Mary Alice Young: Of the many suburban¹ rituals, none is quite so cherished as the neighborhood yard sale. The shoppers come to sift² through the discarded belongings³ of someone they don't really know, in the hopes of finding bargains they don't really need, each so determined⁴ to save a few pennies, they often miss hidden treasures.

Susan: Hey, Paul.

Paul: Hi, Susan.

Susan: I got to say, I was a little surprised to see Mary Alice's award for sale. She got it for doing charity work, from the Chamber⁵ of Commerce.

Paul: Zach and I are moving. We don't need to carry any more with us than is absolutely necessary.

Susan: That makes sense. Still, I just want to make sure you didn't want to keep it, for Zach, something to remember his mother by.

Paul: Zach doesn't need a piece of glass to remember his mother. I'm out of newspaper. Here, let's call it ten bucks⁶ for everything.

Susan: Great. Speaking of Zach, I haven't seen him around lately.

Paul: He's been a bit depressed⁷. I thought he could use a change of scenery, so I sent him to stay with relatives.

Susan: Oh, which ones?

Paul: You don't know them.

Susan: So, how'd you get the fat lip?

Paul: The usual way. Asking too many questions.

Gabrielle: Find out where Zach is?

Susan: No, but I can tell you this much. He's not staying with relatives.

Carlos: It's driving me crazy, mama. It could be any one of these guys she's having the affair with.

Mama Solis: No worry about it. I'm not letting her out of my sight.

Carlos: Now, who the hell is that? And look at the way she's touching⁸ him. You think that's the guy she's having the affair with?

Mama Solis: Carlos, don't be stupid. A guy she talks to in public isn't someone you're gonna worry about.

Carlos: So it's someone that she doesn't talk to. What do I have to do? Beat up every guy in town?

Mama Solis: Marriage takes work!

Lynette: I'm not surprised that he's playing it close to the vest. Paul knows we're on to him.

Bree: Zach said Mary Alice killed herself because of something that he had done, something bad. Is there anyone else who'd know what he was talking about?

Susan: No. That's why we have to find him. It's the only way we'll know the truth.

Bree: It just doesn't make any sense. Zach is such a sweet kid. I can't imagine him doing anything that terrible.

Gabrielle: Well, he did break into your house. I mean, the kid is obviously troubled in some way.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Make sense

是口语中常常出现的片语。Make sense 有两种意思，一种是“可理解的，合理的”，通常用否定形式，例如：This explanation doesn't make sense. 这个解释不合理。

另一个意思是“可行，说得通，合理的”，比如：It makes sense to find out first how many will attend the conference. 先确定一下有多少人会参加会议比较可行。

在片断中，That makes sense.的意思是“有道理”。

2. Have an affair with

常用来形容“韵事”、“关系不长久的恋情”，在文中可理解为“与……有染”、“婚外性关系”。如：Joni feels that her husband has an affair with some woman. 琼尼感觉到丈夫和别的女人有染。

3. Play close to the vest
“把守秘密”的意思。

比如：The thief plays close to the vest no matter how hard the police threaten him. 不管警察怎么威胁，小偷就是不肯把秘密说出来。

4. Be on to

有两种意思，一种是be aware of or have information about，比如：You'll never deceive us again; we're on to you. 你再也不能欺骗我们了。我们知道你的伎俩。另一个意思是 discover something important or profitable，比如：The researchers claim they are really on to something big. 研究者们声称他们发现了一些重要的东西。