[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。 ' u; m( L4 z& J+ F 7 z- C+ u! z" [% AL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! 1 _. K- L. r9 G( R; \6 m3 N * d7 D9 c% O ~! O A \M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. . {# o/ W" x! Y: O8 B" ~( g1 [: x9 _2 h! g% p
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!2 f- |' Z. ~' O4 H
3 d1 G3 M8 Q3 o9 x% E
M: 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. ! t0 t/ c* W& y/ t3 y2 O. m' L9 W% J$ c K$ \0 h5 S9 `
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?# J( U, z0 `% Z z2 s2 x* J, ?
z- P* O- T4 S% w; x) M/ lM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!$ ?5 g6 [5 J N/ k8 |- C
4 K* ^+ i }8 y. C& P
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 ?! J! C. a. L$ e
# ] Y& ? k3 x1 Y( GM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.2 V0 W) S' T# y8 r
2 j2 K% s/ f5 q0 C5 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。 2 `/ g! U$ G; b ) E: L. H: V! CM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. 1 |# r! {/ t4 n, Y4 {) Y$ u: s8 _: I1 C q
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。 ' p. h! V9 o1 @" {8 X" [ ; Q' Z! R+ d6 LM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.* F* ]! _6 x& q2 K z, Y5 i
8 y8 u' T) R0 E! X$ h+ J; d: J- Y
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! ) i2 w" B$ h. t D' f; W 9 u% s0 G) c* p- [7 z6 f2 G1 `M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.) d0 h5 l2 C) M- \7 S
% g9 K7 ^* O b. w3 N' {5 v/ FL: 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。" U. y# Z6 P& w9 C2 [
]6 H$ m" N0 O# AM: I perform better on tests when I cram.5 r" @7 q2 k* z5 { o. L/ `
! s. J5 |# X z w. }1 VL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?( N; k9 R2 E( c; r0 _
# e6 B* E) n) ~( h! y r3 [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.- s8 D4 |& q$ z
. P6 X4 Y* X/ w/ B
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?; \- G- Q- X, J' j1 u
( F1 k8 l8 Y) l, }8 NM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. 9 E1 y& l4 b0 V0 n3 p) [" S0 c 6 `: U+ M/ J' d! o- t" O& M7 UL: 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。 3 ^' p; a! e* ? 4 w. b7 F; V7 dM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! F' m6 B! O; x1 W) T( ^8 J: a' l
3 o' |7 x1 H" r$ ~* j
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?7 h; A5 k9 v; N! K$ B& B
# E' J7 |) ]! k! X: L7 h) M W; lM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. % N$ i$ I2 ]/ T2 d * q% F( w8 B% r% l4 q& UL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 ' c+ U" n# q8 g* d 9 n! z3 U- l% U9 W+ B; ?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.: D" j1 j6 a3 K+ v) q7 a* J$ O
; n1 [+ y5 O+ }; s1 c3 N5 v4 K) sL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 $ ~8 l* x2 l8 d( g$ Y- Y 4 D3 T2 i, m( ]+ ]& S. ~M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming." d9 J+ u5 b1 P9 {
! ^9 ~7 A; ]; D6 z9 vL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 4 w! v O2 U! E4 ?9 `0 h7 I4 e) i1 b& P- V0 c
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。 B1 a+ ?; q6 G( j, cAudio As Following:* y- k) y! T M( l