[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。 ' v0 d3 [: P8 ^ X( e h * o6 o& a u$ L. I" y3 A' F3 WL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! " z \7 S6 f- c; M$ W! V7 a2 z+ p; d$ o$ f9 |4 `7 {
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.0 x6 o) R/ h" h7 t Q
2 R2 T% Z8 ]2 c( H9 _: N# gL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 5 ]( k# h m) G5 b$ i- z9 O. f: P b0 n9 X& L
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. S+ R0 V0 v. r' l7 r6 p2 y1 d, o; v! k a" J
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?. t' g0 L) f" ^) T* G& D1 R
! K) N! k7 V1 q) z5 Q1 _, bM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 8 i. J$ o" Z% x2 @/ V$ e - X! J* g1 Q; p( wL: 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 ?; M/ Q) O: x8 |: q, ~$ {1 O
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.9 M3 f& h0 j7 u& C- }6 _
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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。 % ^& }- R' x6 `) P6 | L* f6 q5 V- e( |7 d& }M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.9 w0 H8 X3 s6 M/ ^' {( a
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L: 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。 8 n& G7 J6 e' O # G: J8 N: d+ h+ |+ A' nM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am./ m* I6 g! B0 j; `+ I
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L: 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! ! ]. J1 E1 i4 `, R7 c4 J9 H * |0 B6 F. F/ O- B3 ^M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. r$ A; }6 {0 n5 x; v% {" F& T- \1 J
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。 1 F4 l* Y# p/ K% a5 |/ G9 I V 2 Q9 R% Y: q4 g$ MM: I perform better on tests when I cram./ D# G. q! @+ a d6 v0 d# V. g# {
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L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?( M$ l) ~6 t" U- W0 \) D" i
' z) S# M, D& c, j6 aM: 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. 1 q) E4 V8 b1 V, G6 K2 `: J5 p* i% h/ g- L/ g- C1 u' @2 b. _/ _# F6 Z
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? ; G) H+ z6 |. x5 i& R % j4 X/ }3 U4 y- ZM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. ' H6 O0 \1 @6 U) D ?* | 2 _, s& x6 X8 ~8 P5 i7 \: a! f- _4 dL: 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。 + u9 w, ?/ n- ^ 6 q- C; D" r7 v4 w" W; ?4 x* FM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! ( c- R0 f/ M4 x+ W: y5 Y9 i& e4 J1 J% Q+ U" E. o' y
L: 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? 3 r n1 o$ h# }4 }& F% i8 u ' H- u+ |6 x1 a8 f. aM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level., g6 L% a5 k4 O& f; F
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L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 % P+ U6 e( a4 A1 L0 ]& C # H% N4 y7 i* uM: 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. % m9 a Q$ x$ F- d7 X) B- e" R! X" f2 B3 r5 X
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。+ @: {) Z' ~: N3 t
; |. b4 {8 L5 C {M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.; i4 X5 o2 z2 R7 T" x5 i0 `
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L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!7 Y) D& L+ | d/ X
- k: ^" j3 s' Y1 y5 @0 L# F2 K- t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。 . ^. }9 X, x6 YAudio As Following:" ^# z+ G( D. n' ?