Part I
Professor: Hey, Jane, you look like you are in a hurry.
Student: Yeah, things are a little crazy.
Professor: Oh yeah? What's going on?
Student: Oh, it's nothing. Well, since it's your class, I guess it's OK. It's, it's just that I am having trouble with my group project.
Professor: Ah, yes, due next week. What's your group doing again?
Student: It's about, ur, United States Supreme Court Decisions. We are looking at the impact of recent cases on property rights, municipal land use cases, owning disputes.
Professor: Right, OK. And it's not going well?
Student: Not really. I'm worried about the other two people in my group. They are just sitting back, not really doing their fair share of the work and waiting for an A. It's kind of stressing me out, because we are getting close to the deadline and I feel like I'm doing everything for this project.
Professor: Ah, the good old free rider problem.
Student: Free rider?
是关于美国最高法院裁决的，我们正在研究近期案件对产权、市政土地使用案件和所有权纠纷的影响。
1. United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States of America.美国最高法院，一般是指美国联邦最高法院，是美国最高级别的联邦法院，为美国三权继总统、国会后最为重要的一环。
2. municipal|mju:ˈnɪsɪpl|
adj. connected with or belonging to a town, city or district that has its own local government 市政的；地方政府的
E.g.:the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery
洛杉矶市立美术馆
3. dispute|dɪˈspju:t|
noun. an argument or a disagreement between two people, groups or countries; discussion about a subject where there is disagreement 争论；辩论；争端；纠纷
E.g.:The matter was settled beyond dispute by the court judgment (= it could no longer be argued about).
此问题已由法庭判决，不容争辩。
4. sit back
to relax, especially by not getting too involved in or anxious about sth 袖手旁观（尤指不积极参与或不挂念某事）
E.g.:She's not the kind of person who can sit back and let others do all the work.
她不是那种自己在一旁歇着、活儿都让别人干的人。
5. stress sb out
to become or make sb become too anxious or tired to be able to relax （使）焦虑不安，疲惫不堪
E.g.:I try not to stress out when things go wrong.
出问题时，我尽量不紧张。
Part II
Professor: Ah, it's just a term that describes this situation, when people in the group seek to get the benefits of being in a group without contributing to the work. Anyway, what exactly do you mean when you say they just sit back? I mean, they've been filing the weekly progress reports with me.
Student: Yes, but I feel like I'm doing 90% of the work. I hate to sound so negative here, but honestly, they are taking credit for things they shouldn't be taking credit for. Like last week in the library, we decided to split up the research into 3 parts and then each of us was supposed to find sources in the library for our parts. I went off to the stack and found some really good material for my part, but when I got back to our table, they were just goofing off and talking. So I went and got materials for their sections as well.
Professor: Um...you know you shouldn't do that.
Student: I know, but I didn't want to risk the project going down the drain.
Professor: I know Teresa and Kevin. I had both of them in other courses. So, I'm familiar with the work and work habits.
Student: I know, me too. And that's why this has really surprised me.
这只是描述这种情况的一个词，指的是那些团队成员，他们只寻求获得团队带来的好处却不为团队工作做出贡献。
他们一直在向我提交每周进度报告。
1. file |faɪl|
verb. to put and keep documents, etc. in a particular place and in a particular order so that you can find them easily; to put a document into a file 把（文件等）归档
E.g.: The forms should be filed alphabetically.
这些表格应该按字母顺序归档。
2. credit |ˈkredɪt|
verb. praise or approval because you are responsible for sth good that has happened 赞扬；称赞；认可
E.g.: I can't take all the credit for the show's success─it was a team effort.
演出成功不能都算成我一个人的功劳，这是集体努力的结果。
3. goof off
to spend your time doing nothing, especially when you should be working 闲荡；混日子；偷懒
E.g.: He spent the day goofing off instead of working.
他整天不干活儿，全在偷懒。
4. down the drain
(informal) (to be) wasted; (to get) very much worse 被浪费掉；变得非常糟糕
E.g.:Safety standards have gone down the drain.
安全标准根本不管用了。
Part III
Professor: Do you...does your group like your topic?
Student: Well, I think we'd all rather focus on cases that deal with personal liberties, questions about freedom of speech, things like that. But I chose property rights.
Professor: You chose the topic?
Student: Yeah, I thought it would be good for us, all of us to try something new.
Professor: Um... maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe Teresa and Kevin aren't that excited about the topic? And since you picked it, have you thought... talk to them at all about picking a different topic?
Student: But we've already got all the sources and it's due next week. We don't have time to start from scratch.
Professor: OK, I will let you go ‘cause I know you are so busy. But you might consider talking to your group about your topic choice.
Student: I will think about it. Got to run, see you in class.
好吧，我认为我们都更应该关注涉及个人自由、言论自由等问题的案件，但我选择了产权。
1. liberty |ˈlɪbəti|
noun. the legal right and freedom to do sth 自由（做某事的合法权利或行动自由）
E.g.: People fear that security cameras could infringe personal libertiesy.
人们担心保安摄像机会侵犯人身自由。
2. from scratch
from the very beginning, not using any of the work done earlier 从头（做起）；从零开始
E.g.: They decided to dismantle the machine and start again from scratch.
他们决定拆掉机器，从头再来。
