[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。8 g6 F/ ^$ e: z7 K* ?9 ]
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L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!; M. p. Z7 S6 A( z. j
8 U. l+ N& C, a/ qM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.2 W9 e$ G" L5 z( ^0 w
* S! W6 c# G* X1 h S, x+ QL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! + S$ d; ]8 c* A) f3 U: b1 X. e1 Y . j$ z9 `7 A$ U& ?/ |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.1 N" e: R" Z5 J) c+ v5 X
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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?; ?- C" t' h2 O2 G( J
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 8 w* B+ T6 z e" k1 T5 O . z) \4 c/ g/ u7 C8 I# cL: 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 ? 0 s! r% z5 |" h& e T5 m/ x! m 7 [3 ~4 @) D: I* VM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.6 N7 u* p6 s8 E* T5 ?( G+ j# i
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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。 F" y' S6 @' b3 [3 B7 b9 j( ^+ ~3 f
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.8 e m" [ ~) `, D: o4 s1 C
8 L3 ] i C! R# j% WL: 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。. u0 t) l, x( D4 U5 D& }6 U# g V
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M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. $ Z* \1 l+ ]: t+ e2 v' B2 |; \! ~! I5 T; E" V4 ]+ r* R; \& v
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! 9 A( w* e9 w9 B- U % a4 S$ H3 G3 K* I3 [5 L2 r5 U W; kM: I don't want to go study either, but I should. ( V0 g; C. [' Y: r; j& j% t7 J1 c! ~1 c* z
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。 $ N: P& ^& Q$ A # A; T! W' j- P+ Q6 d6 gM: I perform better on tests when I cram. 1 g( h. t* }+ f: q1 t" k; N! p) l8 s
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?* Q% N. }) T' @6 D+ Q
# T7 t) y: O# V8 d5 t0 u% B; a3 i# cM: 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.% i3 L, v8 T8 _) I6 j
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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?- u6 H W7 L% \" k2 e
2 G* N' ^! Y4 K0 b0 u0 n+ jM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.. k# J* _! e x, s" J$ I1 P" H
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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。/ {6 \* z$ O. }
3 n" k$ [5 M# p M" r/ V/ n4 |M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!/ i/ V/ _ ?9 O
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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?6 ^2 G7 n$ d! z2 w7 i2 z+ z- s
) N4 e9 W2 h1 y1 k4 K" z, ~* bM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. 8 ~) ~/ [$ x" g. S 4 g' J" Z2 p0 e% r2 K I! SL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 % _; t$ d* T8 |6 {( `. Q3 M9 g, J, \ `; G3 g, s) v2 o
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. 0 |, k/ v- Q5 I2 {# @; [$ Y+ i8 f5 W4 g- Y; C
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。& Y' A# ^/ @: H" g& j
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M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. 6 _2 m& L4 d v, x; k1 u }: L1 o7 L+ l9 V4 U
L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 8 X/ _4 y( m$ ? 6 I1 M0 l& a$ B3 [$ U3 P1 N6 f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。 5 O7 _: }& U' B& o/ U0 GAudio As Following: % j# ~2 F9 c2 c- |