VOA英语教学：美语训练班 084

 　　A: 欢迎大家来到这期的美语训练班! 我是杨琳!

　　B: 我是Mike! 杨琳，来告诉大家今天都要学什么?
　　A: 没问题! 今天，我们要聊聊怎么对付讨厌的飞机场安检，看看现在经济情况下最好投资什么，还要告诉你怎么说行迹可疑！
　　B: Ugh! Airport security is such a hassle! Every time I go to China, I have to stand in line for hours! The security checks are the worst, you have to take off your shoes, take off your hat, remove your belt, and I end up feeling like a criminal!
　　A: Yeah, everyone hates airport security, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry! Also, are you sure it’s not because you look suspicious with that beard?
　　B: What? My beard is awesome!
　　A: 哈哈，其实说起机场安检我也一肚子牢骚！不过呢这个咱们等会再说，赶快先来进入第一个单元，Learn a word!
　　Learn A Word 1620 hiccup
　　今天我们要学的词是 hiccup. Hiccup is spelled h-i-c-c-u-p, hiccup.  Hiccup 打嗝，可以引伸为小障碍，小问题。Google's Gmail had a significant service hiccup earlier this year. 谷歌电邮Gmail今年早些时候曾出现过服务大规模中断的情况。美国邮政总局今年先后两次支付不起退休员工的医疗保险费用。These two incidents are not temporary hiccups for the postal system. 这两次拖欠情况并非邮政系统遇到的暂时的困难。Apple's Map app had some hiccups when it was first released. 苹果的地图应用刚刚推出的时候，曾遇到了一些磕磕绊绊。好的，今天我们学习的词是 hiccup, hiccup, hiccup....
　　A: 这个好玩，我还不知道 hiccup，打嗝，还有小障碍的意思！那我也来造个句：After an initial hiccup in submitting my time card, I FINALLY GOT PAID!!
　　B: WOOOHOO! That means you’re going to buy me lunch right?
　　A: Sure! 午饭我来请！
　　B: Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second, you have never been so generous to me, what’s going on here?
　　A: Nothing’s going on! I just want to treat my co-worker to a nice lunch, what’s wrong with that? (slow and suspicious)
　　B: I definitely smell some funny business.  I guess I’ll pass you up on this …
　　A: 哈哈哈，胆小鬼！不过呢你刚才提到了一个很好的词儿，funny business, 在今天的words and idioms里，我们就要来学学这个习惯用语的用法！
　　B: Let’s listen!
　　Words and Idioms 994
　　现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 994讲。我是杨琳。
　　M: 我是Steve Baragona.
　　我一直觉得我的邻居看起来很可疑，他年纪轻轻，有什么正经工作，可是他却开着一辆豪华轿车，还有一艘游艇。后来我注意到，总是有人上他家做客，而且这些人都是过半个小时就出来。这可疑的情形，让我想到了一句习惯用语，那就是:
　　M: Funny business. Funny is spelled f-u-n-n-y, and business; b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s. Funny business. Funny business.
　　这两个词大家应该都非常熟悉，funny 滑稽可笑的，business 事情，生意。连起来，funny business, 意思却来了个180度大转弯，指的是非法的，或者不合道德的。所以说, After seeing people coming and going from the neighbor's house, I began to suspect there was some FUNNY BUSINESS taking place. 看到我邻居家老是有人进进出处，我开始怀疑他们在进行什么非法交易。居然被我猜对了！1个月之后，警察就出现在他们的家门口，原来他在做毒品交易。幸好这不是个暴力案件，而在下面的例子里，我们来看看这名记者为我们讲述一场犯罪情况:
　　M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."
　　[这段话是说: 警察知道这个坏人身上带了枪，很危险。她最终抓到他的时候，警察告诉他放下武器并把手放到脑后，并且警告他不要耍任何把戏。很明显，如果他有任何举动，警察会毫不犹豫地开枪。]
　　警察的顾虑是对的。很多犯罪份子都会在他们的衣服或者鞋里藏另一把枪。这就是为什么警察需要随时保持警惕。The cop needs to remain cautious in case there's any funny business. 为防止坏人耍把戏，警察必须随时随地保持警惕。好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."
　　上面我们说到, funny business 除了指非法的事情，还可以指不道德，不合理的行为。下面的例子就讲到了这样一个情况，让我们来听听看:
　　M: "Recently, Paula's husband was busier than ever, and had to go out of town one weekend every month to meet with clients. She started to wonder if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"
　　[这段话是说：宝拉的丈夫最近比以往都要忙，而且每个月都有一个周末要出差，去跟客户见面。宝拉开始怀疑是不是有什么问题。不久之后，她发现丈夫在用信用卡购买女士珠宝和内衣。原来他跟他的秘书有一腿!]
　　女人的第六感通常特别准! 就像上次我带我的前男友回家，我妈妈就特别不喜欢他! 她觉得这个人看起来不够正直。之后的几个星期，我们竟然一起看到这个男人在跟别的女生约会! 可真不怎么样! 呵呵，好了，言归正传，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: "Paula's husband was having to work late more and more. Then, he was expected to spend one weekend every month away to meet with clients. She started wondering if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"
　　今天我们学习的习惯用语是funny business, 意思是非法的，不合道德的。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是杨琳，我是Steve Baragona。谢谢各位的收听。
　　B: Ugh, it would be awful to find out that your husband or wife is cheating on you! I’m so glad that I don’t have to deal with that kind of funny business.
　　A: Well, I don’t think you need to worry about that Mike. 你姐姐不是都说了么？你们家娶不上儿媳妇啦！（B: Hey!!) I am kidding, I’m kidding. Yeah, I hope that never happens to either of us!
　　B: Well, I think your best bet is to make sure your relationship with your spouse is based on good communication. I feel like if people could learn to talk about what makes them angry instead of bottling things up, everyone would be a lot happier.
　　A: True! You also mentioned another good word “best bet” , 咱们来看看这个词儿该怎么用！
　　Learn A Word 1624 best bet
　　今天我们要学的词是 best bet. best is spelled b-e-s-t, best, bet is spelled b-e-t, bet, best bet. best bet 意思是最好的选择。投资业界人士说，Stocks are still the best bet for long term investment. 从长期投资来说，股票依然是最佳选择。银行业专家说，Credit Unions are still the best bet for consumers. 对消费者来说，信用合作社依然是他们的最佳选择。在美国目前这种经济不景气，工作不好找的大环境下，A college degree is still your best bet for getting a job and a decent pay. 拥有一个大学学位，依旧是帮大家找到一份工作，得到像样收入的最有效的手段。好的，今天我们学习的词是 best bet, best bet, best bet....
　　A:  Hmm, what do you think is our best bet to make our show go viral? I think we need to interact with our fans more on 微博.
　　B: Well,  that leopard print dress you have might do the trick (laughs) ok ok, actually I think our best bet is to use social media more effectively by posting more practical language points everyday as well as interact more with our fans.
　　A: Lucky for us, I am the Office’s social media expert!
　　B: 杨琳, spending all day on Facebook when you should be working does not qualify you as an expert!
　　A: What? That’s YOU! You had better get wise to who is in charge here, otherwise I might have to bring you back to heel again (both laugh)
　　B: (Laughs) ok ok, speaking of “get wise to”, now let’s get wise to the meaning of this idiom!
　　Words and Idioms 995
　　现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 995讲。我是小北。
　　M: 我是Dan.
　　我有个朋友在政府部门工作。他这工作以前可是个“肥缺”，经常用公款吃喝旅游。可好景不长，这种挥霍公款的行为被发现了，他被调查机构请去喝茶了。这让我想到了一个习惯用语，那就是:
　　M: Get wise to. Wise is spelled w-i-s-e. Get-wise-to.
　　Wise, 形容词，是“明智”的意思。Get wise to somebody or something 是“知道，了解到”的意思。The investigators began to get wise to the reckless spending of taxpayer money. 调查人员开始察觉到挥霍纳税人钱财的行为。 在下面的例子中，也有一个人像我的朋友一样，没法继续过舒服日子了。
　　M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"
　　[这段话是说: 我们部门太大了，所以没人注意到弗莱德经常星期一时不在办公室。不过后来，老板开始星期一召开员工会议。很快，她就发现了弗莱德经常不在的情况。从那以后，弗莱德再也没逃过一天工!]
　　不来上班？旷工？他胆子还真大。不过说起来，办公室里经常有些人偷偷上网买东西，或者网上聊天，Then they act shocked when their supervisors have gotten wise to them. 当他们的领导发现他们的这些小动作时，他们往往会吓一跳。好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"
　　我一个好朋友交了个新男友，这人看上去随和幽默，绝对是个好男人。可有一次，我朋友无意间发现这男人手机中有不少暧昧短信，When he knew that she was getting wise to his deception, he stopped calling her. 这个男人知道我朋友已经察觉到他不忠的行为后，就不在联络她了。所以说，看人不能光看外表。当然，买东西的时候，也不能光听商家的花言巧语，让我们来听听下面这个句子:
　　M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."
　　[这段话的意思是说：我太太是个聪明的消费者。她经常会留意那些把自己标榜得很健康，但其实含有大量糖、脂肪或化学成分的商品，以及那些声称很实惠其实很不划算的东西。一旦识破这些商家的把戏，她就会去网上写博客揭露它们。她不想让其他消费者上当。]
　　我们要感谢这种热心人! 我们小区里也有这样的人，他们会定期给所有居民写信，告诉大家社区的最新动态，以及地方政府都做了些什么事情。Thanks to these people, I've gotten wise to all kinds of recent decisions by my town council.  托他们的福，我对镇政府近期做出的决定都有所了解。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."
　　今天我们学习的习惯用语是get wise to, 意思是知道，了解到。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是小北，我是Dan。谢谢各位的收听，下次再见。
　　A: I can’t wait to fly home for 春节 this year! It’s been almost five years since I’ve been home for the spring festival.
　　B: Five years? Man that is a long time! It’s always nice to spend time with your family, but the flight to China is such a pain in the neck!
　　A: Tell me about it! The security check for international flights is such a hassle. 这两天我就琢磨呢，我怎么带两台苹果电脑回去捏？
　　B: Well, you can give one to me, and I will bring it back for you….. whenever that is.
　　A: 你又开始做梦了….I’d better get wise to the new airport and custom rules before my trip!
　　B: In today’s Business Etiquette, Lisa is telling her co-worker Jonah about what happened on her trip back home. Let’s check it out!
　　礼节美语 Airport Hassles I
　　Lisa 从美国出差回来，同事Jonah问她此行的情况。
　　Jonah: Lisa! You're home! Nice to see you! How was your trip to America?
　　Lin: The trip was good, but boy, American airport security is such a hassle!! I was standing in line for over two hours!
　　J: Oh...that's a long time!
　　L: You said it! They made me take off my shoes, take off my hat, remove my belt...and then they still frisked me! I felt like a criminal!
　　J: Well, you know what they say: better safe than sorry!
　　Lisa 抱怨美国机场安检麻烦，American airport security is such a hassle, hassle is spelled h-a-s-s-l-e, hassle意思是惹人烦恼的事。脱了鞋帽，解了腰带不说，they still frisked me! 安检人员还是搜了她的身。frisk is spelled f-r-i-s-k 意思是搜身。不过Jonah说，better safe than sorry 小心总比出事好。
　　L: Yeah...but I'm not too sure they're making us any safer. I saw them pat down this old lady. She was at least 80 years old! There is no way she could be a terrorist!
　　J: Yeah, well the U.S. government says they are doing random searches. So if you are the fifth person to walk through security, you'll get searched.
　　L: But isn't that sort of ridiculous? What if the fifth person is a pregnant mother with a small child? Are they really very likely to be involved in terrorism?
　　J: Maybe not, but the government says it's the only fair way to do it...otherwise people might say they are doing racial profiling.
　　Lisa说，她看见一个老太太也被搜身，I saw them pat down this old lady，pat down和frisk一样，也是搜身。Jonah说，这是 random search, 随机抽查，如果不这么做，就会有人觉得安检人员是在racial profiling。什么是racial profiling呢？
　　L: What's racial profiling?
　　J: Racial profiling means singling out a certain group of people for special investigation. For example, if a security agent only searches people who look like they are from the Middle East, that would be racial profiling.
　　L: But not many 80-year old great grandmothers are terrorists, either!
　　J: I see your point, but it's hard to know how to do the searching fairly. Should we stop everyone who has a beard?
　　L: No, of course not. But there must be a better way than making me wait for more than two hours while they search the inside of my shoes. Do I look like a terrorist?
　　原来，racial profiling 就是把某个种族的人作为调查目标，有歧视之嫌，这里所说的 to single out someone 就是把某人单独挑出来的意思。Jonah说，虽然随机检查有它的缺点，但除此以外，很难找到公平的办法。Lisa 似乎并没有被说服，我们下次继续听。
　　A: Lisa向同事Jonah抱怨美国机场安检太过苛刻，it’s such a hassle, 让人恼火，不仅要脱鞋，解腰带，而且每五个人就要frisk or pat down, 搜身。Jonah说，这是机场的random search，随机抽查，不然安检人员可能就会被控racial profiling, 有种族歧视的嫌疑。
　　B: It’s really hard to single out who poses a real threat though. I agree the US airport sometimes go overboard with these security checks. Sometimes they will even stop pregnant women!
　　A: But it’s possible that she’s hiding something in her belly! Actually they are strict with everybody. Last time when I entered the U.S., the customs officer made me list all the courses I was taking at graduate school, and then the security officer asked me to open my suitcase and checked the items one by one! I was about to faint after 20 hours of flying and all these hassles!
　　B: Tell me about it. I always want to go to China, but customs and airport security are the biggest things that hold me back. But again, 911 was such a real shock for our nation. I guess better safe than sorry.
　　A: 没错！好了，Lisa还在跟Jonah抱怨这些麻烦的安检，咱们继续来听吧！
　　礼节美语-Airport hassles II
　　Lisa 向同事Jonah抱怨，美国机场安检太麻烦。Jonah解释说：
　　J: Anyone could be a bad guy. Remember that guy who tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoes? He got through security too easily because he had a UK passport.
　　L: Yeah, these days it is hard to know who to trust. And I guess I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective.
　　J: Yeah, 9-11 changed America in a big way. Everyone got really freaked out...maybe too freaked out.
　　Jonah说，人不可貌相，现在谁都可能是坏人。Lisa表示，I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective，就算美国的保护措施有点过份了，也可以理解。Jonah说，9-11恐怖袭击改变了美国，Everyone got really freaked out， 所有人都吓坏了。
　　L: I can understand that. The attacks on New York and the Pentagon were a real shock!
　　J: But I have to agree that maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions. The last time I flew into New York, they told me I had to throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave! It was only a five c.c. bottle, but they said it could contain some kind of explosive material!
　　L: Yeah, no liquids are allowed. They even confiscated my tiny scissors! I don't think it's possible for a five foot woman like me to hijack a plane with tiny scissors!
　　J: (Chuckle) Yep. But as they say: rules are rules...no exceptions.
　　Jonah 说，maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions，美国的预防措施可能确实有些过份。overboard is spelled o-v-e-r-b-o-a-r-d, go overboard 意思是过头了。Jonah就曾被迫扔掉一小瓶刮胡水，throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave. Lisa 的小剪刀也被没收过。
　　L: I was going to complain to the security personnel, but they looked so serious and scary!
　　J: Yeah, you don't want to complain because that will get you nowhere. Just try to be as
　　cooperative as possible. If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you!
　　L: Well, I hope someday the threat of terrorism will be gone and we can travel without all these hassles.
　　J: I'd like that too, but don't bet on it. I don't know if terrorism is going away anytime soon.
　　L: I guess I'd better learn how to live with the hassles then.
　　J: That's probably the wiser choice!
　　Jonah告诉 Lisa，抱怨也没用，that will get you nowhere. 此外，If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you! 如果你找麻烦，他们还会把你抓起来！只要恐怖威胁不消失，就只好 learn how to live with the hassles，学习如何在麻烦中生活吧！
　　A: Learn how to live with the hassles, 学习在麻烦中生活！ 这简直就是说出了我的心声呀！ I think I’m just going to have to learn to live with the hassle of working with you.
　　B: Hassle indeed! You wouldn’t know what to do without me in this office!
　　A: 哈哈， 好了同学们，这次节目时间就到这里了。