美語訓(xùn)練班127

　　B: Welcome to American English Mosaic, I'm Mike Bond!

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Do you know how to shop for the best, the most unique souvenirs? We will offer you some tips in today's business etiquette.

　　A: 在菜單上標(biāo)上卡路里好不好? 我們在下面的節(jié)目中為你介紹。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "to give one's best shot" and "stop cold" means!

　　A: All coming up on this edition of American English Mosaic!

　　B: Now let's go into our first segment, Learn a word!

　　Learn A Word 1845 in a pinch

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 in a pinch. Pinch is spelled p-i-n-c-h, in a pinch. In a pinch 意思是在必要的時(shí)候可以做為替補(bǔ)之用。感冒是學(xué)生缺課的主要原因，新學(xué)年開始之際，醫(yī)生建議孩子們在學(xué)校要注意多洗手，如果條件不允許的話，Hand sanitizer works in a pinch. 免水洗手液也可以做為替代品。咖啡提神誰都知道，不過，A cup of coffee should only be used in a pinch, rather than as a substitute for adequate sleep. 必要的時(shí)候可以靠咖啡提神，但是咖啡不能取代足夠的睡眠。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 in a pinch, in a pinch, in a pinch...

　　A: For me, adequate sleep and coffee are both extremely important. Otherwise I'm ineffective for the whole day.

　　B: Well, that explains some things.... (A: Ugh...) Kidding, kidding! I do think plenty of shut-eye is very important. People today tend to trade health for money!

　　A: I know! Did you hear about the Accenture analyst who died at his office desk and it took his co-worker 5 days to discover the body? That's terrifying.

　　B: I know. A lot of young people will give their best shot in hopes of climbing the corporate ladder, but you got to listen to your body at the same time.

　　A: That's a valid point. 你正好提到了一個(gè)用法，give one's best shot. 我們來聽聽今天的美國習(xí)慣用語，學(xué)學(xué)這個(gè)短語的用法!

　　Words and Idioms 877 to give one's best shot

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 877 講

　　我朋友 Mark 受到我去跑馬拉松的鼓舞，最近也報(bào)名參加業(yè)余鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽，包括游泳、騎車和長跑，他知道自己不可能贏，但他告訴我說，He will give it his best shot. 他一定會盡力而為。這也是我們今天要學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語。

　　M: To give one's best shot. Give is spelled g-i-v-e. Give. Best is spelled b-e-s-t. Best. To give one's best shot.

　　大家都知道，give 是給;best 是最好的。to give one's best shot 意思是不管會不會成功，都會盡力而為。我朋友 Mark 去參加業(yè)余鐵人三項(xiàng)比賽，他不太看重結(jié)果，但是 He will give it his best shot. 他會努力發(fā)揮出自己最好的水平。在下面這個(gè)例子里，一位男子正鼓足勇氣，準(zhǔn)備邀請一個(gè)漂亮姑娘出去約會。我們一起來聽聽他是怎么說的。

　　M: "She probably has a boyfriend. Or even if she doesn't, she probably likes rich guys or tall guys. Then again, who knows? Ah, what the heck. I might as well GIVE IT MY BEST SHOT. If one thing's for sure: I have no chance if I don't ask her."

　　這個(gè)人說：她八成已經(jīng)有男朋友了。就算還沒有，可能也會喜歡那種有錢的，或是高個(gè)子的男生。不過，也不一定。嗨，不管那么多了，我還是要努力去試試看。起碼有一點(diǎn)是肯定的，如果我不去邀請她的話，那就一點(diǎn)機(jī)會都沒有了。

　　沒錯。很多女孩子都喜歡自信、有男子漢氣概的男生，有時(shí)候，這一點(diǎn)比金錢和外表還要重要。好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "She probably has a boyfriend. Or even if she doesn't, she probably likes rich guys or tall guys. Then again, who knows? Ah, what the heck. I might as well GIVE IT MY BEST SHOT. If one thing's for sure: I have no chance if I don't ask her."

　　To give one's best shot 這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語是從十九世紀(jì)中期開始流行的，因?yàn)?shot 有嘗試和努力的意思。

　　我前天晚上車突然壞了，到修車鋪，修理工告訴我，兩天后來取?？晌业诙爝€急等著用，經(jīng)過百般懇求，他最后才同意，He will give it his best shot. 最后晚上加班到九點(diǎn)多，終于幫我把車修好了。在下面這個(gè)例子中，一個(gè)參加世界杯足球賽的隊(duì)員對比賽結(jié)果十分痛心，但是他同時(shí)又說：

　　M: "We have no regrets. Of course it hurts to lose but we GAVE IT OUR BEST SHOT and you can't do more than that. This time the other side was just too good."

　　這個(gè)隊(duì)員說：我們無怨無悔。輸了比賽心里當(dāng)然很難過，但是我們已經(jīng)盡了自己的全力了。這次實(shí)在是對手實(shí)力太強(qiáng)了。

　　我同意。其實(shí)，不管是什么比賽，輸贏都是次要，as long as you gave it your best shot.

　　但是，如果輸了比賽，下來后捶胸頓足，因?yàn)槊髦约罕緛砜梢宰龅酶玫脑?，那才是最讓人遺憾的。

　　不久前，女兒要去參加地區(qū)性小學(xué)組的鋼琴大賽。她準(zhǔn)備了好幾個(gè)月，但是比賽前還是緊張得不行。我告訴她說，輸贏不要緊。Just give it your best shot. 彈出自己的最高水平就行了。好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "We have no regrets. Of course it hurts to lose but we GAVE IT OUR BEST SHOT and you can't do more than that. This time the other side was just too good."

　　大家不要忘記，學(xué)習(xí)英語口語首先要學(xué)會張嘴，大膽說出口，不要顧及發(fā)音和語法的對錯。Just give it your best shot! 好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　B: That's the best way to learn a foreign language. You got to give it your best shot! Try to speak as much as possible, and don't worry about your accent and grammar too much.

　　A: True! That's what I did when I was learning English! Well...I'm still learning...

　　B: Ha, you are pretty good! My Chinese was way better when I was in China when I had to speak it everyday! I miss China so much...

　　A: Ha, I bet! In today's business etiquette, we will take you to China, and introduce you to all the interesting souvenirs you can get there!

　　B: Let's check it out!

　　禮節(jié)美語Souvenir Shopping I

　　公司副總裁 Jason 到上海，由Gina接待。

　　Jason: Hello Gina! We've spoken so many times on the phone but's it's so good to finally meet you in person!

　　G: Hello sir. Good to meet you, too.

　　J: Oh, please don't call me "sir." Just call me Jason.

　　G: Ok, Jason. So how was the flight?

　　J: Pretty good. There was a bit of turbulence while we were over the Pacific Ocean but it wasn't too bad. The worst thing was the guy behind me. He snored all through the night!

　　G: Really? But you were in first class! Nobody woke that guy up?

　　Jason和Gina以前只在電話上溝通過，Jason說，it's so good to finally meet you in person. 見到你本人很高興。寒暄過后，Gina問Jason路上是否順利，Jason說，飛機(jī)在太平洋上空遇到氣流有些顛簸，turbulence is spelled t-u-r-b-u-l-e-n-c-e, turbulence 是氣流的意思。但最糟糕的是，坐在Jason后面的人打了一夜呼嚕。

　　J: The stewardess said it's not company policy to wake people up for any reason.

　　G:That's terrible! So you didn't get any sleep?

　　J: Not much...but that's ok...I'm a night owl anyway.

　　G: So, aside from visiting our factory and offices, are there any other things you want to accomplish while you're in China?

　　J: I'd love to squeeze in a trip to the Great Wall.

　　G: That's not a problem. We can have a company car take you there. It's only about a two hour drive.

　　空服拒絕把打呼嚕的人叫醒，因?yàn)?it's not company policy 不符合公司規(guī)定。Jason說，自己反正是 a night owl 夜貓子，所以問題不大。除了視察工作外，Jason 說還想抽時(shí)間去爬長城，I'd love to squeeze in a trip to the Great Wall. Gina說，長城不遠(yuǎn)，只要兩小時(shí)車程，所以沒問題。

　　J: Also...I'd like to do some shopping while I'm here.

　　G: Well, you've come to the right place! China is a shopping paradise. Name it--we've got it.

　　J: To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. But I need gifts for my wife, kids and I should bring something back for the senior partners of my firm as well.

　　G: Hum...I'd recommend silk for your wife. Maybe a bathrobe or perhaps a shawl. Silk dresses and shirts are good, too.

　　J: Yeah...that sounds good. But my wife is picky so I'll need your help to choose the right one. It should be classy and not too flashy.

　　G: I think I know just the store to visit. Leave it to me.

　　除了觀光，Jason還想購物，給太太、孩子和公司合伙人買禮物。Gina 建議Jason 給太太買絲綢制品。Jason說太太很 picky，picky is spelled p-i-c-k-y, picky，picky 是挑剔的意思，衣服要典雅 classy, 不能過于招搖，flashy. Gina說，leave it to me. 包在我身上。

　　A: 老板Jason第一次來中國，除了工作，他想squeeze in a trip to the Great Wall，抽時(shí)間去趟長城。他還需要給家人和合伙人買禮物，他說太太很picky，挑剔。Gina說，leave it to me, 包在我身上，建議他買silk dress or silk bathrobe, 絲制裙子或者睡袍。

　　B: There are so many thing you can get in China! When I went to China for the first time, everything seemed so exotic to me!

　　A: For example?

　　B:The hand-carved stone seals! I couldn't believe I could get a hand-made piece of art for so little!

　　A: Alright, let's keep listen and see what Gina is going to suggest!

　　禮節(jié)美語Souvenir Shopping II

　　公司副總裁 Jason 到上海出差，由Gina接待。Jason讓Gina幫忙選禮物。

　　Jason: Hey! You know what might be good gifts for my business associates? Chinese antiques!

　　G: Well, we certainly have lots of antique art, statues and carvings, but in most cases it's not legal to take genuine antiques out of China.

　　J: Oh, I see. That makes sense. You have to preserve your heritage.

　　G: But there are many reproductions of antiques for sale.

　　J: you mean fakes?

　　G: A fake is when the dealer lies and says the piece is ancient. A reproduction is legal and they can be quite beautiful.

　　Jason 想給同事買中國古董 antiques 做禮物，但是Gina告訴他，古董不能帶出中國，建議Jason考慮買reproduction復(fù)制品。Jason 以為 Gina 是指 fake 假貨，Gina 解釋說，fake 假貨是商人故意欺騙顧客，以假亂真，而復(fù)制品則是合法生產(chǎn)和出售的。

　　J: Yeah! That would look cool. Maybe some scrolls or traditional paintings.

　　G: Good idea. Scrolls with Chinese cursive calligraphy look great on an office wall. And...they might even bring you luck!

　　J: You can't beat that! But what about the kids?

　　G: Humm...that's a bit trickier. There are of course, lots of counterfeit goods available like software or music, but buying them isn't recommended.

　　J: No, I don't buy counterfeits. Besides...my sons have loads of computer games and CDs.

　　Gina 建議 Jason 買中國國畫或是書法作品，掛在辦公室墻上很氣派，但是給孩子買什么禮物呢，Gina 說, that's a bit trickier. 這可有些麻煩。Jason 說，他不愿意給兒子買盜版軟件或音樂，counterfeit is spelled c-o-u-n-t-e-r-f-e-i-t, counterfeit, counterfeit 是盜版的意思。

　　G: Hey! I know. You could have old-style Chinese suits custom-made for them! They can go around looking like little Chinese emperors! I know a great tailor!

　　J; Ha! Perfect! They'd like that for sure. Wow Gina.. You're full of great ideas. I should tell your boss to give you a raise.

　　G: But you are my boss!

　　J: (Chuckle) Right! Then I'll make a note to myself! Really though... I can't thank you enough for all your help.

　　G: Not at all. Just demonstrating some traditional Chinese hospitality.

　　Gina 突然來了靈感，說可以找裁縫給孩子量身定做中國的傳統(tǒng)衣服，custom-made 是定做的意思，把他們打扮成中國小皇帝的樣子。Jason對Gina的建議非常滿意，說要告訴Gina的老板，給她漲工資，give someone a raise 是給某人漲工資的意思。Gina笑著提醒Jason說，你就是我的老板啊，我不過是表現(xiàn)一下中國人的傳統(tǒng)好客罷了。

　　A: Gina建議說，給生意伙伴可以買reproduction of antiques, 古董復(fù)制品，而給孩子們呢，可以買custom made old-style Chinese suits, 也就是定制的中山裝。Jason覺得這些建議很好，他說: I can't thank you enough for all your help, 意思是十分感謝。

　　B: Yep! With an informed local to guide you around and give you advice on what to get for souvenirs, it's hard to go wrong!

　　A: 沒錯! 咦，你提到了一個(gè)詞兒，informed, 我們再來聽聽learn a word,學(xué)學(xué)這個(gè)詞兒要怎么用!

　　Learn A Word 1848 informed

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 informed. Informed is spelled i-n-f-o-r-m-e-d, informed. Informed 形容詞，意思是知情的。More and more restaurants are listing calories next to items on their menus to help customers make informed decisions. 越來越多的餐館開始在菜單上注明每道菜的卡路里熱量，幫助顧客在知情的情況下，做出明智的決定。

　　Consumer Reports rated almost 2,500 hospitals for common surgical procedures, giving patients the information they need to make informed choices. “消費(fèi)者報(bào)告”針對近2500家醫(yī)院做例行手術(shù)的治療效果打分，為消費(fèi)者提供信息，幫助他們在選擇醫(yī)院時(shí)做出明智選擇。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 informed, informed, informed...

　　A: I hate to look at the calorie index on menus. All the dishes I want have high calories!

　　B: Well, it's a universal fact that anything that tastes good has a lot of calories.....

　　A: I know! And once you start eating, you end up finishing the whole thing! Nobody can just stop cold when it comes to gourmet food.

　　B: Haha, I'm the same way! But you just mentioned a good idiom: stop cold, let's check it out in today's words and idioms!

　　Words and Idioms 878 Stop Cold

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 878 講

　　我星期二晚上在家烤蛋糕，參加女兒學(xué)校的義賣活動，結(jié)果材料都準(zhǔn)備好了，電動攪拌機(jī)沒用一分鐘，卻突然罷了工，沒辦法，只好改電動為手動，累得我胳膊都快折了。不過，這也讓我想起一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語可以跟大家分享，那就是：

　　M: Stop cold. Cold is spelled c-o-l-d. Stop-cold.

　　Stop cold 意思是突然停止。我烤蛋糕的時(shí)候電動攪拌機(jī)突然壞了，就可以說 It stopped cold. 再比如，孩子跳舞表演，我興致勃勃地拿著錄像機(jī)，打算全程錄下來，誰知道，The camcorder stopped cold five minutes into the program. 表演剛開始五分鐘，攝像機(jī)就不工作了。原來是沒電了。在下面這個(gè)例子里，一個(gè)公司經(jīng)理被困在了電梯里，我們一起聽聽他的經(jīng)歷。

　　M: "I've rarely thought about the possibility of getting stuck in an elevator. Yet, as I was heading up to my office on the tenth floor, the elevator STOPPED COLD. There I was trapped with no way to get out. Finally, after about half an hour, it started moving again. Maybe it was a sign that I should take the stairs and get some exercise!"

　　這個(gè)人說：我?guī)缀鯊臎]想到自己會被困在電梯里?？蓜偛牛疑鲜畼侨マk公室，電梯中途突然停了。我被困在了電梯里面。差不多半個(gè)小時(shí)后，電梯才又恢復(fù)工作。這是在暗示我，應(yīng)該去爬樓梯，多鍛煉鍛煉。

　　我侄子現(xiàn)在正處于青少年開始對異性產(chǎn)生朦朧意識的階段，跟男同學(xué)在一起有說有笑，可是只要一有女孩子加入進(jìn)來，他立刻就啞巴了。Girls just STOP him COLD. 好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "I've rarely thought about the possibility of getting stuck in an elevator. Yet, as I was heading up to my office on the tenth floor, the elevator STOPPED COLD. There I was trapped with no way to get out. Finally, after about half an hour, it started moving again. Maybe it was a sign that I should take the stairs and get some exercise!"

　　我這個(gè)人雖然不是追星族，但如果真有個(gè)大明星突然出現(xiàn)在我眼前呢?有一次，我正在做采訪，電影明星喬治•克魯尼突然走進(jìn)了演播室，我當(dāng)時(shí)就暈了。His present stopped me cold.

　　下面例子中這只球隊(duì)整個(gè)賽季過關(guān)斬將，我們聽聽隊(duì)員是怎么說的：

　　M: "Many of the teams we've faced off against expected to advance to the finals. But they haven't been able to beat us. We've got some excellent players this season. That's why we've been STOPPING our opponents COLD. If we keep it up, we'll make it to the finals!"

　　這個(gè)隊(duì)員說：跟我們交手的很多球隊(duì)都是想進(jìn)決賽的強(qiáng)隊(duì)，但誰也打敗不了我們。這個(gè)賽季我們有很多優(yōu)秀隊(duì)員，這就是為什么對手都過不了我們這一關(guān)。照這樣下去，我們一定能進(jìn)決賽。

　　Stop Cold 這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語是十九世紀(jì)末出現(xiàn)的，因?yàn)?cold 除了寒冷以外，也有突然和徹底的意思?，F(xiàn)在，大家知道這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語的意思了，下次如果有人用到這個(gè)詞，你一定不會感到陌生和意外。It won't stop you cold next time you hear it. 好，我們再來聽一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "Many of the teams we've faced off against expected to advance to the finals. But they haven't been able to beat us. We've got some excellent players this season. That's why we've been STOPPING our opponents COLD. If we keep it up, we'll make it to the finals!"

　　好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　B: So Yang Lin, I heard a rumor....

　　A: I'm going to stop you cold right there Mike.

　　B: Ok ok, have it your way!

　　A: 好了同學(xué)們，這次節(jié)目時(shí)間就到這里了。

　　B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!

　　A: See you next time!