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@ 51433 選擇：大城市還是小城市？
A: 哥們兒明天就要回老家了，今天咱們好好喝一場！
gēmenr míngtiān jiùyào huí lǎojiā le, jīntiān zánmen hǎohāo hē yī chǎng!
Tomorrow, I'm going back to my hometown. Tonight, let's drink up!
B: 幹！為了你的明智選擇！
gān! wèile nǐ de míngzhì xuǎnzé!
Cheers! To your wise decision!
A: 哎！我也就一逃兵！不想在這兒混了，房價高，工資低，啥時候才能給老婆孩子一個窩啊！
āi! wǒ yě jiù yī táobīng! bù xiǎng zài zhèr hùn le, fángjià gāo, gōngzī dī, shá shíhou cái néng gěi lǎopo háizi yī gè wō a!
Agh! I'm just a deserter! I don't want to just keep drifting along here. Housing prices are high, salaries are low; when will I ever be able to provide a nice home for my wife and kid!
B: 是金子在哪兒都會發光的。回小城市也挺好的，壓力小，生活質量高。還能照顧父母。
shì jīnzi zài nǎr dōu huì fāguāng de. huí xiǎo chéngshì yě tǐng hǎo de, yālì xiǎo, shēnghuó zhìliang gāo. hái néng zhàogu fùmǔ.
Wherever there's gold, it shines! Going back to a small city is quite nice. There's little pressure, and the quality of life is higher. Also, you can take care of your folks.
A: 大學畢業的時候，一門心思想來大城市闖蕩。現在才知道，並不是每個人都能在大上海撈一把的。
dàxué bìyè de shíhou, yīménxīnsi xiǎng lái dàchéngshì chuǎngdàng. xiànzài cái zhīdào, bìng bùshì měi ge rén dōu néng zài dà Shànghǎi lāoyībǎ de.
When I graduated from university, I wholeheartedly wanted to come to the big city and make a living, but now I know: not everyone can make a profit in a big city like Shanghai.
C: 我是豁出去了，混不出個人樣來絕對不回去。反正我這破專業去小城市也沒用武之地。
wǒ shì huōchūqu le, hùn bù chū ge rényàng lái juéduì bù huíqu. fǎnzhèng wǒ zhè pò zhuānyè qù xiǎo chéngshì yě méi yòngwǔzhīdì.
I'm committed. If I can't make something of myself, I'm definitely not going back. Either way, a lousy major like mine won't get me anywhere in a small town.
A: 決定了就好好幹吧！上海畢竟機會多，空間也大。再說了，你還是單身，想去哪兒就能去哪兒。
juédìng le jiù hǎohāo gàn ba! Shànghǎi bìjìng jīhuì duō, kōngjiān yě dà. zàishuō le, nǐ háishì dānshēn, xiǎng qù nǎr jiù néng qù nǎr.
If you've made up your mind, then do it well! After all, there are a lot of opportunities in Shanghai, and there's a lot of room to grow. On top of that, you're still single. Wherever you want to go, you can go.
C: 單身也是沒辦法的事兒。現在的女孩兒都現實，咱沒房沒車，自己就底氣不足。
dānshēn yě shì méi bànfǎ de shìr. xiànzài de nǚháir dōu xiànshí, zán méi fáng méi chē, zìjǐ jiù dǐqì bùzú.
Well, there's nothing I can do about being single anyway. Girls these days are too practical. If you don't have a house or a car, it just won't cut it.
B: 對了，你已經在老家找好工作了吧？
duìle, nǐ yǐjīng zài lǎojiā zhǎo hǎo gōngzuò le ba?
That's right, did you already find a job in your hometown?
A: 嗯，我在這兒就一草根，回老家就成精英了。公司開出的工資比我在上海的還高，而且還給我一套110平米的房子。回去我再用積蓄買輛車，也算中產階級了。小城市消費也低。呆在上海，我得多奮鬥十年。
ng4, wǒ zài zhèr jiù yī cǎogēn, huí lǎojiā jiù chéng jīngyīng le. gōngsī kāi chū de gōngzī bǐ wǒ zài Shànghǎi de hái gāo, érqiě hái gěi wǒ yī tào yībǎiyīshí píngmǐ de fángzi. huíqu wǒ zài yòng jīxù mǎi liàng chē, yě suàn zhōngchǎnjiējí le. xiǎo chéngshì xiāofèi yě dī. dāi zài Shànghǎi, wǒ děi duō fèndòu shí nián.
Yeah. Around here, I'm a nobody. If I go back home though, I'll be one of the elite. The company's starting salary is higher than my salary in Shanghai, and they're even giving me a 110 square meter apartment. After I get back, I'm going to use my savings to buy a car too. I'll be middle class. The cost of living is low in small cities. If I stay in Shanghai, I'd have to struggle for another 10 years.
B: 真不錯。說得我也動心了。呆在上海競爭激烈不說，還得擠公交擠地鐵，上個班路上就要花兩三個小時，就一個字“累”。其實我也想去中小城市發展的，可惜我老婆不讓，她總是說為了下一代，也要在上海混下去。
zhēn bùcuò. shuō de wǒ yě dòngxīn le. dāi zài Shànghǎi jìngzhēng jīliè bùshuō, hái děi jǐ gōngjiāo jǐ dìtiě, shàng ge bān lùshang jiùyào huā liǎng sān gè xiǎoshí, jiù yī gè zì" lèi”. qíshí wǒ yě xiǎng qù zhōng xiǎo chéngshì fāzhǎn de, kěxī wǒ lǎopo bù ràng, tā zǒngshì shuō wèile xiàyīdài, yě yào zài Shànghǎi hùn xiàqu.
That's really not bad. You're even getting me excited. In Shanghai, not only is the competition intense, you have to squeeze onto the bus and subway. It takes 2 or 3 hours to get to work. I have one word: tiring. Actually, I want to go to a small city and develop myself too. It's too bad my wife won't let me. She always says it's all for the next generation, and that we should stay in Shanghai.
A: 是啊，大城市發達，也能給孩子更好的教育條件。你還算混得不錯，工作穩定，房子也買了。
shì a, dàchéngshì fādá, yě néng gěi háizi gèng hǎo de jiàoyù tiáojiàn. nǐ hái suàn hùn de bùcuò, gōngzuò wěndìng, fángzi yě mǎi le.
Well yeah. Big cities are developed, and can also provide better educational standards for your children. You're actually doing pretty good. You've got a stable job, you bought a house.
B: 房子是買了，可是得做二三十年房奴。過兩年要個寶寶，生活也是緊巴巴的。白領白領，就是工資都“白”領了，實際上連民工都不如。
fángzi shì mǎi le, kěshì děi zuò èr sānshí nián fángnú. guò liǎng nián yào ge bǎobao, shēnghuó yě shì jǐnbāba de. báilǐng báilǐng, jiùshì gōngzī dōu" bái” lǐng le, shíjìshàng lián míngōng dōu bùrú.
I did buy a house, but I'll be a slave to my mortgage for another 20 or 30 years. In two years I'm going to have a baby too, and money will be tight. White collar? More like your salary gets whited out. It's not even as good as doing manual labor.
C: 呵呵！咱不說這個了，來，幹！
hēhē! zán bù shuō zhè ge le, lái, gān!
Heh-heh! Let's be done talking about this. Here, here! Cheers!
AB: 幹!
gān!
Cheers!
Key Vocabulary
明智 míngzhì wise
逃兵 táobīng deserter
混 hùn to get by, to drift along
是金子在哪兒都會發光的 shì jīnzi zàinǎr dōuhuì fāguāng de 'where there's gold, it shines'
一門心思 yīménxīnsi to be focused on, wholeheartedly
闖蕩 chuǎngdàng to make a living away from home
撈一把 lāoyībǎ to make a profit
豁出去 huōchūqu to commit, to go for broke
混不出個人樣來 hùn bùchū ge rényàng lái to be unable to become a successful person
用武之地 yòngwǔzhīdì a fitting place to put one's skills to use
底氣 dǐqì self-confidence, lung power
草根 cǎogēn a person with no social status
精英 jīngyīng elite
積蓄 jīxù savings
中產階級 zhōngchǎnjiējí middle class
動心 dòngxīn to be moved, excited
下一代 xiàyīdài next generation
房奴 fángnú mortgage slave
緊巴巴 jǐnbāba financially strained, tight
Supplementary Vocabulary
奴隸 núlì slave
闖江湖 chuǎngjiānghú to lead a nomadic lifestyle
弱勢階層 ruòshìjiēcéng underprivileged class
蝸居 wōjū Narrow Dwellings
供房 gōngfáng supplied housing
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