美语会话实录第155期(MP3+文本):Fine by me

英文原文:

LL: So how long do you plan to live here?
Beth: We'd like to sign a year-long contract, if that's OK.
LL: Fine by me. Do you know how to read this kind of contract?
Beth: Yes. We've signed them before. We even brought our chops.
LL: Great. When in Rome, you guys know what to do.
Beth: We'll sign our signatures, too. And give you our passport numbers along with our ARC numbers.
LL: [After everyone has signed] That about does it. See you in a week.

参考译文:

房东：所以你们准备在这住多久？
贝丝：如果可以的话，我们想签一年的约。
房东：我没问题。你们看得懂这种合约吗？
贝丝：看得懂。我们以前签过。我们甚至连印章都带来了。
房东：太好了。入境随俗，你们都懂该怎么做嘛。
贝丝：我们还要签名。然后把我们的护照号码跟外侨居留证号码一起给你。
房东：（大家都签名后）大概就这样啦。一星期之后见啰

重点词汇:

year-long (a.)
为期一年的
I've just ended a year-long contract.
我刚结束一个一年的合约。
Fine by me.
我能够接受。
A: I get the house and the car, you get the kids and the money.
我要房子跟车子，孩子跟钱归你。
B: That's just fine by me.
我可以接受。
chop (n.)
印章
You'll need to get a chop made if you want to do business in China.
如果你要跟中国做生意的话，你需要先刻一个印章。
When in Rome
入境随俗。因为欧美人士没有刻印章的习惯，所以房东引用这句谚语，称赞贝丝跟吉尔已经是道地台湾人了。由于整句说出来太麻烦，一般口语只会说When in Rome.
I've started eating chicken feet and lotus root. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
我已经开始吃鸡脚跟莲花根了。俗语说入境随俗嘛。
signature (n.)
签名
A: So everything is taken care of?
都办妥了吗？
B: I just need your signature,and you can go.
我只要你的签名,你就可以走了。
passport (n.)
护照。外国人在台居留，必须持护照向外交部申请“外侨居留证”ARC = Alien Resident Certificate，上面的号码就相当于身分证字号
I've heard you can buy passports from less affluent countries like Belize and Tonga.
我听说你有门路买到比较贫穷国家的护照，像是贝里斯跟东加。
That about does it.
大概就是这样了。用在事情已完成一个段落，表示“差不多完成了。”
That about does it for the fish, it's ready to eat.
鱼差不多好了，可以吃了。