Mum: Hi, Jack. How was school?
妈妈：嗨，杰克。今天在学校怎么样？
Jack: Oh, fine. Mum, can I bring some friends round tomorrow?
杰克：哦，挺好的。妈妈，我明天可以带几个朋友来家里吗？
Mum: Sure. Who?
妈妈：当然可以。都有谁？
Jack: Oh, probably Rachel and Steve, maybe Leo.
杰克：哦，可能是瑞秋和史蒂夫，也许还有利奥。
Mum: OK. Not Markus?
妈妈：好的。不叫马库斯吗？
Jack: Er, no.
杰克：呃，不了。
Mum: Oh? Why not?
妈妈：哦？为什么不呢？
Jack: Well, we're not really friends any more.
杰克：嗯，我们不再是朋友了。
Mum: Seriously? I thought you two were best friends.
妈妈：真的吗？我以为你们俩是最好的朋友。
Jack: Yeah, we were. But you know, we had an argument – he said something I didn't like – so he's not my friend any more.
杰克：是啊，曾经是。但你知道，我们吵架了——他说了一些我不喜欢的话——所以他不再是我的朋友了。
Mum: And what did he say?
妈妈：他说了什么？
Jack: Well, he called me silly. Friends don't do that.
杰克：嗯，他叫我傻。朋友不会那么做。
Mum: Jack, do you remember Mrs Gordon? Janice? She's a friend of mine.
妈妈：杰克，你还记得戈登夫人吗？贾尼丝？她是我的一个朋友。
Jack: Yes, I remember. She was your friend at school too, wasn't she?
杰克：是的，我记得。她在学校也是你的朋友，对吗？
Mum: Yes, and we're still friends now, 20 years later. Her mother was a friend of my mother's. Anyway, one day at school, well, we had an argument and I said something really horrible to her.
妈妈：是的，20年后的现在我们仍然是朋友。她的妈妈是我妈妈的朋友。总之，有一天在学校，我们吵架了，我对她说了一些非常糟糕的话。
Jack: What?
杰克：什么？
Mum: It doesn't matter. But she walked away and said, 'I never want to see you again.' I was really upset about that and I shouted, 'Same here!' or something. Then the next day, at school, she came up to me with a big smile and said, 'Hi, Jenny, you OK?'
妈妈：没关系。但她走开了，说：“我再也不想见到你了。”我对此非常难过，喊道：“我也是！”之类的话。第二天在学校，她带着灿烂的笑容走到我面前说：“嗨，珍妮，你还好吗？”
Jack: Really?
杰克：真的吗？
Mum: Yes, I was completely surprised and I asked her, I said, 'Aren't you angry with me?' And she said something I still remember. She said: 'Well, yes, I was angry but last night I thought of all the nice things you always say to me and the nice things you do. I want to think about that, not something you said because you were angry.' And those words of hers, well, they almost made me cry. And here we are, twenty years later, still friends.
妈妈：是的，我完全惊讶了，我问她：“你不生我的气吗？”她说了一句我至今还记得的话：“嗯，是的，我生气了，但昨晚我想到了你总是对我说的那些好话和你做的好事。我想记住那些，而不是你因为生气说的话。”她的话几乎让我哭了。现在我们在这里，二十年后，仍然是朋友。
Jack: Wow. Cool story, Mum.
杰克：哇。妈妈，这个故事真酷。
Mum: So I think it's a real shame that after such a long time, you can't still be friends with Markus.
妈妈：所以我认为，过了这么久，你却不能和马库斯做朋友，真是太遗憾了。
Jack: You're right. Wow, so many times he helped me with my homework, listened to me when I had a problem.
杰克：你说得对。哇，他很多次帮我做作业，在我遇到问题时倾听我。
Mum: That's right. So he called you silly one time? So what? And you know, sometimes you are stupid – just like everyone else.
妈妈：没错。所以他就叫你一次傻？那又怎样？你知道，有时候你也很愚蠢——就像其他所有人一样。
Jack: Yes. Mum, I'm going out. Round to Markus' place, OK?
杰克：是的。妈妈，我要出去。去马库斯家，好吗？
Mum: Good idea, Jack, and why don't you take him a present to say sorry?
妈妈：好主意，杰克，不如带个礼物去向他道歉吧？
课文录音 A-True-Friend.mp3
📚 生词表 · Word Bank
| 单词 | 音标 | 中文释义 |
|---|---|---|
| argument | /ˈɑːɡjumənt/ | 争论；争吵 |
| horrible | /ˈhɒrəbl/ | 可怕的；极讨厌的 |
| upset | /ʌpˈset/ | 难过；心烦 |
| shame | /ʃeɪm/ | 遗憾；羞耻 |
| present | /ˈpreznt/ | 礼物 |
| silly | /ˈsɪli/ | 愚蠢的；傻气的 |