胡言亂語

    孔子觀於周廟，有欹器焉。孔子問於守廟者曰：“此謂何器也？”對曰：“此蓋為宥座之器。”孔子曰：“聞宥座器滿則覆，虛則欹，中則正，有之乎？”對曰：“ 然。”孔子使子路取水試之，滿則覆，中則正，虛則欹。孔子喟然而嘆曰：“嗚呼！惡有滿而不覆者哉！”子路曰：“敢問持滿有道乎？”孔子曰：“持滿之道，抑而損之。”子路曰：“損之有道乎？”孔子曰：“德行寬裕者，守之以恭；土地廣大者，守之以儉；祿位尊盛者，守之以卑，人眾兵強者，守之以畏；聰明睿智者、 守之以愚；博聞強記者，守之以淺。夫是之謂抑而損之。”（韓嬰《韓詩外傳》卷三）

欹（ㄧ）：傾斜不正

宥座之器:

滿招損，謙受益

Conversation 2
Stephie: Hi, Keith! How is it going?
Keith: Not bad, Stephie. What's new with you?
Stephie: I passed my chemistry test! Have you had any big tests lately?
Keith: Only one. Hey, sorry I can't talk; I'm just on my way to advanced English. Nice seeing you.
Stephie: Nice to see you! Maybe we can talk again later.
Keith: Sounds good. Got to go.
Stephie: OK. Take care.

會話二
史黛菲：嗨，凱斯！還好嗎？
凱斯： 還不錯啦，史黛菲。你最近有什麼新鮮事嗎？
史黛菲：我化學考試及格了耶！你最近有沒有什麼大考？
凱斯： 只有一個。嘿，抱歉，不能再說了，我正要去上進修級英文課。

When opening and Closing Conversations (Part 3 of 7)

Usually the person wanting the dialog to end gives verbal signals. It is polite to respond to these signals called "preclosings." If someone ignores them and does not help close the conversation, a stronger pre-closing can be used. Here is a list of statements you can use to show that you are ready to end the conversation:
* Well, I'm afraid I have to be going.
* I really must go now. (stronger)
* Well, it's getting late.
* It's been a pleasure talking with you.
* It was nice seeing you. (note past tense)
* I know you are busy, so I'll let you go.


通常想要結束對話的一方，會發出言語上的信號。禮貌上，應該對這些稱做「結束前語」的信號給予回應。如果有人不理會這些結束前語，而不結束談話，就得使用更強烈的結束前語。以下列舉一些句子可以用來表達你已經準備好要結束談話：
★ 嗯，我恐怕得走了。
★ 我真的非走不可了。（較強烈）
★ 已經很晚了。
★ 能跟你聊天真開心。
★ 很高興能見到你。（注意是過去式）
★ 我知道你很忙，所以就放你走囉。


⊙Word Bank
verbal [] (adj) 言辭的

dialog [] (n) 對話；交談 (=dialogue)

Conversation 1
Karen: Hi, Charles! I haven't seen you in ages! What have you been up to?
Charles: Karen! What a surprise! I've been studying at Smith University. What's happening with you?
Karen: I've just been on a two-week cruise! Have you got time for coffee? We have some
catching up to do.
Charles: Sure! That sounds great.

會話一
凱倫：嗨，查爾斯！幾百年沒看到你了！你都在做什麼啊？
查爾斯：凱倫！真意外！我一直在史密司大學讀書。你最近如何？
凱倫： 我才參加了一個為期兩星期的遊輪假期！你有沒有時間喝杯咖啡啊？

cruise [] (n) (坐船)旅行；航遊