071课

A: 欢迎大家来到这期的美语训练班! 我是杨琳!

B: 我是Mike! 杨琳,来告诉大家今天都要学什么?

A: 没问题! 今天,咱们要来去体验一下刺激的赛车比赛,聊聊继续深造学习,还要告诉你怎么说飞速完成!

B: Yeah, considering the currently poor economic environment,  further education is definitely a hot topic these days . A lot of people are going back to school since they got laid off from work.

A: 对呀! 不过回去上学也不错,充充电,整装待发嘛! 咱们现在也来充电,赶快来进入第一个单元,Learn a Word!

Learn A Word  1556 noteworthy

今 天我们要学的词是 noteworthy. Noteworthy is spelled n-o-t-e-w-o-r-t-h-y, noteworthy. Noteworthy意思是值得注意的,值得引起重视的。雅虎公司宣布,年仅37岁的迈耶将担任雅虎公司首席执行官。Her selection is noteworthy both because she is one of only a few woman CEOs in the tech world, and because she is expecting her first child. 她的任命引起了外界的极大关注,不光是因为她是高科技业界为数不多的女性首席执行官之一,而且也因为她正怀着自己的第一个孩子。The results of a new study are noteworthy for the fact that online donors jumped nearly 60 percent compared to two years ago. 最新研究显示,在网上捐钱的人数增加了近60%,这一研究结果值得引起人们的重视。好的,今天我们学习的词是 noteworthy, noteworthy, noteworthy...

B: So 杨琳,did you do anything noteworthy over the weekend?

A: 让我想想....哦对了对了,I hiked for 6 miles!!!!!

B: What? That's not noteworthy, that's a piece of cake! I run 6 miles EVERY SINGLE DAY!

A: But I was fast and furious! Just like a professional hiker!

B: Why do I find that hard to believe? I mean, the only time I can imagine you being fast and furious is when you go SHOPPING!

A: At least I'm not fast and furious at eating,  unlike someone I know!
B: 好了好了,不跟你斗嘴! 刚才我们都用到了一个词, fast and furious, 赶快带着听众朋友去听听这个习惯用语的用法吧!

Words and Idioms #981    
    
现在播送美国习惯用语第 981讲。我是杨琳。

M:我是Dan Markus.

隔了一个长周末去上班,我发现办公楼对面一座20层的大楼好像一夜之间忽然消失了。老板告诉我,一个爆破小组在几天之内完成了全部的爆破,清扫和整理工作。这也让我想到了一句习惯用语,那就是:

M:Fast and furious. Fast is spelled f-a-s-t, and furious; f-u-r-i-o-u-s. Fast-and-furious.
 
这 个短语由两个简单的单词构成:fast 快速的; furious 愤怒的。连起来,fast and furious,意思变成了“飞快地,很快完成”。上面说到,我们办公室旁边的大楼爆破瞬间就完成了。The demolition was FAST AND FURIOUS. It's as if the building just vanished overnight! 人间蒸发了。在下面的例子里,一名青少年的天资被快速挖掘出来,让我们来听听他爸爸对此怎么评价:

M: "Ever since my son won the national math competition, requests have been coming in FAST AND FURIOUS.  Suddenly hundreds of kids and their parents want his advice, interviewers are begging for his story, and colleges across the country are offering him four-year scholarships."

这段话是说:[自从我儿子赢了全国数学竞赛之后,对他的邀请就接踵而至。忽然之间,成百名孩子和他们的家长都希望向他取经,记者都想要采访他,而全国各地的大学也纷纷表示愿意为他提供大学四年的奖学金。]

一 夜成名不一定是好事,我记得以前一个谈话节目中,一个人谈到了他中彩票之后的经历。Once his name was announced on television, attention on him was FAST AND FURIOUS. 自从他的名字出现在电视上之后,对他的关注就扑面而来。他的手机永远在响,销售商向他推销各种产品和服务。最可怕的是,凡是沾得上点边的亲戚和朋友都跑来 跟他借钱!所以说,什么事情都有两面性。好了,让我们再来听听刚才那段话:

M: "Ever since my son won the national math competition, requests have been coming in FAST AND FURIOUS.  Suddenly hundreds of kids and their parents want his advice, interviewers are begging for his story, and colleges across the country are offering him four-year scholarships."

上面我们讲到了fast and furious, 飞快的。冬天的阿拉斯加向来是非常寒冷的。 不过,今年的严寒似乎格外严酷,让我们来听听看:

M: " The residents in Alaska are used to bad weather in winter. But they weren't prepared for all the snow they recently got. That's because the storm moved in FAST AND FURIOUS. Within a few short hours, towns became overwhelmed by mountains of snow."

这段话是说:冬天的严寒天气对阿拉斯加居民来说司空见惯,但他们还是没有为最近的大雪做好充足的准备,因为这次风暴来得又快又猛。短短几个小时内,很多城镇都完全被大雪所覆盖。

我 听说,今年有些地方的积雪多达60英寸。还记得两年前,美国首都华盛顿也经历了同样的大雪,天气预报里说要下大雪后,The sales at grocery stores were going FAST AND FURIOUS! 人们都去商店抢购商品,以储备好食物以应对大雪的到来。好的,我们再来听听刚才那段话:

M: " The residents in Alaska are used to bad weather in winter. But they weren't prepared for all the snow they recently got. That's because the storm moved in FAST AND FURIOUS. Within a few short hours, towns became overwhelmed by mountains of snow."
music bridge

今天我们学习的习惯用语是fast and furious ,意思是“飞快的”。好的,这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束,我是杨琳,我是Dan Markus。谢谢各位的收听。

B: This episode reminds me of a famous movie when I was a teenager. It's literally called "the fast and the furious", and of course it's about street racing.

A : Street racing? 哦,飙车啊?

B: Right! street racing is just one type of car racing though, the most popular kind of  car racing in America is stock car racing,  赛车!

A: That's interesting! 那,你喜欢看赛车吗?

B: Not really. I mean, it's boring  to watch someone driving around the circle for 6 hours. I would much rather watch college football!

A: 同意!赛车另外还特危险! 这不,在今天的Go English里,Roger为了报复Daphne,要带她去赛车!  咱们一起去听听吧!  

Hiking: Advanced

今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“远足旅行”单元的高级课程。

Professor: Daphne took Roger on a camping trip, but Roger had a terrible time because he is from the city and isn't used to being in nature.

没错,Roger还说,Daphne让他在野营时受罪,他一定要报这个仇。

Professor: Right. So today, he is taking Daphne to a car race.

A car race? 赛车?赛车很精彩啊! 这算什么报仇?

Daphne: Roger, do you really find car races fun to go to? It's incredibly boring just watching the cars go around and around the track, and I can hardly breathe because of all the smoke and fumes!

Roger: You aren't having fun? Daphne, car racing is the most popular sport in America.

Daphne: I hate cars. They make so much pollution, which is creating holes in the ozone layer. And the environmental problems are only getting worse with global warming!

Roger: Daphne, cars are a part of American culture. Americans have always relied on cars instead of making do with public transportation.

哈,看来Daphne非常讨厌赛车,就像Roger讨厌露营一样!

Professor: Right. Why doesn't Daphne like cars?

她说,汽车污染环境,伤害ozone layer--臭氧层。不过Roger说, Americans don't make do with public transportation,这是什么意思呢?

Professor: When you "make do" with something, that means you accept it reluctantly.

哦,make do with something, 就是勉强接受某事。

Professor: Right. For example, "I really wanted to see the new horror movie that just came out. But because it was sold out, I had to make do with another movie, which wasn't very good."

Daphne: Roger, It's often difficult to see how your lifestyle impacts the world. But we need to prevent pollution by driving cars less and investing in renewable energy.

Roger: Why do you like the environment so much? It's full of mosquitoes that want to bite you, and bears that want to eat you!

Daphne: If you're not nice to nature, nature won't be nice to you. If the polar ice caps melt, ocean levels will rise and flood the coastal cities.

Roger: Oh Daphne, that isn't going to happen. You watch too
many movies.

我真想知道Daphne和Roger是怎么成朋友的,这俩人的看法相差十万八千里! Daphne说, 人们应该尽量少开车,而且应该开发renewable energy--可再生能源。

Professor: Right. But what does Roger say?

Roger却觉得,什么极地冰冠融化,海水淹没城市都是吓唬人的。他说,这些事情根本不会发生,Daphne是电影看多了,瞎操心。

Daphne: Roger, most scientists agree that global warming is real, and evidence shows that the polar ice caps have been melting.

Roger: Well what do you want me to do about it? I'm just one person. What can I do to make a difference?

Daphne: Well to start, you could buy more energy-efficient appliances. You could also think about buying an electric or hybrid car.

Roger: But I don't have the money for all that!

Daphne 说,Roger应该从我做起,保护环境,所以要买more energy-efficient appliances--能源利用率更高的电器。Professor Bowman, Daphne的话使我想到,我应该把电脑关了,不写作业了,这样也可以为环保出力啊!

Professor: Nice try, Winnie!

Roger: Alright, Daphne. You've convinced me I need to do more for the environment. I'm going to stop washing my clothes in the laundry machine to save electricity, and stop taking showers to save water.

Daphne: What? Roger, there's no need to go crazy, you know.

Roger: But Daphne, I have to do my part to save the environment! I'm going to "recycle" my dirty socks and wear them over and over again.

Daphne: Roger, in that case the disgusting gasses given off by your body are going to make a bigger hole in the ozone layer than all the cars in the world combined!

哈哈,Roger说,为了节约能源,他决定不洗衣服,不洗澡了,而且要 recycle his dirty socks--把脏袜子一穿再穿!

Professor: Sounds like a good plan! It's nice that he is doing his part.

啊?您别开玩笑了! 如果Roger真这么做,只会更加污染环境! 就像Daphne说的那样,Roger身上发出的臭气会让臭氧层空洞变大的!

A: 就像Roger讨厌野营一样,Daphne特别讨厌赛车。她觉得赛车不仅无聊,而且伤害ozone layer臭氧层,Daphne觉得人们应该少开车,开发renewable energy, 可再生能源,而且要多买more energy-efficient appliance, 能源利用率更高的电器。

B: I  agree with Daphne. If you are not nice to nature, nature won't be nice to you.  Plus using energy saving appliances can save you a ton of money.

A: 对呀! 我觉得吧,为了自然,咱们就该都呆在家里休息,这样也没人开车了,自然也没污染了呀?

B: Haha, now I know what your dream job is: doing nothing and still get paid, right?

A: 恭喜你,答对了!

B: Well, with so many people out of work these days, I think we should do everything we can to keep our jobs!

A: 哎哟...对嘛对嘛,我就开个玩笑,不要那么认真嘛! 不过,在今天的Business Etiquette里, Jesse就被公司炒鱿鱼了,咱们来听听他的朋友是怎么安慰他的!

礼节美语Getting Laid Off-part I

Paul 和 Sara 夫妇俩跟老朋友 Jesse 和 Miika 一起吃饭。

P: It's so good to see you guys! It's been forever!

M: We should try to set a monthly dinner date...we've missed you!

S: So what's new?

J: Tracy just turned four. She's growing ridiculously fast. Seems like yesterday she was a tiny infant in my arms.

S: Oh...that's so sweet. Did she like the teddy bear we sent?

M: She loved it! She named it Puki and the two of them are inseparable!

S: Glad to hear it.
 
两 对夫妇很久不见。It's been forever! 是夸张的说法,意思就是好久不见。 So what's new? 有什么新鲜事呢?Jesse 和 Miika 的女儿 Tracy 刚过四岁。She's growing ridiculously fast. 长得太快了。Tracy 很喜欢 Paul 和 Sara 送的泰迪熊,走到哪里都带在身边,The two of them are inseparable.

P: So how's work these days, Jesse? Times are tough, huh?

J: You know, you guys are such old friends...I'm not going to beat around the bush. I got laid off last month.

经 济不好,Times are tough. Jesse 说,大家都是老朋友,我就不拐弯抹角了。I am not going to beat around the bush. Beat around the bush 是兜圈子的意思。I got laid off 我被裁员了。  

S: Oh, that's awful! But we should level with you too...the hospital cut me back to part-time.

M: I'm so sorry to hear that! You work such long hours! What explanation did they give?

S: They said they were outsourcing most of the hospital's paperwork to India...it costs like a third of what they are spending now.

J: Makes sense from a business perspective, but it's very unfortunate for you.

Sara 也坦白地说,她在医院的工作从全职改成兼职了。level with somebody 向某人坦白。part-time 兼职工作。医院减少她的工作时间是为了节省开支,把大部分文书工作 paperwork 都外包到印度去了。Outsource 意思是外包。
 
S: How about you? Why did you get a pink slip?

J: The company is "restructuring"...which in this case is a fancy word for going bankrupt.

P: Well, you two are some of the most resilient people I know...so what's the plan?

M: I'm taking more freelance writing work. I can do that from home and still watch Tracy. That way we save on daycare.

J: And I'm thinking I'll go back to school and finish my Master's Degree. Then when the economy picks up, I'll be much more marketable.

pink slip 解雇通知。Jesse 说,自己失业是因为公司重组restructuring, 其实就是破产,还美其名曰重组,a fancy word for going bankrupt。Miika 说自己打算多做一些自由撰稿工作,freelance writing work. Jesse 则打算回去完成硕士学位,Master's Degree ,等待市场回暖。

A: 原来, Times are tough ,经济不景气,Jesse 接到了pink slip,解雇通知书,got laid off, 被裁员了。他打算多做一些freelance work, 自由职业工作,而且还要去get a Master's Degree, 完成硕士学位,等待市场复苏。

B: I guess that's what people usually do when the economy is bad. That's why there're so many people in school right now.

A: Are you considering going back to school for a Master degree some day?

B: Yeah, definitely. But I want to work for a few years first to figure out what I'm really interested in, and then go for a master program which suits my interests and will be useful in my career!  

A: That's smart! 我觉得真的应该先工作,再回去读硕士学位,这样你更了解自己的事业方向! 这不,Jesse和Miika就谈起了这个问题,咱们一起来听听他们怎么说!

礼节美语-Getting Laid Off-part II

Paul 和 Sara 夫妇俩人跟老朋友 Jesse 和 Miika 一起吃饭,Jesse 刚失业,打算回去完成硕士学位。

P: But that's gonna take you at least two years to finish!

J: Actually, I can do it in 10 months by online correspondence course.

M: You know...distance learning. It used to be sort of dodgy, but in the last couple of years even the big-name schools are getting in on the act.
 
Jesse 说,通过网上教学,online correspondence course 十个月就能拿到硕士文凭。Miika 说,远程教学原来好象不可靠 dodgy, 但是最近几年,Even the big-name schools are getting in on the act. 就连很多名牌大学都加入了进来。big-name schools 名牌学校。get in on the act. 加入进来。

S: Yeah. I've done some research into online distance learning myself. I'm thinking I should get a nursing degree. All the career-guidance web sites say nursing is a field that's definitely growing. They say millions more qualified nurses are going to be needed over the next 20 years.

Sara 说,她正在考虑去学护理,因为 nursing is a field that's definitely growing. 护理绝对是一个正在成长的领域。今后二十年需要数百万合格的护理人员。

P: But just getting by on Miika's income isn't going to be enough, no?

J: No, you're right. I'm going to bite the bullet and take a part-time job with Miika's dad. In tough times, pride is not a virtue.

S: Especially when you have a family to feed. Paul and I worry everyday that his firm might get into trouble.
 
光 靠 Miika 一个人的收入肯定不够。to get by 是勉强过日子的意思 。Jesse 准备 bite the bullet 忍辱负重,去给老丈人打工,因为 in tough times, pride is not a virtue. 困难时期,骄傲可不是什么优点。
 
S: Well, I'm not worried about you. I think you both have exactly the right attitude and have made exactly the right plans to make it through these troubles.

J: Yeah! I'm pretty optimistic about things.

P: What's that saying? Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger?

M: That's the one!

S: Let's do this again next month

J: It's a date!

分 手前,Sara 说 Jesse 和 Miika 一定能渡过难关,make it through these troubles. Paul 补充说,What's that saying? 那句话是怎么说的来着?Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger 杀你不死者会让你变得更强壮,类似中文里说的,大难不死必有后福。Sara 建议下个月再聚。Jesse 说 It's a date. 一言为定。

A: 看他们的心态多好! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

B: That's the truth! I figure after a couple more weeks of working with you I should be strong enough to compete in the Olympics!

A: (冷笑) Yeah, you'd better be fully prepared for tons and tons of challenges!  好啦不理他啦! 同学们,这次节目时间就到这里了
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