VOA英语教学：美语训练班 025

　　B：Hello, everyone! This is American English Mosaic! 我是Jessica!

　　A：欢迎来到美语训练班，我是杨林！

　　B: 杨林，介绍一下今天的节目吧！

　　A：好！今天，我们要去打保龄球， 聊聊受大家欢迎的电视节目, 抱怨一下对公司和领导的不满，还要告诉大家用美语怎么说“跑龙套的”。

　　B: 不过咱们还是先花一分钟，学一个词儿！

　　Learn a word Announce

　　今天我们要学的词是announce. Announce is spelled a-n-n-o-u-n-c-e, announce. Announce, 宣布。苹果公司宣布iPhone5即将上市。Apple announced that it will be introducing the new features of the iPhone 5 on October 4th. 苹果公司宣布，10月4日正式介绍iPhone 5的新功能。After months of speculation, Amazon announced it's new Kindle Fire, a tablet with a $199 price tag. 经过数月的等待，亚马逊公司宣布，平板电脑Kindle Fire即将上市，售价199美元。U.S. insurance companies announced that health care benefit costs will go up 5.4% next year. 美国的保险业公司宣布，明年的健康保险费用将上涨5.4%。好的，今天我们学习的词是announce, announce, announce.

　　A: 苹果和亚马逊都够忙乎的，现在新产品发布的消息真是此起彼伏。

　　B: Well, they need to keep consumers excited. That's how they lure you into their stores and make you spend money.

　　A: 没错！新产品总是能激起大家的购买欲。

　　B: Actually, in this sluggish economy, companies have to go out of their ways to stimulate consumer spending.

　　A: 是啊，不是都说刺激消费就能让经济复苏么！用咱们下面要教的短语来说，就是 Consumer spending will help the market bounce back，对不对？

　　B: That's right. Now let's listen to Words and Idioms!

　　Word and idioms: bounce back

　　女：各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 945讲。我是杨琳。

　　M：我是 Douglas Johnson.

　　女：昨天我朋友跟我说，她打算去佛罗里达墨西哥湾的海边渡假!大家都还记得去年墨西哥湾的原油泄漏事件，结果让原本是旅游圣地的佛罗里达游客量锐减。不过我朋友告诉我，现在清理工作已经完成，那里的旅游业正在慢慢复苏。这让我想到了一个习惯用语，那就是：

　　M：Bounce back. Bounce is spelled b-o-u-n-c-e, and back; b-a-c-k. Bounce-back.

　　女: Bounce 这个词本身是“弹回”的意思，而Bounce back作为一个词组意思是“恢复原状，复苏”。我们可以说，This region starts to bounce back after the oil disaster. 这个地区在漏油灾难之后渐渐恢复过来。Bounce back 也可以用来形容人。我们来听听下面这个例句:

　　M: "Grandma's fall on the ice last winter resulted in a badly broken leg. She spent months in a cast. Then she underwent weeks of physical therapy. Now her doctors say that she can resume normal activities. Nobody could be happier than Grandma that she's finally BOUNCED BACK."

　　这段话是说：[我奶奶去年冬天在冰上把腿摔骨折了。她带了几个月的石膏，之后又做了好几个星期的理疗。现在医生说她能恢复正常活动了。奶奶终于恢复健康了，她比所有人都要高兴。]

　　女：是啊。老人身体恢复健康不容易。去年我爷爷得了感冒，足足过了两个月才痊愈。My grandpa finally bounced back after two months of coughing. 我爷爷的咳嗽足足两个月才好。 好，让我们再来听听上面那段话。

　　M: "Grandma's fall on the ice last winter resulted in a badly broken leg. She spent months in a cast. Then she underwent weeks of physical therapy. Now her doctors say that she can resume normal activities. Nobody could be happier than Grandma that she's finally BOUNCED BACK."

　　女：其实，Bounce back 除了指身体恢复健康以外，也可以指情绪上，情感上的恢复。在下面这个例子里，我们来听听Carlos跟女朋友分手后做了什么:

　　M: "Some guys have a hard time getting over a break-up with a girlfriend. That's not the case with Carlos. He doesn't get depressed or become withdrawn. In fact, no sooner does he end one relationship than he begins another. He BOUNCES BACK quickly. "

　　这段话是说：[一些人在与女朋友分手之后一蹶不振。但卡洛斯可不是这样。他绝不会抑郁或者就此变得沉没寡言。实际上，每当他结束一段恋情之后马上就会开始新得恋情。他很快就能恢复过来。]

　　女: 这也太快了吧! 或许是卡洛斯提出分手的。He doesn't need a lot of time to bounce back after the breakup. 他分手之后很快就能恢复过来。我们看到，bounce back可以用来形容很多种情况，比如说: 财政困难之后的经济恢复，身体复原，或者情感上的恢复。好，我们再来听听刚才那段话:

　　M: "Some guys have a hard time getting over a break-up with a girlfriend. That's not the case with Carlos. He doesn't get depressed or become withdrawn. In fact, no sooner does he end on relationship than he begins another. He BOUNCES BACK quickly. "

　　女：各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是Bounce Back，意思是“恢复原状，复苏”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，

　　A：说到bounce back, 前几天我看杂志，说到一个几年前在拍戏时被烧伤的女演员，现在终于复出了，真令人感动──The actress' story of bouncing back from the horrible accident is so inspiring!

　　B: I'm so happy for her!

　　A：这个女演员也真够不容易的，从跑龙套的做起，熬了很多年才红的。

　　B: 跑龙套？ You have to explain to me what that means.

　　A：听下面的节目你就知道啦！

　　How to say it: Extra

　　Donny 在北京学中文，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。今天是吴琼要问的：跑龙套/群众演员。

　　Donny: Hey，吴琼，did you watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony?

　　WQ: Yes, I did. What about you?

　　Donny：No, but I heard it was awesome. Did you like it?

　　WQ: 嗯，我挺喜欢的，但是我真替那些跑龙套的觉得累。

　　Donny: 跑龙套的？you mean the extras or the walk-ons?

　　WQ: 对， 就是参加表演，但镜头不多的群众演员。还真挺形象的，extra--多余的，walk-on--在台上走来走去的，就是跑龙套的。

　　Donny: Exactly, but they are very important, as well.

　　WQ: 赚钱少，工作时间又长，真的很辛苦，而且他们中很多人其实都很多才多艺。

　　Donny: You're right. As a matter of fact, many famous actors started out as extras.

　　WQ: 没错，很多大腕儿都是从跑龙套开始。对了，"大腕儿" 美语怎么说?

　　Donny: 大腕儿是 Big Shot. B-I-G, big, S-H-O-T, shot， big-shot.

　　WQ: Big shot! 这个好记。唉，我也好想当明星啊！可是以我这样的条件，最多也只能当个替身。那 Donny,替身又该怎么说呢？

　　Donny: 替身是 "stunt-double." Stunt-doubles are used when special skills are needed for a performance, for example, playing the piano, dancing or car racing.

　　WQ: stunt是特技，所以 stunt-double 就是替身。糟糕，这些特技我一个都不会，看来，我连替身演员 stunt-double 都做不成！

　　Donny: 别这么说，你可以跟我学好美语，做为你的才艺啊！Now let's see what you've learned today.

　　WQ: 第一，跑龙套的/群众演员是extra 或者walk-on.

　　第二，大腕儿是 big shot.

　　第三，替身是 stunt-double.

　　这次的“美语怎么说”就到这里了。如果你也有不会说的词，请写信给Donny, 电邮请寄meiyu@voanews.com

　　A: 没错，a lot of big shots started as extras. 好多大明星都是从跑龙套开始的！现在看老电影，经常能发现成名前的大明星在里面演路人甲什么的。

　　B：Some of them also started as stunt doubles.

　　A：对！我觉得替身演员比跑龙套的更不容易，他们经常做些危险的事。If you asked me to choose, I'd choose to be an extra, not a stunt double.

　　B：What if I asked you to be an extra, but you had to play a dead body?

　　A：啊？演死人？这可有点晦气！不干！

　　B: But what if I told you this was for CSI?

　　A：CSI?!犯罪现场？！那可是很牛的美剧，让我演什么都行！

　　B: Haha, I bet a lot of people would love to be seen on CSI!

　　A：对啊，今天的美语三级跳里也要讲这个电视剧，咱们来听一听！

　　GoEnglish: TV Advanced

　　各位听众，大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“电视节目”单元的高级课程。

　　Professor: Will and Jane are on a date and talking about what kind of TV shows they like to watch, and it so happens that Will loves TV crime dramas.

　　Winnie: Crime drama 就是“侦破片”，Professor Bowman, 我听说最近几年，crime drama 已经是美国最受欢迎的电视剧了。这是为什么呢？

　　Professor: Let's see what Will and Jane have to say about it.

　　Jane: So Will, you really like crime dramas, huh? Why are you so into them?

　　Will: I really want to become a lawyer one day, so I think watching shows like "Law and Order" is pretty good preparation for my future career.

　　Jane: Oh come on .... that show is so boring. Each show has the same plot. The police arrest someone for a crime, and then he goes to trial.

　　Will: No way! It's totally interesting the way it shows how the American justice system works. If it were so boring, why would there be so many spinoffs?

　　Jane: Well that's one thing we can agree on. There are definitely a lot of cookie-cutter spinoffs.

　　Winnie: "Law and Order"--“法律与秩序”， 讲的是警察侦破罪案，法庭审案的故事。Will喜欢看这个片子，因为他可以从中学到关于美国司法系统的一些知识。

　　Professor: That's right. Will likes it, but what does Jane think about the show?

　　Winnie: Jane觉得这片子没意思。不过，Will说，如果这片子不吸引人，就不会有那么多spinoffs--仿照它所拍的同类型电视剧了。

　　Professor: Exactly. You know, you can call other things spinoffs too. For example, "The new Italian restaurant was so popular that there were soon three other spinoffs, all exactly the same, on the same block. "

　　Winnie: 对了，Jane还用到了cookie cutter这个词，cookie cutter就是做饼干时切面的模子。Professor, 在这里，cookie cutter 是不是指“千篇一律的东西”呢？

　　Professor: Yes! For example, I could say that I never believe my students when they give me cookie-cutter excuses for why they didn't do their homework, like saying that their dog ate it.

　　Jane: Well what are some of the other crime dramas you like?

　　Will: Do you know the show Crime Scene Investigation? We usually call it CSI. It's about a team of police

　　investigators solving crimes in Las Vegas.

　　Jane: Sure, I've heard of CSI. What other shows do you like?

　　Will: There are lots of other great crime dramas. There is also CSI New York and CSI Miami.

　　Jane: Will ... can't you see that those are all the same show! They just happen in different cities!

　　Will: No way! They're all totally different. And besides, they all get really good ratings and rave reviews.

　　Winnie: CSI--“犯罪现场调查”，也是个非常红的电视剧! 后来的CSI New York 和CSI Miami就是最初那版CSI的spinoffs.

　　Professor: That's right. But what does Will say?

　　Winnie: 他说，这些电视剧都得到了good ratings--高收视率，还有rave reviews--非常好的评论。

　　Professor: That's right, Winnie. The word "rave" is often used as a verb, meaning to praise something highly.

　　Winnie: rave 通常是动词，意思是“极力赞扬”。您能举个例子吗？

　　Professor: Well, I decided to take my next vacation in Greece after my sister came back from her visit there raving about how great it was.

　　Will: You know, all this talk reminds me that CSI Miami is coming on pretty soon. Do you mind if I cut our date short so I can get home to watch it?

　　Jane: You want to end our date early just so you can go home and watch TV? Was the last episode a real cliffhanger, and you have to see tonight's episode?

　　Will: Yeah! I can't wait to get home so I can see the sequel.

　　Jane: Well I hope you enjoy it, Will, because there will definitely not be a sequel to this date!

　　Winnie: Will居然要提前结束约会，赶回家看今晚播出的CSI Miami？我看这只是个借口吧! 不过，Professor, Jane提到一个词--cliffhanger，这是什么意思？

　　Professor: A "cliffhanger" is a chapter of a book or an episode of a TV show that ends without resolving the plot.

　　Winnie: 哦，我明白了，cliffhanger这个词由两个部分组成：cliff--悬崖，hanger--悬挂物，所以，cliffhanger就好比是有人在悬崖边，命悬一线! 指的是书和电视中那种有悬念、令人紧张的情节!

　　A：现在电视剧都爱跟风，If one show gets high ratings and rave reviews, the market will be flooded with cookie-cutter spinoffs.

　　B：没错! That's why original ideas are so precious.

　　A：不过，要想作出有创意的东西，员工要对工作有热情，而公司领导也得鼓励创新，不然好的创意永远不能被发现，也不能变成好的产品。

　　B： That's very true! Now let's listen to "Business Etiquette". Lisa is complaining that her good ideas are not taken seriously by the company.

　　Business Etiquette: Looking for a change II

　　Lisa告诉同事Emily新年过后准备辞职，因为她觉得眼下的工作很无聊，没有升职的机会，她还说：

　　Lisa: The other problem is that I think the company is really set in its ways.

　　Emily: What do you mean?

　　L: In other words, I think management is resistant to change. I've given great proposals to my section chief and I've even sent emails with ideas on how to streamline operations to the big boss, but the reaction is always the same.

　　E: What do they say when you offer suggestions?

　　L: Usually something like: "We'll take a look and get back to you." But that's the last I'll ever hear from them.

　　Lisa 还觉得公司运作墨守成规，set in one's ways 是指生活方式或做事方法一成不变，类似的说法还有 stuck in a rut, rut is spelled r-u-t, rut 是指车轱辘留下的印儿，to stuck in a rut 陷在车轱辘印里，也是墨守成规，一成不变的意思。Lisa 说自己向部门经理和公司老板提出过很多好建议，但都没有得到重视。得到的回答一般都是：We'll take a look and get back to you. 我们看一下再答复你，然后就再也没有任何消息了。

　　E: So, do you have any job prospects lined up?

　　L: I've been sending out resumes and I've gotten a couple of bites.

　　E: I see....so you've pretty much made up your mind to quit then?

　　L: I think so. I'll miss seeing you everyday.

　　E: I'll miss you, too. Can I make a suggestion?

　　L: Sure!

　　E: Don't burn any bridges when you make your move.

　　L: What do you mean?

　　Emily问她工作找得怎么样了，Do you have any job prospects lined up? Lisa说自己发了一些简历，已经有一些公司对她表示有兴趣了，I've gotten a couple of bite. bite, b-i-t-e, bite 在这里是上钩的意思，意思是她的简历已经引起了一些公司的兴趣。看起来Lisa去意已定，Emily好心地建议Lisa, Don't burn any bridges. 辞职的时候不要把事做绝，最后给自己留条后路。Emily进一步解释说：

　　E: I mean, don't tell the boss you hate your job or him. Simply inform them that you plan to resign from your position and do your best to train your replacement. That way, this company can remain a back-up option for you.

　　L: You make a good point. I'll try to be as professional about this as possible. Thanks Emily! Talking to you makes me feel much better.

　　E: Sure! Now let's eat!

　　Emily劝Lisa不要burn any bridges 断了自己的后路，不用告诉老板对公司有多不满意，而且还要 do your best to train your replacement 尽力把交接工作做好，这里所说的replacement 指的是接替Lisa工作的那个人。Emily说，这样的话，现在的公司还能是Lisa的候补选项 back-up option. Lisa觉得Emily这番话很有道理，并保证自己在处理这件事的时候，I'll try to be as professional as possible. 这里的professional是专业的，as professional as possible意思是尽可能按照职场的惯例去做。

　　A：Don't burn your bridges 这句话说得好，We all need back-up plans，得给自己留条后路。

　　B: Well, that maybe true, but sometimes you need to burn the bridges and put yourself against the wall, and only by that way you can fully committed into doing something.

　　A：你是说自己断了后路，背水一战？That's too risky! Don't be too hard on yourself!

　　B：No pains no gains!

　　A：好了，咱们别争论了! 还是轻松一下吧，Now let's go bowling!

　　ASE: bowling

　　P: Hey Yang Chen, Let's go bowling.

　　_

　　Y: 我不会打保龄球。

　　P: Well don't worry, you are in good hands. I'll teach you how to bowl.

　　Y:那你可要耐心点儿。Be very patient with me.

　　P: No problem. First you need to learn how to hold the bowling ball. Well, first hold the ball in your left hand.

　　_

　　Y: Whoa, 好重啊，差点闪了我的腰。

　　_

　　P: It's not that heavy. Well, now put the first and second fingers of your right had in the top two holes and your thumb in the bottom hole.

　　_

　　Y: OK, Patrick, I'm ready! Now what do I do?

　　P: Walk up to the line at the top of the bowling lane with the ball and center yourself in the lane.

　　Y: Okay, 站到bowling lane保龄球道中间。

　　_

　　P: Now, hold the ball with your right hand only. Swing it behind you, and then swing it forward and let it go.

　　_

　　Y: Here it goes!

　　P: Oh No, Yang Chen. Your ball went into the gutter.

　　Y: A gutter?

　　P: Yep, those long troughs on both sides of the bowling lane are gutters G-U-T-T-E-R-S. And when your ball goes in the gutter it is called a gutter ball.

　　Y: 保龄球掉到旁边的沟里，就叫gutter ball沟球。

　　P: And since you didn't hit anything, you don't get any points, but you do get another chance.

　　Y: Okay, let me try again. 我再来一次。(Sound of ball hitting lane and going in the gutter) Rats! I got another gutterball.

　　P: It is pretty common to get gutterballs when you first start bowling. You just need practice.

　　Y: Okay, then let me try again. (Sound of ball hitting lane and going into gutter). Aiya! 又一个gutter ball!

　　P: Practice makes perfect!

　　A：打保龄球时扔出gutterball最丢人了！

　　B: 多练练就没事啦！

　　A: But it's so embarrassing!

　　B：If you're afraid of losing face, you can practice bowling at home. For example, you can play blowing video games.

　　A：在家里用保龄球游戏模拟练习，这个主意好！Do you want to join me?

　　B: Sure!

　　A：那咱们就比试一下！好，今天节目时间差不多了，这次节目的撰稿人是哓北，编辑是蔚然，同学们，咱们下次的美语训练班节目再见！

　　B: Bye!