[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。 + ?6 [/ E6 {! C. l6 Z- t0 b x: C# Y6 ?1 R8 C
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!: L' W8 h2 {( D% x
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.$ N9 r8 j) W" X* k
1 j2 D' L# |9 q8 j4 i( tM: 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. ( n) O% H7 g3 U$ x 5 g A: |/ D# YL: 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?/ i$ b1 X2 M p9 t8 L. P s3 @
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! ) v2 n E J) j) [% N7 {* M$ D" K; \
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 ? & D; ~" X0 k% `/ A. p" n# J7 i9 ?3 S8 K$ P8 r# I5 t
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. . d2 z! a2 Q' E 3 n. k" T6 J' [5 M0 r* ?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。$ M5 n; a0 e" y7 Z" [
4 P/ s ~4 _# n; o* I% J2 @M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.4 \5 x# \7 ?! |5 G* ^
n$ F1 z/ X z, [- e2 xL: 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。 S$ }/ x( j7 u0 f$ n9 _: e. e
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M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.9 D, f. D: d3 W5 n- W
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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!7 \2 m. @# O: V# Y
5 m& e6 S9 G/ Q) E* t9 Z' JM: I don't want to go study either, but I should.0 V0 ?; c8 M" c' j3 }5 b' q: S
8 V& K# v4 W4 n/ C0 UL: 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。 % h7 |, c/ B. I2 z ; N: a5 K. m5 A! ~M: I perform better on tests when I cram.( O* @9 x; R- `; W: u2 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?6 c8 `8 w; n! c8 d" x8 T& }! }+ s
, Z; e" S! M5 V, T2 dM: 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. * ~' R1 J4 n* P {8 I8 }/ i! B- ~ u! S7 J. |1 m3 s- f( B1 ^7 t
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 F0 o! l: W4 [% ~" L* H3 n4 a/ B
M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.' z8 i/ w0 O7 d) H8 e- A& k
. I' Y" ~) X7 o% y# w3 K, ^% [3 aL: 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。 & n0 v/ L% Y `/ M1 x r( \8 q& e* H, D! _5 ~
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! ; p. V& l( t& \ 2 ?$ T3 m/ G' u; R' CL: 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?2 S, g+ M6 ^9 p7 y; ?+ s& n0 q& B
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M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. 7 M4 V) }. d. `9 }" _ / c+ [4 N9 P; U" fL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。5 J3 k# c0 R. G; n$ O) ^) E
6 _# g3 F. j) x3 f9 w! j2 p) Y7 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. @ a' u1 e1 N1 f! e: S, V' i9 {4 m
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 0 c) b) D r2 r0 t7 D + |! v3 c9 w6 B$ ^; v7 W4 z9 xM: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.( f8 V* y5 z. T$ N8 M" V C; } U
* N" o3 ~+ V: `5 I/ BL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 3 x8 t& ?; V, r$ @8 V2 r/ d& W& ^5 F5 R, _ a m# E r. Y0 ~
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。 6 R3 t1 }2 Y; f& A* jAudio As Following:0 f7 Q0 R1 @3 ^! U$ o1 o4 K