美語訓練班第33課:"必備單品"和"瞎指揮"用英語怎麼說?
A: Happy New Year! 歡迎大家來到2012年第一期的美語訓練班! 我是楊琳！
B: 我是 Kat! Happy New year everyone! First, Let's see what we're going to learn today!
A: 好！今天，咱們要揮動大斧子砍木頭，要被老師請家長，要看看如何處理辦公室裏的流言蜚語，還要告訴大家怎麼用美語說“必備單品”，和“瞎指揮”。
B: Sounds interesting！
A: 不過咱們還是先來學個詞兒！
Learn A Word: thorny
今天我們要學的詞是thorny. Thorny is spelled t-h-o-r-n-y, thorny. Thorn 本身是刺的意思，而 thorny 變成形容詞，意思是棘手的，富有爭議的。最近美國聯邦貿易委員會宣佈要對Facebook 臉譜網站是否侵犯用戶個人隱私進行調查。Facebook's privacy problem has always been a thorny issue. 臉譜網站的隱私設置一直是一個有爭議的議題。In the post Cold War era, missile defense is still a thorny question in Russia-US relations. 後冷戰時期，導彈防禦仍然是美俄關係中的棘手議題。 The super-committee failed to reach an agreement on the thorny deficit problem. 美國超級委員會沒能就棘手的赤字問題達成一致。好的，今天我們學習的詞是thorny, thorny, thorny.
A: 明年是美國總統大選年，現在，參選人經常辯論，There are a lot of thorny issues in their debates.
B: Yes, and their campaign teams spend a lot of time preparing them for those debates so that they know what to say when those thorny questions come up.
A: Wow, 所以真正厲害的人不是那些政客，而是他們身後的campaign managers？
B: Well, to some extent, that's true.
A: 不過，不知道這些Politicians能不能忍受別人指導他的一舉一動。
B: Well, these campaign managers or consultants know what they're doing. They're professionals, not backseat drivers.
A: backseat drivers?
B: 聽下面的popular American, and you'll know what I mean!
Popular American: All ears; Back seat driver
各位聽衆，現在播送《流行美語》。今天 Larry 開車帶李華去購物中心。 李華會學到兩個常用語：all ears 和 back seat driver。
LH: LARRY! 音樂關小聲一點！
LL: What was that?
LH: 你音樂不要開那麼大聲啦，我有件事想問你。
LL: Oh? What is it? I'm all ears.
LH: I'm all ears...你在說什麼啊？
LL: I'm all ears means I'm listening attentively. I have all my attention on you now.
LH: 是嗎？你終於肯聽我說啦。不過 all ears 是專注地聽別人說話的意思。 那我讓大家注意聽我講話，就可以說 please be all ears. 對嗎？
LL: Well, to be all ears is rarely used as a request. You can either say, I am all ears, to indicate you are paying attention, or he or she is all ears to say that another person is paying a lot of attention.
LH: 所以 all ears 通常是用來形容一個人在仔細聽。比較少當做要求是嗎？
LL: Yes, that's right. So what was it that you wanted to say?
LH: 啊！對喔， 差點都忘了。就是啊……今天做實驗的時候， 跟我同組一個女生， 一直指揮我們做這個做那個的， 真討人厭。
LL: Oh. You have a backseat driver in your group?
LH: Backseat driver...後座上的司機，那是什麼呢？
LL: A backseat driver is a person who gives unwanted advice; someone who tries to run things even though they don't have the power or authority to do so.
LH: 對對對！她就是這種人！也沒有讓她做組長，她就對我們指手劃腳的，哎怎麼辦呢？
LL: Well, you should let her know that you don't like it when she orders you around.
LH: 我應該清楚地告訴她，不喜歡被她指使來指使去的，對，說的也是。 咦？不是應該在這裏左轉嗎？Larry!
LL: Whoa! You scared me!! I know where I'm going, Li Hua. You're becoming a backseat driver yourself.
LH: 喔？原來 backseat driver 是這樣來的啊？ 坐在汽車後座的人常常喜歡指揮駕駛開車， 所以 backseat driver, “後座駕駛”，這個詞就被用來形容喜歡指揮別人的人了，真有趣。How do you like me as a backseat driver, Larry?
LL: I do not like it Li Hua. And don't do it again. You scared me.
LH: 啊……不好意思。不過 Larry, 你也滿厲害的，一邊開車還能一邊聽我說話，you have all ears.
LL: Li Hua, you cannot say someone "has all ears". You have to say someone "is all ears". So instead of saying "Larry, you have all ears." you should say, "Larry, you are all ears."
LH: 喔？不能說專心在聽的人 has all ears, 而要說那個人 is all ears 嗎？
LL: Yup. Try giving me an example using "all ears!"
LH: 好啊。When my mom said she wanted to talk to me about something important, I was all ears. 這樣用對嗎？
LL: Yes, that's correct. Can you give me an example of backseat driver now?
LH: 等等。我想先確認一下。 Back seat driver 可以這樣用嗎： My boss is a backseat driver, he always orders us around.
LL: Not really. A backseat driver describes someone who tries to run things even though they don't have the power or authority to do so, or someone whose advice is not wanted. However, your boss would be someone who is authorized to give orders and probably gives out good advice too.
LH: 喔。這麼說，back seat driver 是形容愛指揮別人但又沒有權力的人，所以用在老闆身上不適合。
LL: That's right. Hey, you've been all ears!
LH: 哈哈對呀。 啊！我們到購物中心了！
LL: Yup. Let's go shopping! We can practice these phrases another time.
今天李華從 Larry 那兒學到兩個常用語，一個是 all ears, 表示“洗耳恭聽”；另一個是 backseat driver, 也就是“喜歡指揮別人的人” 。這次《流行美語》播送完了，謝謝收聽，下次節目再見。
A: backseat driver 就是喜歡瞎指揮，給別人亂出主意的人。想一想，生活中這樣的人還真不少！
B: I know! No one is asking their opinions, but they just pester you with their advice! Like a friend of mine, she likes to be a backseat driver when it comes to fashion. She always tells me what to wear, but her taste is really bad.
A: Really? What style does she like?
B: She likes clothes that are tacky or trashy.
A: 哦，你是說她喜歡俗氣，看着檔次低的衣服。
B: That's right. I think she should buy clothes that are more classy in style, but again, I'm not a backseat driver. I don't tell her what to wear.
A: 是，每個人的品位不同嗎。不過你剛纔說她應該穿些經典款的衣服，這讓我想到咱們在下面的“美語怎麼說”裏要教的詞，那就是“必備單品”。
KAT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。今天是吳瓊要問的：必備單品。
WQ: Hey KAT! , 我們穿的褲子一樣耶！
KAT: OMG! Yeah! We ARE wearing the same thing! Where did you get it?
WQ: 在outlet啊！現在這種緊身褲最流行了！衣櫥必備！對了，這種什麼都能配，大家都需要的衣服用美語怎麼說啊？
KAT: Hmm, we usually say that kind of clothing is a must-have item.
WQ: M-u-s-t, must, 是必須的意思，have, h-a-v-e, 擁有，must-have, 必須擁有，就是必備單品嘍！
KAT: Exactly! Must-have items often go with many different styles. For example, skinny jeans are a must-have in today's fashion. 緊身牛仔褲是時尚潮人的必備單品。
WQ: That's why we are both wearing it! 對了，我這條褲子買的特值，買一送一呢！
KAT: What? Buy one get one free? That's such a great bargain!
WQ: Buy one get one free? 我猜這就是買一送一的意思吧？
KAT: That's correct! Sometimes you can buy one and get one 50% off Guess what that means?
WQ: Hmmm, 我想，這就是買一件，第二件打5折，對不對？
KAT: Good job! Besides, many stores are having end of season sales!
WQ: 這個我知道，就是換季大甩賣！Actually, I got these pants from the end of season sale! 我這條褲子就是換季大甩賣的時候買的！
KAT: There you go! I think we should pay a visit to the mall together this weekend, shall we? We can not and must not miss the end of season sale!
WQ: Sounds good!
KAT: It's a date!! Now let's see what you've learned today!
WQ: 第一：必備單品叫做：must-have;
第二，買一送一，可以說: buy one get one free;
第三，換季大甩賣，叫做end of season sale.
B: A little black dress is a must-have for every girl. Do you have one, yanglin?
A: Hmm, 我倒是覺得，什麼是 a must-have item? 這還不都是時尚雜誌說的？我看也是在忽悠消費者，爲什麼別人穿我就得穿啊？我非要和大家不一樣，難道不行？
B: That's an interesting point! Why should we follow the trend? We should be unique, or better yet, a trend setter!
A: 就是！要是大家都穿某一季的所謂必備單品，那滿街都是一樣的衣服，多沒意思！好了，一提起穿衣打扮咱們就沒完了，還是繼續聽節目吧。
B: Okay! Let's listen to Go English
GoEnglish: Play Date(Advanced)
大家好！今天我們爲您播出“美語三級跳”節目“帶孩子”單元的高級課程。
Professor: Hannah has a young daughter named Amber who is in second grade. Today Hannah is going in to talk to Amber's teacher to find out how her daughter has been doing at school.
MC: Amber是個讓人頭疼的孩子，我估計她老師肯定有一大堆苦水要倒。
Teacher: Thanks so much for coming in to talk to me about Amber. There are some things about Amber's behavior I want to discuss with you.
Hannah: Of course. Isn't my Amber just a little angel?
Teacher: Your daughter is certainly very... special. However, there are a few issues that I'd like to talk to you about.
Hannah: What is it? Do you want to put her on the honor roll?
MC: Hannah還以爲Amber在學校是乖乖的小天使呢！不過，Pofessor Bowman, 什麼叫“honor roll”?
Professor: The honor roll is a list of the best students in class. If your child is on the honor roll, you can also say that he or she is an "honor roll student."
MC: 哦，honor roll 就是優等生名單。
Teacher: The honor roll? Uh ... no. Even though Amber is very bright, she has some serious behavioral problems we need to deal with.
Hannah: Behavioral problems? What are you talking about? My little Amber would never misbehave.
Teacher: Actually, Amber throws a temper tantrum whenever I tell her to do her work.
Hannah: A temper tantrum? What does she do?
Teacher: She throws all her books on the floor and screams. It's really disruptive for all the other students in class.
瞧，真相大白了吧。老師說，Amber雖然很聰明，但是不聽話，老師讓她做功課，她就 “throw a temper tantrum”，這是什麼意思呢？
Professor: The word "tantrum" means an outburst of bad temper. If a child "throws a temper tantrum", he or she is expressing anger through kicking, screaming or other immature ways.
我知道了，就是耍賴，發小孩子脾氣。
Professor: Exactly. "Throwing a temper tantrum" is the same thing as "throwing a fit". For example, I could say, "My son always throws a fit when I try to put him to bed."
Hannah: Oh my goodness! Well... I'll give you a piece of advice: If Amber throws a fit, just give her whatever she wants. It always works for me.
Teacher: Well you see, that's the problem. If you don't set rules for her to follow, she will never learn discipline. That would be a shame because she really has a gift for learning.
Hannah: You think I need to discipline her more? How should I do that?
Teacher: One thing you can do is to give her a time-out. If she misbehaves or is acting up, make her sit in one spot and don't let her leave until she behaves.
Professor Bowman, 老師說Amber has a gift for learning 是什麼意思？
Professor: Winnie, if you say that someone has a gift, that means he or she has an extraordinary talent.
所以老師意思是，Amber有學習天份，但需要嚴格管教。她告訴Hannah，如果Amber再act up——搗蛋、耍脾氣，就 give her a time-out——罰她反省。
Teacher: I think this is really a textbook case of lack of discipline. If you set boundaries for her behavior, she will quickly learn what is acceptable and what isn't.
Hannah: Alright, I will set boundaries. From now on when she throws food at her babysitter when I go out, she will have to take a time-out.
Teacher: That's exactly right. I think your babysitter will appreciate it, too.
Hannah: That reminds me: I have to find a new babysitter for my sweet little Amber. Can you believe all the other ones have quit?
Teacher: Yeah... I'm completely shocked...
Professor, 老師說Amber是 “textbook case of lack of discipline”，這是什麼意思？.
Professor: Here the word "textbook" is an adjective, meaning "typical" or "a perfect example." For example, "John sleeps until noon every day. He is the textbook example of a lazy teenager."
哦，就是“典型的例子”。希望Hannah真能接受老師的建議，set boundaries——給Amber立點規矩。
A: 老師說Amber是個聰明的小孩。Kat，你發覺了麼，聰明的小孩往往在學校裏都比較鬧, They don't follow the rules and throw tantrum all the time. 要我說，這也不能怪孩子，也許是學校的東西對這些聰明小孩兒還說太簡單了，So they got bored!
B: So you don't think parents and teachers should set boundaries for these kids?
A: 我覺得沒必要，小孩子嘛，玩鬧是天性，在學校不守紀律並不代表長大就沒出息！
B: Wow, Yanglin, you sound like Hannah! I'm sure you'll spoil your child once you become a mother.
A: 真的嗎？呵呵! 可能是我小時太乖了，覺得很沒意思！所以想讓我的孩子反叛點。
B: Wow, good luck raising a rebellious kid! 好了，Now let's listen to Business Etiquette!
禮節美語——Office Gossip I
Sally 早上遇到同事 Lisa, 馬上湊上前去，很神祕地說：
Sally: Did you hear the news about Tom and his wife?
Lisa: happened?
S: Well, Jane told me that Tom has been having an affair! I heard his wife caught him at a hotel with another woman!
L: Really? That's a shocker! I always thought Tom was a loyal, devoted family man.
S: Hey Mary, did you hear about Tom?
Mary: No, what happened? Is he okay?
S: Well, keep this under your hat, but it seems Tom has been having an affair! Everyone's talking about it!
Sally 告訴 Lisa，她聽說 Tom 搞婚外情，被他太太在旅館裏捉姦。Lisa聽後很吃驚，說 That's a shocker! 意思是這件事太出人意料了，因爲她一直覺得Tom是個很忠實的居家男人 family man. 這時另外一位同事 Mary也加入討論。Sally 又把這個小道消息告訴 Mary, 還讓她 keep this under your hat 意思是保密。
Mary: You know, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really keen on office gossip. For one thing, how do we even know the rumor is true? Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth?
S: Not exactly. Jane said that Phyllis told her that they overheard a conversation between Katy and her friend Samantha about Tom's affair.
M: Well, that doesn't sound like a very accurate source. I really think you should take this rumor with a grain of salt.
Mary說，自己對辦公室裏的這些八卦不感興趣。I'm not keen on office gossip. 她問Sally, Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Mary在這裏用到了一個習慣用語， straight from the horse's mouth. 意思是從當事人本人，或是可靠消息來源那裏得到的消息。Sally承認，是輾轉好幾撥人，聽到的小道消息。Mary說，you should take this rumor with a grain of salt. 意思是那就不能全信了。To take something with a grain of salt 意思是帶着懷疑的態度，有所保留。 Lisa 聽後說：
L: But Mary, everyone gossips in the office. It's part of office culture.
M: That may be true, but sometimes gossip can be counterproductive and even dangerous. Did you ever play the "telephone game" when you were a kid?
L: Um... no. What's the "telephone game?"
M: Everyone sits in a circle and you start with a sentence of information. For example, "John hates chocolate cookies." Then each person whispers that sentence to the next person in turn.
Lisa 覺得，辦公室裏大家都喜歡傳八卦，It's part of office culture. 是辦公室文化的一個部分。Mary 卻覺得，gossip can be counterproductive. 這樣做只會有消極效應。Mary 問 Lisa 小時候玩沒玩過 "telephone game"電話遊戲，大家做成一圈，一個挨一個地把一句話用耳語的方式傳給自己旁邊的人，看傳到最後會變成什麼樣子。
A: Gossip spreads fast, especially in the office!
B: That's true! It's part of office culture.
A: Not the desirable part! 辦公室裏的閒話和謠言可能會帶來很不好的後果。
B: I know! But gossip is everywhere. 社會上，校園裏，辦公室裏。
A: 唉，大家都喜歡傳閒話。That's why we have tabloids and paparazzi, right?
B: Unfortunately, yes.
A: 就算家庭成員之間也喜歡傳閒話，比如，過年時家裏人聚在一起，少不了東家常西家短地聊天。I guess that's part of the holiday fun?
B: Maybe. But family members can do something else together besides gossiping, right?
A: 對啊，我們中國人過年喜歡吃吃喝喝啊，打麻將啊，看電視啊。
B: 美國人也差不多，不過我們還可以 do logger sports!
A: 那是什麼？
B: Listen to American Sports English and you'll know.
ASE: Logger Sports
Y: 謝謝你邀請我和你一起過聖誕節。
P: You know, Yang Chen, I think the best thing about Christmas is spending time with people you care about.
Y: That's true. 還有壁爐，太棒了。你點壁爐的木頭是哪裏來的?
P: I chopped down the trees and cut the wood myself. I really enjoy doing logger sports.
Y: Logger sports?
P: Yeah, in America people race to see who can cut down trees and chop wood the fastest.
Y: Oh, that's so stupid，比賽誰砍木頭砍得快。
P: That's right. In college I was on a wood chopping team, but eventually I got the axe.
Y: Got the axe? 看來你真的很投入，還自己買一把斧頭。
P: Actually, no. When you say you got the axe, it means you were kicked out of a group. For example, after I was late to work three days in a row, my boss finally gave me the axe.
Y: 你老闆把你開除了?
P: I really have an axe to grind with him.
Y: 你可不要拿着斧頭去威脅你的老闆。
P: When you say you have an axe to grind with someone, it means that you are mad because he or she did something bad to you.
Y: For example?
P: If I generously invited someone to my house for Christmas and she didn't even bother to bring me a present, I would probably have an axe to grind with her.
Y: Of course I brought you a present!
P: What is it?
Y: Me! My wonderful company!
P: Can I exchange your wonderful company for something else at the store?
Y: Hohoho, Merry Christmas!
A: Hmm, 比賽砍木頭，Kat, have you ever done logger sports?
B: Actually, my family just buy chopped wood from the store for Christmas. We'd rather spend more time on gossiping than on chopping wood.
A: haha! 原來是這樣！好了，節目時間差不多了，這次的撰稿人是曉北，編輯是蔚然。同學們，我們下次的美語訓練班再見!
B: Bye! Happy New Year！
