[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。* U7 N+ C) y. p' f
* H. @5 V1 J. N7 D: R/ z4 uL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! % y7 R# `+ v. S, U1 j 8 Y) T: p% ` h4 Q! M$ L: Y+ nM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. 4 D8 [; i. ~7 k% a& [- g w1 ~7 P, Z
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!& N/ D- i4 A7 b, l7 Q, C% d, \$ }
7 u7 w5 ]% I9 r" P
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.3 p& K3 g: F8 t6 w+ f. }* H! A
3 A! d: U6 `/ u+ j* ?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?* [7 f* o" @# {4 R: k. l. e. o$ i
$ C5 }8 @/ i( P3 @9 x) _, k
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! / s/ C) ^. Q% X X ! H3 D* d1 A/ Z1 KL: 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 A% j R& _ K
+ E; R, a" K; T( ^5 Q% {
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. : W1 U7 X2 _6 K' Q' h1 h* |" Y3 u7 w# A' H* f+ [
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。2 T: E% j' Y: \2 |" d. Y7 x
! a# }* J# p! c8 ~1 F7 M9 nM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.5 M* q9 ?! _: @( ?
6 c+ N7 {# t7 n8 k1 I2 ]( j. v
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。$ G/ ~/ w7 E; w; q( z; E: _
' u: W- L& r, A9 E7 H" j
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am./ h/ D- C, [. V) f5 s; j W
0 j6 o- M b7 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!( | b4 L6 z% l# _8 _- z
0 F& d) q' i! M1 S5 F
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. 1 b A, g; z& M: c: f3 O; w) t! o$ b$ ] ' r) ~# S! k, I4 aL: 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。 0 e8 S$ c; }8 h- \ # y. w* z! M- u; S" AM: I perform better on tests when I cram.& I* P5 y' p1 N7 i
, m# l( W }) x. O
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 9 p& W" C5 C6 M! ?9 E9 @$ {; w* Y! r9 G
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 m& F/ A, Z! d2 n2 t2 n& f
) y; m7 O' _5 Y
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? : h! a# [4 Q1 B0 u$ d! M$ Q: q5 B9 V1 k7 v3 e2 z7 `4 L+ U7 U1 T
M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. + R6 |" @& {+ i- f1 f+ Y# m ' D5 S1 M; G# _0 P, O2 k2 l/ A! LL: 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。1 Z0 Z' H: m0 g. }9 K* C4 L
# Q( ~$ _* i+ u! Y& s& i8 { h( t* s
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! ) s8 E8 D" L# {6 L' W3 r) \% ^: s/ ?# A
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? ! K7 z3 m5 M- y! i5 `4 z1 S1 @ M 6 G9 g1 I7 @7 `$ CM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. : T. _! o3 J1 L' J" S+ F ( Z# l6 G N, `" r3 m+ B1 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。 9 C9 c7 N/ [- A, y' K8 Z- E7 E( D4 M& V
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. - x% h8 D6 _! X0 e, _2 b, q' U) t# Y" @
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。4 n I- r4 }! g7 {
! f" v2 }7 ^, H& I9 j
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. W8 u9 Q4 J0 s7 d2 H 4 j; t9 h, Q: Z7 dL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! * n; {. \4 p) F1 ^4 _/ @6 v' M ! v+ C1 |, s9 H7 x" u& D' Y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。 ! b3 C2 P, p7 ~/ Z- Y2 B9 n7 k/ g9 nAudio As Following: ; l# A' O0 i4 V2 u