[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。* R; r4 d5 _8 [: e
# O7 G" C" q$ JL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!# \: R' N1 a- a3 c/ o. a2 N0 y' U
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. $ d' A9 h; {$ Z) K& Y5 B8 K: k/ _9 H2 i$ u4 r Q
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!) X) [8 L1 W+ x: v) v( z! o* d1 Q
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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.: [3 V2 H8 W: \- {3 U
8 M5 [& G9 L# ], Y; b( S) CL: 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? 9 b5 i- g8 p! Y* k. _ : `& W7 g5 q, I3 Z$ U4 FM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 2 m/ U4 {) [' a o+ y( d) V: z: n* P. ]: x; g; ]
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 ?) N6 ~" P! y& |. \0 y- Q. y4 d
. `& d! O+ ?% v: o# K" LM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.3 j# Z% Q$ p) {/ @
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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。 & [: E3 Z5 a3 a+ c7 Y' ^- Q% e# g8 d; N2 r
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.9 \/ F0 {% Q* c D/ w
( \9 A* B# w6 } |) HL: 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: T/ r# j4 p: s; C+ v1 q4 l/ Z6 i8 @5 \2 x& d9 `
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.. P3 [' j; S# U/ o
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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! 5 b" t6 d2 e1 |9 v9 |/ O9 k " C) U; i. @9 a" ?: U6 N6 pM: I don't want to go study either, but I should.! @1 a8 [ I. F
+ J* t. S6 y8 W9 y8 |. H; gL: 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。3 d4 H# f" ~* A) |5 `
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M: I perform better on tests when I cram. . |" Y }8 Y* S8 V, v3 h $ r+ Y2 r7 c0 @$ G+ c( LL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? $ t" t; L& P/ r: H4 U7 P, g3 _' N1 J) ] Z4 s
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.- \- j3 D4 L8 g* o9 A* u
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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?$ r9 s- Q" V- G3 `; H; R& ^9 s
2 O$ m7 ^( f4 H1 U5 g, AM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. ! s, ^4 p; ?( D8 G8 J! U) x V, Y" T9 \5 `5 X
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。 1 `, h8 Z8 {# Y/ B, O' J! D4 c/ q8 |* f6 E" u4 U
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! / p& @5 V0 H6 O. F8 `, B. j ' e7 J( D* ^" K+ kL: 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?2 J9 P0 \9 C* n" b7 k3 P5 y
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M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. - I4 f$ m& H$ Y- Y+ M& i5 q; k( \; H* _
L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。/ E, L! y% }5 x
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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.* L6 V+ i' Y+ Y( U, R& d