[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。/ x. n) O3 Q4 m
! _- B% o' ]0 `0 G& \" VL: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! * S0 [% L. v* ~4 `1 \% U2 I! I9 w ^8 \3 i& `0 Q
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.+ q; w* q! V3 ?- G
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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& G( Z0 U; E1 p1 d
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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. 0 F% i4 f4 o8 F/ T$ j y2 E7 x2 Q- I( 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? 9 c9 P i1 Z( P9 N; { [5 s8 a, {3 X
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!) D6 e9 Y( g% {* a; ]
; S+ t! w8 r+ P0 P4 P, C9 NL: 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 ? ' R# k; ^( T9 P( t0 ]2 k $ l$ _. g# c, f3 T0 DM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.( l" y4 G" @9 ^: t- G 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。" G. j: l+ G7 P9 w( B
/ q& I$ Q9 S, b; @' @. U0 C& s$ V8 V- sM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. ! b( T9 i" S& z8 g: u: Z8 o J; T! P; X4 j0 ^( v# Z
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。' M6 `( N9 Y' J1 h+ C! G6 I/ `
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M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.6 e5 `; U5 G5 v8 z5 W" M
1 u6 }1 w3 f w( p) r; bL: 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!0 Y1 g- ?/ x; o2 I O' j
% Q- p4 [; G! i' {2 e2 BM: I don't want to go study either, but I should.: @8 D1 M& |, R) j4 i- n
/ U" q/ v7 n5 @) fL: 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。. ~2 [7 c' b& Z7 M" r& O: g
- o, ?' Z `2 ~/ i2 f& XM: I perform better on tests when I cram.9 ?! ?4 p# k* R7 m5 G2 k
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L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? ) ^7 m6 I( h- K) E/ h+ Q- o+ h# m+ H" Q% h$ [5 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. # h. ?: J- G0 p/ C* Q8 m: e9 x. m/ y% X( |' 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?! J& |5 l( |5 l9 ]7 P4 t
# G) G" t/ r; N7 _M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. `. Q- O* j) Q6 k0 ^0 A V4 K3 I# C7 v) ~4 R4 A4 a* cL: 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。 . ?; Q" m8 d3 k$ Z' S" f' d) U, `- h( g2 r; d+ p3 y
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!0 t$ [7 ~/ l d. k; A, {2 x
8 a- Y7 i1 r2 B' O/ B( ~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 S, h7 R; t/ d* u. Q4 } $ d9 t( X1 Z7 v2 s# B; x6 v, lM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.7 ^1 E, g; o8 H7 x6 K
7 S8 A8 u7 R5 l6 N! y+ q2 W; m/ jL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 6 D# ?* v' a+ H* K d# D , s" D. f/ k8 w, t& AM: 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. ( |+ [: P. i" g% F0 d/ D# z; o5 ?" K N5 J
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 5 j+ Z, ^+ w: O1 J, I9 i/ N & h# G2 P- d K" Y+ cM: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming., { z! |0 M7 ?$ _7 w
2 V+ M# @& ?6 w* u1 F2 b( s2 u) I/ _L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! & m! s3 I) \4 p- x/ O. ] * r( e/ R( z, d# `+ C! m2 k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。 4 a o8 b; j( p7 d! l* B/ x
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