People and proper nouns:
Mr. Adamian: Georgia's young (and rather
rude) boss
Arturo: the manager of the Grandhotel Pupp in
Karlovy Vary
Ms. Burns: Mr Kragen's mistress (lover, not
wife)
Chef Didier: One of the main reasons Georgia
goes to Karlovy Vary is to meet this famous chef
Darius: a kid who lives near Georgia, and who
eats her cooking
Ms. Gunther: floor valet (管家?)
for rich guests at the Grandhotel Pupp
Dr. Gupta: a doctor at the clinic where
Georgia works
Georgia Byrd: a saleswoman, and the star of
this film
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic: Georgia's dream
vacation takes place here, famous for mineral springs
Matthew Kragen: a self-centered, rich, young
entrepreneur; he owns the store where Georgia works
Reverend: Georgia's pastor (it is common not
to use a pastor's name, and just call him "Reverend", "Father" or "Pastor")
Rochelle: Georgia's co-worker
Sean Williams: Georgia's co-worker; they
secretly admire each other
Some phrases:
blow (my money): to waste money; to spend
money casually (blow it can also mean to waste or lose an
opportunity)
cut me some slack: stop making this so
difficult (e.g., when an avalanche closes the road with snow and traps
Georgia at the hotel on New Year's Eve, she says to God: "You're just not
gonna cut me any slack at all, are you?")
go through (sb's stuff): search sb's things;
carefully look through someone's papers, suitcase, etc., when you are trying
to find something (Gunther: "I go through everyone's stuff. I apologize.
Maybe I should be a detective (侦探?)
instead of a valet.")
in the first place: [what happened] at the
start of a situation ("That's the kind of thinking that put this store in
Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) in the first place (when our trouble began).")
to spice sth up: to add herbs, powder, hot
peppers, etc. in order to make sth taste better; to add interest or
excitement to sth ("Brave people like to put some of this hot sauce on this
dish, to spice it up a bit.")
Some terms (vocabulary):
*means that these
would be good words for students to learn
acquisitions: (formal) things you bought, esp
land, companies, expensive art, etc. (Kragen: "Senator Dillings is telling
me that his committee is having problems with my acquisitions.")
avalanche: a large amount of snow that
suddenly rolls down a mountain (often destroying roads or villages)
BASE jumping: to jump, with a parachute (降落伞),
from a tall place like a Building, Antenna, Span (dam or bridges), or Earth
(cliff) (thus B+A+S+E) ("BASE-jumping is dangerous. We've lost a couple of
people doing this." "What, like people died?" "Yeah")
*bet: the money you risk when gambling, or
the act of doing this ("That's a lunatic (crazy) bet. You surely will
lose your money.")
bonds: documents promising that the cost will
be paid back, plus interest, from a company or government ("As Chairman of
the Commerce Committee in Washington, I'm always interested in how savvy
people such as yourself operate the market. Why did you sell your bonds?
Were you pessimistic about the future?")
*brochure: a printed item that contains
descriptive information or advertising (if only one page, it can also be
called leaflet; if multiple pages and unbound, it can be called a booklet)
bucking for: trying hard to get sth, esp a
promotion at work ( "Are you bucking for head of the Salvation Army (a
charity that helps poor people) or what? Stop feeding the moochers (people
who want sth for free).")
butter: a yellow spread made from milk (黄油)
(Chef Didier says the secret of life is butter!)
*CT/CT scan ( or CAT scan): a device (also
process or result) that gives a sectional (3-D) picture of the inside of
someone’s body (I believe the letters come from “Computed Tomography”)
*chef: someone who's job is to cook, often
after a lot of training so that he/she is more skillful than a simple "cook"
(Georgia: "I'm not a chef; cooking is just a hobby.")
cocoon: the silk cover around insects while
they change into butterflies (茧);
something that completely wraps around you for personal protection
*competitive: determined to win all the time,
driven to beat others at sports, business, gambling, etc.
*entrepreneur: someone who takes a risk to
set up and finance a new commercial venture
frumpy (clothes): ugly because they are
out-of-date or out-of-style
*gonna: oral English, meaning "going to" (you
should never write the word "gonna" because it is not really a word)
*gambling: risking money on the outcome of a
game, race, etc.; if you guess right you make money, but if you guess wrong
then you lose your money (i.e., your bet)
helicopter: a flying machine, powered by a
large blade on top (直升飞机)
*incentive: sth that encourages you to study
or work harder (Reverend: "As an incentive for us all to be singing in full
voice, Senator Dillings will be here on Sunday to kick off our Community
Redevelopment Program.")
jerk: a self-centered man who annoys or hurts
other people (Kragen, when drunk: "I know I'm a jerk." Georgia: "So, is this
where the jerks hang out?")
to liquidate: to sell sth (bonds, a building,
etc) and get money for it, often to pay debts (banker: "You're sure you want
to liquidate the entire IRA (Individual Retirement Account)?")
marked: labeled, often in a damaging way (mark
is used in many different ways) (Ms. Burns: "I've been marked by this; no
one will even talk to me.")
masseuse: someone trained to give massages (按摩)
merger: when two companies willingly decide
to join together (Kragen: "I'll take a big bath (lose a lot of money)
if these mergers don't go through.)
palate: keen sense of taste (Chef Didier:
"You have a sensitive palate.")
the retail business: stores that sell to
individuals, as opposed to selling to stores or companies (Georgia: "I've
worked in the retail business for ten years.")
*sales associate: saleswoman, sales clerk,
someone who sells things in a retail store ("Georgia is a sales associate at
Kragen's Department Store.")
snowboard: a single, wide ski or board used
to go down snow-covered hills
*substitutions: replacements (Chefs don't
like guests to make substitution, like "give me beans instead of this
vegetable.")
tonsils: (medical) flesh at the sides of
your throat (扁桃体)
(Reverend: "Sister Abernathy is singing louder than you, and she just had
her tonsils out!")
*wanna: oral English, meaning "want to" (you
should never write the word "wanna" because it is not really a word)
*wedge: sth (usually shaped like a triangle)
that helps you split things apart, or anything that looks or acts that way (Kragen:
"She's here to drive a wedge between me and those politicians.")
Dialog 1:
Darius: I don't suppose you're gonna (going
to) have any?
Georgia: Lord, no. I don't eat nothing but my
Lean Cuisine (meals specially made for those on a diet)
Darius: What is that book, anyway?
Georgia: That is my private property!
Darius: I was just looking. What is it?
Georgia: It's just what it says, just my
"possibilities" book. Just things I'm interested in.
Darius: Including this guy? Is he your
boyfriend?
Georgia: No… Why are you snooping around my
stuff, anyway? (people often change the subject when they don't want to
talk about something)
Darius: So, what's his name?
Georgia: None of your business.
Darius: Well, short of you telling me his
name, I don't know anything better to call him but lucky mother…
Georgia (interrupting): What? You might as
well go ahead and leave my house if you're going to be using that kind of
language. His name is Sean Williams. And you better not say anything to
anybody.
Darius: I ain't.
Dialog 2:
Georgia: What are we looking at?
Dr. Gupta: Well, we're looking at the results
of a virus you have, ma'am. I believe it to be Lampington's disease. It's
harmless in most cases.
Georgia: What about my case?
Dr. Gupta: Well, I thought I'd misread the
first CAT Scan, so I did the second scan. But that just confirmed it, you
see? Ma'am, I'm very sorry to tell you… This is very difficult for me. Maybe
we need a second opinion.
Dr.2: [Do] You see the area here? This is
your mass. Your tumor. I'm sorry, Georgia, but the virus has caused a very
advanced case of Lampington's lesions.
Georgia: What does that mean?
Dr.2: Without treatment, it's terminal.
Georgia: What? Like I'm going to die?
Dr.2: I'm very sorry.
Georgia: But I feel fine.
Dr.2: It's diabolical. Such a sneaky disease.
I'm afraid you've only got three weeks to live. There is an operation, but
it won't be covered by your HMO (i.e., by your company's health insurance).
Georgia: How much would it cost if I paid for
it myself?
Dr. Gupta: Around $340,000. That's without
anesthesia. You'll want that.
Dialog 3:
Clerk: I'm sorry, your room won't be ready
for two hours.
Georgia: Well, my time is kind of precious
lately now. Don't y'all (you all) have anything available now?
Clerk: I'll check. Let's see. Only the
Presidential Suite. It's 3000 Euros ($4000US) a night.
Georgia: Did you see me blink? (Did it
look like that price bothers me?) Look. There's Mr. Kragen.
Clerk: [Do] You know Mr Kragen? We are
honored that he comes to our hotel every year at this time.
Georgia (talking to God): You [are] playing
with me, right?
Clerk: Pardon me?
Georgia: Not you – Him.
(Georgia sees that Kragen is with his
mistress—Ms Burns—instead of his wife; when Georgia sees that Kragen doesn't
treat Ms Burns very well, she says…)
Georgia (to Ms Burns): If it's any
consolation, he's going to have a shitty fourth quarter. (Perhaps it will
make you feel better to know that his company is going to lose money in that
last quarter of the year.)
(When she gets to the Presidential Suite,
Georgia gives a ridiculously large tip to the man who carried her bag and
then looks out the window) Georgia: What world was I living in?
Dialog 4:
Senator: They say these waters have curative
powers; let you live to be 100.
Georgia: Yeah, well, I hope they work fast.
Senator: Clarence Dillings. Senator Clarence
Dillings.
Georgia: I know who you are.
Senator: Oh, so, we have met. [At the]
Entrepreneurs of Diversity [conference]? In Washington?
Georgia: Try church last Sunday.
Senator: But I didn't go to church last
Sunday.
Georgia: That's right. You know, you left a
whole lot of church folk disappointed, Senator. People who voted for you. We
heard that "pressing business in our nation's capital" kept you; the pastor
even prayed for you, thinking that you "toil so hard toting the burden of
our welfare."
(continued on the right)
