[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。 * y3 j h: R5 \% M0 b6 C* j1 y1 V& x. `1 A6 G6 B
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! ' K, j7 e1 G& L' f# D3 i. g' ~3 T. m* y' k2 Z. N4 K
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.0 _. |- y7 l; V4 S" ]$ @# k* t
2 d3 ^! x: J4 R- A5 |9 |L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧!2 \7 I/ ?9 e5 e8 T, u$ W: L0 j
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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.! e% Y$ b! r N" e( g; s7 G
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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? 0 m* `. Z1 q D Y+ L Z ! |/ H2 K; o+ r2 y, i3 g; `M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! 3 [6 f& m. Y4 N+ I0 \9 z4 j9 y
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 ? + ]9 D: p: A% I N 0 v- k: T) A" {2 Y6 Z0 q5 MM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.* J/ e' S, k! F% E
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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。 & j) X& {7 v9 w$ f 1 O4 r; Y! Q# kM: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. " V& D" J+ n$ W% F) X: D 4 [# h# N* d0 u% sL: 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。 O/ S; U1 {2 Q! r" q( l5 C4 o1 W8 a, f3 d( V
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. & Y* A, t* T; D3 S+ q4 Q $ Y% e- ^ i, u, EL: 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 `8 U1 @' e" m$ W
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M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. + h! q2 A. x5 y1 i( h& W1 T7 k% M6 M$ l: g; a
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。 , H9 ?( |/ ~7 h) ^& g( u! `" P* ^( {2 b8 @. k1 M: O/ d! A1 I
M: I perform better on tests when I cram. 8 W; V" w. b6 C. E0 [+ z$ ]! ^! u3 ?
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?& L# H6 v2 x2 B2 {' l+ J# @5 B
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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. ( ]0 ^/ e9 F4 }0 _0 Q+ L' |" J& x' R) X, H
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?- b' ]+ O# q/ Q7 H0 _6 A5 C) d
, m7 K4 P, A) T2 z) G4 p, N" mM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.2 Z! F7 k( Z: S" x+ s! G
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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。/ a: R" I9 q1 N1 q6 e
, H/ w+ J; U: _- n }M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua! ( C8 ^+ O* u$ z/ w# m, ?* k! g5 L" [2 e9 o& h! i
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? - L4 a% @; q/ X ! u* I% |2 h3 c5 P7 iM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level. ' K s6 D& p; B! r# C { 2 Q& [% h! i! Q7 `L: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。. X2 z7 t: Z* k& H
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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.6 T8 `" L. L3 @5 q/ z. h