美語訓練班第10課:"躲過一劫"和"火爆脾氣"怎麼說?

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A: 美語訓練班，無須報名，不收學費，全年無休, 保證提高......

B: 行啦楊琳, 廣告作起來沒完啦？

A: Donny, 你別小看廣告的作用哦。前幾天我在微薄上給咱們節目發了一個小廣告，結果節目網頁的點擊量就呼呼地漲上去了!

B: That's fantastic! 對了，你剛纔說“呼呼地漲上去”，待會兒我們要教一個詞，就是這個意思。

A: 太好了!

B: 不過，let's first have a preview of today's show, shall we?

A：好! 今天，我們要去賭馬場試試手氣, 和朋友聊聊大學生活，討論公司上市的時機, 還要告訴大家怎麼用美語說“躲過一劫”和“火爆脾氣”。Donny, 現在咱們是不是要學你剛說的那個詞啦？

B: 沒錯。Let's listen to "learn a word".

Learn A Word Soaring

今天我們要學的詞是soaring, soaring is spelled s-o-a-r-i-n-g, soaring. Soaring 意思是劇增的，飛速上漲的。The austerity measure is designed to reduce the soaring Greek deficit in the next few years. 希臘實行銀根緊縮措施，目的是在未來幾年裏削減飛漲的政府赤字。Many American families are facing the challenge of soaring college tuition fees. 飆漲的大學學費給很多美國家庭帶來了挑戰。The expanding of Asia-Pacific markets contributed to Apple's soaring profits in the past five years. 過去五年亞太地區的市場開發使蘋果公司利潤猛增。好的，今天我們學習的詞是soaring, soaring, soaring.

A: 這麼說，由於我的廣告攻勢，咱們節目人氣暴增，也可以用soaring 嘍？

B: Yes. You could say "this show enjoys soaring popularity" or "this show's popularity is soaring".

A: 明白了。對了，和soaring 相對的應該是declining 吧？以前我曾在一個電視臺的欄目裏實習，but the show's popularity had been declining, 看節目的人越來越少，我實習結束後不久節目就停啦!

B:So... was the show terminated because of your bad performance as an intern?

A: 因爲我差勁搞到人家節目停播？! 纔不是呢! 不過，我覺得自己挺幸運的，如果實習還沒結束節目就停了，我還得另找地方實習，說不定就會耽誤畢業。

B: Sounds like you dodged a bullet.

A: 什麼？bullet? 子彈？

B: 對。聽下面的節目你就明白了! Let's listen to Popular American.

Popular American: dodge a bullet; cheapskate

各位聽衆，現在播送「流行美語」。Larry和李華開車去多倫多渡假，結果在路上遇到了一些問題。他們會用到兩個常用語：Dodge a bullet 和 cheapskate。

LH: Larry, 還要開多長時間纔到多倫多啊?

Larry: If we don't make any more stops, we should get there by nightfall.

LH: 啊，天黑的時候才能到？可我已經快餓死了! 咱們停下來找點東西吃吧？

Larry: Actually, we have a free dinner waiting for us at the hotel in Toronto.

LH: 我知道酒店有免費晚餐，可是還要幾個小時才能吃到，我堅持不住啦!

Larry: You know me, Lihua, I'm a cheapskate. Sorry.

LH: Cheesecake? 你帶了芝士蛋糕? 快給我吃！

Larry: No, not cheesecake... cheapskate. A cheapskate is someone who is very cheap, or doesn't like to spend money.

LH: cheapskate 就是小氣鬼。沒錯，你就是個cheapskate! 要不是你捨不得花錢，我們纔不會選多倫多渡假呢，早買張飛機票飛去泰國了!

Larry: Thailand? Don't be ridiculous! Even if I wasn't a cheapskate, you know we can't afford to go that far away for vacation!

LH: 那，就算去不起泰國，咱們停下車吃頓飯總可以吧？

Larry: If we stop for food, we'll waste time, gas, and money. I think we should just wait until we get to Toronto.

LH: Why are you being such a cheapskate?? 咱們剛開始約會的時候，你可是特別喜歡給我買吃的呢!

Larry: Oh, yeah, I remember that... Actually, now that I think about it, I think I might have some of that candy you like in my thing like a white rabbit, right?

LH: 大白兔奶糖？哪裏？！還真有誒! 可這包已經過期了。不過我太餓，將就吃了!

Larry: Phew! Looks like I dodged a bullet there.

LH: Dodge a bullet? 躲避子彈？你又在說什麼我聽不懂的話了？

Larry: To dodge a bullet means to narrowly escape a very bad situation. For example, a second ago you were about to get really angry because I wouldn't stop for food, but luckily, I had that bag of Chinese candy to keep you happy!

LH: 哦, to dodge a bullet 意思就是 “逃過一劫”，躲過了非常糟糕的事情。你說，要不是因爲你包里正好有糖，我肯定會因爲餓肚子而大發脾氣，所以你算是躲過了我的一頓數落。

Larry: That's right.

LH: 可是吃糖吃不飽啊!

Larry: We have a perfectly wonderful─and free─ dinner waiting for us in Toronto. Sorry, Lihua, we're not stopping.

Larry: Uh-oh.

LH: Larry，什麼聲音？是不是沒油啦？你看看!幾個小時前我不是讓你把油箱加滿麼!

Larry: I heard the gas is a lot cheaper in Toronto, so I didn't want to buy more gas than I needed to... I thought this would be enough for us to reach Toronto!

LH: 啊？你因爲覺得加拿大的汽油便宜，就不捨得在美國加油，打算堅持到多倫多再說？你怎麼這麼小氣! Cheapskate!

Larry: I hope we can find a gas station in time... I haven't seen any signs for a gas station for awhile...

LH: 我的老天! 附近沒有加油站？那我們豈不是要身陷荒野!

Larry: Don't worry, we always have my cell phone if we need to call for help.

LH: 打電話求救？呃，我剛纔一直拿你的手機玩遊戲，已經沒電了。

Larry: Oh good grief. Luckily, I think I have an extra battery in my backpack. Check the outside pocket.

LH: 啊! 真的，這裏有塊備用電池! We dodged a bullet! 我們逃過了一劫!

Larry: Speaking of dodging a bullet, it looks like there's a gas station a few miles ahead. We should be able to get there without a problem.

LH: 太好了! 前面有加油站，咱們快去把油箱加滿!

Larry: OK, I won't be such a cheapskate this time.

LH: 對!這次別再小氣了! 還有，在加油站給我買點吃的來!

Larry: OK, fine. You got it.

各位聽衆，今天李華學了兩個常用語，一個是dodge a bullet，意思是“逃過一劫”；另一個是cheapskate，意思是“小氣鬼”。好的，這次《流行美語》播送完了，謝謝各位收聽，下次節目再見。

B: Speaking of dodging a bullet, I used to work at a small company where the boss had a terrible temper and yelled at people all day long. 所有人都小心翼翼，生怕捱罵. It felt like I was dodging bullets everyday!

A: 理解理解! 給壞脾氣的老闆幹活隨時要作好捱罵的準備，他們就像地雷，一碰就炸!

B: No kidding! 好了，Let's move on to our next program: 美語怎麼說，講的就是這個“火爆脾氣”。

How to say it in American English: short fuse

Donny 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Jimmy要問的：火爆脾氣。

Donny: Jimmy, 瞧瞧你的熊貓眼!

JIMMY: 哼!這都要怪對門宿舍的一個瘋子。夜裏不睡覺，在樓道里唱歌! 害得我一宿沒法睡!

Donny: Dude, that sucks!

Jimmy: Donny, 你今天可別惹我，我這一肚子火恐怕得點火就着! I'm easy to burn!

Donny: Easy to burn? Jimmy, I have to say, you've got a talent for making up English phrases.

JIMMY: 好，那你說，“火爆脾氣”在美語裏怎麼說？

Donny: You say I have a short fuse. fuse is spelled f-u-s-e. To say someone has a short fuse is to say he or she has a bad temper.

JIMMY: fuse是導火線的意思，a short fuse，很短的導火線，那還真是“一點就着”，所以have a short fuse就是形容脾氣差。

Donny: That's correct. If I were you, I'd go give that guy who sings in the middle of the night a piece of my mind!

JIMMY: give him a piece of your mind?

Donny: Yes! You can also tell him off, 都是“罵他一頓”的意思。

JIMMY: Actually, I was about to rush out of the door and tell him off, but my dorm mates stopped me.

Donny: Why?

JIMMY: 我室友們說，這人平時挺好的，最近失戀了，要靠夜裏唱歌來療傷，讓我別往心裏去。

Donny: Your dorm mates are so nice not to take it personally.

JIMMY: take it personally? 就是往心裏去，計較，對麼？

Donny: Exactly. For example, your boss has a short fuse and often yells at people when they make minor mistakes......

JIMMY: 哎，我來猜猜! 你說，老闆脾氣火爆，人家犯個小錯他就大嚷大叫。那 he gives me a piece of his mind for something minor, 同事們就會說"don't take it personally. " 對不對？

Donny: Bingo! Let's see what you've learned today!

JIMMY: 第一，火爆脾氣是have a short fuse;

第二，口頭教訓別人是 give someone a piece of my mind, 或者tell someone off

第三，別往心裏去是Don't take it personally.

A：Donny, 我剛纔就想跟你說，碰上不講理的上司，你捱罵就捱罵，不用往心裏去，Don't take it personally!

B: You're right. 就讓他去罵，就讓子彈飛吧。

A: 不過說起剛纔教的那個short fuse, 火爆脾氣，我十分不爭氣地想到了另外一個東西......

B: 什麼？

A: 呵呵，你恐怕要笑話我。從火爆脾氣，我想到了......火爆腰花!

B: 啊？

A: 我大學時最愛和同學們一起去校門口的小飯館吃火爆腰花了! Oh, those were the days!

B: 我看你是餓了吧？ Anyway, let's listen to“美語三級跳”，讓你再回憶回憶大學生活！

GoEnglish: College─Beginner

各位聽衆，大家好！今天我們爲您播出“美語三級跳”節目“大學生活”單元的初級課程。

Winnie: Eric 和 Patty 是好朋友，也是大學同學。他們中午一起吃飯，聊起了校園生活。

Professor: In this first part, we will learn how to ask what classes someone is taking.

Patty: Hi Eric! Are you having fun at college?

Eric: Yes, it's great. How many classes are you taking?

Patty: I'm taking four classes. Are you taking a lot of classes?

Eric: I'm taking three classes.

Winnie: Professor Bowman, Eric怎麼只選三門課？美國大學生的日子也太輕鬆了吧！

Professor: Well Winnie, maybe they are taking hard classes and have to study a lot.

Winnie: 這麼說也有道理。可能正是因爲課程難度大，所以他們才只選幾門課。

Professor: Let's listen and find out what their classes are.

Patty: What classes are you taking?

Eric: Well, I'm taking English classes.

Patty: I see. Well I'm taking a lot of science classes, like chemistry.

Eric: Chemistry? Wow, that sounds hard. You must have a lot of work.

Winnie: Patty選修化學課，這門課可不好學。可是 Professor Bowman，Eric爲什麼要選英文課呢？英語不是他的母語麼？這算不算投機取巧？

Professor: Well Winnie, some English classes are hard, even for Americans. Students have to read very hard books.

Winnie: 原來如此。那麼，在美國大學裏，學生們是不是每天都要上課呢？

Professor: Well, let's listen to Eric and Patty talking about when they have classes.

Patty: What's your schedule like?

Eric: It's great! I only have classes from Monday to Thursday!

Patty: You don't have any classes on Friday?

Eric: No, so I can have fun with my friends on Thursday night.

Winnie: Eric 不光選修英文課，而且一個禮拜只上四天課，這怎麼可能？

Professor: Yes, some students have easy schedules. Now let's listen to them talking about their professors.

Eric: Who is your chemistry professor?

Patty: I got Professor Franklin for chemistry. He's really great!

Eric: Who did you get for math?

Patty: I got Professor Martinez for math. He's good, but the TA is so boring.

Winnie: TA? TA是什麼？

Professor: A TA is a "teaching assistant." They are older students who help professors teach the younger students.

Winnie: 哦，TA就是Teaching Assistant的縮寫，也就是助教的意思。Patty說她很喜歡自己的數學教授，不過教授的那位助教卻非常沉悶無聊。

Professor: Right. You know, if my students don't study hard enough, sometimes I'll get a mean TA to help me teach.

Winnie: 我們不認真，你就要找個厲害的 TA，那我們如果特別認真，你就會找個特別帥的 TA 嘍？

Professor: No. If I get a cute TA, everyone will have a crush on him and study less. Now Eric and Patty are going to talk about what clubs they are in.

Eric: What do you do outside of class?

Patty: I'm in some fun clubs.

Eric: What kind of clubs are you in?

Patty: I do all kinds of things. I do some academic clubs, but other clubs are just for fun.

Winnie: 哇, Patty 可真行，加入了這麼多課外社團。

Professor, 美國大學中都有那些社團呢？

Professor: Some clubs are academic. Students study together for tests or discuss current events. Some clubs are just for fun. They do things like yoga and hip hop dancing.

Winnie: 瑜珈社和街舞社，聽起來真不錯! 不知道Eric加入了什麼社團沒有！

Eric: I'm only in a hip hop dancing club. It's really fun.

Patty: A dancing club? I love hip hop music, and I love dancing.

Eric: You should join. It's not full, and there are plenty of spaces left.

Patty: I think I will. It would be fun to do a club together.

Winnie: Eric只參加了街舞社？他這個人，課只選了三門，每週只上四天課，連跟學習有關的課外社團也不參加。唉，他過得也太輕鬆了吧!

Professor: Well, Eric may be busy for other reasons. Tune in next time and we'll learn more about student life.

A: 美國的大一新生真幸福! They have easy schedules, 他們功課輕鬆，They can join some fun clubs, 還能加入一些有趣的社團。真讓人羨慕!

B: Didn't you enjoy your freshman year?

A: 別提了，我們英語系的學生從一進校門就是一大堆基礎課，哪有時間去參加課外活動!

B: Well, I'm sure not all of your classmates spent their time studying as hard as you did, right? For some people, college is a place for learning; for others, college is just a big party.

A: 也對，有些同學根本不在乎成績，打球、跳舞、組樂隊，每天過得可高興了!

B: You can play your way through college, or work your way through it. But after four years, everyone is pushed into the real world, and the party is over. 人總要長大嘛。

A: Donny, 你說得真讓人傷感! 好啦，大學生活結束，咱們進入社會，來聽“禮節美語”!

Business Etiquette: IPO III

公司老闆Jerry召集手下 Lisa 和 Ken 開會，商量公司上市的問題。Lisa問Jerry，是不是真的下定決心了。

L: But Jerry, have you really thought this through? You would essentially be giving up the company that your great-grandfather built.

J: I intend to keep key family members on the Board of Directors and I intend to remain as CEO. This company is important to me. But if we really want to become the largest frozen food company in the country, it's time to move beyond mom-and-pop operations and play hardball.

針對Lisa提出的疑問，Jerry回答說，他並沒打算將祖輩開辦並經營至今的家族企業就這麼拱手送給別人，他打算讓重要家庭成員進董事會，然後親自擔任 CEO, Chief Executive officer, 首席執行官。Jerry 說，公司對他十分重要，但要想擴大規模，成爲全國最大的冷凍食品公司，就要 move beyond mom-and-pop operations and play hardball. 這裏所說的 mom-and-pop operations 是指家庭規模的小買賣，play hardball 意思是採取果斷大膽的行動。

L: Well, it's an exciting also a bit terrifying. know that old saying: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

K: At least the markets have been getting better recently; the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 10,000 points the other day. This could be the beginning of an economic recovery.

Lisa 說，公司上市的想法既令人興奮，又讓人害怕。但是英語里老話說，nothing ventured, nothing gained. 意思是不承擔風險，就不會取得成就。Ken 說，好在現在市場正在走高，道瓊斯工業指數前幾天突破了萬點大關，topped 10,000 points. 這可能意味着經濟復甦的開始，the beginning of an economic recovery. Lisa 接着說，

L: I think the smart thing is to use this down time to retool and reconfigure our operations. That way, if things do turn upwards we'll be in a stronger place than our competitors.

J: Exactly! So, I want you all to consider this idea... do the research and figure out if this is truly in our best interests. Let's meet again on Thursday to make a final decision.

Lisa 說，她認爲明智之舉是用現在市場不是特別活躍的時期調整公司的經營運作。這樣的話，一旦市場開始上揚，We'll be in a stronger place than our competitors. 跟競爭對手相比，我們就會居於更加有利的地位。Jerry 表示贊成，讓大家回去都好好想想，星期四再開會最後決定。

A: 大家認爲，現在可能是the beginning of an economic recovery, 整體經濟開始復甦的時候，公司應該利用這個時機，Play hardball, 大膽採取行動，畢竟，nothing ventured, nothing gained, 不擔風險，就不會有收穫。

B: Exactly. All decisions come with risks. I can hardly think of a real "safe bet" in life.

A: 可不，人生哪兒有能百分之百打保票的事兒呢？ That's way they say life is an adventure! 我就有冒險精神，在人生的賭桌上，我不會輕易被嚇倒!

B: 楊琳, I didn't know you had a gambler's appetite. 我想下面這個節目你準喜歡，講的是賭馬!

A: 太好了! 趕快來聽“體育美語”!

American sports English: Betting on horse racing

P: Hey, Yang Chen, Can I borrow a few bucks?

Y: Borrow money? 當然沒問題。But why?

P: I put all my money down on the horse race, but the horse I bet on didn't win.

Y: Betting on horse racing, 賭馬? Hey, young man, you really shouldn't gamble.

P: You sound like my mother. Well, I usually don't bet on horse racing; but this time I figured if I made a bet on this horse, I'd have a very good shot at making some money, Yang Chen.

Y: 你爲什麼覺得自己have a very good shot贏錢的機率很大？

P: The horse I bet on has won two races, so I thought it would be a safe bet. I don't want to lose my money.

Y: A safe bet，保險的賭注？ Haha, 真好笑。If you gamble, you have to take chances. 敢於冒險。

P: I guess so.

Y: 你看我, I placed my money on the dark horse. 那匹本來不被人看好的黑馬，結果我贏了一大筆。

P: Oh - wait a minute, you bet on horse racing too? I thought you were against any form of betting or gambling.

Y: 小聲點。小心別人聽見。

P: OK. I will tell people you didn't bet on horse racing.

And may I ask how much did you win?

Y: Two thousand dollars.

P: That's exactly how much I lost.

Y: 真的？看來得分給你一半兒才公平。Here is half.