Part 1 So Far, So Bad

Jane上了大學后花錢大手大腳，信用卡透支過度、負債累累疲于還貸……一切都糟透了，Mark勸她趕緊想想補救的方法。

（Two friends are talking in a university bar.）

Mark： Hey you！

Jane： Hey Mark！

Mark： How are you doing？

Jane： ①Totally fed up， to be honest with you！

Mark： ②A little down in the dumps， are we？

Jane： More frustrated than anything. ③I just need to let off some steam！

Mark： Oh yeah？ What is it？ Boy trouble？

Jane： Much worse than that！ Its a matter of money！

Mark： Running low， are we？

Jane： I wish！ Not only am I totally 1）skint but I also owe money to various banks！

Mark： Oh no！ That sounds like a nightmare！ Hows that happened？

Jane： Im shocking at budgeting. I just seem to throw money away.

Mark： What do you mean？ What are you spending so much money on？ Clothes？！

Jane： I wish！ I opened up a credit card in my first term and now Im paying just the interest off that！

Mark： Oh Jane， why did you get a credit card？！

Jane： This card allowed you to get 15% discount at a famous pizza restaurant.

Mark： Thats ridiculous， Jane！ So careless！

Jane： It seemed like a good deal at the time！

Mark： But youre getting into debt because of pizza！

Jane： But it is just so much easier to pay by card. Its a way more convenient.

Mark： Just use cash or have a debit card. That way you can actually see how much money you have left！

Jane： Its in case of emergency！ Thats what I tell my parents！

Mark： Jane！

Jane： And there are my 2）maintenance bills.

Mark： Yeah， thats true. Gas， water and electricity can be dear.

Jane： Hmmm， I was thinking more Starbucks， the cinema and going dancing.

Mark： Thats hardly maintenance， is it？

Jane： Well it maintains my 3）sanity！

Mark： Haha， but seriously， dont you 4）budget at all？！

Jane： I try to， but university living is actually quite expensive. Phone bills， rent， university books， tuition fees…they all add up！

Mark： Dont you have a loan to help sort those out？

Jane： I did， yeah.

Mark： What do you mean you “did”？

Jane： Well…

Mark： Go on， tell me.

Jane： Well Ive always wanted to go traveling around Europe and I thought that 5）whilst I had the cash…

Mark： Oh Jane. Please dont tell me you spent your entire loan on a holiday！

Jane： Not all of it. Just most of it I guess.

Mark： But what are you going to do for the rest of the year？

Jane： I guess I have to find a way to get more money to cover myself.

Mark： Any ideas？

Jane： I guess I could try and get another loan or extend my 6）overdraft.

Mark： No！ Are you crazy？！

Jane： ④So， how do you 7）stay afloat？

Mark： I have two jobs， one in a coffee shop and the other in a bar on campus！

Jane： ⑤I better take a leaf from your book.

Mark： I think it would do you well！

Smart Sentences

① Totally fed up， to be honest with you！ 老實說，一點也不好！

fed up： unhappy， bored（不開心，無聊）例如：

I was just fed up the whole weekend.

我整個周末都很不得勁。

② A little down in the dumps， are we？有點抑郁是嗎？

down in the dumps： feeling very depressed and miserable（感覺抑郁和消沉）。例如：

Hes been feeling a bit down in the dumps since the divorce.

他離婚后有點消沉。

③ I just need to let off some steam！ 我需要發泄！

let off steam： release pent-up energy or emotions（發泄郁積的感情，泄怒）。例如：

Swimming is a good way to let off steam when you are stressed out.

在備受壓力之時，游泳是一種很好的發泄方式。

④ So， how do you stay afloat？ 那么，你是怎么維持生計的呢？

stay afloat： operating at a satisfactory standard economically（經濟上應付自如）。例如：

Its hard for a business to stay afloat in recession.

在經濟蕭條時期，想要維持一家企業并不容易。

⑤ I better take a leaf from your book. 我應該向你學學。

take a leaf from sb.s book： behave in the same way as sb.（學某人的樣，以某人為榜樣）。 例如：

Maybe we should take a leaf from Peters book； he can focus and is efficient.

也許我們都該學學彼得，他可以集中精神，效率高。