VOA英语教学：美语训练班 009

　　B: 欢迎大家来到美语训练班！I'm Donny.

　　A: 大家好！我不是王怡茹！

　　B: 那您是....?

　　A: 我是杨琳！怡茹请假，我来代班。Donny, 请多多关照哈！

　　B: No problem, 杨琳. I'm sure you'll do just fine!

　　A: 希望如此。咱们要先介绍这节课学什么，对不对？

　　B: Yes! 今天，我们要讨论公司上市有哪些风险, 听朋友讲一次糟糕的约会，聊聊锻炼身体时要注意些什么, 还要告诉大家怎么用美语说“小气鬼”和“白费力”。

　　A: But we always learn a new word before anything else, right?

　　B: 没错，咱们先花一分钟，学一个词！

　　Learn A Word: wind down

　　今天我们要学的词是 wind down, wind is spelled w-i-n-d, down is spelled d-o-w-n, wind down. Wind down 是逐渐结束的意思。美国总统奥巴马宣布，今年七月开始从阿富汗撤军，他对全国人民说: "It was the beginning, but not the end, of our effort to wind down this war." 这是我们逐渐结束这场战争的开始，而不是结束。The federal stimulus program is starting to wind down in the state of Wyoming. 怀俄明州的联邦经济刺激项目渐渐落下帷幕。The party is winding down after four hours of craziness. 经过四个小时的狂欢后，派对渐渐进入尾声。好的，今天我们学习的词是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，你可真是个party animal! 我就不行，我习惯早睡早起。上个周末，我邻居家开party, and it showed no sign of winding down even at 3 o'clock in the morning! 音乐声，说话声，吵得我没法睡觉！

　　B: That's no good. Did you tell them to keep it down?

　　A: I did! Three times! 我去邻居家讲了三次，先是客气地说，后来板着脸说，最后几乎要报警了！可等我一走，他们就该干嘛干嘛，一切照旧！

　　B: Sounds like you've been beating your head against the wall.

　　A: 用头撞墙？我看差不多了！大夜里没法睡觉真能把人逼疯。

　　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

　　各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 936讲。我是杨琳

　　我是 Douglas Johnson.

　　我想去买辆新车，为了获得最好的价格，我带了一个朋友陪我同去。这位朋友很懂车，同时又很会砍价。结果，在我挑好车后，这位朋友上阵杀价了。她把自己肚子里和汽车有关的知识都用上了，可是，卖车的这位销售员也相当厉害，愣是不松口。我朋友说得嘴都干了，也没把价砍下来。这让我想到了一个习惯用语，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 意思是白费力气，徒劳无功。因为汽车销售员不愿意降价，我这个朋友花了好长时间讲价，可是，All she managed to do was to beat her head against the wall. 她完全是白费唇舌。

　　在下面这段话中，一个遇到感情问题的女孩很希望挽回男友的心，但她这么做是不是有用呢？我们来听一听：

　　"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."

　　这段话是说：[我妹妹最近感情生活颇为不顺。她和一个男人交往了几个月，但是这个人却提出分手，和他的前女友复合了。我妹妹怎么也放不下，几个星期以来，她总是在想自己当初是否做错了什么，导致男友离开她。其实何必这样呢？她完全是在浪费感情，我不想看到她这个样子。]

　　在感情问题上，最忌讳拖泥带水，苦苦不放手。男友的心不能挽回，就当是俩人有缘无份吧! 继续浪费时间，只可能错过真正适合自己的人。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

　　"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."

　　小时候，家长老师常常教育我们说，要不怕失败，百折不挠，还总用科学家的事例来鼓励我们。虽然最后我们很多人都无法成为科学家，但是相信大家在追求自己梦想的过程中都会有一些意外的收获，就好像下面这个人：

　　"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."

　　这段话是说：[历史上有很多在开始时白费力气，走进死胡同的发明家。比如美国乔治亚州亚特兰大的一个药剂师，他一心想发明一种专治头痛的药，可是怎么也不能成功，就在他为此感到沮丧的时候，却意外地发明了一种饮料，并为此变得世界闻名，这个饮料就是可口可乐。]

　　不光是可口可乐，橡胶、青霉素、不沾锅等都是人们在无意中发现或者创造出来的。所以，有时候当你一再失败的时候，you're not necessarily beating your heads against the wall. 你并不一定是在做无用功。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

　　"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."

　　各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是beat one's head against the wall，意思是“白费精力，徒劳无功”。

　　A: 中国人说“不撞南墙不回头”，所以这个to beat one's head against the wall 就是“撞了南墙也不回头”喽！

　　B: Correct，所以说是白费力气。However, sometimes when other people think you're headed toward a dead end, they might be wrong.

　　A: 有道理！ 就拿我来说吧，上大学时，我施展个人魅力，坚决要让系里最帅、最聪明、最受欢迎的男生做我男朋友....

　　B: And people thought you were beating your head against the wall?

　　A: 没错！ But I proved them all wrong! 后来， 我发奋读书，坚决要考到全额奖学金来美国牛校读书....

　　B: And people thought you were, once again, beating your head against the wall. Right?

　　A: 没错！ But I proved them all wrong - again! 后来，我跟大家说，两年内挣到人生第一个100万....

　　B: And you proved you were NOT beating your head against the wall? 杨琳，你真牛，你....

　　A: 呵呵，这个……不好意思，这次失败了。

　　B: 咳！ 没关系，我看好你！

　　A: 行了，咱们继续听节目吧，下一单元：“美语怎么说”。

　　How to say it in American English: cheapskate

　　Donny 在北京学汉语，他的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教他。今天是Jimmy要问的：抠门。

　　Donny: Nice suit, Jimmy! You clean up nicely.

　　Jimmy: 怎么样？我收拾收拾也挺帅吧!

　　Donny: You're going to a business dinner?

　　JIMMY: 对，我和一个朋友想作生意，要和投资人谈谈。可我那朋友特抠门，上次见投资人时去的麦当劳，还AA制! 对了，抠门怎么说？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，抠门的人。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？ 你说 tightfisted? tight是“紧”的意思，fist是拳头，所以tightfisted就是手紧，舍不得花钱喽？

　　Donny: Correct.

　　JIMMY: 还好，My tightfisted partner changed his mind. 我那吝啬的朋友想通了，今天，我们要请投资人吃顿大餐!

　　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 指花钱无度，大手大脚的人。我原来有个室友，He was totally a spendthrift! 他女朋友多得数不过来，每个都向他要特贵的礼物。

　　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，那就是拜金女呗!

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

　　JIMMY: 第一，抠门可以说 tightfisted, 小气鬼则是 cheapskate

　　第二，大手大脚花钱的人是 spendthrift

　　第三，拜金女是 gold digger.

　　A：Donny, 你说要是我勒紧裤腰带，做cheapskate, 不大手大脚地花钱，不当spendthrift, 我那个100万的目标是不是能快点实现？

　　B: I guess so, but you're a woman, and women love shopping, so....

　　A: 也对，节衣缩食，什么都不买，太难受了。要不我当个gold digger? 找个有钱人当我的提款机？

　　B: 也不能不讲感情啊！

　　A: 这倒也是。再说，无数的电影小说都在教育我们：男人靠不住啊！

　　B: 呃.....也不全是吧。

　　A: 怎么不是？你听听下面的这个“美语三级跳”吧，又是一个不靠谱的男生！

　　GoEnglish: Relationship - Advanced

　　Relationship: Advanced

　　(取材于 goenglish.me)

　　各位听众，大家好！今天为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“恋爱”单元的高级课程。

　　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"不是指放别人鸽子么？这么说，Kevin的朋友Paul让Emily白等了一个小时，太过份了！

　　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要怎么解释。

　　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说，Paul有时是个 flake, 是什么意思？

　　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，说话不算数的人。这种人怎么能作男朋友呢？

　　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真够倒霉的！很多男人过来跟她搭讪，而且他们的 pick-up line 搭讪的话，都很老套，比如假装以前在哪里见过。 现在谁还会相信这种话啊！

　　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 就是表现出没兴趣，好让别人走开。

　　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，这些男人真烦，Emily不理他们，他们还没完没了的搭讪。

　　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. 为了惩罚 Kevin, Emily 要找个世界上最奇怪的女孩，让 Kevin 跟她去约会。

　　Professor: So Winnie, the lesson of the story is ...

　　Winnie: 别随便给好朋友撮合，否则后果自负。

　　A: 看吧！ Paul stood Emily up, 放了Emily的鸽子。害得Emily只能坐在那里假装发短信。The date was a total disaster.

　　B: Well, I have to admit, standing people up is not cool.

　　A: 对啊，太不靠谱了！

　　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: 你说得好像也有道理。看来，很多事都是有好的一面，也有不好的一面。说到全面看问题，咱们来听听下面的“礼节美语”，看看公司上市的利与弊。

　　Business Etiquette: IPO II

　　公司老板召集手下 Lisa 和 Ken 开会，商量公司上市的问题。上市有哪些风险呢？Ken 说，

　　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 说，公司上市能看出公众对他们公司是不是有信心。Lisa 觉得，Jerry 主张公司上市融资增加公司规模的逻辑有道理，I see the wisdom in Jerry's logic. 她觉得，公司是应该进入一个转型期，a transitory period, 放弃原来的商业模式，改为上市。Lisa 用的 ditch is spelled d-i-t-c-h, ditch 是放弃，抛弃的意思。

　　K: Yeah...maybe. 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，自己还是持怀疑态度。I have my doubts. Ken 提到的 dot-com bust 是指1995年到2000年间的网络泡沫，结果大批上市公司都成了 history. 形容某人或某事是 history，成为历史，意思是过气了，再也不重要了。但是 Jerry 也说，Don't forget, some of those companies made a killing. 别忘了，其中很多公司都足足捞了一大笔。make a killing 意思是取得了巨大成功，尤其是指赚了很多钱。如果真要上市，每股定价多少呢？

　　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 觉得，现在市场上大家都在找上算的或是安全稳妥的股票，there isn't a lot of appetite for adventure. 没有多少人愿意冒险，所以Jerry建议股票定价不要过高。Lisa同意Jerry的看法，又问Jerry是不是考虑清楚了，think something through 是仔细考虑的意思。Jerry 会不会动摇呢？我们下次继续听。

　　A: 看来，公司上市虽然可能使企业发展得更大，但弊端是，如果股票没人买，公司会lose a lot of prestige 颜面大跌，甚至可能become history关门大吉，另外，从个人角度看， Jerry will have to give up the company his great-grandfather built，失去对家族企业的控制权。

　　B: 风险和机遇总是并存的嘛。That's why people spend time weighing the pros and cons before they make big decisions. Preparation is key.

　　A: 对，准备工作要做足。不要说公司上市这么大的事儿，就说咱们下面要听的“体育美语”里讲的这个跑步，也需要恰当的准备工作。

　　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:还有4个半英里?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.又大降价，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: 我不但没有吃碳水化合物，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, 我记住了，下次跑步之前先补充carbs，碳水化合物。

　　P: Also, you drank the WRONG liquid, Yang Chen.

　　Y Coffee is the wrong liquid?喝啤酒行吗?

　　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. 前进!

　　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: 原来，运动前要stretch伸展筋骨，要补充carbs，碳水化合物，还要keep your body hydrated让身体里有足够的水分。这么麻烦，我还是当 couch potato 沙发土豆吧！

　　B: 可是，做沙发土豆会变胖，身体素质下降，那还怎么挣100万啊？

　　A: 有道理。我得想想....

　　B：你慢慢想吧。今天的节目时间差不多了。这次的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

　　A：Bye!