第9課:All-nighter;Cram

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Michael是一個在紐約上大學的美國年輕人,他經(jīng)常跟中國學生李華一起玩。Michael向李華學中文,李華向Michael 學英文。Michael 正在準備考試,有很多功課要做,但是李華要他出去休息休息,兩人約好下午在動物園見面。他們在對話中會用這兩個詞:all-nighter和cram。
    L:嗨,Michael. 我在這兒!
    M: Hey, Li Hua. Oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.
    L:噢,那是大象館?。亢?,進去看看。不行,不行,這兒太臭了。走吧!
    M: Oh, yeah. Let's get out of here. In fact, I've got a lot of studying to do. I'm going to need to pull an all-nighter.
    L:我知道你有很多功課,但是你在準備考試的時候也總得休息休息嘛。我聽說這次考試會很難。你剛才說 all-nighter 是不是開夜車的意思呀?
    M: Yeah, that's what I meant. Li Hua, you're smart!
    L:我是猜出來的,all的意思是整個,全部,nighter和night 很像。我想一個人要整夜學習,那不就是開夜車嗎?但是,有一點我不太懂,你說:to pull an all-nighter,什么是pull ?
    M: Pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.
    L:噢,pull an all-nighter,就是迫使自己整夜念書,因為要這樣做是很辛苦的。
    M: Yep. You wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, I haven't been.
    L:這你可說對了。我不需要開夜車,因為我整個一學期都在學習。你要開夜車,因為你平時不學習。
    M: I know, I know, you're a better student than I am. 
    L:Michael, 我真喜歡紐約的秋天,空氣很清新。你要是能跟我一起玩,不用回去念書,那該多好??!
    M: I don't want to go study either, but I should.
    L:對啊,你要是上星期多花點時間念書不就好了嘛?,F(xiàn)在你得臨時抱佛腳了。
    M: I perform better on tests when I cram.
    L:Cram? Cram是把什么東西塞進去的意思,跟學習有什么關(guān)系呢?
    M: Well, it's sort of the same meaning. I'm going to do a lot of studying at the last minute, that's what it means to cram.
    L:意思差不多?噢,我知道了!Cram就是我們中文里說的填鴨式方法,就是硬把食品塞給鴨子吃,這樣鴨子就長得肥。北京烤鴨 就是用這種鴨子做的。你說的cram是臨時抱佛腳,在考試前猛記猛背,把知識往腦子里塞。你還認為這是好辦法?
    M: Well, everyone's different. Cramming works for me.
    L:你認為臨時抱佛腳對你來說行得通。可是,Michael,想把半學期的內(nèi)容在一個晚上記住,這樣做可真傻。
    M: Stop being my mother, Li Hua!
    L:我才不想當你媽呢,你不聽我的話,那就算了。Michael,cram這個詞是否還能用在別的場合呢?
    M: Not really. It's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.
    L:噢,只能指大學生或中學生在考試前開夜車,臨時抱佛腳。
    M: And that's what I need to do, right now. It's getting late and I know I will have to pull an all-nighter.
    L:好吧,我明天早上給你打電話。
    M: No, don't worry about me, I'm sure I will still be cramming.
    L:喲,你還準備開夜車開到天亮吶?Ok, well, good luck!
    今天李華向Michael學了兩個常用語,一個是:all-nighter,意思是開夜車;另一個是:cram,這是指中學生或大學生在考試前臨時抱佛腳。