精彩对白
Celine: So how long have you been in Paris?
Jesse: I got in last night. I've done 10 cities in 2 days. I'm wrecked1. I'm so glad it's over, you know? I'm tired of being a huckster.
Waitress: Hi.
Celine: Hello. What do you want?
Jesse: A cup of coffee. God, I love this caf. I wish they had places like this in the US.
Celine: Yeah, I missed cafs when I was living over there. I mean, I find a few places I really liked, but there was...
Jesse: You were living in the US?
Celine: Yes, from '96 to '99. I was studying at NYU.
Jesse: Oh, God, don't tell me that, Celine.
Celine: What?
Jesse: No, it's just..Nothing, I mean, I...
Celine: What?
Jesse: I've been living in New York since '98. We were there at the same time.
Celine: In New York?
Jesse: Yeah.
Celine: That's weird2. It actually crossed my mind a few times that I might run into you...but the odds3 are so slim, right? So...I didn't even know what city you were in. Weren't you somewhere in Texas?
Jesse: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I just...I was for a long time. I just, you know, wanted to try New York. What brought you back here?
Celine: I had finished my master's, for one...and no visa, no more visa. And I was starting to get paranoid. All the violence in the medias: Gang violence, murders, especially serial4 killers6...But the final straw was...one night I heard some noise on my fire escape...so I called 911, and the cops came eventually.
Jesse: Like three hours later.
Celine: Yeah, after I had been raped7 and killed. No, but it was a man and a woman officer. I was explaining what I had heard...when the woman had to go move the police car. I was left alone with the male cop. Right away he asked me if I had a gun, and I said, No, of course not. And he told me, Well, you better think about getting one. This is America, not France. Okay? And I said to him, I have no idea how to shoot a gun...and I have no interest in firearms whatsoever8. And that's when he pulled out his gun, like this, and he went: Well, one day, you're gonna have something like this in your face...and if you wanna have a long life...you're gonna have to choose between you or them. And then they left. And the next morning I called for an application to get a gun. Me with a gun. I mean, that's really scary. But then I realized something was wrong. The way that cop had pulled his gun out, and everything, right? So I canceled my demand for the gun...and I called the police and tried to complain about that cop.
Jesse: What happened with that?
Celine: It was so much paperwork...and then I got scared, with my shitty student visa...
Jesse: Thought you'd get deported9?
Celine: Exactly. I gave up...and forgot about the whole thing. Well, I guess I never forgot.
Jesse: Obviously.
Celine: But still, you know, I really enjoyed being there. There's lots of things I miss in the US.
Jesse: Yeah? Like what?
Celine: Well...The overall good mood people have there. Like, even if it can be bullshit sometimes. Like, How you doing? Great. How you doing? Great! Have a great day! I don't know. Parisians can be so grumpy. Have you noticed?
Jesse: No, everybody seems pretty happy to me.
Celine: They're not happy. No.
Jesse: They're not happy?
Celine: No, they are. I don't know. I just mean French men. They drive me nuts.
Jesse: What is it? What about them?
Celine: Well, they're very nice. They're great, you know, to be around. They love food, wine, they're great cooks. But I've had really bad luck with them.
Jesse: Why? What do you mean?
Celine: Well, I guess they're not as...
Jesse: What?
Celine: What's the word? Horny? They're not as horny.
Jesse: Horny? Wait, listen to me on this one. In that regard, I am proud to be an American.
Celine: And you should be. In that regard only.
妙语佳句 活学活用
1. huckster: 大声叫卖的小贩；大吹大擂的营销推广商
2. the odds: 可能性，机会
3. paranoid: 偏执狂；妄想症病人
4. serial killer5: 连环杀手
5. final straw: 最后一根稻草
6. fire escape: 防火梯；安全出口
7. paperwork: 文书工作；纸上作业
8. deport:遣送出境
9. drive me nuts: 等于drive me mad，意思是：他们快把我逼疯了。
10. horny: 〈美俚〉好色的，猥亵的
