美語訓練班第77課:外國人對中國菜的印象
A: 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓練班! 我是楊琳!
B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來告訴大家今天都要學什麼?
A: 沒問題! 今天，我們要聊聊怎麼大力宣傳，看看外國人對中國菜的印象，還要告訴你怎麼說勵志!
B: My impression of Chinese food? Let me tell you, there's only one word to summarize it: AWESOME!
A: 哈哈，那是當然! 第一，我們中國菜全世界第一好吃，第二，你是一個百年難得一見的吃貨。
B: Hey!
A: 好了好了不開玩笑了! 我們言歸正傳，趕快來進入第一個單元，learn a word!
Learn A Word 1606 publicity
今天我們要學的詞是 publicity. Publicity is spelled p-u-b-l-i-c-i-t-y, publicity. Publicity 有宣傳的意思。The lead singers' feud turned out to be just a publicity stunt for the band's new album. 樂隊主唱之間的矛盾，其實只是樂隊爲了新唱片問世，而採取的一種宣傳手段。有人說，Any publicity is good publicity. 任何宣傳都是好的宣傳。言外之意，即使是負面宣傳，也會增加產品的知名度。另外一種類似說法是，There is no such thing as bad publicity. 黑莓手機上週服務中斷。The service outage created a wave of negative publicity for Blackberry. 這次服務中斷事件給黑莓公司帶來了一輪負面宣傳。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 publicity, publicity, publicity....
A: 說起 publicity, 我第一個想到的就是剛剛過去的總統大選! 聽說這次是美國有史以來競選花費最高的一次，the two candidates spent nearly 2 billion dollars on publicity!
B: Yeah, presidential elections are not only policy wars , They're money wars as well. You need to be rich enough, or have enough endorsements, before you can step into politics.
A: Well, I guess it's better to spend all the money on election rather than a real war. 而且我聽奧巴馬連任後的演講，好勵志呀! I feel that the American people are all once again united in order to move forward.
B: Yep, and President Obama does have the charisma and aura to convey his message to the public.
A: 沒錯! 不過聽衆朋友們，我們剛剛說到的這個勵志用美語該怎麼表達呢? 來聽聽今天的美語怎麼說你就明白啦!
How to say it in American English
Jessica在北京學漢語，她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞，就會來請教她。今天是Lulu要問的：勵志。
LU: Jessica. I-Want-You!!!
Jessica: 哈哈! You watched that show, didn't you, Lulu?!
LU: 沒錯!在你的推薦下，我也看了這個選秀節目! 太感人了! 你看那些選手，都是平凡人，可是唱得多棒啊!看他們被評委選中，太勵志了! Jessica, 你教教我，“勵志節目”在美語裏怎麼說？
Jessica: You can say the show is inspirational. Inspirational is spelled i-n-s-p-i-r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l. This talent show is definitely inspirational as all the contestants have incredible life stories and their performances rock!
LU: Exactly! 那我要是說勵志電影，是不是inspirational movies?
Jessica: 沒錯! But Lulu, I was really disappointed that the young woman from Chengdu didn't make it to the next around.
LU: 我也特喜歡那個成都女生。Did you see how sad she was when the judges all turned her down?
Jessica: Yeah. She was crushed! For a moment I thought she was gonna faint!
LU: Crushed? 就是“深受打擊”的意思，對麼？
Jessica: 對。For example, after learning his girlfriend had dumped him for a wealthier guy, he was crushed.
LU: 唉，看着那女孩兒傷心的樣子，真可憐。I don't know what those judges were thinking! That girl should have been selected! 唉，真是有眼無珠。
Jessica: I agree! Well, it's their loss!
LU: Their loss? The judges' loss? 我明白了，這就是說他們不選這個選手，是他們自己的損失!
Jessica: 沒錯! 好啦 Lulu, another episode of the show is starting in 5 minutes. Let's go watch!
LU: 今天我們學了，勵志節目是 inspirational show, 深受打擊是 crushed, 形容有人選擇錯誤，有眼無珠，可以說 It's their loss!
A: Speaking of this, although Mitt Romney lost the election, he didn't seem so crushed. 而且他還挺大方地祝賀奧巴馬連任呢!
B: Yeah, I mean, in terms of popular votes, President Obama did win with only a narrow margin of victory. He got 50% of the popular votes, while Romney got 49%. The two candidates were definitely neck and neck.
A: 對啊! 大家都說這是美國曆史上最刺激的一次大選，因爲雙方咬得太緊，之前沒人知道選舉結果到底會是怎麼樣!
B: Yep, and in today's words and idioms, we will tell you how to express an inevitable outcome! Let's go and check it out!
Words and Idioms 991
美國習慣用語第 991講。我是曉北。
M：我是Dan
昨天我去看了我好朋友的籃球比賽。雖然我很希望他贏，不過我也知道，他所在的球隊處於弱勢，如果沒有奇蹟出現的話，他們輸定了。果不其然，他們以大比分敗北。這也讓我想到一個習慣用語，那就是:
M: Foregone conclusion. Foregone is spelled f-o-r-e-g-o-n-e, and conclusion; c-o-n-c-l-u-s-i-o-n. Foregone-conclusion.
Foregone的意思是先前的、預知的，而conclusion，結果。Foregone conclusion， 意思就是"註定的結果， 不可避免的結果"。上面的例子就是這樣。It's obvious that my friend's team was the underdog. It was a FOREGONE CONCLUSION that they'd lose the game. 我朋友的球隊顯然不是對手，在比賽中失利是不可避免的。在下面的例子裏，我們要去看看一個公司裏的員工如何討論誰會升職。
M: "Susana had worked as the assistant manager in the store for three years. When the boss decided to take a job with another company, most of us assumed Susana would be getting a promotion. It seemed a FOREGONE CONCLUSION. But our predictions were wrong. A new manager with more experience was hired instead."
[這段話是說: 蘇珊娜當了三年副經理。老闆接受另一份工作決定辭職後，我們很多人都認爲蘇珊娜一定會得到晉升。這看起來是註定的結果了。不過我們都猜錯了。公司僱了一名更有經驗的經理人。]
是啊，這世界上的事情誰能百分之百打保票呢？就拿我經常去光顧的一家餐廳來說，那裏的服務員幾個月前告訴我，餐廳可能要關門了，因爲老闆得了重病。 They were sure the restaurant had to close down. It seems like a foregone conclusion. 可是前兩天我去訂pizza的時候，他們告訴我，老闆手術成功，迅速康復，餐廳會繼續開下去？這真是個好消息！ 好的，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話:
M: "Susana had worked as the assistant manager in the store for three years. When the boss decided to take a job with another company, most of us assumed Susana would be getting a promotion. It seemed a FOREGONE CONCLUSION. But our predictions were wrong. A new manager with more experience was hired instead."
美國曆史上的南北戰爭人盡皆知。這次戰爭以北方取勝告終，結束了奴隸制，是美國曆史的里程碑之一。有些歷史學家認爲北方顯然會獲勝，可是有些歷史學家則認爲雙方勢均力敵。我們一起去聽聽他們不同的見解。
M: "Some historians believe that the American Civil War was far from a FOREGONE CONCLUSION. In their view, it wasn't clear at all that the North was going to beat the South. It's true that the North had a larger population and greater resources. But, they argue, the South had the advantage of fighting on their own soil. And they had the most experienced generals. "
[這段話是說：一些歷史學家認爲當時美國內戰的結果並不是板上定釘的。在他們看來，北方並不一定能打敗南方。的確，北方擁有更多的人力和資源。但是他們認爲，南方擁有主場優勢。而且他們有經驗更加豐富的將軍。]
歷史是個值得討論的話題。每個人看相同的問題都會得出不同的結論。各種戰爭，選舉，都可能出現出人意料的結果。就比如今年的總統大選，鹿死誰手，還很難講。Who will win the presidential election this year is far from a foregone conclusion.好，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話:
M: "Some historians believe that the American Civil War was far from a FOREGONE CONCLUSION. In their view, it wasn't clear at all that the North was going to beat the South. It's true that the North had a larger population and greater resources. But, they argue, the South had the advantage of fighting on their own soil. And they had the most experienced generals. "
今天我們學習的習慣用語是FOREGONE CONCLUSION, 意思是註定的結果，不可避免的結果。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是小北，我是Dan。謝謝各位的收聽。
A: 說起這個，我也來造個句。 It's a foregone conclusion that xiaobei is going to get a promotion soon! 我覺得她得請咱們撮一頓，對吧?
B: That's definitely true! Especially with her superb ability to cook Chinese food, unlike somebody here....
A: I'm sorry, who are you talking about here? (threatening)
B: , ok, I'm wrong!! You are so good at cooking Chinese food...
A: 不止是中國菜，中西合璧，哪樣我都行! 哈哈! 在今天的business etiquette裏， 我們就要來討論東方和西方菜式的不同，趕快一起來聽聽看!
禮節美語Food Part I
美國駐中國員工Tiffany 跟中國同事Kelly聊天兒。
Kelly Yan: So Tiffany, you've been working with us here in China for a few months now. Are you still feeling culture shock?
Tiffany Scolini: Yes, a bit. But it's much better than the first few weeks. Back then I was really a fish out of water.
K: Remember the first time I took you to eat real Chinese food? You barely touched anything!
T: I know! I was scared! A lot of the food here is very different from back home. And the Chinese restaurants I've been to in America are very different from here.
Tiffany 來中國幾個月，文化上還是有些不習慣，I am still feeling culture shock a little bit. 不過，跟剛開始比已經強多了。剛來那會兒，I was really a fish out of water. 就象離了水的魚，意思是跟環境格格不入，特別不自在。Kelly 第一次帶Tiffany 去中國餐館吃飯，Tiffany 幾乎沒動筷子，因爲這兒的中尷5c館跟美國的中餐館差別太大了。
K: Yeah. We Chinese like to joke about American Chinese food. It's really not very authentic.
T: Yes, that's true. But I think it's true all around the world. You really have to be in the food's original country to truly experience it. My family is Italian and in Italy they think American-Italian food is awful!
K: Oh, but I love pizza!
T: Me, too! But the pizza in Italy isn't anything like American pizza. In the U.S. we like to borrow the general idea of a food, and then we give it an American twist.
吃中國飯去中國，吃意大利菜去意大利，這樣才能吃到最正宗的，authentic, a-u-t-h-e-n-t-i-c, authentic. 在美國，雖然什麼都能吃得到，但是美國人喜歡把別人的菜拿來，give it an American twist. 加入美國自己的特色。
K: I remember when I was in the States I ordered fish one time. When the dish arrived I was surprised to see just a little chunk of meat. I thought "Where is the head and tail?"
T: (laughs) . In the States we almost never leave the head and tail on a fish! Americans are kind of squeamish when it comes to dead animals. We would never ━ not in a million years --- leave the head on a chicken!
K: Yeah, that's right! I never saw a chicken head when I was there.
Kelly回憶說，她在美國點魚，結果上來的只是一盤魚肉。原來，美國人不吃魚頭和魚尾。Tiffany解釋說，Americans are kind of squeamish when it comes to dead animals. 美國人對殺生非常敏感。squeamish意思是容易受驚的，神經質的。Americans would never--not in a million years---leave the head on a chicken. 美國人絕不會把雞頭留在盤子裏。這裏說的 not in a million years, 一百萬年都不會，是強調的意思。Tiffany對中國菜還有哪些印象呢？我們下次繼續聽。
A: 原來，Tiffiny纔到中國兩個月，看到了很多 authentic Chinese food, 地道中國菜，可是她吃不習慣，像 a fish out of water, 特別不自在。Kelly說，她剛到美國的時候也很不適應，因爲美國人引進各種食物，可是都 give it an American twist, 加入美國特色，食物都進行了改良。So Mike, what's your impression of Chinese food ?
B: Haha, I LOVE Chinese food! I think Chinese food is a lot more delicate and interesting compared to western cuisine. I love trying out all the local food, Ganbian sijidou, Shandong Geli (Qingdao ren jiao Gala), shao long bao, huo guo, and my favorite is definitely 串兒! Gosh how do I miss Beijing!
A: 沒錯! 哎呀，被你這麼一說，我又想起了魚香肉絲那可人疼的樣子!
B: dreaming, you are drooling all over the place! (A: Hey!) haha kidding kidding. Let's keep listening and see what Tiffany has to say about Chinese food!
禮節美語Food Part II
美國駐中國員工Tiffany 跟中國同事Kelly聊天兒，說起中西餐的差別，比如，美國人飯桌上永遠看不到魚頭或是雞頭。Tiffany 大發感慨道，
T: In some ways, perhaps the Chinese approach to meat-eating is more honest. If you're eating a chicken, well, that's what a chicken looks like!
K: 's interesting. So you think Western people are trying to forget that the chicken was a living animal?
T: Maybe. I think many American kids don't really understand that chicken nuggets are made out of real chickens.
Tiffany 覺得中國人的吃法更真實，而西方人則不希望把盤子裏的肉跟活生生的動物聯繫在一起。結果是，Many American kids don't really understand that chicken nuggets are made out of real chickens. 很多美國孩子並不知道炸雞塊其實是用活生生的雞做的；
K: But if you don't use all of the 't that wasteful?
T: Oh, it's very wasteful. America has a big problem with being wasteful. We really need to learn to use things more efficiently.
K: Maybe Americans should try being more adventurous with food. When I was there it seems everybody ate pretty much the same things every day!
T: Yeah, that's another good thing about Chinese food; there are a million different dishes with a million different flavors. You can try something new everyday!
Kelly覺得，美國人在飲食方面應該大膽些。More adventurous with food. adventurous is spelled a-d-v-e-n-t-u-r-o-u-s, 意思是具有探險精神。Tiffany表示，美國人吃的東西千篇一律，而中國菜卻是 there are a million different dishes with a million different flavors. 變幻無窮。
K: But I do think Chinese food can sometimes be too greasy!
T: Yeah, but American food is greasy too. I think overall, Chinese people must be eating a pretty healthy diet because there are so few people here with weight problems. Back home it's a really big problem!
K: Well, I've gained a few too many kilos myself recently. I need to cut down on the meat and eat more fruit and vegetables. Hey! That reminds me! There's a new vegetarian restaurant to come try it with me?
T: Sure! Lets have another adventure!
Kelly說，有些中國菜太油膩，too greasy, greasy is spelled g-r-e-a-s-y. Tiffany 卻覺得，中國人飲食相對健康 a pretty healthy diet，因爲中國體重超標的人並不多。Back home it's a really big problem. 這在美國可是大問題。這也提醒了Kelly,她說自己最近長了好幾斤，需要 cut down on the meat and eat more fruit and vegetables. 少吃肉，多吃蔬菜水果。她立即拉Tiffany去城裏新開的一家vegetarian restaurant素菜館去嚐嚐鮮。
A: Kelly覺得美國人吃飯有些千篇一律，覺得他們應該be more adventurous with food, 更大膽些。Tiffany 覺得中國菜相對健康 a pretty healthy diet, 因爲中國人相對來說體重都比較正常。兩人決定今晚健康飲食，去vegetarian restaurant 素菜館嚐嚐鮮。
B: I definitely agree with Tiffany. Chinese food itself was a great diet for me. I lost 35 pounds just by eating Chinese food and walk around in China, I guess it's because there's more fresh meats and vegetables in Chinese cuisine.
A: 沒錯! 而且中國菜還能變很多花樣，把素菜做成葷的，葷菜就更不用說了! 你想，魚香肉絲，紅燒獅子頭，火爆腰花，醬肘子，糖醋魚! 哎呀，好了好了不說了，咱們還是回到現實中來，節目最後，我們再來學個詞兒!
Learn A Word 1607 parental consent
今天我們要學的詞是 parental consent. Parental is spelled p-a-r-e-n-t-a-l, consent is spelled c-o-n-s-e-n-t, parental consent. Parental consent 家長同意。美國聯邦貿易委員會FTC建議修改有關規定，加強對網上兒童隱私的保護。Under the FTC proposals, some current online practices, like getting children under the age of 13 to submit their photos, would require parental consent. 根據聯邦貿易委員會的提案，互聯網上讓13歲以下的孩子提交照片等現行做法，都要得到家長的同意。Parents have voiced concerns when morning-after pills were distributed to NYC's high school girls without parental consent. 紐約市高中在未經家長同意的情況下向女生髮放緊急避孕藥，引起家長的不滿。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 parental consent, parental consent, parental consent....
A: 哎，是呀, 這年頭互聯網誘惑太多，孩子真是不好管呀...
B: Yeah, now you understand how hard it is for me to always have to direct and supervise you to do your work....
A: I think it's time that I bring you back to heal.....哈哈， 好了同學們，這次節目時間就到這裏了。
