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Tom招待了第一个沙发客，尽管开头不是很顺利，但是最终还是非常令人开心的，通过对沙发客的招待，Tom感觉自己仿佛仍然在旅行的路上。
Kathryn: Hey, Tom! Been a while since I’ve seen you. I was beginning to think you’d gone off traveling again!
Tom: Oh, come on! It’s only been a week! And of course I haven’t run off somewhere. I had to stay in town to host Laurence.
Kathryn: Your couch surfer? Ah, I’d completely forgotten! How was it?
Tom: It was great! He’s a really cool guy. ①We did get off to kind of a rocky start, though.
Kathryn: Uh oh! What happened?
Tom: Well, like you said, I decided to be careful, so I asked him to meet me in a coffee shop before letting him come over to my place.
Smart Sentences① We did get off to kind of a rocky start, though. 尽管我们开头确实不顺利。
get off to a rocky start: have a bad beginning（有个坏的开头）。例如：
The movie got off to a rocky start, but in the end I liked it.
那部电影虽然开始不好，但是最后我喜欢。
② Good call. 做得好。
good call: used to express that someone has made a good decision（用于表达某人作了个很好的决定）。例如：
—I decided to eat a salad instead of a steak.
我决定不吃牛排改吃沙拉。
—Good call. Salad is much healthier.
做得对，沙拉健康得多。
③ But it was like squeezing blood from a stone! 但似乎都不可能。
squeeze blood from a stone: try to get sth. from sb., even though it’s almost impossible（努力从某人那里得到某物，尽管几乎是不可能的）。例如：
Getting money from my dad is like squeezing blood from a stone.
想从我爸爸那里得到钱，那是不可能的。
④ He finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip. 他最后承认因为旅途劳顿，他累坏了。
to be (totally) beat: to be very tired from hard work or activity（由于工作或活动而非常累）。例如：
After playing football all afternoon, I was beat.
踢了整个下午的足球，我累坏了。
slip sb.’s mind: to be momentarily forgotten by sb. （完全忘记某事）。例如：
George never called me back. It must have slipped his mind.
乔治从没给我回电话，他可能完全忘记这回事了。
1) tension [???????] n. 紧张（状态），不安，压力
2) squeeze [??????] v. 压榨，挤，挤榨
3) prod [????] v. 刺
4) shuteye [??????] n. 睡觉
Kathryn: ②Good call.
Tom: I thought so, too. But when we sat down to have some coffee, it seemed like there was some 1)tension in the air. I tried to make conversation, ③but it was like 2)squeezing blood from a stone!
Kathryn: Not a promising start. Did you ever figure out what the problem was?
Tom: Yeah. After a little bit of 3)prodding, ④he finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip, and he really just needed to sleep.
Kathryn: Ah, a simple fix.
Tom: Indeed. After he got a bit of 4)shuteye, he really opened up. We shared war stories about our travels.
Kathryn: Sounds like exactly what you were looking for! Tom: Without a doubt! Then, on Saturday, I showed him around town. He had a great time at the lake.
Kathryn: Come to think of it, the lake is a really fun place! I’m so used to it that I don’t think about it anymore. I guess an outsider can help you see your hometown in new ways!
Tom: Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Kathryn: So, what about Sunday?
Tom: Before he left, he decided to check out the couch surfers’ lunch we learned about from that website.
Kathryn: Oh! ⑤That slipped my mind as well! Was it everything you dreamed it’d be?
Tom: Yes, and more! Surrounded by so many travelers, I felt like I was on the road again, even though I was still in my own back yard!
Kathryn: You got the best of both worlds, then! Maybe I’ll come with next time.
Tom: You really should!
Kathryn: Maybe I’ll even take on a couch surfer myself! I do have a spare room, and I have been feeling kind of bored lately.
Tom: That’s a great idea—but it was a little scary letting Laurence into my place. No matter how nice a stranger seems, you never know what’s beneath the surface!
Kathryn: Noted. I’ll watch my back. Speaking of which, it’s time for me to get back to work! See you later, and keep me updated on your adventures!
Tom: Will do! Catch you later!
Kathryn: Hey, Tom! Been a while since I’ve seen you. I was beginning to think you’d gone off traveling again!
Tom: Oh, come on! It’s only been a week! And of course I haven’t run off somewhere. I had to stay in town to host Laurence.
Kathryn: Your couch surfer? Ah, I’d completely forgotten! How was it?
Tom: It was great! He’s a really cool guy. ①We did get off to kind of a rocky start, though.
Kathryn: Uh oh! What happened?
Tom: Well, like you said, I decided to be careful, so I asked him to meet me in a coffee shop before letting him come over to my place.
Smart Sentences① We did get off to kind of a rocky start, though. 尽管我们开头确实不顺利。
get off to a rocky start: have a bad beginning（有个坏的开头）。例如：
The movie got off to a rocky start, but in the end I liked it.
那部电影虽然开始不好，但是最后我喜欢。
② Good call. 做得好。
good call: used to express that someone has made a good decision（用于表达某人作了个很好的决定）。例如：
—I decided to eat a salad instead of a steak.
我决定不吃牛排改吃沙拉。
—Good call. Salad is much healthier.
做得对，沙拉健康得多。
③ But it was like squeezing blood from a stone! 但似乎都不可能。
squeeze blood from a stone: try to get sth. from sb., even though it’s almost impossible（努力从某人那里得到某物，尽管几乎是不可能的）。例如：
Getting money from my dad is like squeezing blood from a stone.
想从我爸爸那里得到钱，那是不可能的。
④ He finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip. 他最后承认因为旅途劳顿，他累坏了。
to be (totally) beat: to be very tired from hard work or activity（由于工作或活动而非常累）。例如：
After playing football all afternoon, I was beat.
踢了整个下午的足球，我累坏了。
slip sb.’s mind: to be momentarily forgotten by sb. （完全忘记某事）。例如：
George never called me back. It must have slipped his mind.
乔治从没给我回电话，他可能完全忘记这回事了。
1) tension [???????] n. 紧张（状态），不安，压力
2) squeeze [??????] v. 压榨，挤，挤榨
3) prod [????] v. 刺
4) shuteye [??????] n. 睡觉
Kathryn: ②Good call.
Tom: I thought so, too. But when we sat down to have some coffee, it seemed like there was some 1)tension in the air. I tried to make conversation, ③but it was like 2)squeezing blood from a stone!
Kathryn: Not a promising start. Did you ever figure out what the problem was?
Tom: Yeah. After a little bit of 3)prodding, ④he finally admitted that he was totally beat from his trip, and he really just needed to sleep.
Kathryn: Ah, a simple fix.
Tom: Indeed. After he got a bit of 4)shuteye, he really opened up. We shared war stories about our travels.
Kathryn: Sounds like exactly what you were looking for! Tom: Without a doubt! Then, on Saturday, I showed him around town. He had a great time at the lake.
Kathryn: Come to think of it, the lake is a really fun place! I’m so used to it that I don’t think about it anymore. I guess an outsider can help you see your hometown in new ways!
Tom: Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Kathryn: So, what about Sunday?
Tom: Before he left, he decided to check out the couch surfers’ lunch we learned about from that website.
Kathryn: Oh! ⑤That slipped my mind as well! Was it everything you dreamed it’d be?
Tom: Yes, and more! Surrounded by so many travelers, I felt like I was on the road again, even though I was still in my own back yard!
Kathryn: You got the best of both worlds, then! Maybe I’ll come with next time.
Tom: You really should!
Kathryn: Maybe I’ll even take on a couch surfer myself! I do have a spare room, and I have been feeling kind of bored lately.
Tom: That’s a great idea—but it was a little scary letting Laurence into my place. No matter how nice a stranger seems, you never know what’s beneath the surface!
Kathryn: Noted. I’ll watch my back. Speaking of which, it’s time for me to get back to work! See you later, and keep me updated on your adventures!
Tom: Will do! Catch you later!