美語訓練班 027

GoEnglish: Transportation-intermediate

各位聽眾，大家好！今天我們?yōu)槟コ?ldquo;美語三級跳”節(jié)目“出行”單元的中級課程。

MC: Craig 剛搬來紐約，第一天到新公司上班，卻迷路了，只好向別人問路。

Professor: That's right, Winnie. In this first part, Craig stops to ask a policeman for help.

Craig: Excuse me, I'm looking for number 250 on East 97th Street. Can you tell me how to get there?

Policeman: Ninety-seventh street? Wow, that's pretty far away. I hope you're not in a hurry.

Craig: Actually, I'm late for my first day of work. What's the fastest way to get there?

Policeman: Do you have a car or are you taking public transportation?

Craig: I'm on foot.

MC: 第一天上班就可能遲到，Craig 肯定急死了，可警察告訴他，到公司還有很遠的路呢！

Professor: That's why the policeman hoped Craig was not "in a hurry". If you're late for something, you can also say that you're "in a rush". It means the same thing.

MC: 哦，in a hurry 和 in a rush 都是“來不及”、“趕著做什么事”的意思。Professor, “public transportation”是指公車、地鐵這樣的公交系統(tǒng)么？

Professor: That's right.

MC: 可是Craig 既沒有開車、也不坐公車、地鐵，而是 on foot--走著去。我真擔心他會遲到！

Policeman: Well if you're walking, the fastest way to get there is to go through Central Park.

Craig: Central Park? How do I get there?

Policeman: Follow this road straight for three blocks until you see 97st street. Then take a left.

Craig: OK, I'll go straight on this street and take the third left. Then what?

Policeman: Follow 97th street until you get to the other side of Central Park. Number 250 will be four blocks ahead on your left.

Craig: Great! Thanks for your help.

Professor: So Winnie, what does the policeman tell Craig to do?

Winnie: 警察說，沿著這條街走三個街區(qū)，看到97街后左轉(zhuǎn)。

Professor: Exactly. And then what does he have to do?

Winnie: 然后，他要一直沿著97街走，直到穿過整個中央公園為止。然后，再走四個街區(qū)，公司就在路的左邊。

Professor: Exactly. In this next section, one hour has passed and Craig has come back to talk to the policeman again.

Winnie: ??？一個小時之后Craig又回來向這個警察問路，那一定是迷路了！

Craig: Officer, I followed the directions you gave me, but I didn't find the address! I think you gave me the wrong directions.

Officer: What? That's impossible. I told you the right way to get to 250 West 97th street.

Craig: West 97th street? No, I told you East 97th street! You mean I walked all the way there for nothing?

Officer: You're going to East 97th Street? Oh no, I must have told you how to get to West 97th street! East 97th street is just around the corner. You can get there in five minutes.

MC: 原來是這么回事! Craig要去東97街，可是警察聽成了西97街，難怪Craig走了大半天，還是找不到公司！

Professor: Yes, Craig is having some bad luck this morning. But at least his destination is only five minutes away now.

MC: 對，好在警察說，東97街 is just around the corner，就在附近，一拐彎就到。

Craig: Alright officer, can you please tell me how to get to 250 EAST 97th street?

Policeman: Of course. Just go back to 97th street, and instead of turning left, turn right. The building will be on your left-hand side.

Craig: Ok. Is that the fastest route? I'm really late now.

Policeman: There is a short cut, but since you don't know the city well, it's probably best to take the easiest route so you don't get lost.

MC: 原來，問題就出在左拐還是右拐上。如果到了97街后右轉(zhuǎn)，馬上就能到公司！Craig為了趕時間，問警察有沒有shortcut--近路，可警察怕他走丟，讓他還是走最好走的路線。

Professor: That's right, Winnie. Do you think Craig's new boss will be mad at him for being late?

MC: 我們下次節(jié)目就知道啦!

A: 又是東又是西的，我聽得都暈了。

B: 你是路癡，肯定得暈啊。

A: 幸好我開車上班，而且有GPS領路，那天我的GPS壞了，我就慘了。對了，Kat, 上次不是說到給你買車么，你有什么新的想法嗎？

B: No, I don't. I still think the disadvantages of owning a car outweighs its advantages.

A: 你不想買，我倒是被說動了，想換車。

B: Really? What do you have in mind?

A: I want my car to be good-looking, fuel efficient, roomy and affordable. I haven't found the perfect combination yet.

B: I don't think you can have it all.

A: 我也這么覺得，最后還是要做出取舍。咱們接下來聽聽今天的“禮節(jié)美語”，看看Chris打算挑個什么車，也許能給我一些靈感呢！

Business Etiquette: buying a car II

Chris準備買輛新車，向同事Jason征求意見。

Chris: What do you think about this one? Here....take a look.

Jason: I like it. It's quite stylish. But....it's also pretty small.

C: That's OK. We are only a family of three.

J: This model has a 1.3 liter engine. With a small engine, you'll save a lot of money on gas.

C: That's one of the reasons I'm considering this one. It gets good gas mileage and overall has good value.

J: When I was young, having a car was all about power, prestige and fashion. But today, everything is about economy, value and savings.

C: The world has changed.

Chris看中了一款車，征求Jason的意思。Jason說，車外觀還是挺有形的，但就是有點小。Chris覺得，小點沒關系，因為他們就三口人，a family of three, 小點也夠用了。Jason說，這款車引擎是1.3公升的，省油，是優(yōu)點。Chris承認，這也是他看中這款車的原因之一，It gets good gas mileage and overall has good value. 意思是說這輛車油耗低，總體上說很劃算。Jason大發(fā)感慨，說自己年輕那會兒買車就是為了馬力，時尚，如今大家考慮的卻都是實用和省錢。

J: Have you considered getting a secondhand car?

C: My wife rejected that idea. She says that you never know if the car dealer is unscrupulous. The car could be water damaged or could have been involved in an accident.

J: She makes some good points. Anyway, having a new car is a great experience.

C: I'm also trying to decide if I should take the three or five-year payment option.

J: If I can make a suggestion: go with a three-year plan. The five-year might look easier, but in the end, the interest payments are not worth it.

Chris不準備買二手車，因為他太太擔心碰上個缺德的二手車車行老板，把出過車禍的車買回家，上面所說的 unscrupulous is spelled u-n-s-c-r-u-p-u-l-o-u-s, unscrupulous, unscrupulous 意思是沒有道德操守的。Jason覺得，she makes some good points. 她說的很有道理。在貸款方面，Chris不知道應該三年還清還是五年還清，Jason建議他做三年的貸款，因為五年貸款每個月付的錢看上去雖然少些，但其實把交的利息都算進去，就不值了。

C: I'll go home and do the math, but you're probably right.

J: How about the color?

C: Blue is my lucky color, so I'll pick blue if possible. My wife says we should consider black because it doesn't look dirty so quickly.

J: Cool! Well, let me know when you decide. I'd love to check out your new car!

C: Sure, Jason. Thanks for the input.

Chris說，我回家算算 I'll go home and do the math. Do the math 是口語里很常用的一種說法，意思是算算清楚，特別是指明擺著的事情，比如：We cannot afford that house with our salaries. You do the math. 咱們的工資買不起那棟房，你自己算算吧。在顏色選擇上，Chris說，藍色是自己的幸運色，而太太覺得黑色經(jīng)臟。Jason最后說，I'd love to check out your new car! 買了新車別忘了給我看看。

B: I don't think Chris' case is of any help to you. He's a married man with a baby on the way, so his priority is quite different from yours.

A: 嗯，也對！不過有一點一樣，那就是We both have to do the math! 都得算計算計自己的收入能負擔什么價位的車！

B: So used cars are out of the question?

A：那也不一定！我現(xiàn)在這輛車就是二手車，我覺得還不錯。不過Chris的擔心也對，買二手車風險確實要大一些。

B：好了，咱們不說買車了。換個話題吧。

A：不買車買船吧！

B: ??？

A：來聽體育美語，去劃帆船！

American sports English: sailing

P: Let's go sailing, Yang Chen.

Y: Sailing，玩帆船，太棒了。

Aiya, 是要坐這條破船去嗎? This boat looks like it's 100 years old!

P: No, it's not a 破船. You see, it only has a few small holes. And besides, I have you to help me bail it out.

Y: Bail it out? 你是說，因為這條船上有窟窿， a few small holes，所以要我一直不停地往外舀水。You are not serious.

P: I'm. Bail b-a-i-l out. Bailing out a boat is using a bucket to throw out the water that has leaked to keep the boat from sinking. But you can also say you bailed someone out any time you help them avoid disaster.

Y:沒錯。bail someone out 就是救某人于危難之中，比如美國有些銀行要倒閉，政府就bailed them out.

P: That's right. Or, if your car broke down and you couldn't get to work and I gave you a ride, you could say I really bailed you out.

Y: You bailed me out? 我不記得了。哎，我們的船上還有一面旗子。

P: A boat's flag is called its colors. The flag gives other boats information about what kind of boat it is, like where it is from.

Y: Hmmm, 那我們應該掛一塊破布。

P: Why our flag should be be a piece of trash, 為什么?

Y: 因為我們是條破船。

P: Very funny. Let me tell you something about flags. You know, sometimes pirate boats put up a fake flag to disguise themselves. Then when they attack, they put up a pirate flag, which is their true colors.

Y: Oh! 我知道了，所有有個說法叫"show your true colors"!讓人看到你的真面目。

P: Exactly. When people pretend to be one way, but then reveal their true character, you can say they showed their true colors.

Y: Hey, Patrick, I have a good idea. 我們掛一面海盜旗怎么樣?

P: Hmmm, a pirate flag, are you going to attack another ship?

Y: No. I just want to show my true colors.

B: Roe roe roe your boat....

A: 呵呵，我也會唱，讓我們蕩起雙槳....

B: I've never heard of that song.

A: 這是很老的歌兒了，我媽小時候那個年代的。

B：Wow, but it sounds nice.

A：因為我唱的好唄！不過話說回來，以后咱們可以一起去劃船。

B: Sounds like a plan!

A: 好，it's a date! 今天的節(jié)目時間差不多了。這次的撰稿人是曉北，編輯是蔚然。同學們，我們下次的美語訓練班再見!

B: Bye!