VOA英语教学：美语训练班 012

　　A: 欢迎大家来到美语训练班！我是杨琳!

　　B: And I'm Donny. 杨琳，今天咱们学什么？

　　A：今天，我们要去学击剑, 要和朋友聊聊大学住宿和party，琢磨一下去哪里踏春, 还要告诉大家怎么用美语说“质量差”和“守财奴”。

　　B: 守财奴？我就想当守财奴!

　　A: 啊？为什么啊？

　　B: 杨琳，you know, the economy is bad now, and a lot of people have gone bankrupt and lost all of their savings. 所以，能有财守是很让人羡慕的!

　　A: 情况也没那么糟吧! 不信咱们来听下面的Learn a Word, 看看大学生的就业状况。

　　Learn A Word starting salary

　　今天我们要学的词是 starting salary, starting is spelled s-t-a-r-t-i-n-g, salary is spelled s-a-l-a-r-y; starting salary. Starting salary 起薪。今年美国大学毕业生的就业市场将比去年好转，化学工程专业学生薪水最高。The average starting salary for chemistry engineering graduates is $66,886. 化学工然b专业的毕业生平均起薪6万6千886美元。就业专家建议，College graduates should focus on finding a job where they can grow and shouldn't be overly concerned about their starting salary. 大学毕业生应该更努力找一份有发展空间的工作，而不要过份在意起薪的多少。好的，今天我们学习的词是 starting salary, starting salary, starting salary.

　　A: 什么？化学专业的starting salary最高？嘿! 早知道我考大学的时候就报化学专业了!

　　B: Why didn't you?

　　A: 我那时候是文艺少女啊，就希望能找一个让我成天读诗看小说的专业，什么物理化学，太枯燥了。

　　B: So you majored in what really interests you. What's wrong with that?

　　A: 毕业的时候就明白了! 人家理工科的学生找工作容易，待遇好啊! 唉! 我当时真该听我爸妈的建议去学医，不应该那么固执，一根筋。

　　B: Yes, being open-minded and listening to others will surely do you good.

　　A: Open-minded? 这不是我们今天的流行美语里要教的词么？

　　B: 没错，一起听吧!

　　Popular American: To catch a show; open-minded

　　各位听众，现在播送「流行美语」。春天来了，Larry 和李华计划到外面转转，享受春天的美景。他们会用到两个常用语：to catch something 和open minded。

　　Larry: What wonderful spring weather! We should get out and enjoy it, Lihua.

　　LH: 没错，咱们踏春去!

　　Larry: There are a lot of music festivals around town these days. Would you be interested in catching an outdoor show somewhere?

　　LH: Catch a show? “Catch” 不是捕捉的意思吗? 怎么可能捕捉一个show呢?

　　Larry: Not that kind of catch, Lihua. Here, the word "catch" means to go to attend something, like a show.

　　LH: 哦，catch在这里不是“捕捉”，而是“参加某项活动”的意思。 to catch a show就是去看一场表演。

　　Larry: That's right! We could catch a rock concert.

　　LH: 啊？摇滚演唱会？太吵了! Let's catch a classical music performance instead. 我们去欣赏一场古典音乐。

　　Larry: Classical music? With music that boring and weather this nice, I'd surely fall asleep!

　　LH: 听古典乐你会睡觉？真是没有艺术细胞! 好了，你还有什么主意？

　　Larry: Well, we could always go catch a movie. There's a new action film that just came out.

　　LH: Catch a movie? 看电影？可那是在室内啊，可惜了这么好的天气!

　　Larry: That's OK. We can just enjoy the lovely weather-- as we walk to the movie theater.

　　LH: 可我不是很想看电影....Wait! I know! 我们去运动运动吧，I feel like catching a game of tennis. 去打网球吧!

　　Larry: Well, you can't "catch" a game of tennis if you are playing it. If you are watching other people play, however, then you can say you are "catching" the game.

　　LH: 哦，to catch something 是强调被动地，不需要费力就可以享受的那种参与。如果自己挥汗如雨地去打网球，就不能用catch, 可如果自己不用动，轻松地坐在一边看网球赛，就可以说catch a game of tennis 了! 这样吧 Larry, 咱们去博物馆看艺术展，怎么样？

　　Larry: Ah, I guess we could go to the museum...

　　LH: 你好像不太情愿啊!

　　Larry: Well, it's just that I had my mind set on going to that rock concert for awhile now.

　　LH: 真不明白，那么吵闹的摇滚乐，有什么好听的。

　　Larry: Come on, Lihua. I think you should be more open-minded when it comes to music.

　　LH: open-minded? 什么意思？

　　Larry: To be open-minded means to be open to new ideas or experiences.

　　LH: I get it. To be open minded 就是宽容，思想开放的意思。这么说起来，Larry, 你就不是个 open-minded，思想开放，勇于尝试的人。

　　Larry: No way! I am very open-minded, Lihua. I've done all sorts of crazy things with you that I wouldn't normally do.

　　LH：比如呢？

　　Larry: Well, like playing Mahjong with your friends. Even though I had to learn from scratch, I still kept an open mind and tried to have fun.

　　LH: 哈哈，你打麻将那次还真是出糗呢!

　　Larry: And I went camping last year with your friends. And even though it was cold and raining the entire time, I was open-minded and tried to enjoy myself.

　　LH: 好啦，我承认你是个优秀的男朋友!

　　Larry: Of course I am! And I'm not close-minded.

　　LH: Close-minded？ 我知道了，一定是open-minded的反义词，就是思想保守的。对不对？

　　Larry: That's right. You shouldn't be so close-minded to this rock concert thing.

　　LH: 那好，我们来个妥协。咱们先去看博物馆看艺术展，然后再去听摇滚乐，怎么样？我够open-minded了吧？

　　Larry: Great! Let's go!

　　各位听众，今天李华学了两个常用语，一个是to catch something，意思是“观看观赏”；另一个是open-minded，意思是“思想开放的，肯接受新鲜事物的”。

　　A: Hmm, I've always wanted to catch a Broadway show. I heard they're fantastic.

　　B: Go ahead! What's stopping you?

　　A: 票价啊! 百老汇歌舞剧的票太贵了，动不动上百美元，我觉得有点宰人。

　　B: I don't know. I saw "Phantom of the Opera" once, and I really liked it. I think it's worth the money. 物有所值。

　　A: It better be! 花那么多钱，当然不想看不入流的表演。

　　B: 说到不入流，质量差，咱们正好听一下"How to say it in American English", 教的就是这个词。

　　How to say it: rip off

　　Jessica 在北京学汉语，她的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教她。今天是方方要问的：宰人。

　　JESSICA: 方方，Your new cell phone is so cool!

　　FF: 那是，这可是最新型的智能手机!

　　JESSICA: 这手机很贵吧？

　　FF: 商店里卖5000块呢!

　　JESSICA:啊？ That price gives me sticker shock.

　　FF: sticker shock? sticker, s-t-i-c-k-e-r, sticker, 是商品的价签，shock表示吃惊，sticker shock就是说看到价签上的价格，被吓到了，对不对？

　　JESSICA: That's correct.

　　FF: 说起来，那天我去商场里买手机，When I saw the price, I got major sticker shock. 那价格让我大跌眼睛。这么贵，纯属宰人! 对了，“宰人”在美语里怎么说呢？

　　JESSICA: We use the word "rip-off". r-i-p-o-f-f. If something gives you sticker shock, you can say "This is a rip-off".

　　FF: This is a rip-off, 这是宰人价!

　　JESSICA: You can also say rip someone off.

　　FF: Rip someone off？我明白，就是“冲某人要高价，宰人一刀”。那我要是说“我被人宰了”，就是 I was ripped off，对不对？

　　JESSICA: Exactly! Fangfang, Don't you think you were kinda ripped off ? This phone is really pricey!

　　FF: There's no way I got ripped off! 这手机是网上买的，才1000块!

　　Jessica: Wow! That's a really good deal!

　　FF: 那是! 哎？怎么回事？手机怎么不动了？Jessica 你看看，what's wrong with my phone?

　　Jessica: Let me see ....The phone is dead. It's broken.

　　FF: 啊？坏了？我，我昨天才买的!

　　Jessica: It seems like you bought a shoddy phone. Shoddy is spelled s-h-o-d-d-y. If something is of poor quality, you say it's shoddy.

　　FF: Shoddy 就是形容质量低劣。嘿! 气死我了! 买了个劣质品。

　　Jessica: You know what they say, Fang Fang, you got what you paid for.

　　FF: You got what you paid for? 便宜没好货! Jessica, 你损我是吧？

　　Jessica: 哈哈，别生气了。Let's see what you've learned today!

　　FF: 第一，宰人是rip-off, 当动词是rip someone off;

　　第二，形容价格高可以说 something gives me sticker shock；

　　第三，形容质量低劣可以用shoddy.

　　A：Donny, 除了rip someone off，我们以前好像还教过一个说法，也是宰人的意思，对不对？

　　B: Yes! 我们教过的那个是 to take someone for a ride.

　　A: 对! 我记得好像是在讲，找房子的时候，房东欺负租客刚来美国，不懂行情，所以把价格开得高高的，He took her for a ride. 对不对？

　　B: Wow, Yanglin, I'm impressed.

　　A: Thanks! 不过说到找房子，咱们就来听听今天的GoEnglish, 看看美国大学生怎么解决住宿问题，室友们又会怎么相处。

　　B: Let's listen!

　　GoEnglish: College─Advanced

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

　　Winnie: Eric 和 Patty 是大学同学，俩人聊起了住宿情况。

　　Professor: Listen for the word "lousy," which means "bad."

　　Eric: So Patty, are you planning on living on campus this year, or are you going to go for an apartment?

　　Patty: Well, housing is included in my scholarship, so I have to live on campus. The food is lousy, but there are other things I like about it.

　　Eric: What are the good things about living in a college dorm?

　　Patty: There are lots of advantages to living in the dorms. For example, I like studying and hanging out with my floormates. We all go out to parties together.

　　Eric: Wow, it sounds like the people in your dorm are pretty close.

　　Patty: Yeah, we really are. I love the dorms because you make friends that last all through college.

　　Winnie: 看来，虽然食堂饭不好吃，但 Patty 还是挺喜欢住校的，跟宿舍楼里的人很合得来。对了，Professor Bowman, roommate是室友，那么Patty说的floormate是住在同一层的人么？

　　Professor: That's right, Winnie! A floormate is someone who lives on the same floor.

　　Winnie: 也就是“层友”！ 我们来听听Eric住在哪里吧。

　　Patty: How about you, Eric? Are you living on campus?

　　Eric: Right now I live in an apartment off campus. I didn't like living on campus because the people in my dorm always had their doors closed and were studying. It wasn't much fun.

　　Patty: That's too bad. It sounds like the people in your dorm weren't as close as the people in my dorm.

　　Eric: No, you're right. Living off campus is OK, but I feel like I miss out on all of the fun stuff that happens on campus.

　　Patty: Have you ever thought of joining a fraternity? I hear that all the brothers in the frat houses are really close.

　　Eric: Yeah, I've thought about joining a frat. But the frat houses are just so dirty! I'm not sure I could take it.

　　Winnie: Professor Bowman, "fraternity"是兄弟会吗？

　　Prof: Exactly. And the "frat house" is the house that the people in the fraternity live in. Sometimes fraternities are called the "Greek system." If you join a fraternity, you can say that you "go Greek."

　　Winnie: 加入兄弟会可以说“Go Greek"，真有意思！那我猜，既然有兄弟会，一定也有“姐妹会”吧？

　　Professor: Yes! In the next section, listen for the word "sorority," which is a fraternity for women.

　　Eric: What about you? Have you ever thought about joining a sorority?

　　Patty: No way. I've heard a lot of horror stories about Greek life. Plus, I'm not a big drinker and I decided it's better to keep a clear head and focus on my studies.

　　Eric: You're totally right. I like to go to parties, but I don't want to wake up in the morning surrounded by empty beer bottles!

　　Patty: Yeah, partying in the place you live is a bad idea. Plus, all the hazing seems really stupid.

　　Eric: Yeah, some of my friends joined fraternities and they said the hazing was really bad.

　　Winnie: 看来，Patty对姐妹会不感兴趣。可她说的"hazing"是什么意思啊？

　　Professor: Sometimes when you want to join a club, the people in the club will make you do lots of crazy things to prove you really want to join. For example, a fraternity might haze one of the men trying to join it by making him wear a dress out in public.

　　Winnie: 啊？原来"hazing"就是整人啊！为了考验想加入兄弟会的男生，可能会让他穿着裙子到大马路上走一圈儿! 难怪Eric和Patty都讨厌这些hazing的把戏!

　　Eric: You know, my friend is having a party this Saturday night at his apartment. Do you want to come?

　　Patty: Sure! That sounds like lots of fun!

　　Eric: Great. Bring all of your girlfriends!

　　Patty: Wait a minute. Are you inviting me just so that I will bring lots of other girls to the party?

　　Eric: What? Of course not! I'm inviting you because I need a designated driver!

　　Winnie: Eric请Patty去参加派对，但却是为了让Patty在派对结束后当他的专用司机--"designated driver," 这是什么朋友啊！

　　Professor: Well, if Patty is a true friend she will want to make sure Eric gets home safely, right?

　　Winnie: 那倒也是。我看Patty也是个讲义气的朋友呢!

　　B: I have first-hand experience of being hazed in college. It still gives me nightmares from time to time.

　　A: 你上大学时也为加入兄弟会而被整过？快讲讲!

　　B: Er...往事不堪回首啊。But living in the frat house gave me the chance to attend some of the best parties of my life, and I was really close with my roommates.

　　A: 对啊，丰富的社交生活，室友间密切友好的关系，这就是加入兄弟会的好处。我们中国的大学没有fraternity 或者 sorority, 男生也不能进女生宿舍.......

　　B: So where do you guys have parties?

　　A: 去饭馆儿啊，KTV啊! 那时候大家都是穷学生，一起凑钱出去玩儿，可高兴了! 不过，也有些人喜欢蹭饭，到交钱的时候就假装上厕所什么的。

　　B: 那不就是我们节目开始时说的“守财奴”？

　　A: 对啊! 我觉得钱是不能乱花，但也不能太抠门，要不然，不论在学校还是在公司，都会惹人讨厌。

　　B: That's right. Let's listen to Business Etiquette, 看看怎么才能既省钱又不被人讨厌。

　　Business Etiquette: Birthday Bucks II

　　Sarah 向原来的同事 Amanda 诉苦，说刚换了新工作，就赶上三个人过生日，都要凑份子，感觉心理很不平衡。Amanda 劝她说，

　　A: If I were you, I would just bite the bullet and hand over the money. First impressions are important and it's not worth getting a reputation for being a Scrooge. Think about it this way: when your birthday comes around, you'll have at least one card and cake to look forward to.

　　S: A Scrooge is someone who is stingy with his money even though he has plenty, right? I wouldn't want my colleagues to think I am refusing to contribute to the pool even though I can, but this would put me way over my weekly budget.

　　Amanda 建议Sarah硬着头皮凑份子， Bite the bullet 意思是硬着头皮接受自己不愿意做的事情。她说，first impressions are important, 第一印象很重要，不能为了这点钱给别人留下“守财奴”的印象。 It's not worth getting a reputation for being a Scrooge. Scrooge is spelled s-c-r-o-o-g-e, scrooge 意思是讨厌的守财奴。Sarah 说自己不是不肯出钱，contribute to the pool, 这里的pool, p-o-o-l, pool 指的是大家凑的钱，可如果出钱，一星期的预算就会超出很多。

　　A: What about a compromise? Maybe you could sit down privately with the person in charge of collecting the money and explain that coming from a smaller department you've never had to deal with so many birthdays at once. Offer to give her

　　five dollars for each birthday instead, and promise that you will make your famous brownies for the celebration.

　　S: That sounds like a good plan. I hope they understand where I'm coming from and don't hold it against me.

　　Amanda 建议Sarah去找负责收钱的同事商量，try to make a compromise. 看能不能找到一个居中的妥协方案，把份子钱从十块减少到五块，但同时保证烤自己拿手的蛋糕，来庆祝同事的生日。Sarah觉得这个办法不错，希望同事能 understand where I'm coming from. 意思是能明白和理解我的本意，don't hold it against me 不要记恨我。

　　A: I'm sure they will understand. Lots of people have been in the same position before. And, maybe once you get to know them better, ten dollars won't seem like

　　such a big deal anymore.

　　S: Thanks so much for your advice, I feel a lot better about the situation.

　　A: You're welcome. Let's make sure we keep in touch, Sarah!

　　S: Sure, I'll talk to you again soon and let you know how it goes. Enjoy your lunch!

　　Amanda 叫Sarah放心，一定有很多人遇到过这种情形，lots of people have been in the same position before. 她还说，等Sarah和同事们熟了以后，凑十块钱的份子钱可能也就没什么大不了的了。

　　A: Amanda给Sarah出主意，让她既不用bite the bullet, 硬着头皮去凑份子，也不会被同事看成是Scrooge, 守财奴。她建议Sarah提出折中方案，make a compromise，让Sarah少出点钱，做个蛋糕带去。

　　B: That's right. Hopefully Sarah can leave a good first impression on her colleagues.

　　A: 不过Donny, 说到这个Scrooge，他是不是狄更斯小说“Christmas Carol"--"圣诞颂歌”里的那个小气自私的老头子？

　　B: 没错! 杨琳，看来你对外国文学很了解啊!

　　A: 承蒙夸奖! 除了文学，我还喜欢外国电影。我小时候特崇拜侠盗“佐罗”!

　　B: 你喜欢Zorro? 那你一定喜欢下面这个运动？

　　A: 骑马？

　　B: No! 是Fencing--击剑! 让我们来听“体育美语”。

　　American sports English: Fencing

　　P: This music reminds me of pirate movies like 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' Why are you listening to that?

　　Y: Because I like sword fighting. Do you like it?

　　P: It's hard to say, Yang Chen. I guess I don't have anything against swords, but it seems a bit strange. Why do you ask?

　　Y: Because I want to try fencing! 击剑！

　　P: Fencing F-E-N-C-I-N-G. Fencing is the official name for competitive and Olympic sword fighting.

　　But isn't fencing kind of dangerous, Yang Chen? And what ever happened to being a professional weightlifter?

　　Y: 我什么时候说过我要练举重吗？

　　P: Just a few days ago.

　　Y: I don't remember it. But anyway. Fencing can be dangerous, but we are going to be very careful and wear protective gear ，防护服， 从头到脚都要包起来。

　　P: Okay, I feel a little better knowing we are wearing masks, gloves and other protective gear that covers us from head to toe.

　　Y:这是你的剑， Patrick.

　　P: Cool! This is the foil F-O-I-L.

　　This foil looks like a real sword, but it doesn't have a sharp end.

　　Y: That's right. Foil 叫做钝头剑, 是用来练习的。

　　如果我击中你，你不会受伤！

　　P: Ouch!

　　Y: Oh, don't be a wimp, Patrick.

　　P: It didn't hurt. It just surprised me, that's all.

　　Y: All right. Now that we have our protective gear on and our foils, let's start fencing. Ready? Avant garde!

　　P: Whoa, whoa, whoa.Yang Chen, I'm not ready. I don't even know how to fence!

　　Y: I don't either.

　　P: Then why are we here?

　　Y: Because I think fencing is cool. 你不觉得击剑很帅吗？

　　P: Yang Chen, that 's not a good reason to go into fencing .

　　Y: It's not?

　　But I want to do it, 我要学会击剑，和坏人斗争，我要拯救世界！

　　P: OK. Before you can save the world, let's go online to check the local gyms and find you a good coach.

　　Y: Great idea.

　　P: Ouch! Stick to weightlifting and Michael Phelps for now.

　　A: Yes! Fencing is so cool! 感觉好像是非常有风度的跳舞!

　　B: But still, it's dangerous. You shouldn't play with a sword unless you've had adequate training.

　　A: Donny, 我本来还想和你笔划两招呢! 我当佐罗，你呢，这么胆小，只能当佐罗最亲密的战友了!

　　B: 那也不错啊! 他的战友是......？

　　A: 就是那匹大黑马呀!

　　B: What?!

　　A: 哈哈! 好了，今天的节目就到这里。节目的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

　　B: Bye!