A: 美語訓練班上課啦! 我是楊琳!
B: 我是Kat! 楊琳,今天教什么呢?
A:今天咱們要去滑雪, 要為出席一個非常正式的宴會作準備,要去健身房減肥, 還要告訴大家怎么用美語說“衣著暴露”。
B: 這些聽起來都很有用!
A: 那當然!不過節(jié)目一開始,咱們還是先來
學個詞兒!
Learn A Word #1370 at the expense of
今天我們要學的詞是 at the expense of. At is spelled a-t; and expense, e-x-p-e-n-s-e, expense; at the expense of. At the expense of 意思是以某件事或者某個人為代價。沸沸揚揚的占領華爾街運動繼續(xù)在美國各大城市上演。Protesters accused the richest 1 percent of accumulating their wealth at the expense of the remaining 99 percent. 示威者指責說,全美最富有的1%的人以其他99%的人為代價聚集財富。美國國防部將在未來10年內(nèi)縮減開支,不過,Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the budget cuts won't come at the expense of U.S. power in the Pacific. 國防部長帕內(nèi)塔表示,預算削減不會以降低美國在太平洋地區(qū)的實力為代價。好的,今天我們學習的詞是 at the expense of, at the expense of, at the expense of.
A: 我也來造個句子,He took a job he loves at the expense of a bigger income. 他放棄了更高的收入,選擇了一個自己喜歡的工作。這樣說對不對?
B: That's correct. You can also say he chose what he loves over financial gains.
A: 不管怎么說,都是在做選擇。人生就是不能兩全其美,You can't have it all!
B: 對啊。我們今天在“流行美語”里也要談到這個選擇。
A: 對,是美食和身材的選擇!咱們一起來聽!
Popular American 386
各位聽眾,現(xiàn)在播送《流行美語》。 Larry和李華在他們最喜歡的pizza店吃飯,他們會用到兩個常用語:love handles 和 no pain no gain.
Larry: Ahhh. That was delicious ━ as usual.
LH: Larry, 你還剩了一點pizza呢,怎么不吃完?
Larry: Oh, no, I couldn't eat another bite... well if you insist. (takes a bite, talks while still chewing:) Mm, Lihua, this is so good, I could eat this forever!
LH: 什么聲音?!天啊,Larry, 你的皮帶被撐斷了!
Larry: Oops. Er, maybe we should stop coming to this restaurant so often. I think I'm starting to grow some love handles.
LH: Love ...handles? 什么意思?
Larry: Love handles are the fat that grows around someone's waist.
LH: 哦,腰上一圈贅肉叫l(wèi)ove handles! 哈哈,這可真有意思!不過Larry, 你最近的確胖了好多呢。
Larry: Oh? You noticed my love handles?
LH: 你這幾個月好像長胖了好幾磅,不過我一直不好意思告訴你,如今既然你連皮帶都撐斷了,我也不瞞你了─you have some love handles, Larry!
Larry: You're right. I haven't been paying much attention to my diet lately.
LH: 我就說嘛! 咱們最近來這兒吃pizza, 每周至少來三次,你不長出love handles 才怪呢!
Larry: Well, you have to admit, the pizza here is out of this world. I don't mind your love handles, Lihua─I think they're kind of cute!
LH: 等等等等,你說我也有l(wèi)ove handles ???
Larry: Uhh... no, of course not! I mean, uh, if you did have love handles, I would still think you are beautiful, honey!
LH: 哼!這還差不多。
Larry: At any rate, I think it would be a good idea to start watching what we eat and get more exercise. What do you think about joining a gym?
LH: 去健身房?讓我考嘩b一下!......嗯,考慮好了,我就自我犧牲一下,陪你去健身,幫你減掉你的love handles.
MC: Larry和Lihua 辦了健身卡,倆人在跑步機上揮汗如雨地鍛煉。
Larry: Phew! Running makes me feel good! So exhilarating! These love handles will be gone in no time! How are you feeling, Lihua?
LH: 我...我不行了...腿快斷了...
Larry: Aw, come on, Lihua! We've only been jogging for 3 minutes! Don't you want to be fit?
LH: 我是想身材健美,可是這也太累了,算了算了,就讓love handles來找我吧,我不練了!
Larry: You know what they say, Lihua. No pain, no gain.
LH: No pain, no gain?
Larry: That's right! It means you have to work hard to get results. No pain, no gain!
LH: 哦,No pain, no gain 就是“不付出努力就收不到成果”。Larry,現(xiàn)在不要給我講大道理了,我實在跑不動了。
Larry: Come on, Lihua. I know you have a good work ethic.
LH: 我好學上進?
Larry: Remember when you stayed up all night on your project for that computer class? Some people would just go to sleep, but you worked right through. No pain, no gain, right?
LH: 那不一樣,我可以通宵念書,可跑步不是我的強項,沒跑兩分鐘,我的腿就已經(jīng)開始發(fā)酸了!
Larry: But you'll feel better afterwards─I promise. You're already in pretty good shape anyway. I have a long way to go to get rid of these love handles.
LH: Larry, 連你都說,我本來身材就挺勻稱的,所以我就不練啦!省得你們這些胖子壓力大!
Larry: Suit yourself, Lihua. Hey, isn't that your classmate over there? Wow, she's really working hard!
LH: 哪個?!哦!那個女生!她在班里經(jīng)常和我比!
Larry: Man, she's looking fit! No love handles on her.
LH: 什么?Larry,靠邊,別擋著我用跑步機!
Larry: Oh?? You changed your mind about exercise?
LH: No pain, no gain, Larry.
Larry: Aha! Looks like all you needed was a little competition! No wonder you're always working so hard in school.
LH: 我絕不能讓那個女生的身材比我好!
Larry: Great! Well! I guess I'll let you exercise.
LH: 哎?那你干嗎?你不跑啦?
Larry: All this exercise made me hungry. I'm going to eat some pizza!
各位聽眾,今天李華從 Larry 那兒學到兩個常用語,一個是 love handles, 表示腰上的贅肉;另一個是 no pain no gain, 意思是不付出就沒有收獲。這次《流行美語》播送完了,謝謝收聽,下次節(jié)目再見。
A:No pain, no gain. 說起來容易,做起來難??!真羨慕那些天生吃不胖的人!
B: Well, maybe they do want to gain some weight.
A:說得也對。我有個朋友,是個女生,快結婚了,不過她和別的新娘不一樣,別人都是拼命減肥,她卻想增肥,因為她太瘦,穿禮服不好看。
B:If she's concerned about that, She might want to choose a more conservative wedding gown.
A: 設計保守的婚紗?你是說不要太性感,太裸露的,對么?
B: 對啊,她可以走清純可愛路線嘛。
A: 有道理!我提醒她一下。不過剛才說到裸露,今天在“美語怎么說”節(jié)目里,咱們就教這個詞兒!
How to say it in American English: scantily clad
Jessica 在北京學中文,她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞,就會來請教她。今天是吳瓊要問的:暴露。
WQ: Jessica, 明天我要去面試,得好好打扮打扮,你幫我參謀參謀?
Jessica:沒問題!Show me what you've got.
WQ: 你看這件連衣裙,我穿上挺漂亮的,不過,似乎有點太露了。對了,這個衣著暴露在美語里要怎么說呢?
Jessica: You can say this address is showing too much skin.
WQ: Showing too much skin? 我明白了,就是露得太多。
Jessica: Exactly. You can also say someone is scantily clad. Scantily is spelt S-C-A-N-T-I-L-Y, 意思是少,不夠;clad is spelt C-L-A-D, 意思是穿衣服。
WQ: 哦!那把兩個詞放在一起就是穿得不夠,衣著暴露的意思嘍!對了,Jessica, 如果說天冷的時候穿得太少太薄,是不是也可以用scantily clad 呢?
Jessica: Yes! For example, you can say girls who are scantily clad when they go out in the cold weather are at higher risk of getting sick.
WQ: 你是說,大冷天穿得特別少出門的女孩子更容易感冒。那當然!不過做女生就是這么辛苦,為了漂亮只能忍著。
Jessica: 其實也不用這么辛苦。I know girls want to be pretty, but we don't have to be dressed to kill everyday. Right?
WQ: Dressed to kill? 要殺人??
Jessica: No! "Dressed to kill" means wearing fancy or formal clothing. 比如說,I was dressed to kill for my interview.
WQ: 哦,我明白了! Dressed to kill 就是著裝正式、搶眼。哎?你看這條西服裙行不行?It's not showing too much skin.
Jessica: I like this pencil skirt! It's perfect for the interview.
WQ: 原來西服裙叫pencil skirt─像鉛筆一樣直直的裙子!好吧, Let me put on this pencil skirt and this shirt. 看看效果如何!
Jessica: Hmm! WQ, now you're dressed to kill!
現(xiàn)在看看你今天都學了什么吧!
WQ: 第一,形容衣著暴露,可以用scantily clad, 或者 show too much skin;
第二,穿得正式、搶眼,是dressed to kill;
第三,西服裙是pencil skirt!
A: 正好,Kat,你看看我朋友婚禮我穿這件禮服去怎么樣?Is it showing too much skin?
B:Let me see. Hmm, this is a really nice evening gown, and you're not scantily clad. The problem is it's too much for a wedding. It's like what a movie star would wear on the Oscar night.
A:真的???太華麗了是吧?呵呵,那就算了,我可不想在婚禮上搶了新娘的風頭。
B: 對啊。You should save it for a black-tie event.
A:Black-tie event? 你不是讓我穿著這么漂亮的禮服再配上條黑領帶吧?
B: Of course not! Listen to "Business Etiquette" and you'll know what I meant!