美語訓練班第39課:"拋媚眼"用英語怎麼說?
A:大家好! 歡迎來到美語訓練班, 我是楊琳！
B:我是Kat, 楊琳，快介紹一下節目內容吧！
A:好！今天，咱們要了解一下野外滑雪都要作什麼安全準備，要和朋友聊聊婚後生活，看看公司產品出現質量問題該如何應對，還要告訴大家用美語怎麼說“拋媚眼”。
B:Sounds good! But first, let's learn a word.
Learn A Word comparable
今天我們要學的詞是comparable. Comparable is spelled c-o-m-p-a-r-a-b-l-e, comparable. Comparable 意思是可比較的，相當的。2月5號是美國一年一度的超級盃橄欖球賽。球場安全負責人說: The overall Super Bowl security effort is comparable to the protection that surrounds the President of the United States. 超級盃安全保衛措施能與對美國總統的保衛工作相提並論。美國政府調查顯示，The average federal worker earns 2 percent more than a private sector worker in a comparable profession. 聯邦僱員與可類比的私營企業員工比，平均薪資高出2%。好的，今天我們學習的詞是comparable, comparable, comparable.
A:都說“人比人，氣死人”，我有個朋友特有錢，買名牌包跟買菜似的，不象我，得下半天決心，還得等減價！唉，Our spending abilities are not comparable at all!
B:Don't be upset. As long as you are happy with what you bought, your satisfaction is comparable to your friend's.
A:也對，有錢難買我高興！
B:That's the spirit!
A:好了，咱們繼續聽節目，Words and Idioms.
Words and Idioms Cast in Stone
女:各位聽衆，現在播送<美國習慣用語>第 953講。我是楊琳。<美國習慣用語>
M:我是 Douglas Johnson.
女:大家都喜歡在夏天休個長假享受生活。我朋友Jenny最近就去了巴黎，完全沉醉在歷史古蹟，美食和精彩的夜生活之中。她可啓發了我！我也開始研究自己該去哪裏渡假了，可是目前我還沒完全決定該去哪裏。這也讓我想到一個習慣用語，那就是:
M:Cast in Stone. Cast is spelled c-a-s-t, and stone; s-t-o-n-e. Cast in stone. Cast in stone.
女:Cast本身有鑄造的意思，而stone則是石頭。Cast in stone, 都鑄造在石頭裏了，也就是最後決定，板上定釘的意思。雖然我在看關於去巴黎旅遊的書，可是還沒決定最後是不是去那裏。My decision to go to Paris isn't CAST IN STONE. 下面的例子裏，這位家長遇到了什麼難題? 我們來聽聽看:
M:"It seems like yesterday that my daughter was in kindergarten and now she's graduating from 6th grade. Her class is having a graduation party on June 10th. While I really want to attend, I'll be on a business trip. And I understand the date of the ceremony can't be changed. It's CAST IN STONE."
[這段話是說: 女兒上幼兒園彷彿還是昨天的事，可是現在她已經要六年級畢業了！她們班6月10號開畢業派對慶祝。雖然我很想參加，但是我那時侯正好得去出差。而且我知道，日期已經不能再改，是板上定釘的事了。]
女: 如果家長不能出席，孩子一定會很失望！對了，你還記得上次我說我們家的路口應該安裝停車路標的事嗎？我本以爲這已經是板上定釘的事情了，可是現在由於資金問題還得需要近一步考慮。The board needs to reconsider whether to install a stop sign or not due to budgetary concerns. So it's not CAST IN STONE yet. 出於預算考慮，小區委員會需要重新審覈是否要安裝一個停車的路標，這件事還沒有最後決定。好，讓我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話。
M:"It seems like yesterday that my daughter was in kindergarten and now she's graduating from 6th grade. Her class is having a graduation party on June 10th. While I really want to attend, I'll be on a business trip. And I understand the date of the ceremony can't be changed. It's CAST IN STONE."
女:每次我去飯館吃飯，對到底要點什麼酒都很猶豫不決。老聽別人說點酒是一門很講究的學問，到底是不是這樣呢？我們來聽聽看:
M:"There's a lot of confusion about wine. Should you only drink white wine with chicken and fish and red wine with red meat? When it comes to deciding what goes together best, experts now say that there are no rules CAST IN STONE. You should let your taste guide you; serve whatever pleases you. "
[這段話是說: 如何點酒確實是門學問。是不是雞肉和魚肉只能搭配白酒，而紅肉只能搭配紅酒呢？專家認爲，當談到如何搭配最好的時候，並沒有什麼板上定釘的規則。你應該跟着你的感覺走，只要你喜歡就好。]
我每次去吃西餐，就經常不知道自己該點什麼酒！聽了這段話才知道，原來，There are no rules cast in stone on how to order wines. 點酒並沒有什麼固定的規則。大家注意，這裏的cast也可以用其他動詞代替，比如s-e-t, set；或是c-a-r-v-e-d, carved; set in stone, carved in stone, 都是同樣的意思，板上定釘。好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話:
M:"There's a lot of confusion about wine. Should you only drink white wine with chicken and fish and red wine with red meat? When it comes to deciding what goes together best, experts now say that there are no rules CAST IN STONE. You should let your taste guide you; serve whatever pleases you. "
今天我們學習的習慣用語是Cast in Stone，意思是“最後的結論，板上定釘”。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是楊琳，我是 Douglas Johnson。謝謝各位的收聽。
A:Kat, 週末來我家吃飯怎麼樣？
B:I'd love to, but I can't promise. I'm going to an outing with a bunch of friends and I don't know exactly when I'm coming back.
A:That's okay. 你回來給我打個電話，我家的party也許要開到很晚呢，the time isn't cast in stone。
B:That's great.
A:說到party，咱們趕緊來聽今天的美語怎麼說，看看在Lulu的party上發生了什麼！
How to say it in American English: Make eyes at somebody
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: 拋媚眼。
JESSICA:Lulu, What's up?
LL:我要去赴約，有人請我吃飯!
JESSICA:這麼好？
LL:那當然! 請客的是一對情侶，倆人是在我家的Party上認識的，所以我算他們的媒人，他們當然要請客啦! 當時，那女生一眼就看上那男生了，馬上向他狂拋眉眼! 就是…… 呃…… threw pretty looks at him...
JESSICA:Haha! 我明白了，She made eyes at him. To make eyes at someone means to flirt with someone。
LL:哦，to make eyes at someone就是向某人拋媚眼。你知道麼，有些人喜歡亂放電。比如我認識一男生，He makes eyes at every young woman he knows! 他對認識的女生都亂拋媚眼！
JESSICA:Oh yeah? I bet he also uses lame pickup lines to those women.
LL:Pickup line我聽說過，就是跟女孩兒搭訕時說的話，對不對？
JESSICA:Exactly! For example, the typical pickup line at the bar is "can I buy you a drink?"
LL:還有那句老掉牙的: 小姐，我們在哪兒見過吧？
JESSICA:Haha! Seems like you've been asked this question many times!
LL:呵呵。別說我了，還是說我那倆個朋友吧，真是有緣人，在我家見了一次面，就好上了!
JESSICA:They really hit it off!
LL:Hit if off? 打什麼了？
Jessica:No. To hit it off means to like each other very quickly.
LL:哦! Hit it off 就是一見如故，才聊兩句就覺得特對路! 我這兩個朋友--They hit if off instantly! I won't be surprised if the girl shows off her engagement ring to me tonight!
Jessica:Wow, good for her! Now tell me what you've learned today!
LL:第一: To make eyes at someone 是衝某人拋媚眼；.
第二: pickup line 是和女孩兒搭訕時所說的話；
第三: to hit it off是一見如故。
A:哈哈，眉來眼去，暗送秋波只是戀愛的第一步，接下來還有a long way to go!
B:Yeah! A lot of relationships start off nicely, but never make to the "I do" moment.
A:就算結了婚，也不是萬事大吉，後面漫長的婚姻路，纔是考驗人呢。
B:This reminds me of the GoEnglish program we had last time. John and Carmen are newlyweds. I wonder how they're adapting to married life.
A:聽聽就知道啦！
GoEnglish:Wedding (advanced)
大家好！今天我們爲您播出“美語三級跳”節目“婚禮”單元的高級課程。
Professor:John got married to his wife Carmen a few months ago, and today he is meeting up with his friend Chuck to talk about his new married life.
John一定還沉浸在新婚的甜蜜中，肯定要向Chuck炫耀有老婆的幸福！對吧，professor Bowman?
Professor:Uh ... well, we will have to listen and find out.
Chuck:Man, John, I haven't seen you in forever! I can't even remember the last time we were able to get together.
John:Well, Chuck, you know I'm a married man now. Once you tie the knot, your weekends are spent doing housework and shopping for new kitchen appliances.
Chuck:That's why you've been too busy to hang out? Wow. Well you need to find some time, because the football playoffs are coming up and I want to watch it on your big TV!
John:(Sigh) Sunday is the day I have to go over to Carmen's parents' house to have dinner, so I don't think that's going to fly.
聽起來，John並沒有那麼高興。他說，自從結婚之後，他的週末生活就只剩下做家務和買東西，都沒時間和朋友一起玩兒了。
Professor:That's right. I can tell you that once you tie the knot, your life is never the same.
是啊，一旦tie the knot——結了婚， 人生就進入新階段了嘛。對了，professor, Chuck想星期天去John家看橄欖球比賽，可John說，this isn't going to fly，這是什麼意思呢？
Professor:If you say something isn't going to fly, that means it isn't going to work or be successful. For example, I was really hoping to travel to Europe this summer. But I don't have the money, so that plan isn't going to fly.
哦，就是行不通的意思。
Chuck:Well what else has been going on with you? Have you been following any of the same-sex marriage debate? I'm a big supporter.
John:Of course, I am too. I think every person should have the right to get married to whoever he loves, and then get nagged to death by that person for the rest of his life.
Chuck:Oh come on, John. It's a beautiful thing when two people love each other, and want to enjoy the rights of marriage together. All people should be equal, regardless of their sexual orientation.
John:I couldn't agree more! Gay men should have to endure married life just like the rest of us heterosexual men. It's unfair that they don't have to!
Chuck和John談到same-sex marriage——同性婚姻，他們倆都支持同性戀有權結婚，可是，John的理由怎麼聽着這麼彆扭!
Professor:Yes, I find it very interesting! Why do Chuck and John support gay marriage?
Chuck認爲人人平等，所以都應該享有結婚的權利，不論他們的sexual orientation——性取向，是什麼。
Professor:Exactly. But why does John support it?
John也說到了人人平等，可他的意思是， heterosexual men——也就是像他這樣的異性戀男人，要忍受婚姻生活的無奈，天天被老婆煩，所以，同性戀的人也該受同樣的罪!
Professor:Right. What do you think about that, Winnie?
哎呀，不是所有男人都這麼看待婚姻吧？
Professor:Of course not all men, Winnie. Just the married ones.
Chuck:Come on, John. I'm sure there are lots of great things about being married.
John:You're right, I'm exaggerating. Marriage is a very special bond, and it's really wonderful to have someone who I can always trust and rely on.
Chuck:Yeah, I guess you're right. Now if I can only find a woman who likes to watch football on Sundays, I think my life would be complete.
John:I'll ask Carmen if she has any friends who are cheerleaders.
你瞧，professor，男人並不是只會抱怨婚姻！John最後還是承認，結了婚，他就有了一個可以永遠信賴和依靠的伴侶。
Professor:That's exactly right. And what is Chuck's view of the perfect woman?
Chuck說，如果他能找到一個和自己一樣愛看橄欖球比賽的老婆，他的人生就美滿啦！Professor, 你說一個beautiful cheerleader——啦啦隊美少女，能看上Chuck麼？
Professor:Well, love works in mysterious ways!
A:看來John被老婆管得夠嗆，有點兒懷念單身的自由呢！
B:That's right. But he also admitted the good side of getting married─that you'll always have someone to trust and rely on.
A:對！有個人可以讓你全心地信賴和依靠，這感覺多好啊！尤其是在很多事兒都不靠譜兒的今天！
B:haha! Speaking of which, do you think consumers can always trust manufacturers?
A:消費者能不能永遠信賴生產商？我看不一定，不是經常有不合格的產品，傷害消費者利益麼。
B:What if they recall the problematic products?
A:recall就是產品召回的意思。公司把產品出問題的消息告訴大家，並且把這些商品下架，這也算是彌補得不錯了。今天的Business Etiquette就講這個問題，咱們來聽一聽！
禮節美語 A Product Recall I
公司主管開會，執行總裁Rick說：
Rick:The Board of Directors has come to a decision. Our company will take an image hit, and it's going to be very expensive, but it seems we have no other choice but to start a recall. Samantha, would you care to explain a bit more.
Samantha:A year ago we began receiving reports that several of the air conditioner models we manufacture can sometimes overheat. In very rare circumstances this overheating might lead to electrical fires. So far there have been three fires that may be connected to our air conditioning units.
R:Unfortunately, one person was seriously injured. Therefore, even though there is no definitive proof linking our ACs to these fires, we decided to take action immediately.
Samantha介紹說，公司生產的幾款空調發生過overheat——機身溫度過熱的現象，可能起火，到目前爲止，至少有三起火災懷疑跟他們公司生產的空調有關，還有一人受重傷。執行總裁Rick說，雖然沒有definitive proof，確鑿證據，但公司董事會還是決定立即採取行動，start a recall. 召回相關型號的空調。recall is spelled r-e-c-a-l-l, recall 是召回有問題產品的意思。這樣做不僅會有不小的經濟損失，而且還要 take an image hit. 公司形象也會受到打擊。Hank 問：
Hank:How many units are we talking about here? And what is this going to cost us?
R:We will be recalling over 15,000 air-conditioners. The company will refit them with new thermal sensors and stronger wiring.
S:As far as costs go, we estimate the company will lose well over $6 million dollars.
H:Six million? But we're not even sure we're responsible. Is a recall really the best way to go?
R:I believe that from both a business perspective and a moral perspective, a recall is necessary.
S:I think Rick is right. If there's even a chance that our products could cause injuries we have a responsibility to step in.
公司估計要召回一萬五千臺空調，召回的產品改用更耐熱的電線，還要安裝 thermal sensors 熱感應器，經濟損失將超過六百萬美元。公司執行總裁Rick和主管Samantha都覺得，不論是從商業角度還是從道義角度出發，只要公司產品可能跟火災的發生有一點關聯，他們也有義務step in——站出來。
R:Even if we look at it purely from a financial standpoint, six million dollars spent fixing any possible errors is definitely cheaper that being defendants in a lawsuit where somebody was seriously injured or killed.
H:So what's the procedure?
S:Next Monday we will issue a press release explaining that—even though there are no definitive links between our products and fires--we want to be good corporate citizens and have therefore decided to err on the side of caution.
Rick 補充說，即使單純從經濟角度出發，花六百萬美元修補產品的缺陷也比被人告上法庭的花銷小。產品召回的第一步是，下星期一公司先發一份news release新聞簡報，說明公司立場，雖然沒有確鑿證據證明火災和公司產品有關，但公司還是決定召回產品，to err on the side of caution，是“慎重起見，保險起見”的意思。新聞簡報以後還有哪些措施呢？我們下次繼續談。
B:This company is really taking consumers' interests seriously. I wonder how many companies like this one are out there.
A:可不是麼。在確定自己產品有問題之前就召回商品，這的確是負責的態度，這麼大的經濟損失，真是沒幾家公司願意承受。
B:Anyways, this company has to deal with a crisis, and it takes good public relation skills to weather the storm.
A:在公司面臨困難時，需要傑出的公關團隊來化解危機。不過，要是咱們在野外遇到真正的storm, 恐怕只能自救了。
B:There are still some safety precautions you can take to deal with emergencies or accidents in the wilds. Let's listen to American Sports English and find out.
Sports English Cross Country Skiing
P:Here we are out in the great Alaskan wilds, ready to go cross-country skiing!
Y:This is so great, Patrick! 阿拉斯加的風景好美，最適合練習越野滑雪! I'm really glad you could join us, too, Lara .
L:Thanks for asking me to come along, Patrick and Yang Chen. Going cross country skiing in Alaska is really an amazing opportunity.
P:Well, 我們今天一天都在野外滑雪，we should really go over our safety precautions。
Y:That's right, 要做好安全措施。
P:It is really important to be safe when you are planning to ski in the wilderness for several hours. First, did you guys let someone know that you were going skiing and where you would be?
Y:Yep, sure did. I told my mom.
L:Uh-huh. I told my all my friends.
P:Okay, good. That is important in case we get lost. Did you also check your equipment to make sure it was in good shape and working properly?
Y:Get lost? 我們會迷路？那會不會碰上野獸啊？
P:Don't worry. Yang Chen. Bye the way, did you check your poles and skis.
Y:Yes I did. 我的滑雪杖和滑雪板。They are in good shape.
L:And I checked my boots and bindings, too.
P:Great work, team! Does someone in the group have a map?
Y:Oh, that's me. I have the map!
P:Maybe I should hold on to the map while we're skiing, Yang Chen.
Y:Patrick! 爲什麼我不能拿地圖？You don't trust me?
P:Well, I do. 但是你經常丟東西，忘了你上次我們看棒球你沒有帶門票。We should also all have the following in our backpacks: Extra food and drink.
Y/L:Check!
Y:Extra clothing in case we get wet.
P/L:Check!
Y:A first aid kit.
P/L:Check!
P:And we should be skating in a group of at least three people. That way if one of us gets hurt, one person can stay with the injured person and the other can go get help.
Y:That's why we invited Lara.
L:Gee thanks, guys.
P:Well, I guess we are ready to go then! Let's go cross country skiing.
A:去野外滑雪還要先通知親朋好友，以防自己遇難別人都找不到你！這讓我想起一部電影，講的是一個人去大峽谷探險，誰都沒告訴，結果胳膊被卡在峭壁之間，最後只能生把自己的手切下來逃生。
B:Yeah! I remember that movie! It was a bit hard to watch, I don't do well when I see blood.
A:我也是！所以說啊，獨行俠不是那麼好當的。最好還是能結伴出去，好有個照應。好了, 這次節目時間到了。這次的撰稿人是小北，編輯是蔚然。同學們，我們下次再見！
B:See you!
