[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。 ; l1 r2 ^0 M: O! k& S% I4 d k$ l& m) G2 \
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!% v+ O1 w, [9 @
2 U" l2 e1 M: U1 iM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.; a# A3 l' j( w
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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!1 D- W# L7 s9 w* f% G
8 O0 i5 D# v5 L! J S) A3 eM: 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. ' S! `2 g% a% \' g7 t - z: B4 s% a0 X" B4 \- QL: 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' I9 |1 M4 Y* H. H3 V% B' T ; q- `. y/ G/ IM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! - v" C& l8 k2 P0 T; W$ O. w& w# t6 E
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* L1 X& L) r; n
4 Z0 f( F: R# m0 [; pM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.! O7 w# Z9 I7 N X5 _
- y! |( a% r: M6 i0 y6 UL: 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。 - J {! v9 }* S" V. P3 l/ I 4 Q* C% W( _2 J# gM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.0 ]& G. v) A+ w
2 ^$ ^4 C. q9 _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。9 i4 X( A2 j$ b7 d" }( V
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M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. 8 H1 S/ i4 Z; l7 P: r+ i" z# e0 f5 F4 L+ E
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! / a, {0 D% W+ G" \: g: T y% I) H& T% a. T0 n4 f0 ]- A
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.2 w" M8 f6 {2 g0 V
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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。 : m' h- R) r1 G3 _* `0 M% B ]% g- d$ H) `$ c$ BM: I perform better on tests when I cram.! }) c- [ W5 Q. S9 t" j M' 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? 3 x& L- d! ?! G( `3 N ' d0 z4 S @7 Y; p7 s tM: 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.$ O' L- W6 n( G, g% o4 h! v
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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? 8 o5 ?0 M" G8 ~7 Y+ j- ^9 G Q; z2 \9 s/ HM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.* D5 k' Y2 z* M
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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。9 y. q+ @5 T5 W: Z6 ?8 V
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M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! $ l" U4 Y/ e5 H" J : f( g% G) _6 O0 ]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? " h& H8 S9 R0 p0 d; t1 j$ o4 }% d/ o( J' v A( E. U' K) e
M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.0 G. K8 E& _( v# o6 m1 _# I2 s, C
$ K! J$ C8 K3 x' I4 aL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。0 @3 ^6 _" w5 m2 o0 w# N- s4 T
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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.9 N4 C$ @$ ^; _! ~! W5 K
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L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。$ o( I# k9 ?% q8 E
0 t, h) ]( s. _8 [M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.) y( G) G% X5 _$ y {8 t
/ J3 u2 r3 ~# J" ~L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! # N8 C7 R( S2 J* Q; [* I% c" k* H+ a7 a& e! ]
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。 " B: a; I8 w2 U) g# QAudio As Following: + w6 T, ]1 I- F' k, A+ L/ e: @, o* k. s