[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。" P7 S0 U; A4 N& I* m
8 ]' w6 o4 ~" J; XL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!; P# T- q( b/ W9 {: s+ E
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.6 i+ X2 j$ P% \* ~+ a
1 ?0 S7 Q g3 T! \! Z8 l6 Z) a# dL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 1 U. e6 _/ A r6 N2 Q $ c g' ~" i7 I; _% UM: 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.) o7 L/ o r2 q: \' {
$ j7 h1 r0 @! r& ^8 O8 hL: 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?* S. h/ V9 b& m
& E4 k, i& T- @6 UM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 7 Q2 p: s4 c* p8 ?& q( L' G5 K 7 L! T, W! \9 B6 H& xL: 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 ?/ X! B! N2 F; ^1 _% A7 u
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.6 e0 c2 h2 f X' @" o. |
4 ~0 x) o1 a6 FL: 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。 ' T8 j; K7 c+ F0 e/ S# i) L 9 d, n& b2 \4 u) y6 w0 _. j) UM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.8 Z" W/ Z, B' f: e
; R5 E: {7 ~9 `# A+ k5 ]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 ?" m$ x4 l) Y# ?# d8 m$ \$ _6 t+ R0 k( |8 `: c9 s Y4 R
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. * G" Y& r% P$ H( ` ( B1 X. C: |( B3 ?4 j9 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! # v# M8 ~: g' J: C9 B( ] 9 X$ j9 X l' b- u" N7 ^# l# s/ HM: I don't want to go study either, but I should. ( g8 Z! E, ^# L# W: S' i l - Q! i/ V+ l2 x- V. }/ l3 a. tL: 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。3 o- J& [' r! s) f
* z! T. o- e" x, C- \M: I perform better on tests when I cram.$ j, i7 A! r# ?) I
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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? . x3 Z8 r3 r' k3 A) p, _1 q" H8 [& @/ K b9 ~8 z. q
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 I- }" Q# ~1 Z7 E
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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?1 f0 g4 J* t2 {1 R% r
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M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. 0 S4 v) n1 @! ]! U4 X! p2 [* C) `8 N
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 z* |: g) |( U p3 W" r
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M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! % ^1 ^& s& i& [) H" O5 U5 K6 a4 t7 x$ G% d' H' @. ?7 `
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? + I1 G9 g! u: q4 D* ?2 M) U1 @- G0 X- B P( \! p% K2 D) ~; w
M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. : l2 J6 u% z# v" V7 o$ H+ [7 q 0 _2 L- A4 Q+ ]+ aL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。6 @; j* P4 e- I0 R& Z; O
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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.6 r G8 z8 }9 ^( E, l [
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L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。9 t1 e, }7 M. h+ d: r+ k+ U! ?
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M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.1 e+ ?8 I- ^+ D& p. H! ^6 ]3 L
7 K! v1 g. J( l% g7 K1 q, Z; JL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!0 l; j0 W( a5 D* b2 D3 e+ p- s+ v