Why did you leave the restaurant early?

　　你为什么先离开餐馆了？

　　A Hi! Last night was good – great meal, great restaurant.

　　A 喂！昨晚过得真愉快——精美的晚餐，精美的餐馆。

　　B Yes, we all enjoyed it. It’s a pity I had to leave early.

　　B 是的，我们都很开心。 但是遗憾的是我不得不先离开。

　　A Yes, why did you leave early?

　　A 是的，你为什么要先离开？

　　B I left because I had an early start at work this morning.

　　B 我离开是因为我今天早晨要早早开始工作。

　　A Oh, I forgot. You had a meeting at 8am.

　　A 噢，我忘了。你今天上午8点有一个会。

　　B Yes, and I had some work to prepare – so I thought an early night was a good idea.

　　B 是的，我还有一些准备工作要做——所以我想我昨晚应该早点结束。

　　A I’m sure you were right. Anyway it was a great evening!

　　A 我肯定你是对的。无论如何，那都是一个心旷神怡的夜晚！

　　Notes 注释

　　1 You can use the phrase It’s a pity . . . / It’s a pity . . . (or It’s a shame . . . / It’s a shame . . .) in various ways, e.g.: It’s a pity I had to leave early / It’s a pity I had to leave early; It’s a pity it rained / It’s a pity it rained; It’s a pity I missed the party / It’s a pity I missed the party.

　　在很多情形下都可以用It’s a pity . . . / 很遗憾 . . .( 或者 It’s a shame . . . /真遗憾. . .)这个短语，例如：It’s a pity I had to leave early /很遗憾我不得不先离开； It’s a pity it rained / 很遗憾，天下雨了； It’s a pity I missed the party /错过了晚会我真感到遗憾。

　　2 Remember the verb have to . . . / have to . . . (or must . . . / must . . . ): when using it in the past, you use had to / had to, e.g.: I had to leave early / I had to leave early

　　记住动词have to . . . / 不得不 . . . (或者must . . . /必须 . . . ):当用于说过去的事情时用had to /不得不，例如：I had to leave early /我不得不先离开。

　　3 Early / early and the opposite, late / late can be used in many ways, e.g.: I had to leave early / I had to leave early; I didn’t want to be late / I didn’t want to be late; an early night / an early night; The traffic made me late / The traffic made me late.

　　Early /早和它的反义词late /晚可以用在很多的情形下，例如：I had to leave early / 我不得不先走； I didn’t want to be late / 我不想迟到； an early night /早早结束的夜晚；The traffic made me late /交通阻塞让我迟到了。

Key phrases and sentences   Hi!  Last night was good – great meal, great restaurant. Yes, we all enjoyed it.  It’s a pity I had to leave early. Yes, why did you leave early? I left because I had an early start at work this morning. Oh, I forgot.  You had a meeting at 8am. Yes, and I had some work to prepare – so I thought an early night was a good idea. I’m sure you were right.  Anyway it was a great evening!

重要的短语和句子   喂！昨晚过得真愉快——精美的晚餐，精美的餐馆。 是的，我们都很开心。  但是遗憾的是我不得不先离开。 是的，你为什么要先离开？ 我离开是因为我今天早晨要早早开始工作。 噢，我忘了。你今天上午8点有一个会。 是的，我还有一些准备工作要做——所以我想我昨晚应该早点结束。 我肯定你是对的。 无论如何，那都是一个心旷神怡的夜晚！