美語訓練班第17課:拍馬屁&黑洞
B:“美語訓練班”上課啦！我是Donny。
A:我是楊琳！Donny, 今天你來介紹咱們的節目內容吧！
B:With pleasure! 今天，咱們要去健身房鍛鍊, 要看看到異國他鄉求學的感受，要聊聊用瑜伽減輕壓力, 還要告訴大家怎麼用美語說“拍馬屁”和“黑洞”。
A:Donny, 節目介紹完了，我有件事得問問你。上次你說幫我修電腦，快一個月了，你到底修好沒有啊？
B:當然修好了！I'm just installing some cool programs to your computer. You need to trust me, 楊琳，I'm quite tech savvy.
A:真的麼？那好吧。不過你剛纔提到一個說法--tech savvy, 今天的“學個詞兒”就要教這個savvy.
Learn A Word Savvy
今天我們要學的詞是savvy. Savvy is spelled s-a-v-v-y, savvy. Savvy 機智的，聰明的。Savvy job hunters use the social networking site LinkedIn to gain all kinds of information. 經驗豐富的求職者通過職業社交網站Linkedin獲取各種信息。我們可以在savvy前面加上一個特定範圍，形容一個人在某一方面很在行。比如：My friend Jack is really computer savvy. 我朋友Jack對電腦特別在行。More and more companies are relying on group discount web sites to connect with tech-savvy consumers. 越來越多的公司通過團購網站，更好地爲精通上網的顧客服務。好的，今天我們學習的詞是savvy, savvy, savvy。
A:Donny, I want to become more computer savvy, so next time my laptop breaks down, I think I'll try to fix it by myself.
B:You're saying you don't need my services anymore?
A:呵呵，你怎麼聽着跟修電腦的小公司似的，生怕顧客跑了。
B:你倒是提醒我了，I should start a computer maintenance company on the side and earn some extra money!
A:你要真開這麼個公司生意差不了! 那些大的電腦公司服務質量不行，每次遇到問題打給客服求救，總是電腦接電話，把我指使得暈頭轉向!
B:I know! We have a way to describe how you feel. It's like being in a "black hole"! 咱們來聽下面的“美國習慣用語”，看看這個短語怎麼用。
Words and Idioms:Black Hole
各位聽衆，現在播送<美國習慣用語>第 940講。我是楊琳。<美國習慣用語>
我是 Douglas Johnson.
在打電話時，我們經常會遇到自動語音系統，比如打電話到銀行問個問題，總會先是機器來“接待你”，讓你針對自己需要的服務按某個按鍵，有時候你做了好多 “選擇題”，按了好多鍵，電話那頭卻總不是真正的客服人員在說話。作爲消費者的你，這時候不免頭大，這可以用一個習慣用語來形容，那就是：
A black hole. Black is spelled b-l-a-c-k, and hole; h-o-l-e. A-black-hole.
天文學上有個black hole--黑洞。任何物質都能被黑洞吸進去，哪怕是光。在習慣用語中，a black hole也指深淵，讓人迷惑的空洞。在剛纔這個打電話的情景中，消費者被自動電話系統指使得團團轉，They feel they're lost in a black hole. 他們會覺得莫名其妙，如墜雲霧。
在下面這段話中，“黑洞”跑到家裏來了，我們來聽聽是怎麼回事：
"I don't ever expect to get the book back that I lent to my son. He says it's somewhere in his bedroom. That means it's among the countless piles of stuff scattered across his desk, furniture and floor. Whatever goes in there disappears. The place is nothing but A BLACK HOLE."
這段話是說：[在我把書借給兒子看，就不用想着還能拿回來了。他跟我說書就在他臥室裏。這就意味着，我的書被埋在了他書桌、傢俱和地板上到處散落的一堆堆亂七八糟的東西下面。任何東西進了這個屋子都會不知去向。他的屋子簡直就是個黑洞。]
這個情景我似曾相識。大學時我有個好朋友，看上去白白淨淨的一個女孩兒，就是不愛收拾屋子。借給她的東西她永遠不還，都說找不到了。I'm afraid they all vanished in that black hole of hers. 恐怕這些東西都消失在她那如同黑洞一樣的屋子裏了。好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話：
"I don't ever expect to get the book back that I lent to my son. He says it's somewhere in his bedroom. That means it's among the countless piles of stuff scattered across his desk, furniture and floor. Whatever goes in there disappears. The place is nothing but A BLACK HOLE."
剛纔我們說到的例句都是因爲人不愛收拾整理，導致屋子凌亂不堪，東西才容易丟。另外還有一種情況，也容易讓人找不到東西，覺得暈，那就是地方太大。下面這個例句就證明了這一點，我們來聽一聽：
"This year's conference took place at a brand new facility. There must have been at least 8,000 people there. That was far too big for me. I don't like such A BLACK HOLE. You meet people that you never see again because it's so huge. I prefer a much smaller site. There are greater chances for running into people that I recognize."
這段話是說：[今年的會議在一個嶄新的會場召開。 來開會的人至少有8000個。我覺得這個會場太大了。我不喜歡這麼大得讓人犯暈的地方。地方這麼大，人這麼多，很多人你見過一次就永遠不會再見了。我希望能在小一點的地方開會，那樣更有可能遇見熟人。]
別說會場了，出門背個大一些的包包，東西就往往很難找到，我老公經常笑話我說，我找個鑰匙也要把頭伸進包裏搜索一番。He said my purse was a portable black hole. 他說我的包就是個能移動的大黑洞。好，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話：
M:"This year's conference took place at a brand new facility. There must have been 8,000 there. That was far too big for me. I don't like such A BLACK HOLE. You meet people that you never see again because it's so huge. I prefer a much smaller site. There are greater chances for running into people that I recognize."
各位聽衆，今天我們學習的習慣用語是a black hole，意思是“讓人犯暈的黑洞”。
A:有時候，真感覺在社會上打拼就如同entering a black hole，周圍人才濟濟，自己的小聰明，小本事，根本顯不出來!更別說得到領導的賞識了。
B:So, you want your talent and hard work to be noticed by your supervisors, eh? You know, there’s a shortcut to do that─拍領導的馬屁。
A:啊？我還以爲你有什麼高招呢。
B:Trust me. It works every time.
A:聽起來您是個行家啊！看來那天我問你“拍馬屁”用美語怎麼說，真是問對人了！
How to say it in American English:office politics
DN 在北京學漢語，他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞，就會來請教他。今天是楊琳要問的：拍馬屁。
DN:楊琳, what are you reading？
YL:我在看一本暢銷小說，講的是白領們在公司裏奮鬥的事兒。
DN:But you're still a college student. Why are you interested in the life of office workers?
YL:先學習啊! 我看了這書才知道，這小小的辦公室裏有那麼多明爭暗鬥! 對了，DN, 用美語怎麼形容辦公室裏的勾心鬥角啊？
DN:You can use the term "office politics."
YL:哦! Office 是辦公室，politics是政治，office politics，辦公室政治，就是指同事之間的勾心鬥角嘍。
DN:Yes. office politics are very common at the workplace. Some people say the office is like a modern jungle, and only the fittest can survive.
YL:啊？你說辦公室是現代叢林，適者才能生存？可以想像......雖然我還沒上過班，可即使在學校，處理同學間的關係也是門學問。
DN:For example?
YL:比如，我們組長就特愛拍老師馬屁，大家都不喜歡她。對了，這拍馬屁美語怎麼說？
DN:You can use the phrase "to suck up to somebody". Suck is spelled s-u-c-k. For example, your team leader sucks up to the teachers, so other students don't like her.
YL:大家都說，千穿萬穿，馬屁不穿，一點沒錯。老師對我們組長可好了，偏心!
DN:Hmm, teachers are not supposed to play favorites. That's unfair to other students.
YL:哎？你說的play favorites就是偏心的意思嘛？
DN:That's right.
YL:可是，上司，家長，老師難免 play favorites, 有偏心的時候。唉! 看來哪裏都有politics啊!
DN:別感慨了。說說你今天都學了什麼吧!
YL:第一，辦公室裏的權力鬥爭是 office politics；
第二，拍某人的馬屁是 suck up to someone；
第三：偏心是play favorites.
B:Teachers aren't supposed to play favorites, but it never hurts to get on a teacher's good side.
A:To get on the good side of someone就是贏得某人的喜愛和信任，對麼？
B:沒錯。
A:當老師喜歡的學生當然好了！不過我覺得更重要的是能和室友們和睦相處。對了，上次咱們不是在“美語三級跳”裏面講了兩個室友初次見面的事兒麼？後來怎麼樣了？
B:聽聽就知道了！
GoEnglish:Where are you from─intermediate
各位聽衆，大家好！今天我們爲您播出“美語三級跳”節目“你是哪裏人”單元的中級課程。
Professor:Kevin and Jose are new roommates who are meeting each other for the first time. Jose is from Mexico, and is telling Kevin about his experience coming to America.
Winnie:Professor Bowman, 不知道 Jose 對美國印象如何？
Professor:Let's listen and find out, Winnie.
In the first part, listen for the phrase "every walk of life," meaning "from many different backgrounds."
Kevin:So Jose, what do you think of America?
Jose:I like how friendly the people are, and I also like the fact that America is so diverse.
Kevin:That's true, America is very diverse. You can find people here from every walk of life.
Jose:I know! For example, in Los Angeles there are lots of Latin American communities, but there is also a big Chinatown with lots of Chinese.
Kevin:Yes. You know, in the year 2000, 36 percent of the people living in Los Angeles were born overseas.
Winnie:百分之36的人都是在外國出生的？那洛杉磯可絕對是一個國際化的大都市。
Professor:That's right, and it's becoming even more diverse. What else does Jose like about America?
Winnie:Jose 還覺得美國人特別友好。
Professor:Right again. Now let's find out what Jose thought was very surprising about America.
Kevin:Did you have any culture shock? Were there things in America you thought were really strange?
Jose:Well, I couldn't believe how big all the cars were. Why do people need such big cars?
Kevin:Hmm ... maybe because they have lots of children?
Jose:Maybe some do, but I think most people just think they look cool driving a huge truck.
Professor:So Winnie, Did you hear Kevin ask Jose about culture shock? What do you think that is?
Winnie:Culture shock 就是文化衝擊的意思。美國人喜歡開大車，讓 Jose 覺得很奇怪。
Professor:Exactly. So Winnie, did you have any culture shock when you came to America?
Winnie:當然有啊。美國人喜歡往地上坐。
Professor:Don't Chinese people sit on the ground?
Winnie:中國人不太往地上坐。還是讓我們繼續聽 Kevin 跟 Jose 的對話吧。
Kevin:Do you ever get homesick?
Jose:I get homesick from time to time. But when I get homesick, I can send my family an email or talk to them on the phone.
Kevin:Sure, I think it's natural to get homesick now and then. But with today's technology, it's easy to keep in touch.
Jose:Yes. My hometown will always have a special place in my heart.
Winnie:可憐的 Jose，說自己會想家，homesick. 可我不太明白的是，他說 from time to time 是什麼意思啊？
Professor:The phrase "from time to time" means "sometimes." You can also say "now and then."
Winnie:哦，我知道了，就是有時候的意思。那 keep in touch 呢？意思是保持聯繫嗎？
Professor:Yes. In the next section, we'll find out what was hard for Jose when he came to America.
Kevin:What was the hardest part about moving?
Jose:I had a hard time getting used to my new life. I'm used to having lots of family to support me, but in America I have to do things by myself.
Kevin:Yeah, that sounds hard. What do you do to deal with the homesickness? Do you watch Spanish-language TV?
Jose:No, that just makes me more homesick. Usually I just study a lot so I don't have time to think about it.
Kevin:Yes, sometimes hearing news about your home country makes you even more homesick.
Professor:Winnie, did you hear how Jose deals with his homesickness?
Winnie:他說自己埋頭學習，這樣就沒有時間想家了，否則越看西班牙語的電視節目，就會越想家。
Professor:That's right. And what is different about life in America for Jose?
Winnie:他在墨西哥周圍有很多親人可以幫他，但是到了美國，他就要學會獨立。He has to "get used to" being on his own.
Professor:That's right, it is often hard to get used to life in a new country. Tune in next time to learn more about moving to America.
A:Jose說的想家 - homesickness， 我真是深有體會。剛來美國的時候，誰也不認識，I had to do things by myself，一切都得靠自己。It was quite a stressful process!
B:Yea, but you got used to it and adapted pretty well as far as I can tell.
A：這不是後來慢慢認識了好多朋友麼。在遇到困難時，有朋友、同事幫助解決最好不過了。
B:That’s right. 在下面的“禮節美語”中，Claire needs help from her colleagues. Let’s listen!
Business Etiquette:De-stressing II
A:Tina說得對，現代人上班壓力大，即使離開了辦公室回到家，Our brains are still so revved up.腦子也還想着工作，輕鬆不下來。
B:That's right. So you need to find a way to stop thinking about work, and give your brain a good rest.
A:那就聽音樂，看書，跳舞！
B:Or hit the gym!
A:沒錯！ 那咱們就去健身房裏鍛鍊一下吧！請聽“體育美語”。
American sports English:pumping iron
M:236, 237, 238 Oh hi Yang Chen, I didn't know you were coming to the gym today.
Y:Hi, Marc/Patrick. What are you doing?
M:I'm doing push ups. P-U-S-H, U-P-S.
Y:I know you are doing Pushups 俯臥撐。可是我聽到你在數238，你真的做了238個俯臥撐? Are you serious?
M:Of course! What, you think I was just pretending to do all those pushups because I knew you were coming to the gym and wanted to impress you? Haha! Don't be ridiculous!
Y:Well, If you don't want to impress me, then who do you want to impress? Oh, Wait. I know, 你交了新的女朋友。You want to impress her. 讓她對你有好感。
M:Well, I do have a hot date next week, so I've been PUMPING IRON at the gym. I'm sure if I have big enough muscles my date will automatically fall in love with me.
Y:PUMPING IRON? 你缺鐵嗎?
M:No, pumping iron just means working out at the gym.
Y:I like it, pumping iron at the gym. 我也需要常常到健身房來 pump iron。
M:Do you want to impress somebody?
Y:No, I don't want to impress anybody. 不過……
M:What do you mean 不過?
Y:We women aren't only concerned with muscles.
M:That's true. They also really care about my great haircut, my designer cologne and my hand-made Italian shoes.
Y:Oh, Marc, I'm so impressed with your great haircut, 你的頭髮是在那裏剪的? 還有你的designer cologne，名牌古龍水， 是在Walmart 買的嗎? 還有 hand-made Italian shoes. 手工做的意大利皮鞋；My goodness.
M:Stop it. Yang Chen. I know you are making fun of me. Just tell me what women are really concerned with.
Y:Of course, the inner qualities of a person. 內在美!
M:Come on, Yang Chen, 內在美? Are you kidding me?
A:看來，去了健身房也逃不開壓力，只不過，現在不是工作壓力，而是外表長相，吸引異性上的壓力！
B:It depends. For example, I myself don't really go to the gym to build muscle. I work out to be healthy.
A:是麼？那找女朋友的時候，你也不注重外表？
B:呃，相由心生。I tend to believe nice girls won't be ugly.
A:那祝你好運吧！好了，今天的節目時間差不多了。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!
