[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 B0 ~' f% A7 }# E) b+ V) I/ z. o: z6 s
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!# U' _: M1 e2 W- C+ N) |7 Q% s
% ?3 x% T$ i% k) t7 c' [M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.3 _% f* `' `+ `# A k
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L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 4 Y/ E% p3 d! L4 t0 J1 f3 P# { 0 J& k0 M* |# J e) t- MM: 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.2 G3 I5 u% m( J) b
* T7 y2 f0 ?6 l; _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?/ e$ ?/ v( a, Y" D
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 4 T1 J* m' ~1 y: n3 C; P3 I5 j/ b; w3 r
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 ?; `/ H' f' {/ L% @6 G1 G
5 r6 y% z( o+ FM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. : @6 }# q+ x* C, x* o ! J% t# B, f3 qL: 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。 3 L* c& T l# W; t8 f' Q5 d4 D7 j9 k: P- [) S& t! C
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. " a9 u v3 L) M% w( X! Z7 V( J( N
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。 5 \% _6 C. ~3 z% a [$ k! N+ ]$ F9 E# `) V/ b5 S
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. & d: y% S7 W" z. Y % T/ a+ a4 R+ l9 H$ q, i& {4 v4 a5 ^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! 9 E4 i9 U, n m( ^3 V# g! h* R5 O6 k8 B3 V( o5 a5 h2 ^
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.# R" i! [2 l8 g5 {% l3 q. P
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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。 8 m$ R8 Y/ z+ q d0 R& O % V1 v$ ~) o$ b; T1 |0 {6 RM: I perform better on tests when I cram. ; I% m" {+ x7 I3 @/ ]% u* p- R7 ]- P4 G& G3 z# M. t0 L# W
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 0 r2 u0 C& b# V1 p E, L1 l; q L 1 S9 d; r# I7 \! ^& w/ f: 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. $ e+ Y3 K3 }; H# q, F9 }: ?6 d5 U3 r; T2 R/ b! D
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: l% N0 o& V# F% D
9 u# L" ~" f5 f/ r* _M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. ) P) M1 z/ `: ]2 A7 ?9 `7 w3 K* f* Q' T' b* S# U2 v+ L! b& a5 |8 p
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 I& Y! b: F( L* ?/ V m 2 ^+ {. u5 A: k3 yM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! 6 x7 {( `; M& z8 O8 H S9 q, A" V9 i! q7 O
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? 1 A, R/ G7 \8 K2 g& U+ X9 d% z : ~$ M- [, N0 K2 x7 D/ _# u- DM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.2 ` k1 m$ j6 ^9 ^8 L5 L4 k
# u* s2 ?) E0 @4 S" q, _L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 6 v5 i U+ x/ q. V% J& `8 ?: j' B/ T+ z* Y4 ?2 _: ?
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.9 q) b0 ]' c2 `+ q& O
7 J3 U/ {% r, B( a! C3 a9 S4 E; BL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 % _3 `0 }- i9 _8 `& g& ]$ [' Z7 M5 z( C3 k7 f0 \
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. ! O0 h2 A6 \7 j" w9 X2 G( ~: r 0 N! T' Y+ s: G6 T# X }# gL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! $ I N. D. M) ]: d6 }" R ( }% T4 _' v/ _0 B! `& P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。 / V) _7 b( j4 {# k8 q) \7 cAudio As Following: ; N( {9 e3 w6 w$ R' W