本文是经典爱情电影听力系列The Lake House(湖边小屋，又叫“触不到的恋人”)的第十六段对白。

　　Kate的时间里，生日又一次到来，她却只身坐在酒吧，算是给自己的生日礼物。同事Anna也来到这里。各有各的寂寞。Anna依然清晰记得女儿在泥水地乱跑摔跤的情形，可现在女儿却已经念大学了。

　　两年前的生日，Morgan召集一大帮朋友给Kate过生日，Kate似乎不太喜欢这种热闹的场面。对客人只是应付而已。生日宴会上，Kate认识了Alex，但此时的她，应付的心理怎么会记得这个人呢？

　　时空就在这两年的生日里转换。Kate告诉Anna那个活生生站在自己面前，想和她结婚的男人，她推开了；而这个只能感觉到，却触摸不到的人，她却想给他整个全部……

Anna：According to most accepted social norms, a person should not drink alone after 10 p.m unless they have a good excuse. What's yours?

Kate：Gosh, don't have one.

Anna：I do. My youngest left for college this morning. Marie. One day she's splashing around a wading¹ pool in diapers then she's packing up a Volvo and driving to California. I just hope she knows what she's getting into.

Kate：Don't tell me. Premed?

Anna：Bingo.

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Morgan：Hey, how are you? Good to see you.

Alex：I'm well, thanks.

Morgan：I want you to meet some friends of mine. Alex, Mona, the Wootch. Susan, Johnny.

Alex：Hi.

Morgan：Let's get you something to drink. Come on. Bar's back here. Come on. Hey, this is Marjorie.

Anna：Why didn't you mention it was today? We would have had a cake for you or something.

Kate：Oh, it's just time passing. I hate making a big deal out of it.

Anna：You keep a lot to yourself. Nothing wrong with it. But I've sometimes wondered what else you have in your life besides work. Family? Boyfriend?

Kate：Well, I did. Once. His name was Morgan.

Anna：Morgan? Morgan. That's a sexy name.

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All：Surprise! Happy birthday, Kate. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. We got you.

Morgan：This is Kate, obviously.

Someone：Hi, Kate.

Morgan：This is Alex and Mona. This guy's gonna help us find our lake house. Right?

Alex：You haven't had cake.
 
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Kate：Anyway, well, I ended it. And I'm happy now, and it was the right thing to do.

Anna：So who is it you write to? I couldn't help... every time you get a break at the hospital...you're writing something.

Kate：There is someone. It's kind of a long-distance relationship.

Anna：How did you meet?

Kate：We haven't.

Anna：What?

Kate：No. The story of my life.

Anna：You're kidding.

Kate：Keep everything at a distance. Everyone. The man who was standing² in front of me, the one that wanted to marry me, him, I push away. I run from him. In the meantime, the...the one man I can never meet...him, I would like to give my whole heart to.

Anna：He must write one hell of a letter.

Kate：It's nice. It's safe.

Anna：Christ, he's in prison, isn't he?

Kate：No.

Anna：You're one of those women, aren't you?

Kate：No. No, he's just a guy who lives on a lake. He's an architect.

注释：

1. social norm：社会规范

2. gosh：感叹词，唉，糟糕

3. diaper：尿布。Anna依然记得小女儿很小的时候摔跤的情景，而现在就要去读大学了。

4. make a big deal out of：小题大做

5. long-distance：长途，远距离。Kate形容和Alex的关系距离很远。

6. You're kidding：美国常用的口语，意思是“你在开玩笑吧”

7. push away：推开

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