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。
G! {/ v6 v- B: s- i8 L# Q L:嗨,Michael. 我在这儿!
* i, m! ?* O! b; o, }9 R; l M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.
: R. d1 Q$ J% R& @- E6 w1 L L:噢,那是大象馆啊?好,进去看看。不行,不行,这儿太臭了。走吧!# r: d$ U+ u& I( m6 {2 J4 N# a
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.
# n+ K. M( L2 x& ]7 t0 F L: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?% T @6 y- @4 O/ \7 |* @
M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!8 g5 \" j) t ^3 l; `# F
L: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 ?
: |! T' p. G6 \0 v i ^ M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.7 Y. g; s- p) J$ h" ?
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。
7 z* ~3 [4 o9 @2 U+ Z" q& ^: w8 } M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.
# l5 b* I0 E- A* A/ M) Z8 o 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。 ?7 h! b- X# I( \6 C
M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am.
9 [2 @. w5 Z- ?, A% [ 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!+ c# ?) c) o, ^# t. D3 u
M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.
6 l! [* B4 r7 y6 W 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。
" s$ e% L ]$ C! [* i3 w, R: C M: I perform better on tests when I cram.
5 f+ b# E. e3 A8 h L:Cram? Cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思,跟学习有什么关系呢?
& J$ R: u+ {8 v$ O- ` 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.
3 y. S% m4 r# a. i0 G! F. T' X 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?
7 c; ^; m: I4 |. z8 O& X M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.6 V. U( M. X7 A F2 x. z
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。, `7 u& L5 p3 E
M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!$ U y( g) ?4 x0 {- ~
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?
; i4 o3 m R( g$ f) V$ D8 }( _, z M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.
, a) O6 e3 j. S* u8 {* \5 H L:噢,只能指大学生或中学生在考试前开夜车,临时抱佛脚。
* {& ~3 f5 R; R0 ~+ m" k M: 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.# T9 W) q( W' J! e) c% h
L:好吧,我明天早上给你打电话。6 t4 |8 M* I8 }
M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.
+ p; R) K) b9 U' V/ R: Y L:哟,你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐?Ok, well, good luck!
' D$ D" Y' \: v, F9 V 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。 |