影片对白

Carrie: That day, Tim popped the question.

Tim: How'd you like to have dinner with my folks Tuesday night?

Elizabeth: I'd love to.

Carrie: On Tuesday, he called with some bad news.

Tim: My mother's not feeling very well.

Elizabeth: Well, gosh, I'm sorry. 

Tim: Could we take a rain check?

Elizabeth: Of course. Tell your mum I hope she feels better.

Carrie: When she hadn't heard from him for two weeks, she called.

Elizabeth: Tim, from Elizabeth. That's an awfully long rain check.

Carrie: He said he was up to his ears and that he'd call her the next day.

Elizabeth: He never did call, of course. Bastard.

Carrie: She told me one day over coffee.

Elizabeth: I don't understand. In England, looking at houses together would have meant something.

Carrie: Then I realized no one had told her about the end of love in Manhattan. Welcome to the age of "un-innocence." No one has breakfast at Tiffany's, and no one has affairs to remember. Instead, we have breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and affairs we try to forget as quickly as possible. Self-protection and closing the deal are paramount. Cupid has flown the co-op. How the hell did weget into this mess? There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of women like this in the city. We all know them, and we all agree they're great. They travel. They pay taxes. They'll spend $400 on a pair of Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals. And they're alone. It's like the riddle of the Sphinx. Why are there so many great unmarried women and no great unmarried men? I explore these sorts of issues in my column and I have terrific sources: my friends.

Peter Mason: When you're a young guy in your 20s, women are controlling the relationships. By the time you're an eligible man in your 30s, you feel like you're being devoured by women. Suddenly, the guys are holding all the chips. I call it the mid-30s power flip.

Capote Duncan: It's all about age and biology. I mean, if you want to get married, it's to have kids, right? And you don't want to do it with someone older than 35, 'cause you have to have kids right away and that's about it. I think these women should just forget about marriage and have a good time.

Miranda Hobbes: I have a friend who'd always gone out with extremely sexy guys and just had a good time. One day she woke up, and she was 41. She couldn't get any more dates. She had a complete physical breakdown, couldn't hold on to her job and had to move back to Wisconsin to live with her mama. Trust me-- this is not a story that makes men feel bad.

Charlotte York: Most men are threatened by successful women. If you want to get these guys, you have to keep your mouth shut and play by the rules.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Rain check

Rain check是美国流行口语，典故出自露天举行的棒球比赛。棒球是最受美国人欢迎的运动之一。如果球赛进行时天公不造美，骤然倾盆大雨，不得不暂停，观众可领"雨票"，或用原票存根作为"雨票"(rain check)，球赛改期举行时可凭之入场。

Rain check这句话后来有了引申意，广泛应用于日常生活中。

比方说有人请你吃饭或看戏，假如你刚巧因事不能奉陪，你可用婉谢的口吻说：May I take a rain check？直译是：可以给我一张雨票吗？地道英语的引申义是：这次抱歉不能赴约，下次有请必到。

上句是很客气的委婉讲法。如果约你的朋友已经是很熟的了，你大可直接说 I'll take a rain check，换成汉语就是："改天吧。"

2. Up to one's ears

意思是"deeply involved or occupied to full capacity深陷在（工作中）"，例如：We are up to our ears in work.

3. Close the deal

本意是"Complete a transaction 完成一件交易"，例如：Jack was delighted to close the deal. 这里指"结束一段情事"。

4. Get into

意思是"Become involved in卷入，陷入"，例如：He got into trouble by stealing cars.

影片简介

Sex and the City：充满欲望的人间

Sex and the City is a popular American cable television program. The original broadcast run of the show was on HBO from 1998 until 2004.

Set in New York City, the show's focus is on four female characters. It was considered a sitcom, but had serialized storylines, like a soap opera, as well as dramatic elements. The show tackled socially relevant issues, often specifically dealing with women in society in the late 1990s, and how changing roles and definitions for women impacted the characters.

Sex and the City premiered on June 6, 1998, and the last original episode aired on February 22, 2004. The show was primarily filmed at New York City's Silvercup Studios and on location in and around Manhattan. Since it ended, the show has been aired in syndication on networks such as TBS, The CW, WGN, and many other local stations.

The show was based in part on writer Candace Bushnell's book of the same name, compiled from her column with the New York Observer. Bushnell has stated in several interviews that Carrie Bradshaw is her alter ego; when she originally wrote the "Sex and the City" essays, she used her own name initially but for privacy reasons, created the character of Carrie Bradshaw, a woman with the same career (writer) and same initials. 

The narrative of the show focuses on Carrie and her three best girlfriends. (Bushnell has indicated that Carrie's friends are composites of her friends.) Together, Carrie and her friends represented a crosssection of contemporary American women. The women discussed their sexual desires and fantasies, as well as their beliefs and opinions. The show often portrayed frank discussions about romance and sexuality, particularly in the context of being a single woman.

The first season of the show was a adaptation of its source material; however, subsequent seasons depart from the book. Each episode in season one featured a short montage of interviews that Carrie supposedly conducted while researching for her column. These continued through season two before being phased out. Another feature that was eventually scrapped was Carrie breaking the fourth wall (for example, looking into the camera and speaking to the audience directly). Bradshaw would question scenarios and ideas, asking the audience for an opinion or insight on different situations. The last such event occurred in episode 3 of the second season, "The Freak Show".

小编感言

开篇的这一段以 Carrie Bradshaw 为自己的专栏所作的访谈开始。Carrie 提出了一个问题：There are thousands, maybe tens of thousands of women like this in the city. We all know them, and we all agree they're great. They travel. They pay taxes. They'll spend $400 on a pair of Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals. And they're alone. It's like the riddle of the Sphinx. Why are there so many great unmarried women and no great unmarried men? 这个问题可以说是这部剧集一直围绕的中心，也是现在困扰很多单身女性的问题。到底优秀的、可以结婚的男人都哪儿去了？小编曾经看过一个很有趣的答案：因为他们都有男朋友了。当然，女人嫁不出去可不光是因为男性同性恋的风行，还有诸多的社会原因在里头。这部剧集在轻松搞笑的同时也会带你一同探讨这一问题。

考考你

用今日所学将下面的句子译成英语。

1．星期二我不能来参加宴会了，希望你能原谅，下次我一定到。

2．我深陷于工作中。

3．我可不想卷入这个问题。

Dreamgirls《追梦女郎》（精讲之六） 考考你 参考答案

1． 他买新家庭影院花了很多钱。
He blew a lot of money on his new home theater.

2． 你的车得要多大的空间？
How much room will your car take up?

3． 看他怎么涮这个业余棋手吧。
Just watch him make a monkey out of this amateur chess player.