DIALOGUE 52

1--How many hours a week do you work, Sue?
2--We have to start at nine o'clock in the morning.
   but I'm always at school by a quarter past eight,
   in fact. Erm, we finish at four o'clock 4 days a
   week, and I usually do go home at four o'clock,
   and I'm usually home by half past four. Wednesday
   afternoon is free, so we finish at twelve o'clock
   on Wednesday.
1--How long have you been intereted in computers, Sue?
2--Interested. I suppose I got interested when I did
   my master's degree.
1--What sort of things do you do with your computer?
2--Well, I use my computer, personally, as a word
   processor, quite a lot, but I also use it for playing
   around creating programs.

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注解：

1）How long have you been interested in computers?
此句直译：你对计算机感兴趣有多长时间了？
2）I got interested in...：got是系动词，与be interested
相比，前者强调"action"，后者强调"state"。
3）master's degree：硕士学位。大学授予的学位分三级，最低
级称作“学士”(Bachelor's degree)，中级称“硕士”，最高级
称“博士”(Doctor's degree)。
4）sort：种类，类别。与kind同义。
5）word processor：文字处理机。
6）play around creating programs：他在计算机上编制
程序等等只是为了娱乐消遣，并非正经的工作，所以才这样
说。play around作"spend time having fun","to amuse oneself
with..."解。

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译文：

1--你一个星期工作多少小时，休？
2--我们早上必须9点开始工作。但实际上我总是8点
15分就到学校了。每个星期有四个下午是4点结束
工作。所以我经常是4点钟就往家走。4点半钟到家。星期
三下午没事，所以我们星期三中午12点就完事了。
1--休，你从什么时间起对计算机感兴趣的？
2--我想是从硕士学位时我就对计算机感兴趣。
1--你都用计算机干些什么事？
2--嗬，我自己是用计算机进行文字处理，用得很多，
但有时也用计算机编程序取乐。