美語訓(xùn)練班129

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

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Getting a visa can be frustrating, but there are some ways to smooth out the process. We will offer you some tips in today's business etiquette.

　　A: 新版 iPhone的指紋識別是不是會帶來更多商機(jī)? 我們在下面的節(jié)目中為你介紹。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "swim against the tide" and "have the upper hand" 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 1857 fingerprint

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 fingerprint. Fingerprint is spelled f-i-n-g-e-r-p-r-i-n-t, fingerprint. Fingerprint 是指紋的意思。The most noticeable new feature of the new iPhone 5S is its Touch ID, a fingerprint censor. 蘋果5S最大的新功能是指紋識別。Apple says Touch ID can support up to five fingerprints. 蘋果公司說，每部手機(jī)的指紋識別器最多能支持五個(gè)指紋。Industry experts say the fingerprint sensor could open doors for expanded use of mobile payment services. 業(yè)內(nèi)專家說，指紋識別可以為更多的手機(jī)支付服務(wù)項(xiàng)目打開大門。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 fingerprint, fingerprint, fingerprint...

　　A: It would be really cool if we could use our fingerprint to make bank payments! That way no one can forge your identity since everyone's fingerprints are unique.

　　B: Technology is indeed fascinating. Nowadays I can go out with only my smartphone, I can use it as a phone, as a wallet, as a camera, as a GPS...the sky is the limit!

　　A: True, true. But sometimes I do feel that we are overly connected with our smart devices. The first thing I do every morning is check my email and facebook messages, I'm pretty sure that's not healthy.

　　B: Maybe every once in a while you could swim against the tide by giving yourself a tech-free day!

　　A: Ha, good idea! And you mentioned a good idiom: swim against the tide. Let's listen to today's words and idioms and check it out!

　　Words and Idioms 881 Swim Against the Tide

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 881 講

　　在當(dāng)今這個(gè)社交網(wǎng)站滿天飛，所有人都忙著更新狀態(tài)的時(shí)代，我朋友 Laurie 卻全然不為所動，絕不隨大流。這也讓我想起一個(gè)可以跟大家分享的習(xí)慣用語，叫：

　　M: Swim against the tide. Swim is spelled s-w-i-m, and tide; t-i-d-e. Swim-against-the-tide.

　　大家都知道，swim 意思是游泳;tide 意思是潮流。to swim against the tide 顧名思義，就是逆著潮流而行。我朋友 Laurie 就是這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語的化身。別人都在忙于上網(wǎng)社交的時(shí)候，她卻我行我素，She is swimming against the tide. 逆著潮流而行。在下面的例子里，一些部門經(jīng)理開會不拿手提電腦，而是返樸歸真，重新拿起筆記本。我們一起聽。

　　M: "There's no shortage of laptops at business meetings. But more than a few of us are starting to SWIM AGAINST THE TIDE. We're using old-fashioned notebooks instead. Not only are they easier to access, but they also don't require batteries."

　　這段話是說：商業(yè)會議上，到處都是手提電腦，但是也有象我這樣的一些人卻反潮流而進(jìn)，回去使用老式的筆記本，筆記本不僅更加方便攜帶，而且還不需要電池。

　　我也聽人說起過現(xiàn)在的這種趨勢。這些商業(yè)管理人員其實(shí)不并是反對科技進(jìn)步，但是他們意識到，其實(shí)筆記本真的要比手提電腦更好用。好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "There's no shortage of laptops at business meetings. But more than a few of us are starting to SWIM AGAINST THE TIDE. We're using old-fashioned notebooks instead. Not only are they easier to access, but they also don't require batteries."

　　在英語里，有一個(gè)詞，專門用來形容反對科技進(jìn)步的人，叫 luddite, luddite is spelled l-u-d-d-i-t-e. 1811年到1816年期間，一群英國工人發(fā)生暴動，搗毀了很多紡織機(jī)器，因?yàn)樗麄冇X得，機(jī)械進(jìn)步會減少就業(yè)機(jī)會。Luddite 這個(gè)詞后來專門用來指反對技術(shù)進(jìn)步的人。

　　美國前幾年房地產(chǎn)市場火爆，很多新開發(fā)的房子都屬于豪宅一類，有人覺得，這種房子其實(shí)并不實(shí)用。讓我們聽聽下面例子里這個(gè)人是怎么說的：

　　M: "My friends have all bought bigger homes featuring master bedroom suites, gourmet kitchens, formal dining rooms, and lots of bathrooms. My wife and I would rather have a modest house that doesn't cost a lot to furnish and maintain. We realize we're SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE and that's fine with us."

　　這個(gè)人說：我朋友買的都是大房子，里面有主臥室，講究的廚房，正式餐廳，還有好多洗手間。我和妻子更愿意要一個(gè)簡單得多的房子，不需要太多錢去裝修和保養(yǎng)。我們知道，這么做是在逆潮流而動，不過我們覺得這挺好。

　　跟 swim against the tide 相反的，是 swim with the tide 意思是隨大流，順著潮流而進(jìn)。就我個(gè)人而言，我大多數(shù)時(shí)候都是 swim with the tide, 不過有時(shí)候，如果是我認(rèn)準(zhǔn)了的事情，我也一定會堅(jiān)持自己的立場 swim against the tide。好，我們再來聽一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "My friends have all bought bigger homes featuring master bedroom suites, gourmet kitchens, formal dining rooms, and lots of bathrooms. My wife and I would rather have a modest house that doesn't cost a lot to furnish and maintain. We realize we're SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE and that's fine with us."

　　在整個(gè)歷史長河中，多少思想家、發(fā)明家、探險(xiǎn)家，都是因?yàn)楦矣谔魬?zhàn)主流思想，換句話說，他們就是敢于 swim against the tide, 才最終推動了人類的進(jìn)步。

　　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.

　　A: I think a cozy home full of love is way better than a luxury house with no family quality time!

　　B: I completely agree. It's not about how many things you have in life, it's about who you can share them with.

　　A: That reminds me, I should probably pay a visit home...

　　B: Not without renewing your visa...

　　A: Right. My visa is expired. Thank you for reminding me.

　　B: And we will talk about this exact topic in today's business etiquette!

　　A: 如果你要去申請簽證，趕快來聽聽如何應(yīng)對簽證官的問題吧!

　　禮節(jié)美語 Applying for a Visa I

　　王小姐到美國使館簽證，簽證官 Bob Jones 受理她的申請。

　　B: Hello miss. Can I see your ticket number?

　　W: Sure, here you are. And here are my application forms as well.

　　B: Thank you miss...Wang. I'm Bob Jones and I'll be handling your application.

　　W: Nice to meet you Mr. Jones.

　　B: The first step is to determine your eligibility for a U.S. visa. Let's see here...you're applying for a special business visa. Why is that?

　　W: Well, my first order of business will be attending a conference in Seattle, but after that I intend to spend two weeks visiting my friends. I assumed a business visa would be required.

　　簽證官Bob說，首先要決定，王小姐是否符合申請美國簽證的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，eligibility is spelled e-l-i-g-i-b-i-l-i-t-y, eligibility 是符合標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的意思。簽證官問王小姐為什么要申請一種特殊商務(wù)簽證，a special business visa.。王小姐解釋說，她是先到西雅圖開會，first order of business 意思是第一件要處理的事情，然后還準(zhǔn)備去看朋友。

　　B: I think a regular visitor's visa should suffice. With this visa, you can stay in the United States for up to 90 days.

　　W: So I can attend conferences and do business on that visa?

　　B: Yes. You are free to do temporary business with this visa. If you were planning on setting up a new business in the U.S. you might need to apply for a long-term visa.

　　W: Oh, I see. I think 90 days is more than enough time.

　　簽證官覺得，王小姐申請一般的旅游簽證 a regular visitor's visa 就可以了，suffice is spelled s-u-f-f-i-c-e, suffice 是足夠的意思，她憑旅游簽證能在美國停留90天，而且也可以做生意。王小姐說，90天的時(shí)間已經(jīng)足夠了。

　　B: You said you plan to attend a conference. May I see your official invitation letter?

　　W: Of course...I've also attached two reference letters from my senior management who can confirm my itinerary.

　　B: I see. Your passport has quite a few international stamps in it. You do a lot of business traveling?

　　W: I'm out of the country almost half a year. I'm a Chinese antiquities consultant and advisor. Our company has an office in Zurich.

　　王小姐把會議方的邀請函 the official invitation letter 交給簽證官，還附加了兩份公司主管的信，證明她的行程，itinerary. 她說自己 I'm out of the country almost half a year. 每年幾乎有半年的時(shí)間不在國內(nèi)，簽證官說王小姐護(hù)照上有 quite a few international stamps, 這里所說的 international stamps 是指入出境時(shí)在護(hù)照上蓋的章。原來，王小姐是中國古跡專家，她所在的公司在蘇黎世有辦公處。

　　A: 王小姐申請赴美簽證，簽證官要確定她的eligibility, 是否符合標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。她要申請 regular visitor's visa, 普通旅游簽證，需要提供official invitation letter, 官方邀請信。簽證官說，王小姐的護(hù)照上有quite a few international stamps， 有很多出入境紀(jì)錄。

　　B: It definitely helps if you have some travel records showing that you have complied with the terms of the visa.

　　A: You are lucky that you have an American passport. You don't need a visa to go to most of the places in the world.

　　B: Except the one place I really want to go...China!

　　A: Ha, that's true. Alright, 我們接著來聽聽簽證官還需要什么東西吧

　　禮節(jié)美語 Applying for a Visa II

　　王小姐到美國使館簽證，簽證官 Bob Jones 受理她的申請，Bob 得知王小姐是研究古跡的專家后，覺得這個(gè)行業(yè)很有意思。

　　B: Wow, that sounds like an interesting line of work. I see here you are a citizen of People's Republic of China.

　　W: That's correct.

　　B: According to United States law, I'm required to ask you some reasonably personal questions. Please understand that these are formalities and are required of everyone.

　　W: No problem. Ask away.

　　B: Do you have proof of your financial stability? I'll need to see a bank statement.

　　W: Yes. I remembered to bring my bankbook. Here you are.

　　簽證官Bob說，王小姐從事的行業(yè)似乎很有意思，line of work 指的是工作，行業(yè)。簽證官Bob說，他要問王小姐一些個(gè)人問題，these are formalities. formalities 意思是必要的形式。首先，簽證申請人要證明自己的 financial stability 經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力。

　　B: Have you ever been involved with terrorism or groups that support terrorism?

　　W: Absolutely not.

　　B: Do you have a criminal record in China?

　　W: No. Not even a parking ticket.

　　B: Ok...now I'm going to ask you sign a statement that affirms everything you just told me. If you sign this document, it's legally considered the same as swearing an oath in court. Do you affirm that everything you just told me is the truth?

　　W: I do.

　　簽證官問王小姐是否參與過恐怖活動，be involved with 意思是參與，涉及。簽證官又問，do you have a criminal record in China? 在中國有沒有犯罪記錄。王小姐回答說，她連違章停車的罰單都沒吃過，違章停車的罰單在英語里叫 parking ticket. 簽證官最后讓王小姐在一份文件上簽字，保證自己所說的一切屬實(shí)。

　　B: Then please sign here. Thank you. Now I must inform you that anyone applying for a visa to the United States is required to have their fingerprints taken.

　　W: That's not a problem. So...how long before I'll know if my visa is approved.

　　B: The processing time is usually about 5 days. If there is some problem, you'll get a call or an email.

　　W: Excellent. Thank you for your assistance Mr. Jones, you've been a great help.

　　B: Not at all...just doing my job. Enjoy your trip to the United States.

　　W: I certainly will!

　　王小姐簽好字，還要做指紋取樣，按簽證官說的，anyone applying for a visa to the United States is required to have fingerprints taken. 凡是申請入境美國簽證的人，都要提取指紋。王小姐問簽證申請幾天才會有結(jié)果，簽證官回答說，The processing time is about 5 days. 辦理簽證大約要五天的時(shí)間，如果有問題，會電話或是電郵通知申請人，簽證官最后還預(yù)祝王小姐去美國旅程順利。

　　A: 簽證官還問了王小姐一些私人問題，比如有沒有參加過恐怖組織，有沒有犯罪記錄，他解釋說these are formalities, 這是必要的形式。王小姐還要證明她的financial stability, 經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力，最后她在文件上簽名，it equals to an oath in court, 在法律意義上就像是在法庭上發(fā)誓，保證自己所說的一切屬實(shí)。

　　B: Submitting a visa application is a complicated process, but it's necessary. It can prevent illegal immigration and protects the local economy.

　　A: True. I have a friend who is a visa officer. He said after dealing with 20,000 visa applications, he could tell whether he would give the green light to an applicant just by seeing how he walks towards him!

　　B: Ha, that's like a walking lie detector! Alright, enough about visas, let's go ahead with our class.

　　A: Let's listen to another learn a word!

　　Learn A Word 1855 toss

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 toss. Toss is spelled t-o-s-s, toss. Toss 動詞，是丟掉，扔掉的意思。Defense lawyers wanted the defendant's confession to be tossed out of court. 辯護(hù)律師希望法庭不考慮被告的認(rèn)罪書。The fans were tossed out of the stadium for fighting. 這些球迷因?yàn)榇蚣鼙或?qū)逐出球場。A family was tossed out of Universal Studios because the dad wore a T-shirt with the word "police" on it. 一家人被環(huán)球影城趕了出去，因?yàn)楦赣H穿著的T恤衫上寫這“警察”的字眼。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 toss, toss, toss...

　　A: I think it's fair that the father was tossed out. Wearing a T-shirt that says "Police" could lead to other people having false perceptions of you.

　　B: True, but it is also important to protect a person's right to freedom of expression.

　　A: 沒錯! 好啦，我們來聽今天的最后一個(gè)單元，學(xué)學(xué) have the upper hand 這個(gè)短語是什么意思!

　　Words and Idioms 882 to have the upper hand

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 882 講

　　每年春天，我們幾家人都會出去野餐，一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)項(xiàng)目就是老少對陣的足球賽。父母一隊(duì)，孩子一隊(duì)，以前每年都是父母贏，可今年不知道為什么，孩子們好象突然間都長大了，大人根本追不上他們。這也讓我想起一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語，叫：

　　M: To have the upper hand. Upper is spelled u-p-p-e-r. Upper. Hand is spelled h-a-n-d. Hand. To have the upper hand.

　　大家都知道，upper 是上面的;hand 是手。to have the upper hand 意思就是占優(yōu)勢，占上風(fēng)。就好比我們兩代人的足球賽，以前是父母人高馬大，we had the upper hand. 如今孩子們個(gè)頭追上我們了，速度又比我們快，因此 they have the upper hand. 他們開始占上風(fēng)了。to have the upper hand 除了可以用來說人外，還可以用來指情緒。比如說，His feelings got the upper hand. 意思是他的情緒失去了控制。在今天的房地產(chǎn)市場中，買方還是賣方占據(jù)優(yōu)勢呢?我們一起聽。

　　M: "Now that the housing market has slowed down, the buyers HAVE THE UPPER HAND. With fewer buyers in the market, the sellers are being forced to cut their prices."

　　這段話意思是：如今，房地產(chǎn)市場的成長速度開始放緩，買方開始占據(jù)優(yōu)勢，因?yàn)橘I房子的人比以前少了，所以賣房子的人不得不降價(jià)出售。

　　盡管如此，現(xiàn)在的房子還是貴得要命。

　　昨天看比賽，到中場的時(shí)候，我支持的隊(duì)似乎還在占據(jù)優(yōu)勢，At half time, our team seemed to have the upper hand. 可誰知道，Our arch-rival gained the upper hand in the second half and beat us on our home turf. 我們的死對頭下半場開始占上風(fēng)，最后我們在自己的地盤上輸?shù)袅吮荣悺：玫?，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話?/p>

　　M: "Now that the housing market has slowed down, the buyers HAVE THE UPPER HAND. With fewer buyers in the market, the sellers are being forced to cut their prices."

　　To have the upper hand 這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語源于一種古老的比賽。大家從下到上，一個(gè)接一個(gè)地輪流把手放在一根木棍上，誰的手落在最上面，誰就是比賽的贏家，或者說 the winner was the player with the upper hand. 在下面這個(gè)例子中，一群雇員要告自己的公司。讓我們一起聽聽律師是怎么說的。

　　M: "The corporation really HAS THE UPPER HAND here. The employees can't dispute the corporation's settlement because they can't afford to stay out of work. The corporation therefore can offer them a ridiculously small amount."

　　這位律師說：在這種情況下，占上風(fēng)的一方是公司。雇員因?yàn)闊o法承擔(dān)不去工作的經(jīng)濟(jì)負(fù)擔(dān)，所以不會質(zhì)疑公司的解決方案，公司只要給他們少得可笑的一筆小錢就可以了事了。

　　這倒是真的。大多數(shù)情況下，個(gè)人跟大公司打官司，確實(shí)是大公司占優(yōu)勢，但這并不意味著公司一定會贏。比如說，美國生產(chǎn)萬寶路牌香煙的菲利普•莫里斯公司就經(jīng)常敗訴。

　　再舉個(gè)例子，最近，我們家用的電話公司為了跟對手爭奪用戶，推出了很多新的服務(wù)項(xiàng)目，結(jié)果市場份額大大地增加。It looks like they have the upper hand now. 現(xiàn)在看來，他們似乎占據(jù)了優(yōu)勢。好，我們再來聽一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "The corporation really HAS THE UPPER HAND here. The employees can't dispute the corporation's settlement because they can't afford to stay out of work. The corporation therefore can offer them a ridiculously small amount."

　　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.

　　A: Aw, Mike it's so cute how you think you always have the upper hand in our conversations.

　　B: Hmmmmm, well, as the old saying goes "I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed!"

　　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!