Part 3 Copycat

Les： Hey Mindy， wait up！

Mindy： What is it Les？ I’m not in the mood.

Les： In the mood for what？

Mindy： 1）Mindless 2）banter， annoying favors…What was that？

Les： What was what？

Mindy： Did you see someone dressed the same as me， but a little bit shorter with glasses？

Les： I saw you hanging out with a girl like that last week. And now that you mention it， I’ve been seeing her around a lot lately. I thought you guys might be sisters.

Mindy： Nope， just friends. Her name’s Bell， and she’s sort of my best friend now， but she’s been a bit 3）clingy of late.

Les： No harm in that.

Mindy： I guess not. ①The thing is…she doesn’t know when to knock it off.

Les： She’s getting a bit too close for comfort？

Mindy： Exactly！ She’s always following me around， and wearing the same outfits as me.

Smart Sentences① The thing is…she doesn’t know when to knock it off. 问题是……她根本不知道要适可而止。

knock it off： stop doing sth.（停止做某事）。例如：

Joking around at work now and then is entertaining. But you need to know when to knock it off.

工作时间时不时说个笑话大家都会很开心，但要适可而止。

Les： ②I see we’ve got a 4）copycat on our hands.

Mindy： At first， I found it kind of flattering， that someone thought so highly of me that they’d wanna copy my style， but it’s starting to get pretty ridiculous.

Les： Wait！ Is that her over there across the 5）quad？ No， never mind， your friend has lighter hair than that.

Mindy： That IS her！ She dyed her hair the same color as mine. And even styled it the same as me， with 6）bangs and everything！！

Les： She must really idolize you.

Mindy： Who cares， it’s creepy！

Les： I don’t think it’s that bad. I’m an only child， and I always wished I had a younger brother or sister who looked up to me like that.

Mindy： ③You say that now， but if you were in my shoes you’d see things a lot differently. I always feel like she’s leaning over my shoulder listening to every conversation， silently 7）lurking in the shadows， waiting for the chance to steal my identity.

Les： ④While identity theft is a growing problem nowadays， I don’t think you have anything to worry about on that front. After all， you already know her real identity. Maybe you should just encourage her to be herself.

Mindy： I have， but she prefers the way I am.

Les： Then try reminding her about all the things that make her uniquely special， and why she should be proud of who she really is， rather than pretending to be someone else.

Mindy： That’s a good idea. Much better than my plan， which was giving myself a 8）makeover to look like her.

Les： As hilariously ironic as that would have been， I’d say the more 9）prudent course of action is open communication. I mean， if you can’t talk to your best friend， who can you talk to？

Mindy： Yeah， I guess you’re right. ⑤I better go hash things out with her before class. Thanks for all the help. I’ll see ya later！

Les： No problem！ Later Min！

② I see we’ve got a copycat on our hands. 我想我们现在有个模仿者。

on one’s hands： sth. needs to be dealt with（待处理）。例如：

I didn’t realize that we have so many problems on our hands after the ceremony.

我没有想到在仪式过后会出现这么多问题。

③ You say that now， but if you were in my shoes you’d see things a lot differently. 你现在可以这样说，但是如果你在我这个处境，就不会这样想了。

in sb.’s shoes： in another’s situation（处于某人的位置）。例如：

I wouldn’t be as strong if I were in her shoes.

如果我处于她的位置，我不会像她那么坚强。

④ While identity theft is a growing problem nowadays， I don’t think you have anything to worry about on that front. “身份盗窃”在现在是个日益严重的问题，但我觉得在这个方面你不需要担心。

on the…front： with regard to a particular situation or field（在某个方面）。例如：

Our business is going pretty well on the investment front.

我们公司在投资方面做得不错。

⑤ I better go hash things out with her before class. 我最好在上课前跟她说清楚。

hash sth. out： to talk about sth. in order to reach an agreement（讨论后决定，商定某事）。例如：We need to hash out the details for the Thailand trip this week.

我们这个星期得讨论泰国之行的细节。