美語訓練班第9課:"小氣鬼"和"白費力氣"怎麼說?
B:歡迎大家來到美語訓練班！I'm Donny.
A:大家好！我不是王怡茹！
B:那您是....?
A:我是楊琳！怡茹請假，我來代班。Donny, 請多多關照哈！
B:No problem, 楊琳. I'm sure you'll do just fine!
A:希望如此。咱們要先介紹這節課學什麼，對不對？
B:Yes! 今天，我們要討論公司上市有哪些風險, 聽朋友講一次糟糕的約會，聊聊鍛鍊身體時要注意些什麼, 還要告訴大家怎麼用美語說“小氣鬼”和“白費力”。
A:But we always learn a new word before anything else, right?
B:沒錯，咱們先花一分鐘，學一個詞！
Learn A Word:wind down
今天我們要學的詞是 wind down, wind is spelled w-i-n-d, down is spelled d-o-w-n, wind down. Wind down 是逐漸結束的意思。美國總統奧巴馬宣佈，今年七月開始從阿富汗撤軍，他對全國人民說: "It was the beginning, but not the end, of our effort to wind down this war." 這是我們逐漸結束這場戰爭的開始，而不是結束。The federal stimulus program is starting to wind down in the state of Wyoming. 懷俄明州的聯邦經濟刺激項目漸漸落下帷幕。The party is winding down after four hours of craziness. 經過四個小時的狂歡後，派對漸漸進入尾聲。好的，今天我們學習的詞是wind down, wind down, wind down.
B:Hmm, why would people ever want to let the party wind down if everyone's having fun? At my parties, the good times never end.
A:Donny，你可真是個party animal! 我就不行，我習慣早睡早起。上個週末，我鄰居家開party, and it showed no sign of winding down even at 3 o'clock in the morning! 音樂聲，說話聲，吵得我沒法睡覺！
B:That's no good. Did you tell them to keep it down?
A:I did! Three times! 我去鄰居家講了三次，先是客氣地說，後來板着臉說，最後幾乎要報警了！可等我一走，他們就該幹嘛幹嘛，一切照舊！
B:Sounds like you've been beating your head against the wall.
A:用頭撞牆？我看差不多了！大夜裏沒法睡覺真能把人逼瘋。
B:Actually, to beat one's head against the wall has another meaning. Let's listen and find out.
Words and Idioms: Beat one's head against the wall
各位聽衆，現在播送<美國習慣用語>第 936講。我是楊琳<美國習慣用語>
我是 Douglas Johnson.
我想去買輛新車，爲了獲得最好的價格，我帶了一個朋友陪我同去。這位朋友很懂車，同時又很會砍價。結果，在我挑好車後，這位朋友上陣殺價了。她把自己肚子裏和汽車有關的知識都用上了，可是，賣車的這位銷售員也相當厲害，愣是不鬆口。我朋友說得嘴都幹了，也沒把價砍下來。這讓我想到了一個習慣用語，那就是：
Beat one's head against the wall. Beat is spelled b-e-a-t, head; h-e-a-d, and wall; w-a-l-l.
Beat-one's-head-against-the-wall.
To beat one's head against the wall 意思是白費力氣，徒勞無功。因爲汽車銷售員不願意降價，我這個朋友花了好長時間講價，可是，All she managed to do was to beat her head against the wall. 她完全是白費脣舌。
在下面這段話中，一個遇到感情問題的女孩很希望挽回男友的心，但她這麼做是不是有用呢？我們來聽一聽：
"My sister hasn't had much luck with Relationships lately. She dated a guy for a couple of months, but he broke up with her and got back together with his old girlfriend. My sister couldn't get over it. She spent weeks thinking about what she could have done differently. Why bother? I hated seeing her BEAT HER HEAD AGAINST THE WALL."
這段話是說：[我妹妹最近感情生活頗爲不順。她和一個男人交往了幾個月，但是這個人卻提出分手，和他的前女友複合了。我妹妹怎麼也放不下，幾個星期以來，她總是在想自己當初是否做錯了什麼，導致男友離開她。其實何必這樣呢？她完全是在浪費感情，我不想看到她這個樣子。]
在感情問題上，最忌諱拖泥帶水，苦苦不放手。男友的心不能挽回，就當是倆人有緣無份吧! 繼續浪費時間，只可能錯過真正適合自己的人。好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話：
"My sister hasn't had much luck with relationships lately. She dated a guy for a couple of months, but he broke up with her and got back together with his old girlfriend. My sister couldn't get over it. She spent weeks thinking about what she could have done differently. Why bother? I hated seeing her BEAT HER HEAD AGAINST THE WALL."
小時候，家長老師常常教育我們說，要不怕失敗，百折不撓，還總用科學家的事例來鼓勵我們。雖然最後我們很多人都無法成爲科學家，但是相信大家在追求自己夢想的過程中都會有一些意外的收穫，就好像下面這個人：
"History is filled with examples of inventors who were BEATING THEIR HEADS AGAINST THE WALL. Like the pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia who was frustrated when he couldn't find a cure for a headache. Then he created something accidentally that made him world-famous: Coca-Cola."
這段話是說：[歷史上有很多在開始時白費力氣，走進死衚衕的發明家。比如美國喬治亞州亞特蘭大的一個藥劑師，他一心想發明一種專治頭痛的藥，可是怎麼也不能成功，就在他爲此感到沮喪的時候，卻意外地發明了一種飲料，併爲此變得世界聞名，這個飲料就是可口可樂。]
不光是可口可樂，橡膠、青黴素、不沾鍋等都是人們在無意中發現或者創造出來的。所以，有時候當你一再失敗的時候，you're not necessarily beating your heads against the wall. 你並不一定是在做無用功。好了，我們再來聽聽剛纔那段話：
"History is filled with examples of inventors who were BEATING THEIR HEADS AGAINST THE WALL. Like the pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia who was frustrated when he couldn't find a cure for a headache. Then he created something accidentally that made him world-famous: Coca-Cola."
各位聽衆，今天我們學習的習慣用語是beat one's head against the wall，意思是“白費精力，徒勞無功”。
A:中國人說“不撞南牆不回頭”，所以這個to beat one's head against the wall 就是“撞了南牆也不回頭”嘍！
B:Correct，所以說是白費力氣。However, sometimes when other people think you're headed toward a dead end, they might be wrong.
A:有道理！ 就拿我來說吧，上大學時，我施展個人魅力，堅決要讓系裏最帥、最聰明、最受歡迎的男生做我男朋友....
B:And people thought you were beating your head against the wall?
A:沒錯！ But I proved them all wrong! 後來， 我發奮讀書，堅決要考到全額獎學金來美國牛校讀書....
B:And people thought you were, once again, beating your head against the wall. Right?
A:沒錯！ But I proved them all wrong - again! 後來，我跟大家說，兩年內掙到人生第一個100萬....
B:And you proved you were NOT beating your head against the wall? 楊琳，你真牛，你....
A:呵呵，這個……不好意思，這次失敗了。
B:咳！ 沒關係，我看好你！
A:行了，咱們繼續聽節目吧，下一單元：“美語怎麼說”。
How to say it in American English:cheapskate
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：摳門。
Donny:Nice suit, Jimmy! You clean up nicely.
Jimmy:怎麼樣？我收拾收拾也挺帥吧!
Donny:You're going to a business dinner?
JIMMY:對，我和一個朋友想作生意，要和投資人談談。可我那朋友特摳門，上次見投資人時去的麥當勞，還AA制! 對了，摳門怎麼說？He's cheap?
Donny:Yes, you could say that. You could also say he's a cheapskate. c-h-e-a-p-s-k-a-t-e, cheapskate.
JIMMY:Cheapskate，摳門的人。My friend was such a cheapskate!
Donny:Yeah! I can't believe that investor's still interested in working with you after your partner was being so tightfisted!
JIMMY:哎？ 你說 tightfisted? tight是“緊”的意思，fist是拳頭，所以tightfisted就是手緊，捨不得花錢嘍？
Donny:Correct.
JIMMY:還好，My tightfisted partner changed his mind. 我那吝嗇的朋友想通了，今天，我們要請投資人吃頓大餐!
Donny:That's nice. But don't act like spendthrifts. Spendthrift is spelled s-p-e-n-d-t-h-r-i-f-t. It refers to people who spend money like crazy.
JIMMY:哦! spendthrift 指花錢無度，大手大腳的人。我原來有個室友，He was totally a spendthrift! 他女朋友多得數不過來，每個都向他要特貴的禮物。
Donny:That's a textbook case of a spendthrift attracting gold diggers!
JIMMY:Gold digger?
Donny:Yes. It refers to a woman whose primary interest in a relationship is material benefits.
JIMMY:哦，那就是拜金女唄!
Donny:That's right! Let's see what you've learned today!
JIMMY:第一，摳門可以說 tightfisted, 小氣鬼則是 cheapskate
第二，大手大腳花錢的人是 spendthrift
第三，拜金女是 gold digger.
A：Donny, 你說要是我勒緊褲腰帶，做cheapskate, 不大手大腳地花錢，不當spendthrift, 我那個100萬的目標是不是能快點實現？
B:I guess so, but you're a woman, and women love shopping, so....
A:也對，節衣縮食，什麼都不買，太難受了。要不我當個gold digger? 找個有錢人當我的提款機？
B:也不能不講感情啊！
A:這倒也是。再說，無數的電影小說都在教育我們：男人靠不住啊！
B:呃.....也不全是吧。
A:怎麼不是？你聽聽下面的這個“美語三級跳”吧，又是一個不靠譜的男生！
GoEnglish:Relationship - Advanced
Relationship:Advanced
各位聽衆，大家好！今天爲您播出“美語三級跳”節目“戀愛”單元的高級課程。
Professor:Kevin set up his friend Emily on a date with another one of his friends. Today Kevin and Emily are meeting to talk about how the date went last night.
Kevin:So how did your date with my friend Paul go last night? Don't you think he's a really great guy?
Emily:Unfortunately, Kevin, I can't tell you anything about Paul.
Kevin:Why not? You didn't like him? I was sure you guys would be a good match.
Emily:Actually, Paul stood me up!
Kevin:Paul stood you up? You mean he never came to the date?
Emily:Nope. I waited for a full hour and he never came.
Winnie:啊？！ "Stand someone up"不是指放別人鴿子麼？這麼說，Kevin的朋友Paul讓Emily白等了一個小時，太過份了！
Professor:No doubt about it, Winnie. It would be bad enough if Emily and Paul didn't get along, but it's much worse that Paul didn't even show up for the date!
Winnie:是啊！不知道Kevin要怎麼解釋。
Professor:In the next section, listen for the phrase "go out for drinks," which means to go to a bar and drink alcohol.
Kevin:Really? Are you sure you were at the right place? Maybe you were confused about where to meet.
Emily:No. He suggested we go out for drinks at a bar downtown, and he gave me the address. I wrote it down on my calendar, so there's no way I was at the wrong place.
Kevin:Well, I guess Paul can be a flake sometimes. He says he's going to be somewhere, and then he either forgets about that appointment, or decides to do something else instead at the last minute.
Emily:I can't stand flaky people, so it probably wouldn't have worked out anyway.
Winnie:Professor Bowman, Kevin說，Paul有時是個 flake, 是什麼意思？
Professor:Winnie, flake is a slang word to describe a person who is not reliable. Also, you can say someone is "flaky."
Winnie:哦，flake就是那些靠不住，說話不算數的人。這種人怎麼能作男朋友呢？
Professor:Yes, flaky people can be really annoying. In the next section, listen for the phrase "pick-up line" which is a set-phrase men use to introduce themselves to women they don't know.
Kevin:So what happened? You just sat at the bar by yourself?
Emily:Oh, it was terrible. I pretended I was writing text messages on my phone to look busy, but all these guys kept coming over and giving me these lame pick-up lines.
Kevin:Oh no, what kind of pick-up lines?
Emily:Oh you know, they would pretend that we had met before as an excuse to introduce themselves.
Winnie:Emily真夠倒黴的！很多男人過來跟她搭訕，而且他們的 pick-up line 搭訕的話，都很老套，比如假裝以前在哪裏見過。 現在誰還會相信這種話啊！
Professor:Winnie, In the next section, listen for the phrase "to blow someone off," which means to show that you are not interested in talking so that the person goes away.
Winnie:噢，to blow someone off 就是表現出沒興趣，好讓別人走開。
Kevin:Wow, that sounds really awkward. What did you do?
Emily:Well, I kept trying to blow them off, but it didn't work. They just kept trying to talk to me and ask me out on dates.
Kevin:I guess men don't have that problem when they go to bars alone. Usually women don't try to hit on them like that.
Emily:Exactly. Sometimes I wish I were a guy so I could go to a bar and just enjoy my drink and not have anyone bother me.
Winnie:哎呀，這些男人真煩，Emily不理他們，他們還沒完沒了的搭訕。
Professor:Well, Winnie, you know, a lot of people would like to have Emily's problem.
Kevin:Well I'm sorry your blind date was such a disaster. How can I make it up to you?
Emily:Hmm ... I know! I'm going to find the weirdest girl in the world and make you go on a date with her!
Winnie:Oh no. 爲了懲罰 Kevin, Emily 要找個世界上最奇怪的女孩，讓 Kevin 跟她去約會。
Professor:So Winnie, the lesson of the story is ...
Winnie:別隨便給好朋友撮合，否則後果自負。
A:看吧！ Paul stood Emily up, 放了Emily的鴿子。害得Emily只能坐在那裏假裝發短信。The date was a total disaster.
B:Well, I have to admit, standing people up is not cool.
A:對啊，太不靠譜了！
B:But the date wasn't a total disaster because a lot of guys tried to chat Emily up! That means she's very attractive!
A:你說得好像也有道理。看來，很多事都是有好的一面，也有不好的一面。說到全面看問題，咱們來聽聽下面的“禮節美語”，看看公司上市的利與弊。
Business Etiquette:IPO II
公司老闆召集手下 Lisa 和 Ken 開會，商量公司上市的問題。上市有哪些風險呢？Ken 說，
K:Well, the day we offer stock for sale is the day we will see how much faith there is in our company. If people don't think we're very valuable they won't buy our stock. And if no one buys our stock we'll lose a lot of prestige.
L:I think I see the wisdom in Jerry's logic. I see our company as entering a transitory period. We've done very well so far but if we want to see serious growth it might be time to ditch our old business model and go public.
Ken 說，公司上市能看出公衆對他們公司是不是有信心。Lisa 覺得，Jerry 主張公司上市融資增加公司規模的邏輯有道理，I see the wisdom in Jerry's logic. 她覺得，公司是應該進入一個轉型期，a transitory period, 放棄原來的商業模式，改爲上市。Lisa 用的 ditch is spelled d-i-t-c-h, ditch 是放棄，拋棄的意思。
K:e. But I have my doubts. Remember all those companies back during the dot-com bust? They made their IPOs and a short time later, they were history.
J:That's true. But don't forget, some of those companies made a killing.
K:Okay, let's say we make a decision to go public; what kind of price are we thinking about charging for our stock?
Ken 表示，自己還是持懷疑態度。I have my doubts. Ken 提到的 dot-com bust 是指1995年到2000年間的網絡泡沫，結果大批上市公司都成了 history. 形容某人或某事是 history，成爲歷史，意思是過氣了，再也不重要了。但是 Jerry 也說，Don't forget, some of those companies made a killing. 別忘了，其中很多公司都足足撈了一大筆。make a killing 意思是取得了巨大成功，尤其是指賺了很多錢。如果真要上市，每股定價多少呢？
J:I don't think there's a lot of appetite for adventure in the market right now. People are looking for either a good deal or something safe. I think we should offer a good deal and not make our initial price too expensive.
L:That's probably wise. But Jerry, have you really thought this through? You would essentially be giving up the company that your great-grandfather built.
Jerry 覺得，現在市場上大家都在找上算的或是安全穩妥的股票，there isn't a lot of appetite for adventure. 沒有多少人願意冒險，所以Jerry建議股票定價不要過高。Lisa同意Jerry的看法，又問Jerry是不是考慮清楚了，think something through 是仔細考慮的意思。Jerry 會不會動搖呢？我們下次繼續聽。
A:看來，公司上市雖然可能使企業發展得更大，但弊端是，如果股票沒人買，公司會lose a lot of prestige 顏面大跌，甚至可能become history關門大吉，另外，從個人角度看， Jerry will have to give up the company his great-grandfather built，失去對家族企業的控制權。
B:風險和機遇總是並存的嘛。That's why people spend time weighing the pros and cons before they make big decisions. Preparation is key.
A:對，準備工作要做足。不要說公司上市這麼大的事兒，就說咱們下面要聽的“體育美語”裏講的這個跑步，也需要恰當的準備工作。
B:Let's listen.
American sports English: Getting in Shape
Y:I can't run anymore.
P:Yang Chen, we've only run a half mile. We have four and a half miles to go before we finish!
Y:還有4個半英里?我要累死了。
P:I wonder why are you so tired. What did you do last night. Shopping again?
Y:But I have to. Macy's had a great sale.又大降價，50%Off! .
P:But that still doesn't explain it. Yang Chen, let me ask you some questions. Did you stretch before the race?
Y:No.
P:Did you have a meal with plenty of carbohydrates S?
Y:我不但沒有吃碳水化合物，I didn't eat anything。
P:Why not?
Y That way, I'm lighter and faster!
P:Wow. Did you have any water or sports drinks before the race?
Y:No, but I had some coffee!
P:Ok. I'll be honest. You did everything wrong. Everything. Your body needs carbohydrates (carbs) for the energy that you will use to run.
Y:Ok, 我記住了，下次跑步之前先補充carbs，碳水化合物。
P:Also, you drank the WRONG liquid, Yang Chen.
Y Coffee is the wrong liquid?喝啤酒行嗎?
P No. That's even worse. Coffee is a diuretic. Your body needs to be hydrated H-Y-D-R-A-T-E-D - meaning having enough water - because you will sweat a lot from running. Coffee, as a diuretic D-I-U-R-E-T-I-C, actually makes you Dehydrated - meaning not having enough water in your body. The caffeine in coffee also makes your heart beat too fast, and you will crash!
Y:Well, I'm not going to quit today, Patrick. Let's move forward. 前進!
P:Let's stop today. It's really hot outside, and I don't want you to get sick. Look how red your face is! You are totally dehydrated! How many cups of coffee did you have?
Y:I had three - one for each mile!
P:Ok, well now you know what NOT to do. Here comes the bus. We can take the bus home, and you can recover. Otherwise, you will be sent to the hospital again.
A:原來，運動前要stretch伸展筋骨，要補充carbs，碳水化合物，還要keep your body hydrated讓身體裏有足夠的水分。這麼麻煩，我還是當 couch potato 沙發土豆吧！
B:可是，做沙發土豆會變胖，身體素質下降，那還怎麼掙100萬啊？
A:有道理。我得想想……
B：你慢慢想吧。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!
A：Bye!
