[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。 / a5 Z2 X+ S- Z' t$ [+ Z ! W5 K# A# W$ r$ p2 C5 [ ? [; i( oL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! 3 A x8 Z7 {7 p& s6 a ) s2 A* H L# Q5 e" UM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.0 Q5 \% U! ^" K6 _' n& D* i6 D8 V5 F' f
% z# k7 X/ f/ v* a, w; s* u) WL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 7 N* ]: V5 U" E$ s7 r) C ) b6 L4 J# t$ K& X, H1 g6 yM: 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. + D( w2 A4 v* `5 e# V8 j' ]) `7 {: B3 q1 Z! n% q E
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? , b! f, {( k% N & F4 o! d' Z8 X" M3 NM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!+ J( b% A- {9 ]) x/ R# l7 V% Z# {: t
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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 ? 1 J9 Z; G8 v8 k/ k7 Q7 x0 s2 x6 r% u6 L: m
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.( A- u( k& A, z- U3 `+ ~: A
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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。 ) D. Q- c0 J- K7 S& R( S5 L4 E8 g5 U9 b, i& g9 y) H3 f
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. & M% I$ n2 [" L 8 `$ ?* Z( T' L7 v8 oL: 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。 4 ?+ U% b5 |: _- C6 e0 c) \4 V' ]" p: F7 g2 P: l9 ]- f' ^" n: [
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. ) k: m, [9 O* E. O ' T" j4 x% |8 S/ T/ H2 P# r& NL: 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- m' i( w' K( i$ j1 G' ?: |- |! m. ?$ n
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.7 E& h$ K: S$ x9 c0 Q ~: b5 f" s/ _
& y% D0 N9 j; K/ G0 VL: 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。$ a7 m2 ^% \0 h, _, N
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M: I perform better on tests when I cram. 7 G+ ]: k6 K5 D0 {4 y1 K, w( L 7 u% h' T7 f! Y B1 YL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 4 `7 D; M' w+ C ' B6 A( ?; \1 c, W; g% z; S ]$ X9 sM: 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.; N6 y9 s; ]/ F0 P9 l( P) _
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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?- M4 h3 Y: ^3 _4 g
3 ~' }7 }+ c& D+ tM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. % G0 A' d+ R5 s- ] 2 i* T4 y) }3 M2 Y* I# Y- ZL: 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。 / N& M( w# x4 h \, B" c" X# H 1 m9 \- x1 T5 l' ~ V% KM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!4 A6 m- o- r+ |, a* s8 {, i
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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? " \8 z5 u1 r: d# j , u$ z3 [/ w5 C0 \- TM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. 5 t9 q2 U- l, r# @3 d: H# _; q5 V& v7 a0 j* \) q8 B) B+ i 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。 & K' ~: d% \; l+ W! n3 `6 H9 U* g9 q. D
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.( s- u6 d5 @5 Q) T. j* U X. ]
) d5 x0 Z- l; ] p% F8 ~/ p+ O+ XL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 % S, U) ]: j5 I! b+ U+ ~8 a9 w* }) K9 h3 |; S% q# c
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. 3 k5 ]: |/ U* R9 H6 J$ h2 j1 ?2 j M* c9 t2 m h: B
L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 3 b' A4 b$ _7 }& J$ I4 y8 B1 [7 J, m7 w5 B7 P$ q4 \
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。 1 h# }" a: T; LAudio As Following:! ?( k+ [" U% I* X4 l* w) B