Kamala and Amrit are mother and son. Amrit wants to have his girlfriend over for dinner. Kamala is reluctant to invite her because she does not approve of the relationship. Listen to how she raises objections while trying to avoid confrontation.

　　卡玛拉和安穆立特是母子，安穆立特想请他的女友来吃晚饭。卡玛拉不赞成他们交

往，所以不太愿意邀请她。听听她如何在提出异议的同时避免引起对立。

　　Kamala: I don’t think we’ll be able to have Julia over for dinner this week, Amrit.

　　卡玛拉：我觉得我们这个礼拜没办法请朱莉亚来吃晚饭，安穆立特。

　　Amrit: Okay, how about next week then?

　　安穆立特：好吧，那下个礼拜可以吗？

　　Kamala: Let’s wait and see how things pan out.

　　卡玛拉：我们到时候再看看情况如何。

　　Amrit: What does that mean?

　　安穆立特：什么意思？

　　Kamala: Well, it’s hard to say what night would be best.

　　卡玛拉：嗯，很难说哪一天晚上最好。

　　Amrit: You don’t like Julia, do you?

　　安穆立特：你不喜欢朱莉亚，对吧？

　　Kamala: Did I say that? I’m simply telling you that this week is not possible.

　　卡玛拉：我这样说过吗？我只是告诉你这个礼拜不行。

　　Amrit: You don’t like my girlfriend!

　　安穆立特：你不喜欢我的女朋友！

　　Kamala: Amrit, I don’t really have time for this. I have to get dinner ready.

　　卡玛拉：安穆立特，我真的没时间争论这个。我得把晚餐准备好。

　　Amrit: I bet you don’t like her because she’s not Indian.

　　安穆立特：我敢打赌你不喜欢她，因为她不是印度人。

　　Kamala: Help me wash the vegetables would you please?

　　卡玛拉：可不可以帮我洗这些菜？

　　Amrit: You think because I am Indian I have to date another Indian—that is racist!

　　安穆立特：你认为我是印度人就必须跟印度人交往，真是种族歧视！

　　Kamala: Look, it is not racist to want to see your son with someone from the same culture.

　　卡玛拉：听着，希望你的儿子和来自同一个文化背景的人在一起，不是种族歧视。

　　Amrit: Why do you care so much about our differences? You don’t have to date her!

　　安穆立特：你为什么这么在意我们之间的差异？你又不必跟她交往！

　　Kamala: That’s enough! Hand me those carrots.

　　卡玛拉：够了！把那些红萝卜拿给我。

　　Amrit: Anyway, what differences are you talking about?

　　安穆立特：好，你说的差异是什么？

　　Kamala: Diet, for example. Are you going to start eating meat?

　　卡玛拉：举例来说，日常饮食。你要开始吃肉了吗？

　　Amrit: Relax mom, Julia’s a vegetarian.

　　安穆立特：放轻松，妈，朱莉亚吃素。

　　Kamala: Well, religion is a very big problem for mixed couples.

　　卡玛拉：嗯，宗教信仰对异族伴侣来说是个大问题。

　　Amrit: We aren’t even religious!

　　安穆立特：我们根本就不是虔诚的教徒！

　　Kamala: Look, an American girl wouldn’t know anything about Indian customs. I’m sure it would be very awkward.

　　卡玛拉：听着，一个美国女孩是不会懂任何印度风俗的。我肯定场面会很尴尬。

　　Amrit: Was it awkward for you and Dad when you first got here?

　　安穆立特：你和爸爸刚到这里的时候觉得尴尬吗？

　　Kamala: That’s different. We had seen many movies and had some idea of what to expect.

　　卡玛拉：那不一样。我们看过很多电影，对可能发生的事情有一点概念。

　　Amrit: Well, if you think it’s inconvenient to have her over for dinner this week, I guess that’s all right….

　　安穆立特：嗯，如果你觉得这个礼拜请她来吃晚餐不方便，我想那也没关系……

　　Kamala: I’m glad you agree–

　　卡玛拉：我很高兴你赞同……

　　Amrit:…because her parents have invited us all over for dinner on Saturday.

　　安穆立特：……因为她的父母已经邀请我们所有的人星期六过去吃晚饭了。