Can We Afford a Summer Vacation?
IntermediateFamily
A husband and wife sit down at their kitchen table to review the monthly budget and gently disagree about whether they can afford a family vacation this summer.
M
MingH
HuaM
老婆，咱们来看看这个月的预算吧。
lǎopo, zánmen lái kànkan zhège yuè de yùsuàn ba.
Honey, let's take a look at this month's budget.
H
好啊，我正想跟你商量夏天去旅游的事呢。
hǎo a, wǒ zhèng xiǎng gēn nǐ shāngliang xiàtiān qù lǚyóu de shì ne.
Sure, I was just about to talk with you about the summer travel plans.
M
旅游？可是你看，这个月咱们的开销已经超支了。
lǚyóu? kěshì nǐ kàn, zhège yuè zánmen de kāixiāo yǐjīng chāozhī le.
Travel? But look, we've already overspent this month.
H
超了多少啊？是不是因为上个月买了台新冰箱？
chāo le duōshao a? shì bu shì yīnwèi shàng gè yuè mǎi le tái xīn bīngxiāng?
How much over are we? Is it because we bought a new fridge last month?
M
对，冰箱花了不少，再加上孩子的学费，手头真的挺紧的。
duì, bīngxiāng huā le bù shǎo, zài jiāshàng háizi de xuéfèi, shǒutóu zhēn de tǐng jǐn de.
Right, the fridge cost quite a bit, and on top of the kid's tuition, money is really tight.
H
我明白，可是孩子一直盼着去海边玩，咱们也不能老是省吧。
wǒ míngbai, kěshì háizi yìzhí pàn zhe qù hǎibiān wán, zánmen yě bù néng lǎoshì shěng ba.
I understand, but the kid has been looking forward to the beach; we can't always be scrimping either.
M
我也想带他出去玩，可要是真去旅游，下个月就存不下钱了。
wǒ yě xiǎng dài tā chūqù wán, kě yàoshi zhēn qù lǚyóu, xià gè yuè jiù cún bù xià qián le.
I want to take him out too, but if we really go traveling, we won't be able to save any money next month.
H
那咱们别去太远的地方，就在附近找个城市玩两天，怎么样？
nà zánmen bié qù tài yuǎn de dìfang, jiù zài fùjìn zhǎo gè chéngshì wán liǎng tiān, zěnmeyàng?
Then let's not go too far—how about finding a nearby city and spending a couple of days there?
M
这主意不错，去附近的话，交通和住宿都能省不少。
zhè zhǔyi búcuò, qù fùjìn de huà, jiāotōng hé zhùsù dōu néng shěng bù shǎo.
That's a good idea; if we stay nearby, we can save quite a bit on transport and lodging.
H
对呀，而且咱们可以订个便宜点的民宿，自己做饭吃。
duì ya, érqiě zánmen kěyǐ dìng gè piányi diǎn de mínsù, zìjǐ zuò fàn chī.
Exactly, and we can book a cheaper guesthouse and cook our own meals.
M
行，那咱们先定个预算，比如控制在两千块以内，行不行？
xíng, nà zánmen xiān dìng gè yùsuàn, bǐrú kòngzhì zài liǎng qiān kuài yǐnèi, xíng bu xíng?
Okay, then let's first set a budget—say, keep it under two thousand yuan, does that work?
H
没问题，这样既能带孩子出去玩，又不会太超支，太好了！
méi wèntí, zhèyàng jì néng dài háizi chūqù wán, yòu bú huì tài chāozhī, tài hǎo le!
No problem—this way we can take the kid out and won't go too far over budget. Wonderful!