美語情景對話 第500期:Rent or Own 租房還是買房

Todd: So Mark, you are going back to America. (Yes) Man, where are you going to live when you go back?

託德：馬克，你馬上就要回美國了。（對）夥計，你回去以後打算在哪裏生活？

Mark: Well, temporarily, I'll stay at my parents in Birmingham, Alabama.

馬克：我暫時會住在我父母在阿拉巴馬州伯明翰的房子裏。

Todd: OK, and where're you gonna live after that?

託德：好，那之後你打算住在哪裏？

Mark: Well, I'm not sure. I might move down to South Florida. Florida is kind of my second home, and, yeah, I'd like to actually one day, get a house down there.

馬克：嗯，我還沒有決定。我可能會搬去佛羅里達州南部。佛羅里達州就像我的第二個家，我希望有一天能在那裏買房。

Todd: Oh, really.

託德：哦，真的嗎？

Mark: Yeah.

馬克：對。

Todd: You're just going to buy a house?

託德：你打算買房嗎？

Mark: Well, I'd like to someday. I mean, I prefer to own my own home instead of always renting an apartment somewhere.

馬克：我希望有一天可以買套房子。我的意思是，我想擁有自己的房子，而不是一直租公寓住。

Todd: Yeah, but see, I think it's better to rent, cause you know, when you rent a house, you don't have to worry about losing your job, or if you have to relocate. You don't have to worry about if there's a natural disaster, and in Florida you seem to love those hurricanes down there.

託德：不過你看，我認爲租房子更好，因爲租房不用擔心失業或搬遷。你不用擔心自然災害，佛羅里達州經常會遭遇颶風這樣的災害。

Mark: That's definitely true.

馬克：完全正確。

Todd: You know.

託德：就是這樣。

Mark: But there's something about owning your own house, that's just, this is my house but I'm renting. It's like someone else, you know, I mean someone else does own your house, and you know, there's that feeling of like, you depend on them, you know for lodging but if it's your house, you own it, then there's a sense of independency there.

馬克：不過擁有自己的房子……你看如果租房的話，這是我的家可是卻是我租的，這是別人的房子，你知道這種感覺就像寄宿，要依賴別人，不過如果你擁有自己的房子，那就會有種獨立感。

Todd: Yeah, that true. That's a good point but on the other hand, I just love my free time, and when you rent, you just got more free time. You know when you own a house. You have to do maintenance. You have to do all the paperwork for taxes, and you know, city government stuff, like that. When you rent it's just really easy.

託德：對，沒錯。這個觀點不錯，不過從另一方面來看，我喜歡自由時間，如果租房子就會有更多的自由時間。可是如果是自己的房子，你就要維護，要填寫市政府的交稅單之類的東西。要是租房子，就不用這麼麻煩。

Mark: Well, you know, the maintenance stuff can be fun. It depends on how you look at it. Like, you know, if it's your house, you actually might be motivated to make it look better cause it's, you take pride in, you know, where you live and it's your house, and what do you do in your free time anyway? Like what do you do in your free times?

馬克：你看，維護其實可以帶來樂趣的。這取決於你怎麼看待這個事情。如果這是你的房子，你會希望讓它看起來更好，因爲你會以你的房子爲榮，對了，你空閒時間都做什麼？你會在空閒時間什麼事情？

Todd: What do I do in my free time?

託德：我空閒時會做什麼？

Mark: Yeah.

馬克：對。

Todd: Well, I don't fix pipes and work on plumbing and garden, that's for sure.

託德：反正我肯定不會修理管道，也不會修理水管和整理花園。

Mark: But, well, but why not? I mean.

馬克：可是爲什麼不呢？

Todd: Good point. That's true.

託德：這倒是個不錯的觀點。

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重點講解：
1. would like to do sth.
（表示願意）想要；
eg. I would like to move to another town and make a fresh start.
我想搬到另一個城市去，從頭做起。
eg. I would like to give you some advice in the name of a friend.
我願意以朋友的名義給你一些建議。
2. instead of
代替…；而不是…；
eg. Instead of exulting over his failure, you should have lent him a helping hand.
你不應該對他的失敗幸災樂禍，而應幫他一把。
eg. Most large steamships now burn oil instead of coal.
現在多數的大輪船都燒油而不燒煤。
3. on the other hand
（從）另一方面（來說）（用於引出相對照的另一點）；
eg. The Blairgowrie Highland Games, on the other hand, are the real thing rather than a media event.
另一方面，布萊爾高裏高地賽確實是真正的比賽，而不單是媒體盛事。
eg. This is a novel, but on the other hand, it can be looked as a biography.
這是一部小說，在另一方面，它又可以被看作一部傳記。
4. take pride in
以……自豪；
eg. They take great pride in their heritage.
他們爲自己的歷史傳統深感自豪。
eg. He seems to take pride in making fatuous remarks.
說起這番蠢話來，他似乎還挺得意。
5. for sure
無疑；肯定；
eg. She won't dare do that again, and that's for sure.
她不敢再幹那事了，那是毫無疑問的。
eg. One thing is for sure,it's not going to be easy.
有一點可以肯定，事情不會很容易。