[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。& z& d, s' e4 B4 f, `9 x
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L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!; Y0 l* V# o! w& c; f
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M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. 2 U' \$ p( m$ a5 [3 E! y: u& [4 A8 m5 k$ R1 ~
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!& f) w; L% T$ v' c1 E5 Y/ u# {
7 W; {6 }! z5 I0 r3 t' i6 ?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 G+ h3 j* y0 T! [' U: O0 _. Q |: U' M+ A5 _
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?. @& X, [) S) x1 C4 ?( w+ f; l) T# ?
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M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! , z* ^3 n" y& B( H9 j, s9 l1 g, m, D @6 U. y! _+ p! q% B& `
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 ?; }8 [& }0 O3 Z- ]) W4 C
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M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.+ @2 x8 G# r: d. q+ T6 g
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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。 " T8 B( p& G K' n7 y6 y4 t2 X5 c% T' [$ J' z! s+ x- ?
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. 0 ?7 q4 F; ^1 P1 X+ S0 _) L+ K+ e" t) W( o- i) }5 j0 d" T
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。 : Z5 u2 m+ S4 U1 @( m+ d# t. j) P 5 P8 D) D7 h8 V$ ?; y3 a) ^+ wM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.% I' g1 C% Y+ L( E
9 n9 D4 H7 F! Z- j- WL: 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! * s' F5 y( g4 P6 L' M0 t5 V6 H- m! q5 i5 G @
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. % P4 o5 w2 I6 K& q* H, d % r1 X, u) q2 q0 [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。 ( t- Q' F8 {( {1 h+ R 2 d) @* G+ X) g7 k/ p |/ F+ vM: I perform better on tests when I cram.; f0 w" B6 c. e( S7 c7 g
. l( ?7 E7 w( h. m0 O7 D" JL: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? 2 l1 n* y$ }1 f : C5 j8 M$ q. O& T5 w1 ]) {9 `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. # U3 Z1 v" w' g' r3 X+ M _0 ^+ f2 A K$ ]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? $ S+ V j9 [5 \8 n; o; a$ Z/ _% A ( k3 i* [4 N( R5 r9 L( HM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. 5 T# _* \! T A4 f% J0 @4 q4 `- R4 Q7 }' R
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。 - W0 C& o: [7 ~2 F1 |! p/ _( i {3 Y" B- E: H
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! * v4 C D3 N; z' j% Y# E% U- r4 e4 m# [
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?* l$ f+ S, V+ f
8 T% w. Y& a" e+ k7 `3 ` h9 u! k# @M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.' [+ j }! G8 _% s8 Q% d
' q4 K/ q+ H+ RL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 - B9 Y! p3 {9 W! z. B, u- S, ]7 Q 1 h5 l% Q7 P9 IM: 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. 9 M+ w( e% v5 W! g b% U# v- l0 N4 c! Q
L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。( ?" H( ~2 d+ q2 F, {
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M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.. r% P& [, H; h$ F
$ ~# T9 N4 i9 _L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! + U# i) z- J& e7 [$ \1 ^ 0 w P3 X' z( ]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。 , A0 b2 s, D! a' C" T6 d$ U, B
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