[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。4 ^, b2 d$ k- E* A
% {: J2 `/ D ^& O! D5 KL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!# h. h/ V- @2 ~# w% V
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. & M9 X T2 b9 Q7 ` w9 h- T8 N# j2 l) j- Q! i
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! ! i" d& B4 V* `1 N& `( k7 B # D5 A+ S5 ]+ q- {4 y! gM: 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. " l0 t, }1 I; c6 Q, B6 V8 S1 W4 X7 ?: V
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? 1 [! r. b5 @) f- Y1 f, E* D; z7 L7 k* c
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! * j9 ?% B4 i# J7 P5 g- Y ; c: K. f7 j7 ~# }; c2 t5 }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 ?9 p/ i+ T; |* c1 _" C0 @
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.4 I, i) Q P( ?2 b' _7 j
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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。5 f- t- E$ P- n
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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.5 c# a0 ]( L% _- @' J& } ~
9 _. ?. `7 d3 {" R7 z( q0 aL: 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。 ; }. ]- D# T W% M; o ( _( r* P3 }+ IM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.0 ?0 [) V: r6 c
9 W$ X; m" }. l- V0 z4 Q9 GL: 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! 5 R3 c: H. j4 Z7 t( q: n. h7 X! i* N. d% @2 b
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.: s; a! a& L$ y1 Z7 S
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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。9 l+ E ^. ]7 P O5 L0 l
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M: I perform better on tests when I cram. H& ]+ A5 i( m! S# w
6 n* N7 d/ H- u5 S: AL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 6 z" A! c, i1 o- K: e- y) L7 |5 H2 y+ u9 V, N4 }- q+ t& S
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. 3 z: i- J( D/ n, T# \ , V: d# F+ _' C ^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? 0 T1 u. z* S* ~3 g$ u- e) G0 M+ m4 {) k0 h% ]0 f: m% M
M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me./ Q/ D5 |2 Z: D- I2 I. |6 Q I
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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。 1 v+ A8 C0 E: ]) z8 E0 K ) Y$ }1 N; E& D: YM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! , e( i, {7 W K9 {+ m7 @/ Z8 G & m; f2 r G0 b0 hL: 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? + n7 N3 K# `- O' |; h7 ^# ^. a7 s7 ]
M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. # Q& y5 @" [( C! D% [# H3 L 6 y( U" R; X9 X9 c% _- V+ ?L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 1 }* ]) k9 X- N( [& B) l 0 J3 u" r7 s' U7 e/ }; b2 m/ PM: 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.# J0 i6 q* i6 u4 p* |- V5 e
R) C( X6 N, f3 u I* uL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 . y( R$ b; i8 t6 U" r. x4 e M% u' _" Z
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. " V4 ^' K" p' F + D; e7 y1 R; X6 RL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 1 O `( {; k) e( B" q( _ a5 c( o . K) u% v; l3 i6 E" F7 N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。 ( \+ I4 R3 O4 a: n7 d- fAudio As Following:# o. l# b9 M4 Y" }' O