VOA英语教学：美语训练班 085

 　　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! 今天我们要聊聊神秘的直觉，看看在美国如何闪购，还要告诉你怎么说有商有量!
　　B: Yeah, I have this gut feeling that I should start investing into Chinese companies! I bet I can make a ton of money on the Chinese stock market!
　　A: Whoa wait, can you even buy stocks on the Chinese stock market? I thought you had to be a Chinese citizen to do that!
　　B: Well, you do. But I have this friend in Shenzhen that I met over QQ. He says if I send him a check for 3000 dollars and my bank account info he'll buy stocks for me!
　　A: You realize in all likelihood this is a scam, right?! He's not your friend, he's just trying to steal your money!
　　B: What? No no no! You are just being overly paranoid Yanglin.
　　A: 你真是二中最二! 那我也不劝你了，咱们赶快先来进入第一个单元，Learn a word!
　　Learn A Word 1626 likelihood
　　今天我们要学的词是 likelihood. likelihood is spelled l-i-k-e-l-i-h-o-o-d, likelihood. likelihood 可能性。美国西维吉尼亚州连续六年，一直是开车最容易撞到鹿的州。The likelihood of a West Virginian driver to hit a deer is 1 in 68. 西维吉尼亚州有驾照的人，每68个人里，就有一个人可能会撞上鹿。 飓风Sandy在美东登岸前，天气预报说，The likelihood of a big storm, with monster winds and heavy rains is increasing. 天气出现狂风暴雨的可能性越来越大。以往八届总统大选，美国科罗拉多大学都事先准确地预测出了选举结果。这次，The model indicates that Mitt Romney has a 77 percent likelihood of winning the popular vote. 该模型预计，罗姆尼有77%的可能赢得全民选票。好的，今天我们学习的词是 likelihood, likelihood, likelihood....
　　A: Mike, just to let you know, there's a 99% likelihood that you are going to have to take over all my work when I go home for the spring festival.
　　B:What!! That's not fair!
　　A: But you always claim that you are doing all the work! So it shouldn't be a problem right?
　　B: (laughs) Fine, but I feel like I need to be compensated. What are you willing to offer?
　　A: (Jokingly) I can tell you about all the great things I eat in Beijing when I'm back.
　　B: Sorry girly, but this is a give and take relationship. (Both Laugh)
　　A: Jokes aside, you mentioned a really good phrase: give and take. Why don't we listen and find out what it means
　　Words and Idioms 996
　　现在播送美国习惯用语第 996讲。我是小北。
　　M: 我是Dan.
　　咱们生活中常有这样的人：能力强，热心肠，点子多，可就是听不得别人说“不”。给这种人提意见，很难被采纳。因为他们不喜欢---
　　M: Give and take. Give is spelled g-i-v-e, and take; t-a-k-e. Give-and-take.
　　大家一定都知道Give是给的意思，Take则是“拿”，give and take有给有拿，引伸为“有商有量”，妥协折衷。Those who don't appreciate give and take are not likely to listen to others. 那些不喜欢妥协折衷的人不太可能听取别人的意见。在下面的例子中，我们要听一听，在夫妻相处之道中，是不是也需要一些妥协。
　　M: “It's natural for couples to argue once in a while. But whether those two people will have a long future together often depends on how well they work out their differences. Conflicts shouldn't always be about one person being right and the other wrong. There has to be a healthy GIVE AND TAKE. Without that ability to negotiate, couples can't survive.”
　　[这段话是说: 夫妻间有时发生争吵是很正常的。但是两人是否能长久地一起生活下去通常取决于他们能不能调和彼此间的差异。在有冲突时，并不一定要分出谁对谁错。俩人之间必须有健康的商量妥协。如果俩人都不肯低头，那日子过不长久。]
　　很多幸福夫妻都说，过日子的秘诀是宽容对方的缺点，而不是争辩是非对错。英文里有句话叫My way or the highway! 意思就是“不按我说的做就拉倒!”，大有顺我者昌逆我者亡的意味。要是按照这个原则去经营婚姻，恐怖得一路打到离婚。好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: “It's natural for couples to argue once in a while. But whether those two people will have a long future together often depends on how well they work out their differences. Conflicts shouldn't always be about one person being right and the other wrong. There has to be a healthy GIVE AND TAKE. Without that ability to negotiate, couples can't survive.”
　　Do you negotiate with others or do you feel that give and take is a sign of weakness? 你会和别人妥协么？还是觉得和别人商量就等于服软？其实，遇事和他人有商有量，达成大家都喜欢的结果，对一个团队是非常有益的，下面这个句子就是一例，我们来听听:
　　M: “Our labor union has few complaints with the managers of our factory. That's because everyone works pretty well together. Whenever there's a conflict, we sit down together and discuss the best way to deal with it. Each side is willing to let the other get some of what it wants. That GIVE AND TAKE makes for a much better environment.”
　　[这段话意思是说：我们的工会从来不会收到对工厂管理人员的投诉。这是因为大家共事得相当愉快。每次有矛盾出现时，我们都坐下讨论最好的解决办法。每一方都愿意让另外一方达到部分目的。这种凡事有商有量的方式营造了一个更优良的环境。]
　　这种相互尊重的态度往往能带来双赢的结果。不是说偏听则暗，兼信则明么。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M:“Our labor union has few complaints with the managers of our factory. That's because everyone works pretty well together. Whenever there's a conflict, we sit down together and discuss the best way to deal with it. Each side is willing to let the other get some of what it wants. That GIVE AND TAKE makes for a much better environment.”
　　今天我们学习的习惯用语是give and take, 意思有商有量，妥协折衷。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: Ah, I miss shopping in the night markets in China! I loved the give and take of haggling with the merchants to get the best deal possible.
　　B: Really? I was always so intimidated and felt like I was getting ripped off. I think I would rather just pay whatever is on the price tag.....
　　A: You are such a baby! 跟小商贩打交道，砍价是必备本领!
　　B: Well, bargaining is not my strong point. Generally I just go online and look for flash sales, which are a lot cheaper than the ticket price.
　　A: Because I'm your friend I'm going to give you the facts: you have zero strong points. But you just mentioned a really good word, flash sale! 咱们来学学这个词儿是什么意思!
　　Learn A Word1635 flash sale
　　今天我们要学的词是 flash sale, flash is spelled f-l-a-s-h, flash, sale is spelled s-a-l-e, sale, flash sale. Flash sale 是限时抢购，也叫闪购。有研究显示，Accessories are among the most sought after items on flash sale sites. 闪购网站上，服装配饰属于最抢手的商品。Flash sale web sites claim to offer deep discounts on brand products to attract consumers. 闪购网站以低价出售名牌产品为卖点，吸引消费者。The new flash sale site is targeting young mothers with small children at home. 这个新开的闪购网站，希望吸引的消费人群是那些家里孩子还小的年轻妈妈们。好的，今天我们学习的词是 flash sale, flash sale, flash sale....
　　A: 闪购是不错，不过我觉得这样特别容易让人冲昏头脑，看见特便宜就拼命买! 最后买的都是一些你永远不会用的东西。
　　B: Exactly, It's an old marketing trick. They create a false sense of urgency so the buyer doesn't have time to talk themselves out of the purchase.
　　A: Exactly. Sometimes the companies try to gloss over any defects the product has, which is probably why they are so cheap in the first place!
　　B: Yep, they definitely tend to gloss over things! Let's listen to today's words and idioms and find out what it means!
　　Words and Idioms 997 glass over
　　美国习惯用语第 997讲。我是小北。
　　M: 我是Dan.
　　上个月我和一个好朋友一起出去旅行，整个旅程差强人意。回来之后，别人问我们玩儿得如何。还没等我张口，我那快人快语的朋友抢先说我们的旅程多精彩，看到的景色多迷人，没有一句不好，没有一点抱怨。我当时简直怀疑我们俩去的不是一个地方!
　　M: Gloss over. Gloss is spelled g-l-o-s-s and over; o-v-e-r. Gloss-over.
　　Gloss over意思是把不好的事情隐瞒起来或者轻描淡写。我的朋友没把旅行中的种种不好对人提起，She chose to gloss over all of them. 而是决定把这些不好的部分都忽略不计了。这种“报喜不报忧”的情况也出现在下面的例句里，我们听一听：
　　M: "My daughter likes the sweet icy drinks at our local convenience store. But she's tried to avoid them because they have so much sugar. Now that she's heard that new flavors are being offered with artificial sweeteners, she's excited. I'm not. Because they still have no nutritional value. The company GLOSSES OVER that information in its ads!"
　　[这段话是说: 我女儿喜欢喝我家附近便利店卖的甜味冰饮料。不过她尽量少喝，因为这些饮料里糖分太多。现在她听说，新口味的冰饮里面用了代糖，所以她高兴极了。不过，我可不高兴，因为这种饮料还是没有任何营养价值。不过对于这个事实，厂家在广告中一句都没提。]
　　商品广告当然是捡好的说，这样才能吸引顾客! 不过说起来，现在各种饮料的卖点真是五花八门，不过要是我说，还是白水最解渴，绝对没有不良成分。好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M: "My daughter likes the sweet icy drinks at our local convenience store. But she's tried to avoid them because they have so much sugar. Now that she's heard that new flavors are being offered with artificial sweeteners, she's excited. I'm not. Because they still have no nutritional value. The company GLOSSES OVER that information in its ads!"
　　美国的教育制度时常受到称赞，美国的大学也是国际学生们出国深造的首选，不过，美国大学的学费也贵得可以。在这里，学生贷款负债平均值达到10万甚至20万美元，每个月的还款额可能相当于毕业生半个月的工资！不过，Universities don't include those numbers on their web sites. They conveniently gloss over these shocking statistics! 大学不会把这些数字发在他们的网站上，他们很“方便”地忽略了这些统计数据！说起隐瞒不报，我们听听下面的例句
　　M: "People can be fascinated with celebrities. We love how they overcame great challenges in their rise to success. But often their life stories fail to mention drug or alcohol addictions, problems with relationships or criminal behavior. Indeed, biographers have a habit of GLOSSING OVER such unpleasant facts."
　　这段话意思是说：很多人崇拜名人。他们在通往成功的道路上克服巨大的困难，这种故事让我们喜爱不已。不过，他们的人生故事通常不会提及吸毒、嗜酒、感情问题或者犯罪行为。事实上，写传记的作家们都有把不好的事情轻描淡写或者干脆不提的习惯。
　　其实，人无完人，写出自己生活中阴暗的经历，并不一定会破坏在粉丝心中的形象，反而会让大家觉得你更真实，更立体。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
　　M:"People can be fascinated with celebrities. We love how they overcame great challenges in their rise to success. But often their life stories fail to mention drug or alcohol addictions, problems with relationships or criminal behavior. Indeed, biographers have a habit of GLOSSING OVER such unpleasant facts."
　　今天我们学习的习惯用语是gloss over, 意思是把不好的事情隐瞒起来或者轻描淡写。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。
　　B: Never gloss over things with me Yanglin! If I'm not doing good enough on the show, just tell me!
　　A: 这可是你说的啊! 说到你的缺点那简直是一箩筐了! 比如说吧，吃得太多，说话太多，表演不够自然，逻辑性一般....
　　B: Hey!! Come on!! I didn't think I was that bad!
　　A: Hahah, well if it helps, from the very beginning my intuition told me that you would be a great team member! And turns out I was right!! 在今天的Business Etiquette里，Faith和Katie就在讨论直觉这个话题，咱们一起来听听吧!
　　礼节美语 Intuition 1
　　MC: 销售部的 Steve, Faith 和 Katie 开会讨论项目进展。Steve说，
　　Steve: Ok, so are we all agreed that we'll move forward on this project?
　　Faith: You know, I'm not so sure. I have a funny feeling about this.
　　Katie: You smell a rat?
　　F: Kind of. All I can say is that something is definitely not right. I just "feel" it.
　　Steve 征求大家意见，决定项目可否进入下一阶段。可Faith说，她总觉得哪不对劲。I have a funny feeling about this. funny 在这里不是好笑，而是奇怪的意思。Katie 问，you smell a rat? smell a rat 也是觉得可疑、不对劲的意思。Faith 承认，她也说不清楚，I just "feel" it. 就是一种感觉。
　　S: But Faith, do you really think we should base a decision on a feeling?
　　F: Well, feelings can be a warning. I believe very strongly in the power of intuition.
　　K: Do you mean that emotions are important, even in the business world?
　　F: Yes, I do. You know how people say, "I have a gut feeling?" What they really mean is that their intuition is giving them a signal.
　　Faith 说自己特别相信直觉。I believe in the power of intuition. intuition is spelled i-n-t-u-i-t-i-o-n, intuition 直觉。很多人都说，“I have a gut feeling.”gut, g-u-t, gut. gut feeling 也是直觉的意思。
　　S: But we should make choices based on data and information...not emotions!
　　K: I think perhaps both information and intuition are necessary.
　　F: I agree. Data is for the brain but intuition is for the heart.
　　S: But every decision we make in life is based on the available facts, no?
　　F: Not really. When we go on a date with someone, we usually make a decision about whether or not we like someone almost instantly?
　　Steve 好象很理性，认为一切决定都应该以事实为依据。Faith却认为，不能一概而论，比如说，When we go on a date with someone, 跟别人约会，俩人是否会继续交往下去往往都是一上来就决定了。
　　K: That's true. I usually only have to meet a man for less than a minute before I know whether or not I want to date him.
　　S: And that's intuition?
　　F: Yes, and we use it every day. Intuition is very important in business. Remember your first job interview here?
　　S: (chuckle) Yep. I was so nervous! I was sweating and stammering.
　　F: But my intuition told me you would make a good employee...and I was right!
　　Faith说，我们其实每天都会用到直觉。Steve 第一次面试，紧张得浑身冒汗，说话也结结巴巴的，可Faith却说，直觉告诉她， My intuition told me...Steve 一定会是好员工，结果一点没错。
　　A: Faith说，I believe in the power of intuition, 我很相信直觉。她觉得Intuition is really important in business,在生意场上特别重要，经常能发现别人发现不了的蛛丝马迹。 I would never be able to live my life just by intuition. I just don't think it's reliable.
　　aLaB: Huh, that's funny, I find that a lot of the time I end up just following my gut feelings.
　　A: Really? Well, it looks like your "gut feelings" lead you to a lot of restaurants huh? (HEY!) (both laugh)
　　B: Seriously though, you can't tell me you never follow your intuition.
　　Didn't you say that you can tell if a guy is a good person or not within just a few minutes of meeting him?
　　A: That's different! That's just because I am a very good judge of character.
　　B: Right..... Well, Steve, Faith and Katie are still talking about intuition, let's continue!
　　礼节美语 Intuition II
　　销售部的 Steve, Faith 和 Katie 围绕直觉展开了讨论。Katie 说
　　Katie: I think perhaps everyone has different kinds of intuition. I'm a pretty bad judge of character, but I'm a wiz at picking stocks!
　　Steve: You should go to Las Vegas! You'd make a killing!
　　Katie: (Chuckle) That's not a bad idea!
　　Faith: But what Katie is doing is not exactly the same as gambling. She reads and watches business news, but her intuition is better that other people's. She can pick out the signs and clues that the rest of us miss.
　　Katie 说，人跟人不一样，比如她自己，I'm a pretty bad judge of character 看人就经常走眼。但是 I'm a wiz at picking stocks. 挑选股票确是奇才，wiz, w-i-z, wiz. Steve 开玩笑说，Katie应该到赌城拉斯维加斯去，You'd make a killing! 保准走运，赚大钱。可Faith却说，Katie选股票不是盲目下注，而是她在这方面的直觉比其他人更敏感，可以 pick out the signs and clues that the rest of us miss. 发现很多其他人注意不到的线索和迹象。
　　K: I've read books by famous CEOs and most of them talk about how important it is to develop your intuition. Of course, not every hunch you have will turn out to be right.
　　F: That's true. Sometimes my intuition is really off! Like with my last two boyfriends.
　　K&S: (laughter)
　　S: Intuition might play a bigger role than I think it does. My brother is a police officer and he says nine times out of ten he will just feel that something isn't right. Then when he investigates, he usually discovers he was right.
　　直觉也不是每次都对。除了Intuition 和 gut feeling，hunch, h-u-n-c-h, hunch 也是直觉的意思。Faith 承认，Sometimes my intuition is really off! off, o-f-f, off 在这里意思是不符合标准。例如，His performance was really off recently. 他最近的表现不太好。Steve 最后承认，直觉可能确实比他以为的更重要，他当警察的哥哥就说，nine times out of ten 十有八九都是他的直觉告诉他有问题，调查结果还真是那样。
　　K: So what should we do about this deal? Faith's intuition says there's something wrong.
　　S: How about if we crunch the numbers again and see if there is anything fishy?
　　F: Sounds good. Let's go over all the documents with a fine-tooth comb and see if we can find the problem.
　　K: Will do. I'll work on it this afternoon.
　　F: Thanks for your input, guys!
　　Steve 建议，从头再算一遍 crunch the numbers again, crunch, c-r-u-n-c-h, crunch 在口语里有计算、处理的意思。Faith表示赞成，决定把所有文件重新仔细地过一遍，with a fine-tooth comb 用一把细齿的梳子，引伸为仔细检查。
　　A: Hmmm, My female intuition tells me that you were the one who stole the Oreo cookies from my desk!
　　B: Hmm I have a hunch that your Female intuition is wrong! I didn't steal Oreos! I just took some chocolate....
　　A: Got you! 回头再给买10块就行! 哈哈， 好了同学们，这次节目时间就到这里了。