A: 美語訓(xùn)練班上課啦! 我是楊琳!
B: 我是 Kat! 楊琳,今天咱們都教些什么呢?
A:今天,咱們要設(shè)計一個不容易被人破解的密碼,要聊聊管教孩子的問題,要去看冰球比賽,還要告訴大家怎么用美語說“酒后駕車”。
B: Sounds good!
A: 不過咱們還是先來learn a word!
Learn A Word #1386 up someone's alley
今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 up someone's alley. Up is spelled u-p, up; and alley, a-l-l-e-y, alley; up someone's alley. Alley是小徑的意思,而 up someone's alley 意思是正合某人胃口。今天是美國感恩節(jié)后的第一個星期一,店家在網(wǎng)上大打折扣,叫做網(wǎng)絡(luò)星期一。If you hate walking endlessly on Black Friday, then Cyber Monday may be right up your alley. 如果你不想在黑色星期五那天去實地搶購,那么網(wǎng)絡(luò)星期一可能正合你的胃口。If you love funny sitcoms, then the new show Modern Family might be right up your alley. 如果你愛看幽默的情景喜劇,那么摩登家庭可能正合你的胃口。 好的,今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是up someone's alley, up someone's alley, up someone's alley.
A: Christmas is just around the corner. 這就意味著,It' shopping season now!
B: I know shopping is right up your alley!
A: 沒錯,過節(jié)了,要給親朋好友挑選適合每個人的禮物,要讓大家喜歡,價格又得是自己承受得起的,其實選禮物也是一門學(xué)問??!
B: Exactly! That's why some Americans start their Christmas shopping way ahead of time.
A:對,早點開始采購年貨,這樣就有足夠的時間挑選合適的禮物。
B:But there are always those who hit the mall at the last minute to do holiday shopping, right before the mall closes.
A:???商場臨關(guān)門前才沖進去開始挑選禮物?那得多趕啊!正好,在今天的美國習(xí)慣用語里,我們要教 burning question,是十萬火急的意思,一起來聽吧。
B: Let's listen!
Words and Idioms #949
各位聽眾,現(xiàn)在播送美國習(xí)慣用語第949講。我是楊琳。
我是Douglas Johnson.
最近我們家決定買房子,但是看了三個月,一直沒看到什么讓我滿意的。恰恰好現(xiàn)在租的房子租約就要滿了,需要決定要不要繼續(xù)租下去,情況可真夠緊急的! 這也讓我想到一個習(xí)慣用語,那就是:
Burning question. Burning is spelled b-u-r-n-i-n-g, and question, q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n. Burning question.
Burning 字面上的意思是正在燃燒的。那么burning question 都燒起來了的問題! 引伸下來就是“十萬火急的問題”,通常也指人們熱烈討論的問題。比如我現(xiàn)在就面臨著一個這樣的問題。It's a burning question for me to decide weather or not to continue the current lease. 決定是否要續(xù)租目前的房子對我來說就是一個十萬火急的問題。下面的例子里,種植柑橘的農(nóng)民面臨什么棘手問題? 我們來聽聽看:
"Last year freezing temperatures ruined Florida's citrus industry. Millions of dollars worth of produce were lost. Now weather forecasters are calling for severe cold. Industry analysts and farmers desperately want to know what they should do if another catastrophe occurs. That's the BURNING QUESTION."
[這段話是說:去年嚴冬低溫重創(chuàng)佛羅里達的柑橘業(yè),損失高達數(shù)百萬美元?,F(xiàn)在天氣預(yù)報又預(yù)報可能出現(xiàn)嚴冬。業(yè)內(nèi)分析人士和農(nóng)民都迫切地想要知道,如果再次發(fā)生氣候災(zāi)難,他們該怎么做。這是目前人們都在討論的緊迫問題。]
是啊,農(nóng)民們可真不容易! 他們得擔(dān)心像天氣這種自己根本無法控制的問題。最近美國龍卷風(fēng)頻繁,像災(zāi)后密蘇里州喬普林市就遭受了一次這樣的襲擊,而如何重建也成為十萬火急的問題。 The reconstruction of the city of Joplin, Missouri has become a burning question. 喬普林市的重建現(xiàn)在是人們熱烈討論的重要話題。好,讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話。
"Last year freezing temperatures ruined Florida's citrus industry. Millions of dollars worth of produce were lost. Now weather forecasters are calling for severe cold. Industry analysts and farmers desperately want to know what they should do if another catastrophe occurs. That's the BURNING QUESTION."
在美國,高中結(jié)束時的prom畢業(yè)舞會,是畢業(yè)班學(xué)生一直盼望的。下面例子里,這名男孩對于畢業(yè)舞會有什么心急如焚的問題呢? 我們來聽聽看:
"Sharon's among the most popular girls in my senior class. So it's no surprise that I'm not the only guy who asked her to go to the prom. She said she'd let me know by the weekend. Will she be my date? It's a BURNING QUESTION. I'm dying for her to give me her answer. "
[這段話是說:莎倫是我們高中最受歡迎的女生之一。所以我知道,我肯定不是唯一一個邀請她去參加畢業(yè)舞會的人。她說她會在周末給我答復(fù)。她會當我的女伴嗎? 這真讓我心急如焚,我迫切地希望她把最后決定告訴我。]
在美國,畢業(yè)舞會對高中畢業(yè)生是非常重要的,能請到自己喜歡的女孩子去參加畢業(yè)舞會,才不會留下遺憾。難怪這個男孩子迫不及待地想知道Sharon是否會接受他的邀請。It's a burning question. 好的,我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:
"Sharon's among the most popular girls in my senior class. So it's no surprise that I'm not the only guy who asked her to go to the prom. She said she'd let me know by the weekend. Will she be my date? It's a BURNING QUESTION. I'm dying for her to give me her answer. "
B: 楊林,Have you noticed there are a lot more cops on the road during holiday season?
A:Yes! 一到節(jié)假日,街上的警察就比平時多很多。Can you tell me why?
B: Well, one of the most obvious reasons is that there tend to be more car accidents on holidays because people go to holiday parties and they get DRUNK!
A: 哦!對!過年過節(jié)大家聚會,免不了喝酒助興,這時候,酒后駕車的特別多,路上更容易出事故,所以警察自然也比平時多嘍!
B: Exactly. 酒后駕車 is very dangerous.
A: Of course! 在下面的“美語怎么說”里,咱們就來看看就“酒駕”怎么說。
DAN在北京學(xué)漢語,他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞,就會來請教他。今天是吳瓊問的:酒后駕車。
DAN: 吳瓊, 你怎么無精打采的?
WQ: 別提了!昨天晚上讓警察給抓了!
DAN: What happened? Who did you kill?
WQ: 殺人?DAN你就別損我了,我哪會殺人,就是酒后駕車了,在美語里就是driving after drinking 對么?
DAN: Actually it's called drunk driving. WQ, drunk driving is no trivial matter. You really shouldn't do it.
WQ: 你就別教育我了,我知道錯了!其實我也是第一次酒駕,以前我都很注意的!昨天實在沒人開車了,我在一幫人里算喝得最少的了,就想....
DAN: You took a chance and thought you'd get lucky, right?
WQ: 是。我覺得就這一次,肯定出不了事,也肯定不會被抓到,誰知道....
DAN: You got pulled over by a cop?
WQ: Pull over?
DAN: Yea. When a cop asks you to stop the car on the side of the road, that's called getting pulled over.
WQ: 明白了,警察 pull someone over, 就是示意司機把車??吭诼愤叀es, I got pulled over by a traffic police. 我本來還想裝作沒事,結(jié)果人家警察叔叔一下就看出我喝了酒,一點情面也沒留,罰了我1000塊!
DAN: 1000塊?酒駕罰款不是200么?
WQ: 上禮拜才改的新規(guī)定!都讓我趕上了!
DAN: Sounds like you had a tough break!
WQ: To have a tough break 就是倒霉吧?我的確是夠倒霉的!
DAN: WQ, I'm sorry you had a tough break, but it's no excuse for drunk driving. Next time you go out drinking with a bunch of friends, don't forget to have a designated driver!
WQ: Designate? D-E-S-I-G-N-A-T-E, designate是指定的意思,designated driver就是專門負責(zé)開車送朋友們回家的人嘍!
DAN: 沒錯!
WQ: Next time we'll definitely have a designated driver!
DAN: Good idea! Now let's see what you've learned today.
WQ: 酒后駕車是drunk driving; 警察示意路邊停車是pull someone over; 倒霉,運氣差,是have a tough break; party結(jié)束后專門負責(zé)開車送大家回家的人是the designated driver.
B:Which friend of yours is the designated driver, 楊林?
A:Haha, I'm lucky. A friend of mine is allergic to alcohol, so she's the perfect candidate for designated driver!
B: Oh, poor her! She must be really busy driving around taking you guys home!
A:哈哈!沒錯!這個朋友因為對酒精過敏,所以滴酒不沾,當然是designated driver的最佳人選嘍!大家只要在party上看到她在,就可以開懷暢飲了!
B: Gosh! She should start charging fees.
A: Hey! Don't give her ideas!
B: Haha!
A:好了,咱們來聽下面的節(jié)目吧。
B: Okay! Let’s listen to ǒGo Englishō.
GoEnglish: Play Date: Intermediate
各位聽眾,大家好!今天我們?yōu)槟コ?ldquo;美語三級跳”節(jié)目“帶孩子”單元的中級課程。
Hannah 晚上要和老公出去看電影,所以雇了臨時保姆Elliot來家里照顧女兒Amber。
Professor: During the last episode at the playground Amber hit another child and stole the ball he was playing with. She sounds like a troublemaker, doesn't she?
可不是嘛! 看來Elliot今晚有得忙了!
Hannah: Hi there, Elliot. Thanks for being on time. We're just about to leave for the movie.
Elliot: Hi Hannah. You know, I love kids. I think I will have a lot of fun with Amber.
Hannah: That's great, but I should warn you: Amber can be a handful.
Elliot: Don't worry, I'm a very patient person. Even if Amber misbehaves I'm sure she won't get on my nerves.
Professor, Hannah 提醒 Elliot, 說 "Amber is a handful," 這是什么意思呢?
Professor: You can say someone is "a handful" if he or she gives you lots of trouble. For example, "Paul's girlfriend is really a handful. He has to call her 10 times per day or she complains he doesn't care about her."
原來,a handful 就是那些非常難伺候,總?cè)锹闊┑募一铩2贿^,Elliot說,自己很有耐心,即便Amber不聽話,也不會get on his nerves--惹他生氣。
Hannah: First, let me give you some basic rules. Amber has to finish all her dinner. If she doesn't, she can't watch TV.
Elliot: What should I cook for her? Is she a picky eater?
Hannah: I left her dinner in the refrigerator. Make sure you stand on the other side of the room when she eats.
Elliot: Why do I have to do that?
Hannah: Sometimes if Amber doesn't like the food I make her, she screams and throws it at me.
天呀,Hannah說, 如果Amber不喜歡吃什么東西,就會大喊大叫,還會把吃的扔出去! 如果讓我看這種孩子,我每小時得要100美金!
Professor: I agree. But Winnie, can you guess what a "picky eater" is?
Hmm...picky是 “挑剔”的意思,所以 "picky eater"應(yīng)該是“挑食的人。”
Professor: Correct. And what does Hannah say will happen if Amber doesn't eat her dinner?
她說,如果Amber不把飯吃完,就不許看電視。
Elliot: She might throw her food at me? Alright ... what should I do with her before dinner?
Hannah: Before dinner you have to help her do her homework. But watch her very carefully when she is holding the pen.
Elliot: Why?
Hannah: If she doesn't know the answer she gets really mad and draws all over the wall.
Elliot: What? Well it's good she is so serious about doing her homework, I guess....
啊?Amber不會做作業(yè),就會發(fā)脾氣,在墻上亂畫?! 這孩子太可怕了,我要是Elliot,現(xiàn)在就拍屁股走人!
Professor: I agree. She definitely doesn't sound like an angel.
An angel? 小天使?
Professor: Yes. Sometimes if a child is really well behaved and nice, you can say that he or she is "an angel."
還天使呢,我看,Amber根本就是個小惡魔!
Elliot: What should I do if she misbehaves?
Hannah: Amber can be really stubborn, so it's probably best to just give her whatever she wants.
Elliot: You mean I shouldn't discipline her at all?
Hannah: No, don't try to discipline her. If things get out of hand, just call my cell phone.
Elliot: What time will you be home? Very soon, I hope?
Hannah: We will be back by midnight. Make yourself at home!
Elliot 有點打退堂鼓了。也是的,Amber聽起來好象一點規(guī)矩都沒有。
Professor: That's right, when parents don't discipline their children, they can get really "out of hand."
可不是么,對于這種不聽話的孩子,家長更應(yīng)該discipline---嚴格管教,否則,他們就會out of hand--管不了了。對了,Professor, Hannah 讓Elliot “make himself at home”,這是什么意思?
Professor: When you have guests at your house and you want them to feel relaxed, you can tell them to make themselves at home. It means "to act as if you are in your own house."
哦,就是把這里當自己家,不用客氣的意思。如果我家有個Amber這樣的小魔王,我就。。。
Professor: What would you do?
趕快搬走!
B: Poor Elliot! It looks like he's got himself a really tough job!
A: 可不,連媽媽都承認自己的孩子是 a handful---難伺候的家伙。She's a picky eater─愛挑食,very stubborn-- 很擰,而且家長never tries to discipline her ━從來不怎么管教她。真是個令人頭疼的小孩兒!
B: Indeed. Kids can be so annoying sometimes!
A:Yes! Parenting is not easy! 希望以后我的孩子是個聽話乖巧的小天使,嘿嘿!
B:Did you tell me you were quite a handful when you were little? If that's the case, the chances of your kids being "an angel" would be slim.
A:嘿!你別打擊我了!
B:Okay. I was just kidding! Now let's move on to our next show─business etiquette!
禮節(jié)美語---BE-220 Internet Security II
公司電腦系統(tǒng)遭到駭客入侵,Dylan跟同事Cory和Brenda一起討論,Dylan說:
D: We may never be able to trace the origin of this attack. But what we can do is work harder to make our systems impenetrable.
B: Yes, a lot of people are quite lazy with computer security.
D: That's true. For example, many people almost never change their passwords.
B: Or they use ridiculously easy-to-guess passwords.
C: Um....I guess I'm guilty of that. I don't think I've ever changed my password.
Dylan說,他們可能永遠都查不到這次駭客襲擊是誰干的,但他們可以吃一塹長一智,加倍努力 to make our systems impenetrable. 讓我們電腦系統(tǒng)的安全滴水不漏,impenetrable is spelled i-m-p-e-n-e-t-r-a-b-l-e, impenetrable 是無法進入的意思。Brenda說,很多人太大意,不重視電腦安全,從來不換密碼,或是用的密碼太簡單。Cory說,I'm guilty of that. 我就是這種人,從不換密碼。Dylan 說,
D: And let me guess.....your password is, "1234."
C: Well, it's not quite that simple....
B: Let me take a guess.... It's your wife's birthday.
C: That's incredible! How did you guess that? Have you been spying on me?
B: Nope. It's just that you selected one of the most common passwords on the planet. Are you a member of any social networking websites?
C: Yes, a couple.
B: Then your wife's birthday is probably public knowledge.
D: That's right! In the Internet age, very few things are private anymore. If I do a little research on you, I'll bet I can find out where you were born, what school you went to, your wife's maiden name....even the name of your dog!
Dylan和Brenda一下子就猜到了Cory的密碼,原來他用的是太太的生日,one of the most common passwords on the planet 最常見的密碼之一。由于Cory業(yè)余時間用社交網(wǎng)站,所以實際上,他太太的生日簡直就是public knowledge 公開的信息。Dylan還說,在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和社交網(wǎng)站如此發(fā)達的今天,沒有多少信息是真正保密的,稍微上網(wǎng)找一下,出生地,上過的學(xué)校,太太的名字等等都能找到。Cory說,
C: Wow, I hope I wasn't responsible for this recent attack. What's a good password then?
D: A good password uses a mixture of letters and numbers. For example, think of a simple sentence such as, "I like ice cream on Sundays." Take the first letter from each word in the sentence....and, because Sunday is the first day of the week, add the number 1 at the end.
C: So my password would be, "I-L-I-C-O-S-1?"
B: Yeah! That's a pretty difficult password to break....and it's easy to remember.
D: And....don't forget to change it every couple of months.
C: Good thinking. I'm going to go change my password right now!
Dylan說,密碼最好是用字母和數(shù)字的組合。他舉例說,可以想一句話,I like ice cream on Sundays. 用這句話每個單詞的首寫字母,最后面再加個1,因為星期天是一周的第一天。這樣的密碼又好記,又難破譯。Cory 高興地說,他現(xiàn)在就去改密碼。
B: Tricky passwords are difficult to hack, but they're easy to forget!
A:Tell me about it! 我就給自己設(shè)置過特別難猜的密碼,太難猜了,連我自己都想不起來了!
B:You should probably write it down.
A:那不行啊,寫在紙上,萬一別人發(fā)現(xiàn)了呢?
B: Hide the paper in a secrete place.
A: (sarcastically)對!放在秘密得連我自己都找不到的地方。。。
B: 哈哈!In that case, just use your birthday as your password and pray that it doesn't get hacked.
A:嗯?我聽出來了,你損我呢!
B: 好了,不開玩笑了。Let's relax and watch hockey!
ASE: Hockey
Y: 今天我和Marc, Patrick一起看冰球比賽。
M: Thanks for inviting me to this hockey game Yang Chen.
P: Yeh. How did you ever get tickets to the Stanley Cup?
Y: Do you really want to know?
M & P:Of course
Y: Well, it's a secret, Marc and Patrick. I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.
M: Never mind, I don't want to know that bad. But I'm surprised that you are a hockey fan.
Y: I'm not exactly a hockey fan. 我其實不太懂冰球。
M: Oh, I think you are just being modest.
P: Believe me. She is not being modest.
Look! Our team just scored!
Y: 為什么每個人都往冰場扔帽子?
M: Because that player just scored a hat-trick.
Y: Hat-trick? 有人變魔術(shù)?
M: There is no magician. It means one player scores three goals in a game. When that happens, everybody throws their hats on the ice.
Y: 噢,有一個隊員進三個球,我們就說他 scored a hat-trick。Quick, give me your hat! I'm going to throw it.
P: No way! Throw your own.
Y: Don't be ridiculous. Mine is brand new. Just give me your hat!
M: OK. You can have mine.
Y: 還是 Marc 好。I have another question. 剛才一個隊有五個隊員,另一個隊有四個。太不公平了。
M: That's because the first team was on a power play.
Y: what is a power play?
M: If a player breaks a rule, he has to sit in the penalty box
Y: 犯規(guī)的隊員要坐到受罰席。
M: Right. the player who breaks a rule has to sit in the penalty box for a few minutes. So the other team has an extra player and is on a power play.
Y: On a power play, 就是比對方多一個人,所以實力更強。
I have another question.
M: Yang Chen, now I do realize you know very little about hockey.
P: She knows very little about any sport.
Y: Patrick, Penalty Box.
A: Wow! I've never been to a hockey game. Do people really throw their hats to the ice?
B: The Canadians probably do! Hockey is a big thing up there. But here in America, we love your hats and we want to wear them after the games.
A: Haha. 我倒挺想去看場冰球比賽。
B: Really? I can treat you to a hockey game--my New Year present to you!
A:Really? That gift is right up my alley! 正合我意! 太謝謝啦!
B: You're welcome!
A:好了,節(jié)目時間差不多了,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! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
A:祝大家新年快樂!