语，talk 在这里用作及物动词。

类似的不带介词，以talk为及物动词的用法还有: talk politics/sport（谈论政治/体育），talk shop（说行话，谈本行业或本职工作的事），talk sense/nonsense，talk nonsense/rubbish（说胡话，胡说八道）等。

4. That’s music to my ears.

正合我意。正是我想听的。

5. I understand you used to be in the construction business.

我听说你过去是在建筑业工作的。

I understand: 在这里的意思是“我听说，我知道这样的信息”。

used to do: 过去曾做过某事。用来谈论过去的经历。

6. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.

这儿有一份材科，简短地记录了我四十三年的工作经历。

a brief description: 简单的叙述。这里指简历。

on-the-job training: 指工作经历。美国人很重视实际工作经验，所以他们把工作经历称为“工作时的培训”。

7. That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.

这是很了不起的经历！你是个很宝贵的人才，Malcolm，非常宝贵。

some: 了不起的，相当于“a wonderful…”。这是一种非正式用法。

asset: 资产, 财富, 人才。

8. I like being near her.

我喜欢离她近一点。

这里like后面接-ing形式，表示“经常或总是或习惯性地”喜欢某事。