本栏目是由世博英语Starry_Night原创编写！
第五十二篇
怀孕了的Rachel觉得百般无聊，她十分怀念以前有约会的日子，Joey便说他可以约她，于是两个好朋友兼室友开始了一场约会。他们在一家餐馆共进晚餐：
Rachel: Now the filet mignon, what comes with that?
Waitress: There’s a side of steamed vegetables.
Rachel: Emmm. Now, instead of the vegetables, is there anyway I can substitute the three-pound lobster?
Joey: Y’know what? Bring her both, and I’ll have the same.
Rachel: Wow! This is shaping up to be a pretty good date—Oh, I almost forgot. I didn’t pay you the rent check.
Joey: Oh whoa-whoa-whoa, no roommate stuff. Okay? We’re on a date.
Rachel: Okay. Wow! So I get to see what Joey Tribbiani is like on a date. So do you have any moves?
Joey: No! No. Umm, just myself and if they don’t like me for—(Laughs.) I’m sorry I couldn’t even get through that.
Rachel: I knew it! I knew it. Come on tell me your moves.
【世博视角】
首先我们来看Rachel所说的一道菜 “filet mignon”, 这其实是个法语词，指的是“上等嫩牛排”。牛排通常会和其它的配菜一起上，Rachel想知道这一道filet mignon 的配菜是什么，于是她问侍应生：Now the filet mignon, what comes with that? 回答是：There’s a side of steamed vegetables.也就是说西餐盘里除了牛排以外还有一些白煮的蔬菜，句中的side一词指的就是“配菜”，又比如汉堡通常会和薯条配在一起，那就是a hamburger with a side of fries。有些餐馆里会有不同的“配菜”可供选择，比如土豆泥(potato mash)什么的，可Rachel却异想天开地想把蔬菜换成龙虾，她说：Now, instead of the vegetables, is there anyway I can substitute the three-pound lobster? substitute的意思是“代替”，如果要表示用一样东西来代替另一样东西，我们是说substitute something for something, 如：You can substitute chicken for beef if you don’t like red meat.当然人也是可以代替的，又如：Mark will substitute for me tomorrow.
龙虾配上等牛排，这也夸张了点，不过大方的Joey替Rachel和自已点了这两道菜，难怪Rachel说：Wow! This is shaping up to be a pretty good date. shape一词的基本意思是“形状”，当它作动词与up一起连用时就可以表示“形成…”或 “朝好的方向进步、发展”，例如：
It’s shaping up to be a pretty big party.
The new boss has warned Roger to shape up.
Ken’s plans for the business are shaping up nicely.
说着说着Rachel想起自己还没有把房租付给Joey呢（Oh, I almost forgot. I didn’t pay you the rent check.）Joey却提醒Rachel说他们现在可是在“约会”（We are on a date.），所以让她别提室友之间才会谈到的一些事情（no roommate stuff）。
既然是在“约会”，Rachel就想知道Joey在和别的女孩子约会时会使用哪些小伎俩或是手段，于是她问Joey说: Okay. Wow! So I get to see what Joey Tribbiani is like on a date. So do you have any moves? move这个词相信大家都知道是什么意思，但在对话中它却有一些特别的含义，究竟是什么，我们下一篇再慢慢体会。
*本篇所讲到的表达法:
filet mignon
side
shape up