[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。% m7 j7 x2 {& p5 r8 q
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L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!- m! Q' E l" M5 H- D% T' D
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.3 ?1 y+ D# [# @- K8 L/ B
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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!! c: z# C* S* H% X. U6 n' X D9 ^
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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. J$ v) e' ] t2 k
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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?- t" J8 V( Z( R
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 7 i$ W' K1 i1 @- j 9 u! _ ^- w" `' o, _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 ? 5 j+ w O) h/ }9 l3 ~$ j6 Q0 O/ @/ O3 n$ V( C
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. 3 w8 q! s! j( v- n# Z+ R6 d1 @( Z0 R
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。 # y7 [, V! z0 m% k8 g( |+ z3 o( Z! Q) i+ h) w( s+ ^* Q- \
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.4 C+ U v! u# A7 r, T8 y3 F7 N
- b& J3 }3 p1 u% ?6 d2 _" XL: 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。 0 s5 v4 M4 P1 l0 X$ @4 A" w* z8 |, J1 R Z. H/ j6 O
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. 6 P# ]' }( [4 `# m! x( T' b' u* r - o/ B' ~$ s( b6 a$ h. FL: 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!' [2 T& [% g& y: H1 t- d5 O
% ]. S. Q2 v8 {M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.% y- C1 A0 r+ \6 |
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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。 $ R0 \+ Y+ b, k9 O9 N4 x$ a1 f0 i, p8 g+ v# v
M: I perform better on tests when I cram. 6 Z9 i( s ]: v+ n! z6 i+ q3 n' l4 F. I- R
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?- U+ \/ ~+ }% f1 I' O8 D
& Q& Z" ? Z' j8 m c3 pM: 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. 2 L1 p4 C; l. S/ n : ^/ K6 A% R+ l3 q8 E4 }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?8 Q/ l6 T/ a: J6 F/ A
$ y3 d# ~+ G( Z* X: HM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.+ Z. l/ `' @; ~& a" e8 g2 p+ M4 b
/ M+ K& ~6 [+ B/ `, @' s5 ?- |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。 " a+ t# m0 M6 _& T% s X$ \1 w9 s ( n0 V$ m* N. U4 ]/ s' iM: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! 1 S6 h* f: Q' r. _6 C: d1 T2 Y) [7 W. j! r& p5 v( L
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? # G/ B8 q' L7 P$ r- }! L% q/ G ( O& \6 w2 ?9 Q1 FM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. ' o$ I3 b3 c3 r/ v* K ; v4 H) A( M. _) k, ^6 mL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。# m/ \3 j- n/ f
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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.' u9 ?/ }' z1 B5 j( c3 i
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L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。3 ?( r5 P6 K- c9 q6 h) J+ m, \& Y
+ ^( L" A y) S& o" R. R+ uM: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.. v* B* |+ v) c
D e r. A$ E) ~- `4 rL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!+ \* i6 D6 h; h, @8 Q# Y* }, G1 s+ e
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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。 ! b2 E* o( p+ n3 L* {& qAudio As Following:3 T' y R/ L v* F5 e. q! O