Mary Alice: Martha Huber waited her whole life for something to happen to her, something exciting. As a child, she hoped to be kidnapped by a band of pirates1. As a teenager, she dreamt of being discovered by a Hollywood talent scout2. As a young woman, she fantasized that a handsome millionaire would sweep her off her feet . But the years had flown by, and still, nothing exciting had ever happened to Martha Huber. Until the night she was murdered.
Paul: Hello, Mrs. Huber.
Martha: Paul!
Paul: Let me give you a hand.
Martha: That s really not necessary.
Paul: I insist.
Mary Alice: In those last moments, it occurred to her, in addition to being boring, life could also be very cruel. Luckily for Mrs. Huber, death was far more merciful.
Officer Jackson: What do you think?
Police chief: That s our missing3 woman, all right.
Police Chief: Aw, geez, it didn t take the media long to get wind of this. Make sure no one contaminates4 my crime scene.
Officer Jackson: Hey, little lady. A lot of people are looking for you, you know that? Your face is gonna be on the front page of every paper in this state. How s that for exciting?
Mary Alice: Officer Jackson couldn t be sure, but for a brief moment, he thought he saw the corpse5 of Martha Huber, smile.
Mary Alice: Word of the tragedy would soon spread throughout the neighborhood. But for now, people went about their lives as they always did, blissfully unaware6.
Susan: Hello, anybody home?
Mike s voice: In the kitchen.
Susan: Good news. I finished my book, so I thought to celebrate, you could take me out to lunch.
Edie: Hey, Susan.
Mike: Uh, could we do a rain check? Edie and I are just looking over the plans to rebuild her house.
Edie: My insurance company is finally cutting my check next week, and there s only one plumber7 I want. So don t expect to see this guy for a few months. I m gonna be riding him hard.
Susan: Well, if anyone can go the distance , he can. I should know.
Edie: Uh, Mike? Mike? We re on the clock . Hey Felicia, what s up?
Mike: Edie?
Edie: They found Martha.
妙语佳句，活学活用
1. talent scout
本意是“发觉天才的人”，这里意为“的星探”，例如：I wish that someday a Hollywood scout would discover me.
2. Sweep somebody off his/her feet
意思是“Overwhelm someone emotionally”，例如：With his little gifts and gallant8 behavior, he swept her off her feet. 同样意思的表达还有：carry / knock off someone s feet.
3. Geez
Jesus 的缩略形式，用来表示“惊讶，高兴，不满或者脑怒”。
4. Get wind of
“得到……的风声”，和汉语非常相似。例如：I don t want my boss to get wind of the fact that I m leaving so I m not telling many people.
5. Cut one s check
这里的意思是sign one s check，Edie是说保险公司终于要赔偿她的损失了。
6. Go the distance
这个片语起源于拳击比赛，本意是“打完所有计划的每一轮比赛”，这里的意思是“to work long and hard and do well”，例如：He said he s willing to go the distance with this project.
7. On the clock
意思是“工作时间”。 Edie 对 Mike 和Susan 的卿卿我我非常受不了，故而提醒Mike：现在是工作时间，我付了你钱的。例如：Stop playing that silly game, we re on the clock.
