Larry和李华刚刚忙完手头的工作。Larry要请李华吃冰激凌。

　　LL: Well, Li Hua, you just finished a big paper, and I just finished an important project at work. Let's go for ice cream and celebrate. It'll be my treat.

　　LH: 冰激凌是your treat? 可我也要吃啊，应该是our treat才对吧。

　　LL: Well, the ice cream will certainly be for both of us - and it will be a treat for both of us, but when I said it was "my treat" I meant that I would pay for the ice cream.

　　LH: 哦，原来是你要请客啊!

　　LL: That's right, to TREAT someone means to pay for someone's food or entertainment as a form of a gift.

　　LH: 那太好了。谢谢你请我去吃冰激凌。

　　LL: It is my pleasure, Li Hua.

　　LH: 为了表示感谢，这个周末我请你去中国餐馆吃饭。My treat.

　　LL: That's very considerate, Li Hua. But you don't really have to treat me to dinner just because I treated you to ice cream.

　　LH: 我可不是因为你请我吃冰激凌才请你去吃饭的，我请你吃饭是因为咱俩是好朋友嘛!

　　LL: In that case, I'll be happy to go for Chinese food this weekend - especially if it is your treat.

　　LH: 我有个问题，Larry, 在美国，如果有人提出请你吃饭，你还用争着付钱吗?

　　LL: Generally, you can try to protest a little, but the most polite thing to do is to let the other person treat you and allow him or her to feel generous.

　　LH: 在中国的时候，我有个叔叔，人特别大方，经常请朋友和家里人出去吃饭。

　　LL: It is wonderful to have generous relatives. When I was growing up, my grandmother would always treat us to the circus - or sometimes a movie.

　　LH: 看马戏?哎(叹气) -- 小时候真好!我爸爸也经常带我去看木偶剧。

　　LL: Yeah. My Dad would always treat us to ice cream at a shop just like this one. Say, why don't you go ahead and order your ice cream, Li Hua.

　　LH: 我要一个巧克力、香草和草莓的冰激凌蛋筒。