[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。 7 c4 q+ S% [) Z0 k/ s" `+ Z+ f0 `/ U: S3 e, A
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!! E, y! q8 G( C# v4 j! X& B
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. 7 A8 W Z4 q. m6 `* [4 L: \4 Z% D" u' y. {( s" ^: ?4 F4 L
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! ) |1 p" t. E6 o0 @3 t' \8 t4 ?- `0 E+ a, f0 l+ X
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 j0 O! s: R$ _1 r3 l* n1 ]+ L8 P9 a$ N
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?# b" U, ^+ X" C6 R/ O
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!7 q( U1 b7 Z9 a" o0 r
0 o- d/ v0 O# y3 [2 p% i7 IL: 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 ? 3 f9 N6 }( c' \- X. f3 j& U0 q* ]3 _ E3 `
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.$ j4 d+ Y" ~: e
0 }4 \+ h i3 E% y! ZL: 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。# {! B$ P' J2 C5 ?; e: J
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M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. * I) A% X. |+ |" A/ | ) u+ p0 l. R- G% dL: 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。- v* K& D+ s+ r$ l( i
& ~9 j1 u/ X, Q. u* y% mM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.; g# s2 k$ g6 f
* ^0 y0 k U! q( CL: 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! 8 p b* I' ]$ M* q; I6 U0 s& J. S1 o * u$ n" ^! D( }M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. . }+ J* J1 A7 x- N; y9 T5 [( U) w6 s( f- M& P4 A: i* w2 H1 W' ~
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。 # [4 k* @: i, C* F 7 m6 h/ b z; `' P3 r, d& {. D: rM: I perform better on tests when I cram.# {* t! `9 ~/ [; r
9 T8 V9 C5 b0 T( h7 g$ c# |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.8 v: j" t, S# N& M% M3 z1 {
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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? " C# z$ b2 n3 f3 k; t* H8 i n6 |& C, x) B$ l: r1 f) e
M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. $ Y' f* `- P2 @; p . o$ o- O+ z, }8 N* W9 G9 rL: 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。 $ @1 K; |: F1 e5 f# C# i+ h" ~, o * F7 U5 s: i! Z g0 M- K4 nM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!& l( S& m# m2 P' A/ G
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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?# h1 m. K* E2 Y1 X& t0 |
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M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.! ]4 o& Z" [5 v" T; |2 G
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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。; K6 m; _1 |7 o2 c) f
: a" x9 ~2 |+ j- o# A vM: 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.+ g0 I. D2 S$ ?7 ?' r9 H3 ^ |) K