[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。 : P8 d7 i# w' X2 N" Q0 ?4 V" U6 D' d# f8 k* K6 l! `' b- F
L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! 1 R' t2 Y2 x3 `+ ?; ? 1 Q( t9 v s' z' ]3 n% d! IM: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. * M ^8 l* Z) B0 W$ N( P) \- ^2 ]
L: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 4 y$ u4 ^0 `% ?0 a, v8 y7 q+ _4 @- S7 I5 M, g8 f
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. + T3 J; w* _* H' R 8 R2 `; W( D( ]' m/ Q* R jL: 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 K! W) q% M0 r6 G6 N # [! g: S5 L$ RM: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!; m& z1 ^$ a" n* m' X2 C+ x
2 n; \$ s$ v& T. x, _9 DL: 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 ? $ [, }% c8 `7 M, d2 Z% X& `$ R% @2 ?: T& A; ?5 W
M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time. 7 u1 u7 Y" \- c& g) I% |' ^ 7 l( |1 a4 E# qL: 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。 , X. `, `$ W: U4 G& j) B8 [& l# D3 t; R9 h
M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.) E( _6 O& V: ]8 F+ q% a! Z" w
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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。% z; A! F+ Z6 y6 J- z2 P
% p6 I' g" C3 ~6 GM: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.$ @8 V( u4 w e7 z+ W- @& I
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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!/ f; @/ b7 D9 u7 X( E
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M: I don't want to go study either, but I should. + [+ Z2 p }3 R2 [* S! l2 j! ] 4 m$ w( ~7 u7 ?: Z- e# wL: 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 l( f1 x+ ]/ h/ S, F . D O d" r9 \0 v- G- I; dM: I perform better on tests when I cram. - I# ~$ t7 P/ T, o5 X. s1 x* [. ]! T% s, L
L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?' Z- R8 O$ |: H0 `$ N+ P
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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. 7 `; o0 _+ v* ]; u4 i) f+ E* p8 T* l- j- c; D* m/ @( r
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?0 k* g$ p/ L3 G' ?% [ l/ E
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M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. + Q/ r( ~, ?$ x0 }7 C0 h4 @; t; e% ~% j5 i2 b ?; [, L. ?
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。 8 ]. r2 k6 u ?; Y# H* K5 ]; Y+ ~5 X% ^
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!- c* J) l4 g" k+ R2 p
$ @7 X" a3 L3 Y# h! NM: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level./ h/ |3 u6 i6 {* m6 J* A/ N, L
. w2 t# B& @- r6 N) B: D h. TL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 N2 ^! ~& V; _8 j4 e7 y. F
4 w4 _, d) D6 B: `$ j1 qM: 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. ) e2 g/ a- O% w& Z7 D. v" W l / J. F+ C g; }/ J% e" M7 r# \L: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。" |% q. ^( R9 F5 I
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M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming. 1 v. o) C O. p- e! T% p4 O8 R* a' s- L 6 f$ e6 R$ u: v o. i1 JL: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck!. V- `& e% `5 P