地道美语听力练习:写小说

Xavier: How's your novel coming along?
泽维尔：你的小说有什么进展？

Sara: It's not. I abandoned it for now. I think I bit off more than I can chew. Now, I'm working on a short story.
萨拉：没有进展。我已经放弃了。我觉得自己有点不自量力。现在我在构思短故事。

Xavier: That sounds interesting. Who are the main characters?
泽维尔：听起来很有趣。主角是谁？

Sara: I'm not sure yet. Character development is really important so I need to give the characters themselves some serious thought.
萨拉：我还没想好。主角在故事中的发展很重要，所以我要赋予角色们深刻的思想。

Xavier: Okay, tell me about the general plot. Is it an adventure, romance, horror story —what?
泽维尔：好的，告诉我故事的主线。是不是集冒险，爱情，恐怖这些元素于一体，还是别的什么？

Sara: I haven't decided that either.
萨拉：这我也没有想好。

Xavier: All right. What about the setting? Is it going to be set in the U.S.?
泽维尔：好吧。故事的场景怎么样？是发生在美国吗？

Sara: Hmm, that's still up in the air, too. I'm thinking of writing a period story, but I'm not sure what time period to choose. That'll help decide the actual setting.
萨拉：嗯，这个也尚待决定。我计划写一个时代故事，但我不知道选哪个时代。这个解决了，场景也就不难选了。

Xavier: I'm guessing you haven't decided the point of view of the story either, whether it'll be told in the first person or third person, am I right?
泽维尔：我猜你也没决定以什么角度叙事，不是以第一人称就是以第三人称叙述吧，我说对了吗？

Sara: You are. I know. I have a lot to think about.
萨拉：对，我知道。要思考的东西太多了。

Xavier: You've definitely got your work cut out for you.
泽维尔：你肯定得开始准备了吧。

Sara: I know. I'm just waiting for some inspiration.
萨拉：我懂。我在等待灵感的出现。

Xavier: Good luck with that.
泽维尔：希望你好运吧。