[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。 $ t, Q1 @/ Y& a7 _9 O' }- C 3 o, O" ~1 i) h3 C8 n2 `L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! 1 |! V/ ]7 w7 q$ H3 n2 i3 F+ G' h# l# z
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.7 l( C1 S/ q$ ?& Z
; l, z. Q/ f9 d- q: S# H$ Q! k. JL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! ( ^( L" T4 S! G* e, p9 ~9 t" ]( [8 R% B
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.& V2 `% {6 w$ e* N0 ?9 V
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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? 6 L, S3 i! {, i1 F/ n" l* @. }- Y" p9 j+ l- ^3 H0 U
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!+ n/ Z0 ^" I% s x2 k
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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 ?7 O) H4 g; ~+ T" p0 M
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.1 w" ?# p8 n2 R
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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。 . ~9 G" r# [0 \, r / {% N; _2 X- }( P/ M2 E9 `M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. 1 w$ W1 B( [8 ^ Q& H( u0 b% ]* i2 F; @: x $ ~6 ~3 G9 j. v& q, q' ZL: 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。% C! E$ n, k7 |: L" g9 l
7 o- }& h" z% QM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.5 Q& o$ f9 U. F) H) K8 R
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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!, A0 ?. c- a! Z' G
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M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. 3 w2 l) I7 |/ t7 R( v' C5 _: E5 M: O
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。 . S: J6 J& j4 k+ X8 p : m. \0 C$ o7 D7 {. a, @M: I perform better on tests when I cram.& w# G; T) _0 O. j9 z
' ^! m0 Z: W8 nL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? + n R2 k1 Z2 }4 i4 R0 M& d9 X, C, t 3 Z; r- H% ]9 z5 O0 WM: 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. + Q3 ~' N- `0 ^+ Z% S: e1 y4 w/ Q2 }" k
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? ! w, G: s. S7 R5 w/ l - d$ {: g) i2 J0 ]8 Z7 UM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. u3 ~: [$ C* ]/ F# B% l) f a7 k; Z
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。/ ^8 v* m, f1 e! u- g% b' N6 L
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M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!7 r( ?% P* q" C* p3 X. V
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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?% Z) i+ b! i) i, Q3 R r
6 q7 j1 [2 `4 \' Y7 CM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. - ^# J- O2 N, w) P# f2 ]+ P/ i; |! _
L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。2 \9 X D6 s% c0 s/ U8 Z: ~
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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. C' h# g: k% o1 K" ^$ u- D( D; } q1 b( }$ v5 X; ~, M; T
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。( e) o- L9 O. R: `9 k$ g8 n
$ |0 W Z+ L P ?7 JM: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.% ]* m& Z8 Z. ~
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L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!4 [7 O; k* y5 V' A1 |/ }
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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。 3 P& _- x' R+ j) E; M* F) s' y H7 u! e
Audio As Following: % \1 F" w6 M) H. B1 z; ]1 ]