[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。1 r* @( N( i) X/ v
- r n/ M) `( zL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!, v9 p/ A. B, ]* x9 o/ W
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look., O* l' E& g. i" c
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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 A) j* h: q1 a% y% |
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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.5 ^$ C/ Y7 x$ W- R! H
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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? ! H1 m* t, _1 ^5 z0 C( ^ * k0 ]2 |% s" _ bM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!3 @3 K4 h Z$ i. Z6 v3 B# ^$ b
; ]* y3 p! c& _. r, ^, l: ] S. qL: 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 ?3 D1 u" ]1 q* \; ]# P( x; F7 N
' a9 C% U7 h( F N- B1 nM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.3 x4 r0 h. H- V, X6 F( g/ Z4 f
v" a( B- ~6 @4 N! R. oL: 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。 # N: O9 I% G* T) {4 m % {1 X3 U/ O) I; ~8 eM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. 8 Y" N: {$ u9 Y& i4 l+ @* y! D0 [- b# s$ ^1 `
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。 ( d8 x2 G2 x7 G( |$ V( k& ] ]' K 6 L' d' N/ d. b8 GM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. ' f3 e4 K& n# h+ N# t: ~7 G) k" J1 o C+ V0 V8 }+ I9 m, J; x0 d: k, zL: 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!8 S4 c' M+ I1 W0 X2 g
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M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.6 U% `% U! X2 r7 D* F
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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。4 n; V7 B. B3 n2 B
* k! W0 F% `4 e+ T1 u( E3 KM: I perform better on tests when I cram.3 J9 Z4 \3 F5 t8 S9 p7 f3 Q
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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?" [/ }# t- s3 b' h! V% e
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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. # _8 ? t+ H U' Y# K" s 7 g* h; M: l3 ~' z) A0 bL: 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 B2 M: E7 A' Z/ ^ # y2 v: ^0 j8 K, w; ]% zM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.+ f! K/ h+ N$ K: z
+ x0 x# h% {4 \. e( pL: 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 U v/ N3 A" y. {+ }
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M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! 0 B2 s- h# n1 ?$ x0 q$ {- J4 M8 j- i' }( c; \
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 i5 X3 H( ?4 l
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M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.) D# P% [8 s2 X8 c- O
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L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。; E7 O! c" E* ~; d+ x' V
; Q9 C6 r) j/ h' zM: 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. " g7 G# ?2 x- a; g# ^, X9 Z" e6 i3 Q8 ^* b( i
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 3 V3 ] f2 o( V+ q1 @+ x/ R( C; C: A7 R
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. 5 h3 O. M# L) G% L : J0 I* O$ i: j$ j! UL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! : s* b6 z2 ?7 x3 I$ Z * t$ \6 [2 W u4 s; I! t* q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。 ; e5 i# L7 C' w1 a- q/ IAudio As Following: 3 w2 V. T! h. X& w# C