[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。2 L# ]& r% y/ G
) p2 K! S4 U- s1 OL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! ! ~" }# ]: @$ P7 I, N" _$ ? 1 v) Z9 }$ r4 n6 x/ h( BM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.9 U0 X1 {3 F. y' r. h+ ?
. o9 w5 G# G4 d- D5 ?5 f" H9 D/ E
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!% { Z3 R A* N5 Y& B# Q
& P0 x. u8 t* G0 d7 a( wM: 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. 0 U: p& `5 X' Q6 ?; q4 ?2 K1 h, n( F/ 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? % [5 u- Q, T' G3 U' Q+ e: o! U! K0 g4 j" g
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!) L7 h# p# M/ V, Y5 X3 \9 C+ B9 r
: |6 e* f& {5 X7 _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 ?/ I& k# ]( o% y
* n( X3 M( o5 R: p3 G
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.# S/ V6 n. {4 m F$ ~
! M( h9 A8 R9 R. \) {( Q
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。 " g+ l& e5 u3 C/ x, K% i# x$ i. R$ n. W1 w
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.& ]8 c5 r9 [* m4 J
) }% p) o3 k6 h. ]0 _; p- H
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。 9 E. i3 o- q6 k) J) I& P# M: E4 ^4 l5 ]$ w& H
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.7 v u0 @# ]0 R5 k; }
+ ~) d; o6 U+ N0 _( a' I# rL: 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!7 _: Z+ t+ C f( A, t+ a, a
+ z: C* S: Q4 {. r2 U4 `M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. ! F: ]$ G# g3 `) ~0 h, z6 Z) [ k1 `! P( E8 ?5 |
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。9 d9 a8 b, g/ V8 R
+ `/ E5 @5 h4 KM: I perform better on tests when I cram. $ b' Q, A( C) R8 @- @- `: w8 S$ S0 s5 b+ F, B
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 0 ?6 V" y8 h4 q2 U; g3 t0 E& A, R8 P, O
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.6 `: [8 M* l! Y5 H! @, L3 [
8 C h7 ~+ M7 y# L; d
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? 0 ]. ~* S4 O {/ ` 4 S. }1 W* [" d" }: C" d# t# IM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.& q1 L% w* K9 N5 q9 G
8 G$ _: x; s, x+ z8 G0 [
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。* t% T) _1 D, G. n
$ v9 z0 ?3 c5 ]% z
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!7 w1 ]$ Z! \& C; w9 M5 _
% V; {) B5 d$ \7 a! s+ X8 Y
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?* u) i; s9 P( R1 N* n
9 C( U" k# E1 v* ~M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.. C% ]+ b5 h4 Y" ~ x
" ^5 c. x: j2 i- cL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 7 X# X0 ~" v- |- |% Y9 e8 H z' U7 a9 w# K2 j% S5 c
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.: F6 n) Q6 ~' Z# T* D
/ z& J( m2 ?) S6 X) {
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 , f0 D/ y6 T- ?+ S9 D# v2 r. I3 z" R$ M r
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. ! ^7 M7 A' z/ e, l. @1 t' d5 J 7 W9 }% D3 Z* v8 O; lL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! * r. f: i* W" U: u" K) I. n) ~! }6 q1 H9 H0 q( c
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。 " p, l4 ?1 y* Q3 _" n3 ]Audio As Following: 0 Z" X% k v, Z( M