Lesson40 Food and talk

Last week at a dinner-party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold. Mrs. Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress. She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I tried to make conversation.

[if !supportLists]' [endif]A new play is coming to" The Globe" soon,' I said. 'Will you be seeing it ?' ' No,' she answered. 'Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year ?' I asked. ' No,' she answered.

[if !supportLists]' [endif]Will you be staying in England?' I asked. ' No,' she answered. In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner.

[if !supportLists]' [endif]Young man,' she answered,' if you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner!'

lɑːst wiːk æt ə ˈdɪnəˌpɑːti, ðə ˈhəʊstɪs ɑːskt miː tuː sɪt nɛkst tuː Mrs. Rumbold. Mrs. Rumbold wɒz ə lɑːʤ, ˌʌnˈsmaɪlɪŋ ˈleɪdi ɪn ə taɪt blæk drɛs. ʃiː dɪd nɒt ˈiːvən lʊk ʌp wɛn aɪ tʊk maɪ siːt bɪˈsaɪd hɜː. hɜːr aɪz wɜː fɪkst ɒn hɜː pleɪt ænd ɪn ə ʃɔːt taɪm, ʃiː wɒz ˈbɪzi ˈiːtɪŋ. aɪ traɪd tuː meɪk ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən.

ə njuː pleɪ ɪz ˈkʌmɪŋ tuː" ðə ˈgləʊb" suːn,' aɪ sɛd. wɪl juː biː ˈsiːɪŋ ɪt ?' ' nəʊ,' ʃiː ˈɑːnsəd. wɪl juː biː ˈspɛndɪŋ jɔː ˈhɒlədeɪz əˈbrɔːd ðɪs jɪə ?' aɪ ɑːskt. ' nəʊ,' ʃiː ˈɑːnsəd.

wɪl juː biː ˈsteɪɪŋ ɪn ˈɪŋglənd?' aɪ ɑːskt. ' nəʊ,' ʃiː ˈɑːnsəd. ɪn dɪsˈpeə, aɪ ɑːskt hɜː ˈwɛðə ʃiː wɒz ɪnˈʤɔɪɪŋ hɜː ˈdɪnə.

jʌŋ mæn,' ʃiː ˈɑːnsəd,' ɪf juː ɛt mɔːr ænd tɔːkt lɛs, wiː wʊd bəʊθ ɪnˈʤɔɪ ˈaʊə ˈdɪnə!'

Last week at a dinner party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold. Mrs. Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady, with in a tight black dress. She didn't even look up when I took a my seat beside her. Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating. I tried to make a conversation with her.

"A new play is coming to 'The Globe' soon.' I said. ' will you be seeing it.?" I asked.

"No." She answered.

'Will you be spending your holiday aboard this year?' I asked.

"No." She answered.

'Will you be staying in England?' I asked.

"No." She answered.

In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying the her dinner.

'Young man.' she answered. 'If you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner.'

She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her. 我在她旁边坐下时她甚至没有抬头看一下。

be busy doing 忙于做某事