卡洛斯你好！

Olivia： Oh no！ I dont understand how this can happen！

Tony： Told you so.

Sarah： Hi Olivia！ Whats the problem？

Carlos： （in background） Excuse me...

Olivia： Its not just here， not just the café...

Sarah： What do you mean？

Tony： Told you so.

Carlos： （in background） Excuse me...

Olivia： Its true！

Sarah： What is？

Olivia： They want to knock

down my shop， as well as the

café！

Sarah： 1）Demolish it？ Get rid of

it completely？

Olivia： Yes.

Tony： Told you so.

Sarah： Oh no！

Olivia： Thats what I keep

saying...

Carlos： （louder） Excuse me！

Tony： Yes？

Carlos： Could I have something

to eat please， and a cup of tea？

Tony： Sure， heres a menu， go

and take a seat somewhere.

Sarah： Oh dear...lets go and sit

down—theres Harry over there， lets sit with him.

Harry： Hello there. Magdas on her way. I think we need to have a plan...

Olivia： Yeah， but what can we do？

（Magda opens the door.）

All： Hey Magda！ Hi！ Were over here！ Come and sit down！

Magda： Hello everyone！ Whats the matter？ Why does everyone look so sad？

Harry： The café is going to close...

Sarah： ...and Olivias shop too！

M a g d a ： W h y ？ O h ， t h e p r o p e r t y company...theyre building new flats...I remember now...

Harry： Thats right， and they want to demolish this place， and Olivias shop next door.

Olivia： Theyre offering us 2）compensation...

Magda： “Compensation”？ Sarah： Money.

Olivia： But its not enough. I want to keep my shop.

S a r a h ： Ye s ， a n d I want to keep this caféopen...theres nowhere else where we can all meet.

Carlos： Excuse me...

All： Yes？

Carlos： I couldnt help 3 ）o v e r h e a r i n g y o u r

conversation.

Magda： Were you listening to us？

Carlos： No， sorry， I wasnt listening. I just heard what you were talking about.

Olivia： Is this the first time youve been here？

Carlos： Well， yes it is， actually...

Harry： Itll probably be the last.

Carlos： Well， yes， I know...thats what I wanted to say.

Sarah： What？

Carlos： Im afraid I work for the company， the building company.

Olivia： The company who wants to knock down my shop？

Harry： And our favourite café？

Carlos： Im afraid so， yes.

Olivia： Can you stop them？

Carlos： Well， no， Im not sure about that.

Sarah： What do you do for the company？

Carlos： Well， thats the problem. Im not one of their top managers， or anything like that...

Harry： Thats a shame.

Carlos： Im just the 4）caterer.

Magda： Caterer？

Carlos： Yes， I make food for them.

Harry： Hang on a minute， I dont understand...youre the caterer...you make food. Carlos： Yes， thats right. Im a 5）chef， actually.

Or at least thats what Id like to be...

Harry： But youve just come in here to get food. Carlos： Oh yeah...well， you see， the problem is， I dont really like the food I have to cook for other people. I prefer to try new things—so I came in here！

Harry： （unconvinced） Right.

Olivia： Can you help us？

Carlos： Im not sure what I can do...I dont really want to lose my job.

Sarah： No， I guess not—but if you work for the building company， you could do some research for us...

Carlos： Research？ How do you mean？

Sarah： You could find out some information for us.

Carlos： Erm， well， OK， I mean， if I can...Id like to help you！

Olivia： Great！ Lets see what we can do...we can save this place！

All： Ah， yes.

小链接

《泰晤士报》（The Times）是英国全国发行的综合性日报，是对全世界政治、经济、文化发挥着巨大影响的报纸。

《泰晤士报》隶属于鲁伯特·默多克的新闻集团。长期以来，《泰晤士报》一直被认为是英国的第一主流大报，被誉为“英国社会的忠实记录者”。《泰晤士报》在英国国内政治和国际关系问题上扮演了重要角色。在被鲁伯特·默多克收购之后，有指《泰晤士报》的风格逐渐趋向保守。

《泰晤士报》的英文名称The Times，中文直译过来应该是《时报》。然而它的译名却变成与读音相近、但毫无关联的“泰晤士河”（River Thames）一样。由于约定俗成的关系，错译保留至今。现今世界各地有许多名为Times的报章，如《纽约时报》（The New York Times）。为了区分出来，《泰晤士报》有时被英语使用者称为《伦敦时报》（The London Times）。《泰晤士报》是世界上第一份以“Times”命名的报纸。