美語訓(xùn)練班 014

　　Donny代班!

　　A: 大家好!我是楊琳!Jessica, 你剛從中國(guó)回來，怎么樣，這次玩兒的不錯(cuò)吧?

　　B: The trip was terrific! 有意思的事情可多了，我待會(huì)兒慢慢給你講。

　　A: 好!那咱們先來說說今天節(jié)目要教的內(nèi)容吧。

　　B: Sure! 今天，我們要聊聊好朋友一起組樂隊(duì)的事兒, 要告訴大家在公司會(huì)議上如何才能有效地表達(dá)自己的意見，要看看騎自行車有什么講究, 還要告訴大家怎么用美語說“幕后”和“放我一馬”。

　　A: 不過在講這些之前，咱們還是先花一分鐘，學(xué)一個(gè)詞!

　　Learn A Word cope with

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是cope with. Cope is spelled c-o-p-e, cope; and with, w-i-t-h, with; cope with. To cope with處理，對(duì)付。挪威7月22日發(fā)生致命襲擊事件后，The country is struggling to cope with the tragedy. 整個(gè)國(guó)家努力應(yīng)對(duì)這場(chǎng)悲劇。金融危機(jī)期間，A lot of companies are trying to cut positions to cope with losses from slow sales. 很多公司通過裁員來應(yīng)付銷售疲軟。美國(guó)官員最近說，Washington is confident that Iraqi forces can cope with the challenges their country is facing after U.S. forces withdraw. 美國(guó)撤軍后，伊拉克部隊(duì)能應(yīng)付伊拉克面對(duì)的挑戰(zhàn)，美國(guó)政府對(duì)此有信心。好的， 今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是cope with, cope with, cope with.

　　A: Jessica，你這次去了中國(guó)好幾個(gè)城市，肯定沒少坐飛機(jī)。我聽說現(xiàn)在飛機(jī)晚點(diǎn)挺嚴(yán)重的，So how did you cope with flight delays and cancellations?

　　B: Well. I just try to be patient and understanding.

　　A: 啊?合著你就是逆來順受啊!

　　B: What else can I do? 我又不能自己開飛機(jī)!

　　A: 這倒也是，而且航空公司改變飛機(jī)行程的原因很多，比如天氣，空中管制，機(jī)械故障什么的。有時(shí)候就連它們自己也控制不了飛機(jī)起飛的時(shí)間。

　　B: That's right. So I'd rather lay back and not ask what's going on behind the scenes.

　　A: 既然你說到"behind the scenes," 那我們下面就來講講這個(gè)短語的意思。

　　B: 請(qǐng)聽 words and idioms.

　　Words and Idioms: Behind the scenes

　　各位聽眾，現(xiàn)在播送<美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語>第 938講。我是楊琳。

　　我是 Douglas Johnson.

　　我們社區(qū)委員會(huì)上周末舉行選舉，結(jié)果，一個(gè)默默無聞的人當(dāng)上了委員會(huì)主席。后來我聽說，這個(gè)人在選舉前一直在家里辦宴會(huì)，把好多委員請(qǐng)去吃飯，拉關(guān)系，拉選票。這讓我想到了一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語，那就是：

　　Behind the scenes. Behind is spelled b-e-h-i-n-d, and scenes; s-c-e-n-e-s. Behind the scenes.

　　Behind the scenes 是“幕后”的意思。我們社區(qū)委員會(huì)的選舉就是這樣，候選人請(qǐng)委員會(huì)成員吃飯，說服他們把票投給自己，可我們這些普通居民根本不知道這些事情。It was done behind the scenes. 這事是瞞著大家，暗中進(jìn)行的。

　　在下面這段話中我們要談到一個(gè)叫Wikileaks的組織，中文叫維基泄密。它到底泄露了那些秘密呢?我們來聽一聽：

　　M: "WikiLeaks is an international organization that publishes secret information from a variety of unnamed sources. Its release of several pages of sensitive e-mails from U.S. diplomats caused a lot of concern. Many in the government claim that such communications should remain private. They warn that it could harm national security and international relations to let the public learn what goes on BEHIND THE SCENES. "

　　這段話是說：[維基泄密是一個(gè)國(guó)際組織，專門公開來自各種匿名渠道的秘密信息。這個(gè)組織向公眾泄露了長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)頁的美國(guó)外交官收發(fā)的電子郵件的內(nèi)容，這些敏感的信息引發(fā)了很多人的關(guān)注。許多政府人士說，這些郵件的內(nèi)容不應(yīng)該曝光。他們警告說，讓公眾了解到政府私下里進(jìn)行的活動(dòng)會(huì)給國(guó)家安全和國(guó)際關(guān)系帶來傷害。]

　　不過從另外一方面說，公眾是有知情權(quán)的。我們不是用“無事不可對(duì)人言”來形容行為磊落，心胸坦蕩的人么?好了，我們?cè)賮砺犅爠偛拍嵌卧挘?/p>

　　M: "WikiLeaks is an international organization that publishes secret information from a variety of unnamed sources. Its release of several pages of sensitive e-mails from U.S. diplomats caused a lot of concern. Many in the government claim that such communications should remain private. They warn that it could harm national security and international relations to let the public learn what goes on BEHIND THE SCENES. "

　　我們常說“沒有不透風(fēng)的墻”。如果不想讓別人知道你的秘密，唯一的辦法就是不要把這個(gè)秘密告訴別人，不管是寫信、電子郵件還是打電話、聊天。下面這個(gè)例句就證明了這一點(diǎn)，我們來聽一聽：

　　M: "Whenever players on the team were interviewed, they expressed their admiration and support for Coach Green. BEHIND THE SCENES, however, they complained bitterly about his lack of experience. Soon enough, their dislike of him became well-known. That's when fans called for the Coach to resign."

　　這段話是說：[隊(duì)員們?cè)诮邮懿稍L時(shí)，總是表達(dá)他們對(duì)格林教練的敬仰和支持。可是，在背后，他們總是非常不滿地抱怨這位教練缺乏經(jīng)驗(yàn)。很快，隊(duì)員們對(duì)教練的反感就變得盡人皆知了。于是，球迷們要求教練下課。]

　　behind the scenes 還可以放在一起當(dāng)形容詞用，表示幕后的，后臺(tái)的。比如 A behind the scenes look at a fashion show, 時(shí)裝秀的后臺(tái)情況，a behind the scenes video of how a car is manufactured 揭密汽車制造過程的錄像。好，我們?cè)賮砺犅爠偛拍嵌卧挘?/p>

　　M: "Whenever players on the team were interviewed, they expressed their admiration and support for Coach Green. BEHIND THE SCENES, however, they complained bitterly about his lack of experience. Soon enough, their dislike of him became well-known.. That's when fans called for the Coach to resign."

　　各位聽眾，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語是behind the scenes，意思是“不公開的，幕后的”。好的，這次[美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語]就到此結(jié)束，

　　B: 楊琳，這次我去中國(guó)，通過朋友介紹，去參觀了茅臺(tái)酒公司!I got to see some really interesting behind-the-scenes work at the company's brewery.

　　A: 啊?你看到了茅臺(tái)酒不為人知的釀造過程?怎么樣?學(xué)會(huì)了沒有?能在你們家做出點(diǎn)兒茅臺(tái)么?

　　B: 別鬧了，我哪有這本事!不過話說回來，去茅臺(tái)酒廠參觀后，My friend treated me to a nice dinner!

　　A: 那肯定少不了請(qǐng)你喝茅臺(tái)嘍!

　　B: 沒錯(cuò)!I love 茅臺(tái)，but it's too strong for me! 我可不想喝醉!

　　A: 哈哈!那你只能求大家，在酒桌上放你一馬啦!

　　B: 對(duì)!咱們繼續(xù)聽節(jié)目，看看“放你一馬”用美語怎么說!

　　How to say it: let someone off the hook

　　Jessica 在北京學(xué)漢語，她的中國(guó)朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞，就會(huì)來請(qǐng)教她。今天是吳瓊要問的是：放我一馬。

　　Jessica: 吳瓊, let's hit the gym tonight!

　　WQ: 哎喲，我上次做瑜珈的時(shí)候差點(diǎn)把脖子拉傷!你就放我一馬吧!對(duì)了，這在美語里該怎么說呢?

　　Jessica: You want me to let you off the hook again? Uh-uh, 我每次叫你，你都推三擋四的，這次絕對(duì)不行!

　　WQ: 哦，放我一馬就是 let me off the hook. Jessica, could you please let me off the hook? just this once? I'm begging you!

　　Jessica: That's really cute, but NO, you HAVE to come with me. You're not getting off the hook this time.

　　WQ: 瑜珈真不是我強(qiáng)項(xiàng)，要不，咱們還是去打網(wǎng)球吧?上次打網(wǎng)球，我輕而易舉就打敗你了!I beat you......

　　Jessica: Yeah, you beat me hands down! I do recall!

　　WQ: 剛想問你輕而易舉怎么說，原來是 hands down! Yes, I beat you hands down last time! 我把你打敗，讓你輸?shù)梦弩w投地!

　　Jessica: Fine, we'll find a sport that we both like.

　　WQ: 好啊，快走吧，再不走數(shù)學(xué)課就要遲到了!

　　Jessica: 數(shù)學(xué)課啊。。。All of a sudden I'm not feeling well.

　　WQ: 啊? 怎么突然不舒服? 你是不是又想翹課 escape....escape....

　　Jessica: Wuqiong, 翹課英語是 play hooky，H-O-O-K-Y, hooky, play hooky, 翹課!

　　WQ: Well, you shouldn't play hooky! Let's go.

　　Jessica: Do I really have to go? It's so boring.....

　　WQ: Yes, you do, and I am not letting you off the hook!

　　Jessica: Okay, let's see what you've learned today.

　　第一，放我一馬是let someone off the hook;

　　第二，形容輕而易舉是 hands down;

　　第三，翹課是play hooky!

　　B: Unfortunately my host in China refused to let me off the hook.

　　A: Did you get wasted? 你是不是喝多了?

　　B: 可不，沒兩杯我就趴下了。That was hands down one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

　　A: 喝趴下不丟人!我以前逃學(xué)被老師抓到，那才丟人呢!

　　B: I can't believe you played hooky! 你不是好學(xué)生嗎?

　　A: 就那么一次!我最好的朋友自己組了個(gè)樂隊(duì)在酒吧表演，我去捧場(chǎng)，只好逃了一次課，誰知......

　　B: 你也夠講義氣的!好了，咱們來聽聽下面的這個(gè)“美語三級(jí)跳”吧，講的就是組樂隊(duì)!

　　GoEnglish: Music─beginner

　　各位聽眾，大家好!今天我們?yōu)槟コ?ldquo;美語三級(jí)跳”節(jié)目“音樂”單元的初級(jí)課程。

　　Winnie: Ernie和Beth是大學(xué)同學(xué)，倆人想組個(gè)樂隊(duì)。 不過，他們要先了解一下彼此的音樂口味是否相同。

　　Professor: So, let's find out what kind of music they like.

　　Ernie: So Beth, what kind of music do you listen to?

　　Beth: I listen to a lot of hip hop. What about you?

　　Ernie: I mostly listen to pop music, but I like a lot of different stuff.

　　Beth: Yes, me too. I mostly listen to hip hop, but there are many genres of music I like.

　　Professor: So Winnie, did you hear the music genres each of them likes?

　　Winnie: Professor Bowman, 我正想問您，"genre"是什么意思啊?

　　Professor: It means "style" or "kind." For example, you can say a "music genre" or a "movie genre."

　　Winnie: 噢，原來 "genre" g-e-n-r-e就是類型，流派的意思。這么說，Beth 常聽的是"hip hop"，也就是嘻哈音樂。而Ernie常聽 "pop," 流行樂。Hmm ... 我覺得他們的口味差得挺遠(yuǎn)的。

　　Professor: But are those the only kinds of music they listen to?

　　Winnie: 那倒不是。他們倆人都喜歡很多其它類型的音樂，也許還是能找到共同之處的。

　　Professor: Well, let's see. In the next section listen for the phrase "to get into something," which means to start to like something.

　　Ernie: How did you get into hip hop?

　　Beth: Well, all my friends listen to it, so I became a big fan too.

　　Ernie: Who is your favorite hip hop artist?

　　Beth: I'm a big fan of Snoop Dogg.

　　Professor: Winnie, why does Beth like hip hop?

　　Winnie: 她說，她喜歡上嘻哈樂是因?yàn)樗呐笥讯紣勐犨@種音樂。而且，她還是 Snoop Dogg “史努比狗狗”的粉絲。我可不喜歡 Snoop Dogg，我覺得他早就過時(shí)了。

　　Professor: Well, even though you don't like him, Snoop Dogg is still popular. Now let's find out why Ernie likes pop music.

　　Beth: What about you, Ernie? How did you get into pop music?

　　Ernie: Well I always hear it on the radio, so I started to get into it.

　　Beth: Yeah, if something is on the radio it must be really good.

　　Ernie: I totally agree!

　　Professor: So did you hear how Ernie got into pop music, Winnie?

　　Winnie: 他呀，是因?yàn)槔下爮V播里播的流行歌曲，所以就喜歡上了。要讓我說啊，他跟Beth都沒有什么音樂鑒賞能力，只會(huì)跟著別人走，人云亦云。

　　Professor: So if they started a band, you wouldn't go to see them?

　　Winnie: 肯定不會(huì)!不過，我們還是先來聽聽他們喜歡什么樂隊(duì)吧!

　　Beth: What are the pop groups that you like?

　　Ernie: Oh, there are so many good ones! I loved the Spice Girls. They were so cool!

　　Beth: I agree! I cried for a week when they broke up.

　　Ernie: I was really sad too, but at least I can still listen to their CDs.

　　Winnie: 什么什么? Ernie 最喜歡的樂隊(duì)居然是辣妹組合!他們倆的音樂品味還真是有問題。不過，Professor Bowman, 一個(gè)樂隊(duì)難道也能像情侶那樣 "break up", 分手么?

　　Professor: Yes. When a band decides not to play together anymore, you can say it "broke up."

　　Winnie: 我明白了，break up 在這里是 “解散”的意思。難道Ernie 就沒想到，辣妹組合解散是因?yàn)樗齻兲珷€嗎?

　　Professor: I don't know ... some of their songs were good.

　　Winnie: Wait, professor Bowman, 難道你也是她們的粉絲?

　　Professor: Of course not! I was ... uh ... just listening to some of their songs to prepare for this class.

　　Winnie: Sure ...

　　Beth: You know Ernie, it seems we both like the same artists.

　　Ernie: Yes, we do. I think we have the same musical tastes.

　　Beth: But if we're going to start a band, we have to be able to sing and dance. Can you do that?

　　Ernie: I'm not a very good singer, but I'm a really great dancer! I love hip hop dancing.

　　Beth: Great! I'll sing, and you can dance in our band.

　　Professor: Winnie, is Ernie a better singer or dancer?

　　Winnie: 他說自己歌唱得一般，可舞跳得特別棒。不過，我看Beth和Ernie的音樂品味都不怎么樣，肯定沒人去看。

　　Professor: Well, we'll have to listen next time to find out!

　　A: 看來，Ernie and Beth have the same music tastes. 喜歡相同的音樂，這就是他們組樂隊(duì)的理由。

　　B: Although their tastes are questionable....

　　A：是，他們喜歡的東西太大眾化了，沒新意。對(duì)了，JESSICA, what genre of music do you like?

　　B: 當(dāng)然是搖滾──rock and roll了!在北京那會(huì)兒， I got to see a Chinese rock band's performance. Those guys were so talented!

　　A: 沒看出來啊，在你斯文的外表下隱藏著一顆rocker的心....

　　B: 嗯?你是在夸我還是在損我?

　　A: 這個(gè)你自己慢慢體會(huì)吧。下面咱們來聽聽“禮節(jié)美語”，看如何在公司會(huì)議上有效地發(fā)表意見。

　　Business Etiquette: Get your point across

　　Amanda在走廊遇到Sarah，Sarah顯得很沮喪。

　　A: Hey Sarah, are you all right? You look upset.

　　S: As a matter of fact, I am a bit upset. I just came out of a meeting and it didn't go very well.

　　A: What happened?

　　S: No one would listen to any of my suggestions. Instead, they just kept arguing with each other.

　　A: Who was chairing the meeting?

　　S: Bob.

　　A: Well, I can tell you from experience that Bob might come off a little strong sometimes.

　　S: That's exactly what happened! He kept interrupting everyone with his own suggestions and did not want to hear what others had to say. Then he expected everyone to agree with him.

　　原來，Sarah不高興是因?yàn)閯偛砰_會(huì)時(shí)，沒人愿意聽她的建議。Amanda說，根據(jù)她的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，主持會(huì)議的 Bob有時(shí)會(huì)顯得過于強(qiáng)硬，come off a little too strong。come off 是表現(xiàn)出，顯得的意思。Sarah 說沒錯(cuò)，開會(huì)時(shí)Bob不停地打岔，kept interrupting everyone. Interrupt is spelled i-n-t-e-r-r-u-p-t, interrupt, interrupt指打斷別人的談話。Amanda說，

　　A: What was the meeting about?

　　S: We were trying to come up with ideas to streamline the office's workflow to make it more efficient.

　　A: It's ironic that the meeting was anything but efficient.

　　S: Exactly. I had tons of ideas that I wanted to share, but they just wouldn't let me finish. What should I have done to get my point across?

　　這次開會(huì)目的是討論如何簡(jiǎn)化工作流程，streamline the office's workflow. streamline意思是精簡(jiǎn)，目的是提高效率，make it more efficient. workflow是工作流程。Sarah問Amanda, What should I have done to get my point across? 我該怎么做才能把我的想法傳遞給別人呢?to get something across在這里意思是把自己的想法告訴給別人。Amanda有什么好建議嗎?

　　A: You have to keep things short and sweet. When you get a chance to speak, try not to get into too many unnecessary details.

　　S: Short and sweet? But what if I have to explain something complicated?

　　A: You can always bring up the main points during the meeting and speak to those who are directly involved after the meeting. Not everyone needs to know all that information.

　　S: That's a good idea, I think I will try that at the next meeting.

　　Amanda告訴Sarah, 話要說得 short and sweet。Short and sweet 是個(gè)習(xí)慣用語，意思是簡(jiǎn)單明了。Amanda建議，開會(huì)的時(shí)候，應(yīng)該揀主要的說， bring up the main points, 不用加太多不必要的細(xì)節(jié)，unnecessary details. 這樣別人才會(huì)比較容易了解并接受她的意見。

　　A: 很多人可能都有跟Sarah類似經(jīng)歷，明明有一肚子好建議，but nobody would listen to you, 但沒人聽你說， It's hard to get your point across. 很難讓別人把你的想法聽進(jìn)去。

　　B: Amanda suggested Sarah keep her words short and sweet to make the best use of her chance to speak in a meeting.

　　A: 對(duì)，在會(huì)上有機(jī)會(huì)發(fā)言，就必須把話說得簡(jiǎn)單明了，這樣別人才會(huì)有興趣，聽得進(jìn)去。

　　B: 好了!下面咱們輕松一下，聊聊騎車。Let's listen to American Sports English.

　　American sports English: Cycling

　　Y：Wow Patrick, look at you.

　　P: Why are you looking at me like that? Is there anything wrong with my outfit?

　　Y: It's too tight. 在辦公室穿這么緊的衣服。Aiyaya.

　　P: Yang Chen. For your information I'm training for cycling race. These clothes make me more visible and cut on wind resistance. You know, 減少阻力。

　　Y: Ah cycling，你在訓(xùn)練騎自行車。

　　P: I'm training to get faster. Do you ride a bike?

　　Y: Yes I do. 誰不會(huì)騎自行車?

　　P: So you ride a bike. Are you any good?

　　Y: I'm OK. 不過我騎車是為了get around ， 當(dāng)交通工具， not for a race， 不是為了參加比賽。Unless I'm going to get lunch, then I'm unbeatable.

　　P: I wouldn't want to get in your way then.

　　Y: 哎，你訓(xùn)練要用什么樣的自行車啊?

　　P: I ride a 10-speed road-bike. That means it has two gears on the front and five on the back to make it easier to pedal.

　　Y: 前面兩個(gè)檔，后面五個(gè)。我的自行車只有三個(gè)檔，only three gears.

　　P: For going slow, slower and slowest?

　　Y: Oh, very funny. Who asked for a comedian?

　　Anyway, 你今天訓(xùn)練得怎么樣?

　　P: It was pretty good, but I dropped my chain.

　　Y: Dropped your chin? 下巴掉下來了?

　　P:No, not my chin, C-H-I-N, I dropped my chain, C-H-A-I-N, the chain on the bicycles' gears came off of its track, which meant I had to stop and get it back on.

　　Y: 你的自行車鏈子掉下來了。

　　所以你修自行車修得渾身是油。

　　P: Yes, the bike chain is pretty greasy.

　　Y: And dirty. When is your race?

　　P: Next week, you should come watch.

　　Y:我會(huì)去的。不過，Don't drop your chin, I mean, chain.

　　B: 楊琳，中國(guó)以前不是被稱為“自行車王國(guó)”嘛?不過這次我發(fā)現(xiàn)，大城市里騎車的人比以前少多了。

　　A: 是啊，現(xiàn)在汽車多，公交地鐵發(fā)達(dá)，騎自行車的人越來越少了。也許有一天，在北京騎車也要像美國(guó)似的，穿上緊身衣，戴上頭盔，還來個(gè)10-speed road bike. 好了，今天的節(jié)目時(shí)間差不多了。這次的撰稿人是曉北，編輯是蔚然。同學(xué)們，我們下次的美語訓(xùn)練班再見!

　　B：Bye!