[流行美语]又和大家见面了。Michael是一个在纽约上大学的美国年轻人,他经常跟中国学生李华一起玩。Michael向李华学中文,李华向 Michael 学英文。Michael 正在准备考试,有很多功课要做,但是李华要他出去休息休息,两人约好下午在动物园见面。他们在对话中会用这两个词:all-nighter和cram。* \0 z1 v7 \) A1 s
6 m! A5 c, A: p* h7 d* VL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! " m4 ^, e4 }$ n) {0 N6 }+ p" r. g$ h w; z5 n7 r; u
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. " o9 O( `$ ]" k7 ~% b! V" n; @2 l/ a6 a1 L2 y
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! : v. z! c% a! q7 Q; Z* `* g' p5 t( w1 i, L$ m
M: Oh, yeah. Let's get out of here. In fact, I've got a lot of studying to do. I'm going to need to pull an all-nighter. 9 \2 r) H! ?7 ^0 i+ X* I2 e4 c; {) b4 W& J" U! |% O! a3 T
L: 我知道你有很多功课,但是你在准备考试的时候也总得休息休息嘛。我听说这次考试会很难。你刚才说 all-nighter 是不是开夜车 的意思呀? . m N8 \% [: t5 X; j7 }1 u + ~( i/ V- l: g, J! M+ AM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! - f. u8 \* h$ U / r- @6 \. L* T T0 w, C+ ?L: 我是猜出来的, all的意思是整个,全部,nighter和 night 很像。我想一个人要整夜学习,那不就是开夜车吗?但是,有一点我不太懂,你说:to pull an all-nighter,什么是pull ?! D; Q b% f$ l6 E6 V- B
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. - `1 Z2 v# m) [! `+ u. W) L& C, m4 @( M# q/ N6 R
L: 噢, pull an all-nighter,就是迫使自己整夜念书,因为要这样做是很辛苦的。 * A" k/ u( C/ }- P 5 j, l: e( m" K& q/ Q' v& dM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.! M4 P3 j8 U1 s0 B! F
' h4 X( F ?) O" ~1 k. |: d+ cL: 这你可说对了。我不需要开夜车,因为我整个一学期都在学习。你要开夜车,因为你平时不学习。5 z5 c2 F- q9 B% u* ]
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M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am./ G: j* ?! M2 o% e
( b1 z" Q7 w: l0 fL: Michael, 我真喜欢纽约的秋天,空气很清新。你要是能跟我一起玩,不用回去念书,那该多好啊!3 M6 C: ~4 b9 u0 C$ J; W1 |
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M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.# ^" x2 i, j6 s2 r: D- h
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L: 对啊, 你要是上星期多花点时间念书不就好了嘛。现在你得临时抱佛脚了。 ( l$ v7 a, Q) e( F/ a5 B+ v + f3 _5 Y+ }7 f) q/ fM: I perform better on tests when I cram.* F* y; X7 @- w" X1 \
! A2 x6 ^. x+ GL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?" S9 E5 _0 r/ z0 z
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M: Well, it's sort of the same meaning. I'm going to do a lot of studying at the last minute, that's what it means to cram. 7 ~8 k$ h4 k1 U U' C- i& p! ~- H# B J+ k* ]
L: 意思差不多?噢,我知道了!Cram就是我们中文里说的填鸭式方法,就是硬把食品塞给鸭子吃,这样鸭子就长得肥。北京烤鸭就是用这种鸭子做的。你说的cram 是临时抱佛脚,在考试前猛记猛背,把知识往脑子里塞。你还认为这是好办法?) _! j y, z5 O! m; Z# F2 {
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M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me./ t" ~# {% e5 `
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L: 你认为临时抱佛脚对你来说行得通。可是,Michael,想把半学期的内容在一个晚上记住,这样做可真傻。 r- y5 G; b* {! f: q3 s$ o% C* ~
; v* N# h* S" A; r3 h9 J: NM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! 7 V) \3 d2 K: E - [6 I& v/ a2 o: B2 j& tL: 我才不想当你妈呢,你不听我的话,那就算了。Michael, cram这个词是否还能用在别的场合呢?+ m% J/ V; ~1 V2 D5 r
( L- z! Q9 c2 n$ y7 ]% R; @2 jM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. ! ~( E( M& s* b' u , H) x; n a# d: D5 |L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。) \/ j2 ^; p* c, B* c, b5 O
; y, B& z' ^3 A" v$ g5 s$ ?M: And that's what I need to do, right now. It's getting late and I know I will have to pull an all-nighter.$ ^ x8 ` Y* c. c, Q
$ {5 A: |8 Z8 y8 V9 y& r) \, RL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 ( K- m% O( j' {& @9 o8 {! E& n# t4 r' H5 \
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. 7 b- f( Y4 Z3 d# m- f* A/ t3 m" k# U% T; q% H7 z# P5 \
L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!1 c2 O6 W8 G9 T0 K! U1 D
" k6 Z/ s1 U- u/ d& l' X$ b6 e5 y今天李华向Michael学了两个常用语,一个是:all-nighter, 意思是开夜车;另一个是:cram, 这是指中学生或大学生在考试前临时抱佛脚。 8 e/ k2 r& ]: p5 o, S+ Z, J+ y8 XAudio As Following: 7 {* `- b* m* f4 O4 s: E9 f1 W) d