[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。3 A5 R- \8 q$ K% L* g
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L: 嗨,Michael. 我在这儿! 3 Q3 ?: I8 U+ M" \$ U v: E1 m j4 m4 y& @. N# P
M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look. + h# x6 H8 L- q. u6 y+ Z/ U* v' ? . x8 w9 Z, m: \0 D! @7 dL: 噢,那是大象馆啊? 好,进去看看。 不行,不行,这儿太臭 了。走吧! 3 w$ L% H, w) O }9 h4 \6 a7 u8 \5 ~/ D! ?0 ~& C6 P. G
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. ^# t9 O9 \# B" u5 c$ e
% f, y: B/ W3 Z3 O0 a( v' d" lL: 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? 5 \) N, G2 ^' j' s; i) O' z5 e9 ?/ j; ]
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart! # I6 W/ e, r3 l0 | 2 ^; Y4 p( V% A: {" TL: 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 T8 A% v A9 H0 v# T. V 7 u) O5 D3 _9 I% L( ~- H4 SM: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.5 s4 n6 W8 _6 W) U" ^" p
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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。( }: a' {& |# u; X
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M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been. 1 f% s; w) d a. O- s; m6 Q% J! u8 K, h. J: c
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。 6 U) B/ K5 [! M9 X6 V3 @+ m) e1 _4 W, A7 s; X3 p8 K
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. " f( J3 ]9 J1 W9 {- `$ F" q - X. K( q; p, ~: ML: 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! * x, y+ `+ n1 j; f % d) G% ~6 l8 q8 D& o; cM: I don't want to go study either, but I should.! N5 `* q% K' r. c4 ~
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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。 - | j, B6 t1 ?+ J* A E Q. M$ ?1 ~) k) l0 A# i
M: I perform better on tests when I cram." i e3 }' y9 g g
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L: Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢? . f( S# G! e2 G" t L) O: r' _$ k & x* Y$ `8 M0 Y# Z5 |4 x+ @$ \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.. c# s5 f1 _" R5 p8 z2 H! y
4 V; J% j/ A* \( J# KL: 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?3 c) u5 h% t4 i# g! ]; O
# i+ S l& N2 G0 Q7 PM: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me. y( g+ q1 x; ~5 A' t5 h% B
; y9 z( i: t4 I- fL: 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。 " F* h1 F$ {: n6 ]0 a! ]" B- ?+ I& e- y# F' s' o$ d1 N$ k2 e
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!) I k) d5 T8 Y
) B$ _. G# y+ `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? 5 X. ]0 n) N& z+ |4 b/ p4 ?1 s( q; E0 J2 s. G# q" \( b. D
M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.7 X2 V* |: T. q4 ^" X1 D& B
! X) [5 e9 v; W- w" Q% i( g/ _7 }6 L4 hL: 噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。 9 l: J7 d7 T7 u) ?8 x: P- u & u3 H' z0 [, z4 Y( t6 s/ kM: 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." f4 a4 P/ p3 q0 E: d. W
( p2 Z2 g2 f0 @8 b4 N8 a$ OL: 好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。 8 i- G, g: ~, `0 N+ @6 o! i+ n' g7 [, I
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.+ c/ E7 R# `4 i& i( A
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L: 哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐? Ok, well, good luck! 4 \7 Q- e' ?! U6 E! R% G/ ` ) L3 ~8 P4 l# m- Q8 Z, c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。 , a& t S/ A4 i/ m! GAudio As Following:/ M- F" R0 t! n! A3 V8 y* w0 o