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今天我們要講的美國習(xí)慣用語是：beyond a doubt. Beyond是超出的意思，doubt是懷疑的意思。 昨天晚上電視上播放了一個關(guān)于不明飛行物，UFO， 雖然我并不相信UFO的存在，但是我相信， 例句-1：Police investigators in my department searched the crime scene for evidence. Before long, they recovered samples of blood and hair that proved beyond a doubt who committed the murder. But what they weren't so sure of was why he did it. 一名警察在談到最近一起案子的時候說： Hmmm這讓我想起了一個同事。他每天都是第一個上班， ****** 在生活中，我們總會遇到一些人，會給你留下深刻的印象。 例句-2：When my teacher asked me to write about someone I admire, I chose my great aunt. Beyond a doubt, she's the most generous person I've ever known. Even though she doesn't have much money, she's always helped out people who have been in need. In my opinion, there's definitely no one more giving than she. 他說：老師讓我寫作文，寫我最敬佩的人。我選擇了我的姨姥姥。 如果你身邊有這種熱心人，那么算你幸運。無論遇到什么困難， B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來告訴大家今天都要學(xué)什么! A: Sure! 今天，我們要一起看看辦公室八卦有多可怕， B: Yeah...I always try to stay away from office gossip. I feel like the more you know, the more likely you are to become a subject of gossip yourself... A: 對啊! 我覺得，對于辦公室八卦，最好的方法就是敬而遠(yuǎn)之! B: Yeah, as if you don't gossip... A: 哎喲，都說了，節(jié)目上不能八卦!(both laugh) 好了好了現(xiàn)在，咱們趕快先來進入第一個單元，learn a word! Learn A Word 1679 neighborhood 今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 neighborhood, neighborhood is spelled n-e-i-g-h-b-o-r-h-o-o-d, neighborhood. neighborhood 居民區(qū)，小區(qū)。統(tǒng)計數(shù)字顯示，Almost 20% of people who recently moved regarded living in a Neighborhood close to where they work as a criteria in finding a new home. 最近搬家的人里，將近20% A: Yeah, a good neighborhood is really important. You should be able to feel safe where you live. B: Exactly. I love the neighborhood where I grew up. It's a small town, but everyone was so open and friendly! You don't get the same sense of community when you're living in the big city. A: 是啊! 在大城市里，鄰里之間都不來往。 Words and Idioms 821 LAST-DITCH EFFORT 美國習(xí)慣用語第 821講 我昨天晚上特別倒霉，不小心一屁股坐在了自己的眼鏡上， M: Last-ditch effort. Ditch is spelled d-i-t-c-h. Last-ditch-effort. Last-ditch effort. Ditch 在中文里是壕溝的意思。Last-ditch effort 這個習(xí)慣用語的中文意思是指多次嘗試失敗后所作的最后努力。 下面這位運動員也有類似經(jīng)歷。讓我們一起聽聽體育評論員的解釋。 M: "The Olympic gymnast had scored well on her floor exercises, but not enough to earn a medal. She knows she has one final opportunity, so she's making a LAST-DITCH EFFORT. If she doesn't succeed this time, she'll likely to be too old to try again at the Games in four years." 評論員說，這名奧林匹克體操運動員的自由體操的得分不低， 雖說大多數(shù)體操運動員年紀(jì)都很輕， 我們辦公室有個負(fù)責(zé)送信的小伙子，最近一直在追求我的一個同事， M: "The Olympic gymnast had scored well on her floor exercises, but not enough to earn a medal. She knows she has one final opportunity, so she's making a LAST-DITCH EFFORT. If she doesn't succeed this time, she'll likely to be too old to try again at the Games in four years." 你喜歡園藝嗎？種種花草，甚至可以種點蔬菜，自產(chǎn)自銷。我朋友 Jenny 經(jīng)常說，千萬別跟我提種花，我這個人什么也種不活。其實啊， M: "I'd never had much luck in my garden. Everything I'd ever planted failed to grow. I was about to give up. But I thought I'd try one more time by choosing a different location. My LAST-DITCH EFFORT made all the difference. Now I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with!" 這個人說，我在花園里的運氣永遠(yuǎn)特別差，種什么都活不了， 有時候，園藝確實需要技巧。在英語里， M: "I'd never had much luck in my garden. Everything I'd ever planted failed to grow. I was about to give up. But I thought I'd try one more time by choosing a different location. My LAST-DITCH EFFORT made all the difference. Now I've got more tomatoes than I know what to do with!" Last-ditch effort 這個習(xí)慣用語來自軍事，大家都知道，在戰(zhàn)場上打仗要挖戰(zhàn)壕， 好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。有聽眾寫信給我， M: Until next time. 下次節(jié)目再見。 M: This has been Words and Idioms. A: Ok, I'm going to make a last-ditch effort to give you some fashion advise, Mike...You can't wear a green shirt with a yellow tie! B:Ugh....it's only because I didn't have enough time to get ready this morning! My alarm clock didn't wake me up and I had only 5 minutes to get ready for work! A: Okok...你可得注意形象，咱倆可代表節(jié)目呢， B: What? You guys were gossiping about me? You two little..... A: 我們是準(zhǔn)備善意地幫助你! 不過啊，辦公室的閑話確實很可怕，今天的business etiquette里就要談到這個話題，咱們一塊來聽聽看! 禮節(jié)美語BE-221 Office Gossip I Sally 早上遇到同事 Lisa, 馬上湊上前去，很神秘地說： Sally: Did you hear the news about Tom and his wife? Lisa: No....what happened? S: Well, Jane told me that Tom has been having an affair! I heard his wife caught him at a hotel with another woman! L: Really? That's a shocker! I always thought Tom was a loyal, devoted family man. S: Hey Mary, did you hear about Tom? Mary: No, what happened? Is he okay? S: Well, keep this under your hat, but it seems Tom has been having an affair! Everyone's talking about it! Sally 告訴 Lisa，她聽說 Tom 搞婚外情，被他太太在旅館里捉奸。Lisa聽后很吃驚，說 That's a shocker! 意思是這件事太出人意料了， Mary: You know, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really keen on office gossip. For one thing, how do we even know the rumor is true? Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth? S: Not exactly. Jane said that Phyllis told her that they overheard a conversation between Katy and her friend Samantha about Tom's affair. M: Well, that doesn't sound like a very accurate source. I really think you should take this rumor with a grain of salt. Mary說，自己對辦公室里的這些八卦不感興趣。I'm not keen on office gossip. 她問Sally, Did you hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Mary在這里用到了一個習(xí)慣用語， straight from the horse's mouth. 意思是從當(dāng)事人本人，或是可靠消息來源那里得到的消息。 L: But Mary, everyone gossips in the office. It's part of office culture. M: That may be true, but sometimes gossip can be counterproductive and even dangerous. Did you ever play the "telephone game" when you were a kid? L: Um....no. What's the "telephone game?" M: Everyone sits in a circle and you start with a sentence of information. For example, "John hates chocolate cookies." Then each person whispers that sentence to the next person in turn. Lisa 覺得，辦公室里大家都喜歡傳八卦，It's part of office culture. 是辦公室文化的一個部分。Mary 卻覺得，gossip can be counterproductive. 這樣做只會有消極效應(yīng)。Mary 問 Lisa 小時候玩沒玩過 "telephone game"電話游戲，大家做成一圈， A: Sally告訴Lisa，同事Tom有婚外情， B: I agree. Office gossip is a perfect example of the telephone game. The news gets more and more distorted with each telling, especially when it comes to other people's personal lives. A: I agree that you have to respect other's privacy. But sometimes you have to gossip! Its a form of socializing, If you don't do it, you lose the chance to bond with your co-workers. B: What?? I think this may be one of those basic differences between men and women. Let's see what Lisa has to say about this! 禮節(jié)美語BE-222 Office Gossip II Sally 跟同事Lisa和Mary議論辦公室里關(guān)于Tom的傳聞， L: Oh, yes! I've played that game! By the time you come to the end of the circle the original sentence has been completely mangled. M: Right! "John hates chocolate cookies" gets transformed into something like, "James likes monkey pudding." S: Ok, I get your point. What you mean is that when information gets passed around, often times it becomes corrupted and incorrect, right? M: Exactly. Also, I think there is a difference between office gossip and commenting on someone's private life. Lisa 記得，小時候確實玩過這個游戲。一圈人，等傳到最后一個人， Mary: If the boss was hard on you today and you tell your colleagues about it, well....maybe that's just part of office life. But Tom's private life is no concern of ours. L: But people have been gossiping since the dawn of time! It's sort of a way for people to bond. M: Yes, I understand that. But I worry about spreading personal attacks or revealing secrets about someone's private life. L: You might be right. For one thing, the person we're talking about isn't here to defend himself, and that's not really fair. And like you mentioned, we don't even know if the story is true. Mary說，如果是老板對你過于嚴(yán)厲，if the boss was too hard on you. 你回來跟同事抱怨，這可能是辦公室生活很正常的內(nèi)容，但 Tom 的私生活 is no concern of ours. 完全不是我們應(yīng)該關(guān)心的范疇。Lisa覺得很有道理，而且， S: Those are good points. Tom is actually a really nice guy. I've worked with him for five years and he's always been a good friend. L: For us, if Tom is a good co-worker that's all that really matters. S: All right....I'm not going to discuss this rumor any further. Let's leave it alone. L: Good idea. M: I think we all hope Tom and his wife can work out any troubles they might be having. Let's wish them the best. Sally跟Tom共事過五年，覺得Tom是個很好的人。 A: 真是一點都沒錯! 辦公室傳言有時候傳得都沒譜了! 比如上次吧，我跟小貝在討論一則新聞， B: Yeah, it must be that someone passed by and overheard part of the conversation, and they started to use their imagination.... A: Exactly. This kind of gossip is really counterproductive. 也不尊重人呀! B: So it's better not to gossip and also stay away from those that do. A: 沒錯! 好了，這個話題就到這兒吧! 下面咱們再來學(xué)個詞兒! Learn A Word 1683 literacy 今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 literacy, literacy is spelled l-i-t-e-r-a-c-y, literacy. Literacy 意思是讀寫能力。McDonalds stores in the UK will replace the toys which come with its Happy Meals with books to boost child literacy. 英國的麥當(dāng)勞將把兒童套餐里的玩具換成書籍， A: Financial literacy! 這個我需要，這次報稅，我深刻體會到了我的金融文盲程度.... B: Haha, I'm not surprised! (A: what?) Kidding kidding. Yeah, paying taxes in America can be a real hassle. I never really understand any of those complicated forms... A: I hope they can simplify the process and lay it on the line... B: I don't think we will see that in our lifetime. But you just mentioned a very good term: lay it on the line. Let's listen to today's words and idioms and check it out! Words and Idioms 822 LAY ON THE LINE 美國習(xí)慣用語第 822講 我先生的公司有一位資歷很深的工程師，一貫遲到早退， M: Lay it on the line. Lay is spelled l-a-y, and line; l-i-n-e. Lay-it-on-the-line. Lay it on the line. Lay it on the line 這個習(xí)慣用語的意思是坦率地說明。剛才例子里的公司老板， 下面這個例子里的教授，也不得不對一個叫 Cheryl 的學(xué)生采取同樣的手段。讓我們一起聽聽他是怎么說的。 M: "I've been too easygoing with Cheryl. She continues to turn her essays in after the deadline. But now I'm going to LAY IT ON THE LINE. If she tries that again, she'll get an 'F' on her paper. Perhaps being firm and clear with her will get her to change." 這個教授說，我對 Cheryl 可能太遷就了。她還是等最后期限過了以后，才把文章交給我。 有些人就是吃硬不吃軟。只有 Lay it on the line， 才會真正引起他們的重視。這倒讓我想起我們的市長。 M: "I've been too easygoing with Cheryl. She continues to turn her essays in after the deadline. But now I'm going to LAY IT ON THE LINE. If she tries that again, she'll get an 'F' on her paper. Perhaps being firm and clear with her will get her to change." 直截了當(dāng)，不繞彎子是很多教練的風(fēng)格。 M: "Our table tennis coach has never been subtle about criticizing our performance. When we're not playing well, she LAYS IT ON THE LINE. Not everyone on the team appreciates her complete honesty, but I think it'll help us be more competitive. 這個隊員說，教練在批判我們表現(xiàn)的時候，從來不會拐彎抹角。 乒乓球在美國并不普及，沒有多少人喜歡玩， M: "Our table tennis coach has never been subtle about criticizing our performance. When we're not playing well, she LAYS IT ON THE LINE. Not everyone on the team appreciates her complete honesty, but I think it'll help us be more competitive. 你肯定想知道這個習(xí)慣用語的出處。I have to LAY IT ON THE LINE with you. 說實話，除了這個習(xí)慣用語是從二十世紀(jì)二十年代開始出現(xiàn)的以外， M: Until next time. 下次節(jié)目再見。 M: This has been Words and Idioms. A: Mike, I have to lay it on the line with you, That shirt and tie combination is making me physically sick! B:Give it time, I promise it will grow on you! A: You mean like mold on a tree?! 好了同學(xué)們，這次節(jié)目時間就到這里了。 B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic! |
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