美語訓練班第127課:頭胎生的孩子比弟弟妹妹有出息
B: Welcome to American English Mosaic, I'm Mike Bond!
A: And I'm 蔚然。楊琳休假，我帶班。
B: Losing a job is a horrible experience. So, how do you make the most out of it?
A: 頭胎生的孩子比弟弟妹妹有出息？你同意這種結論嗎？
B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "to death" and "to no avail" mean!
A: All coming up on this edition of American English Mosaic!
B: Now let's go into our first segment, Learn-a-word!
Learn A Word 1898 giveaway
今天我們要學的詞是 giveaway. Giveaway is spelled g-i-v-e-a-w-a-y, giveaway. Giveaway 是名詞，意思是免費贈品。Fast food chains always use cheap toys and giveaways to draw in kids. 快餐連鎖店往往依靠廉價玩具和免費贈品吸引孩子們前來消費。In order to lure students into coming to its women's basketball season opener, Kansas State University is offering a giveaway that they cannot refuse--free bacon. 爲了吸引學生前來觀看女子籃球校隊的賽季首場比賽，堪薩斯州立大學讓看比賽的學生免費享用培根，使他們無法拒絕誘惑。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 giveaway, giveaway, giveaway....
A: 免費白送的贈品，大家都喜歡。
B: Yeah. But remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch. For that little something you get, you usually end up spending a lot more.
A: 是啊，天底下沒有免費的午餐，天上也不會掉餡餅。
B: There was this one time that I got a couple of giveaways from a pet store. I gave them to my dog Furball, but they made him sick!
A: You must have been worried to death!
B: Yeah, I love Furball to death, and I WAS worried to death. Let’s check out today’s words and idioms, to death!
Words and Idioms 893 to death
美國習慣用語第 893講
昨天晚上，我和先生一起去他們公司的Party， 席間遇到一位女士，拉着我們聊個沒完。我們跟她並不熟，可是她一直在大談自己的孩子，向我們炫耀她兒子考上了好大學，又是游泳健將，還受女孩子歡迎，blah blah blah。她倒是說得滔滔不絕，可我差點睡着了。我當時的感覺，有個習慣用語可以形容，那就是：
M: To death. Death is spelled d-e-a-t-h. To-death. To death.
death，大家都知道，是“死亡”，所以，把to death和某個形容詞放在一起，就表示“到極點”、“如何如何得要命”。比如，我在party上遇到的這位女士沒完沒了地炫耀自己的孩子，她自己可能覺得很享受，可我簡直bored to death - 快被煩死了! 不過，我寧願無聊，也不想經歷下面這段話描述的心驚膽戰：
M: "I remember walking late at night in New York City years ago. A stranger came up behind me and pointed a gun at my back. He told me to hand over my wallet. I said that I didn't have it on me, which was the truth. I was scared TO DEATH he was going to shoot. I'd never been so afraid in my life! Fortunately, he ran and disappeared into a crowd. "
這段話意思是：我還記得，幾年前的一個深夜，我在紐約的街上走路。一個陌生人出現在我身後，用一把槍頂着我的後腰。他讓我把錢包交給他，可我真的沒帶錢包，只好實話實說。我當時真嚇死了，怕他會開槍。我這輩子都沒那麼害怕過! 幸運的是，這個人跑掉了，消失在人羣中。
被人用槍指着! 好傢伙，聽着都害怕! 我沒有過這種經歷，不過倒是體會過什麼叫scared to death--怕得要死。上個週末，我帶我侄女去看了場恐怖電影。在屏幕上，一個變態殺人狂血腥地殺戮。我侄女看得津津有味，可是我坐在電影院裏直打冷戰，I was frightened to death - 嚇死了! 好的，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話：
M: "I remember walking late at night in New York City years ago. A stranger came up behind me and pointed a gun at my back. He told me to hand over my wallet. I said that I didn't have it on me, which was the truth. I was scared TO DEATH he was going to shoot. I'd never been so afraid in my life! Fortunately, he ran and disappeared into a crowd. "
在生活中，總是會有一些“要命”的事兒。比如，意外收到大禮包，你會trilled to death--高興得要命；遇到暴風雪，天氣--freezing to death--冷得要命；家人生病住院，你worried to death--萬分擔心。再比如下面這位會計師，我們來聽聽他遇到了什麼要命的事兒：
M: "A lot of my friends like to get away when the weather starts warming up. But there's no way I can. That's because I'm an accountant. From February through April, I'm busy preparing tax returns for my clients. I'm expected to stay late at the office, come in on weekends...I'm worked TO DEATH. It's unbelievably stressful, but that's my job."
這段話的意思是：天氣一轉暖，我的好多朋友就都出去旅遊了。可我卻沒法這樣做，因爲我是個會計師。每年二月到四月，我都忙着爲客戶報稅，作退稅的準備工作。我晚上得加班，週末也不能休息...簡直是精疲力盡。壓力之大別人難以想象，可沒辦法，這就是我的工作。
美國的報稅截至日期是4月15號，所以2月到4月是會計師們最忙的時候，他們的工作壓力當然很大。不過，即使在自己家裏，你也難免要承受一些壓力。比如，我女兒前幾天把她的幾個同學帶回家，在地下室裏組了個樂隊，她們叮噹五四，吹拉彈唱，練個沒完。我覺得，they're rehearsing some of the songs to death - 她們已經把其中一些歌練得快爛了! 不過，我也不能說什麼，不能打擊她們的積極性，因爲I love my daughter to death--我女兒就是我的心頭肉啊! 好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話吧：
M: "A lot of my friends like to get away when the weather starts warming up. But there's no way I can. That's because I'm an accountant. From February through April, I'm busy preparing tax returns for my clients. I'm expected to stay late at the office, come in on weekends...I'm worked TO DEATH. It's unbelievably stressful, but that's my job."
聽衆朋友，今天我們學習的習慣用語是 To Death， 意思是“極端”“什麼什麼得要命”。
好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結束。
M: Until next time.
下次節目再見。
M: This has been Words and Idioms.
A: 我朋友 Jenny 是美髮師，逢年過節別人休息，也是她最忙的時候，大家都想在過節前美容美髮，She’s always busy to death during the holidays.
B: When I was in high school, I worked as a cashier for Walmart during the Christmas shopping season. We were worked to death!
A: I can imagine, but sometimes being busy is a good thing. A friend of mine was let go right before Christmas. I don’t know what she’s gonna do.
B: I’m sorry to hear that. Losing a job is never easy. So, how can you make the most out of a bad situation? Let’s listen to our next segment: Business Etiquette
Business Etiquette 265 Losing a job can be a positive experience
Suzanne 約朋友 Mickey 一起吃午飯。
Suzanne: Mickey! Good to see you! It's been too long!
Mickey: Hi, Suzanne! You're right, it has been too long.
S: Did you find something on the menu that interests you? Sorry I'm late for our lunch. Traffic was horrific.
M: Yeah....I think I'll have the chicken Caesar salad.
S: That sounds pretty good.... hey, is everything okay? - You seem kind of down.
M: I got laid off last Friday.
S: Oh....I'm so sorry to hear that.
Suzanne 跟 Mickey 很久沒見面，發現 Mickey 心事重重，情緒不高，seem kind of down. Down 在這裏是形容詞，意思是情緒低落。原來，Mickey 上星期五被炒了魷魚，He got laid off. 也可以說，He was let go. 丟了工作，難怪心情沮喪，我們來聽聽這是爲什麼。
M: They said it had nothing to do with my performance. They just need to try and save on costs. So they're axing a bunch of jobs.
S: Ouch! Losing a job is such a nasty experience.
M: sure is. I guess I have been a bit depressed.
S: I remember when I got fired from my job as a senior manager with a Web design company. I felt awful for weeks. But you know something? Getting fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.
Mickey 被解僱是因爲公司要削減開支，所以 they axed a bunch of jobs. Ax is spelled, a-x, 或者 a-x-e, 做爲動詞，是砍的意思。他丟了工作，心情十分抑鬱，depressed. Suzanne 安慰他說，自己也曾有過類似經歷，好幾個星期緩不過來，但是最後證明，getting fired turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. 被開除是她這輩子最幸運的事。怎麼可能，我們繼續聽。
M: And why was that?
S: It gave me a jolt that I really needed. I was just coasting along in my position day in and day out, never really thinking about my life or my career.
M: So getting fired helped you reflect on these things?
S: Absolutely! I started asking myself what I really wanted to do.
M: That makes sense. Our daily routines can turn into habits. I've been working at this company for almost 8 years and I have kind of been running on autopilot.
Suzanne 說，失業 gave me a jolt. Jolt is spelled j-o-l-t, jolt 在這裏是震動的意思。Suzanne 說，有工作的時候，她從來都是 coast along day in and day out. Coast along 做爲詞組，意思是不用花一點努力隨波逐流， day in and day out 意思是日復一日，年復一年。過着這樣的生活，怎麼還會想着如何進取呢？被解僱後，她纔開始思考這些問題，to reflect on things 意思是反思。Mickey 深有同感，說自己在原來的公司已經幹了將近八年了，I have been running on autopilot. Autopilot 自動駕駛，工作已經成了一種習慣，順手就幹了，就好象是 run on autopilot. 現在沒有工作了，Mickey 下一步有什麼打算呢？我們下次繼續聽。
B: That’s why I love my job here. Being a journalist means you get to do different things every day.
A: 對，沒錯。每天的新聞都不一樣。不過說實話，失業確實會給人帶來很大的打擊。
B: At the same time, it’s also an opportunity to make changes to your life. Let’s keep on listening to the second half of Business Etiquette.
Business Etiquette 266
Losing a job can be a positive experience II
Mickey 剛失業，跟朋友Suzanne 一起吃飯，Suzanne 勸他說，這未必不是件好事。她說，
S: Back at my old job there were some days where I barely used my brain at all! I just did the same thing over and over again.
M: So what happened after you got fired? Did a new opportunity come your way?
S: Not exactly. It took me about a year to figure out that opportunities weren't going to come my way.... I learnt that you have to create your own opportunities.
M: So that's when you started your company.
S: Yeah! I always had an interest in gardening, so I thought to myself: There must be a lot of people who also have this interest and would like to have a garden but don't have the time to set one up.
Suzanne 說，原來工作的時候，總是同樣的工作來回做，did the same thing over and over again. 完全不用動大腦，失業後，她用一年的時間才發現，機會不會自己找上門來，opportunities weren't going to come my way, 還不如自己去創造機會。於是她決定自己開公司，幫助那些喜歡園藝但是沒有時間整理花園的人整理花園。
M: So now you go around making custom-designed gardens for homes and offices, right?
S: Yes! I never would've thought in a million years that my interest in gardening would turn into a career! If I hadn't gotten fired, I would've never found my calling!
M: That's it does offer me some hope. I guess I need to do some thinking about what I really want to do.
S: I'm not saying it's going to be easy.... I spent almost one year doing odd jobs and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Not having a stable income can be difficult.
因此，Suzanne 開了一家公司，專門爲公司和家庭 custom-design 量身定做花園。她說，要不是被解僱，她死也不會想到自己的愛好竟然會成爲職業，in a million years 是一種誇張的說法，就是無論如何也不會的意思。正是被解僱，才讓她最終找到了自己的 calling, calling is spelleed c-a-l-l-i-n-g, calling, 一個人最適合的職業。Suzanne 說，不過，這個過程也很艱難，她足足打了一年零工才走出低谷，odd jobs 是零工的意思。Mickey 聽後深受啓發。
M: t now I have some savings so I'll be good for about six if I can't find something after that it's going to start getting tough.
S: Do you have a "dream" or something you've always wanted to do?
M: Well, I have always had the idea of opening a bicycle store. I'm talking about selling rare, vintage or special custom-made bicycles.
Mickey 說，自己存款有限，撐半年還行，再久就扛不住了。Suzanne 問他有沒有什麼夢想。Mickey 說，他一直想開一家自行車店，專賣那些不多見，古香古色，或是訂做的自行車。他在這裏用的 vintage is spelled v-i-n t-a-g-e, vintage 意思是老式的，古典的。
S: Interesting! Cycling is quite a trend these days and if you can find bicycles that no one else just might work!
M: I've always been interested in bicycles and I know a lot about them. I never thought I would have a chance to open a bike store.
S: Give it some thought! This could be your calling in life!!
M: I'll think about it! Thanks, Suzanne! Now let's eat!
Suzanne 說， Mickey 想開自行車店的夢想很有意思，因爲現在很流行騎車， it's quite a trend. Suzanne 覺得 Mickey 可以認真地琢磨琢磨， give it some thought 好好想想，沒準真能行。Mickey 聽了很受鼓舞，說從來沒想到，自己這輩子真能有機會開一家自行車店，實現夢想。
A: Mike, 你的夢想是什麼？
B: I’ve always wanted to become a naval officer, and I’m still working towards making it a reality.
A: 真羨慕你，我好像從來也沒什麼夢想。All through my life, I’ve been going with the flow.
B: There is nothing wrong with that. Ok, let's listen to another learn a word!
Learn A Word 1899 first-born
今天我們要學的詞是 first-born. First-born, first is spelled f-i-r-s-t, first, and born, b-o-r-n, born, first-born. First-born 名詞，意思是頭胎生的孩子，老大。Time and again, research has shown that first-born children are better at a lot of things than their younger siblings. 各種研究多次顯示，頭胎孩子在很多事情上都要比弟弟妹妹強。Half of U.S. Presidents are first-born children. 美國總統裏有一半都是家裏的老大。最近一項研究的作者說，First-born kids get better grades in school because their parents are stricter with them than later-born children. 家裏老大學習成績更好是因爲家長對老大的要求比後面的孩子更加嚴格。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 first-born, first-born, first-born....
A: Mike, you have an older sister, right?
B: Yeah. I think the study is right in the sense that my parents were way stricter with my sister than with me. You must be a first born, right?
A: Guess again.
B: But you have all the characteristics of a first-born.
A: I have a brother who is 10 years older.
B: Oh, that makes sense. So you are a second-born who was treated like a first born!
A: 沒錯。好了，讓我們進入下面一個單元，美國習慣用語。
Words and Idioms 894 to no avail
美國習慣用語第 894講
我實在是沒轍了! 我辦公室裏有一盆君子蘭，養了好幾年了，本來一直挺好的，可是最近突然不行了，葉子也枯黃了，花也不開了。我又是澆水，又是換花盆，又是給它曬太陽，可是這盆花一點沒有好轉的跡象。所以，我這些努力的結果，只能用下面這個習慣用語來形容，那就是：
M: To no avail. No is spelled n-o, and avail; a-v-a-i-l. To-no-avail.
Avail，當動詞時表示“起作用”，當名詞時表示“益處”，所以to no avail這個短語就是指“沒用，徒勞無功”。我一直在想辦法挽救我的君子蘭，可是它沒有一點起色，我只能眼看它死掉了，唉! 下面這段話中的倆夫妻，也遇到了跟我同樣無能爲力的情況，不過最終，他們還是把問題解決了，我們來聽一下：
M:"Our cat had a terrible habit of ripping our sofa with his claws. First, we thought we could encourage him to use a scratching toy instead. Then we tried treating the furniture with pepper spray. When all our attempts were TO NO AVAIL, we had to have his claws removed. Success at last!"
這段話意思是：我們家的貓有個壞習慣，就是喜歡在沙發上亂抓。開始時，我們給它買了個磨爪子用的玩具，鼓勵它在玩具上抓，後來，我們又試着往沙發上噴辣椒水。可是，這些做法都沒用。於是，我們只好把它的指甲拔掉了。這下，問題終於解決了!
把貓指甲拔掉？我聽說這是很疼的，這隻貓咪可受苦了! 不過，主人要不是沒辦法，也不會出此下策! 當然了，我還是建議想養貓的人，如果捨不得自己的傢俱，最好就別養貓，免得最後要去給貓拔指甲，讓寵物受苦! 我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話吧：
M: "Our cat had a terrible habit of ripping our sofa with his claws. First, we thought we could encourage him to use a scratching toy instead. Then we tried treating the furniture with pepper spray. When all our attempts were TO NO AVAIL, we had to have his claws removed. Success at last!"
我這個人啊，就是熱心腸兒，喜歡給別人提建議。比如，我姨媽覺得胸悶，我就讓她趕快看醫生；女兒成績下降，我就讓她少花點時間在樂隊上；妹妹失戀，我就四處給她找對象......我這麼操心，可都是To No Avail - 徒勞無功! 因爲她們誰也不聽我的! 真是辜負了我一番苦心! 下面這段話中的選民，也和我一樣，提意見沒人聽，不過，他們可不是像我這樣，抱怨兩句就算了，我們來聽聽看：
M: "We warned our senator that she wasn't doing enough to lower taxes. Our supporters held meetings with her, organized a massive e-mail campaign and staged protest marches throughout the state. After these proved TO NO AVAIL, we started to look for a new candidate. This has been a much more productive strategy."
這段話的意思是：我們已經警告過我們州的參議員，我們覺得她沒有竭盡全力去實現減稅。我們的支持者和她開了好幾次會，組織了一場大規模的電郵宣傳活動，還在州里各地舉行了抗議遊行。但是，這一切行動都沒有奏效，所以，我們開始物色一位新的議員候選人。這種做法比以前那些有效多了。
哇，看來選民不是好惹的! 不過，我們也得認識到，很多問題是複雜的，解決起來沒那麼簡單，而且需要時間。所以，選民們也應該更有耐心纔對，不然可能會適得其反。好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話吧：
M: "We warned our senator that she wasn't doing enough to lower taxes. Our supporters held meetings with her, organized a massive e-mail campaign and staged protest marches throughout the state. After these proved TO NO AVAIL, we started to look for a new candidate. This has been a much more productive strategy."
聽衆朋友，今天我們學習的習慣用語是 To No Avail， 意思是“徒勞無功”。我想跟大家說的是，如果你復出努力，卻發現 your efforts are to no avail--收不到成果，那也不要灰心。就好像學英語，遇到挫折和瓶頸時，還是應該堅持。日積月累，總會有收穫!
好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結束。
M: Until next time.
下次節目再見。
M: This has been Words and Idioms.
A: 好了同學們，這次節目時間就到這裏了。
B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!
A: See you next time!
