美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班136

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

　　A: And I'm 蔚然。楊琳休假，我?guī)О唷?/p>

　　B: What is the word of the year for 2013? We will find out.

　　A: 人靠衣服馬靠鞍，這句話在職場(chǎng)是是否適用呢?禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)為您介紹。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "too close for comfort" and "won’t do something to save your life" mean!

　　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 1900 selfie

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 selfie. Selfie is spelled s-e-l-f-i-e, selfie. Selfie 名詞，自拍照片。From Oct 20 to 27, "selfie" was mentioned in Facebook status updates over 368,000 times. 10月20到27號(hào)這段時(shí)間里，臉書用戶狀態(tài)更新里提到自拍字眼的就有36.8萬(wàn)次。Many drivers are using their smart phones to take selfies while driving. 現(xiàn)在很多人一邊開(kāi)車一邊用智能手機(jī)自拍。Experts warn that people taking driving selfies are putting their safety and that of those around them in danger. 有關(guān)專家警告說(shuō)，邊開(kāi)車邊自拍的人讓自己和周圍人的安全都受到了威脅。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 selfie, selfie, selfie....

　　A: 不要說(shuō)拍selfie, 方向盤后面的開(kāi)車一族真是干什么的都有。

　　B: Yeah. My sister always puts on her makeup while on the way to work.

　　A: I even saw people playing candy crush saga 糖果粉碎游戲 behind the wheel?

　　B: I….may have tried that once, and ended up almost kissing the car in front of me! I must say, it was too close for comfort.

　　A: 真是太危險(xiǎn)了。不過(guò)，你正好介紹了我們下面要學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)。一起來(lái)聽(tīng)。

　　Words and Idioms 895 too close for comfort

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第895講

　　我剛才和表姐吃午飯，她告訴我一個(gè)好消息，那就是，她們公司的裁員大潮她躲過(guò)去了!這一個(gè)月來(lái)，和她資歷接近的同事一個(gè)一個(gè)被炒魷魚，她本來(lái)以為下一個(gè)就輪到自己，沒(méi)想到，裁員結(jié)束了，而她留了下來(lái)。雖然保住工作，但她這些日子提心吊膽的心情讓我想到一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，那就是：

　　M: Too close for comfort. Too is spelled t-o-o, close; c-l-o-s-e, and comfort;c-o-m-f-o-r-t. Too-close-for-comfort.

　　Close是“接近”的意思，comfort表示“舒服”，too close for comfort字面的意思就是“過(guò)于接近，太相似了，讓人不舒服”。根據(jù)語(yǔ)境，too close for comfort 有時(shí)可以表示“險(xiǎn)些遇到不好的結(jié)果”。比如，我表姐在這次裁員潮中，離被炒魷魚就是 too close for comfort--險(xiǎn)些就丟掉工作了!

　　在生活中，我們或多或少會(huì)做一些“打擦邊球”的事兒。就是明知道有危險(xiǎn)，也抱著僥幸心里去做。比如，開(kāi)車的時(shí)候打手機(jī)，甚至發(fā)短信! 我們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)下面這個(gè)司機(jī)的遭遇：

　　M:"I should have been more careful. Driving home, I was answering a text message. I had only looked away from the road for a couple of seconds. But when I looked up, the car ahead of me had stopped abruptly. That was TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. I barely missed plowing into him."

　　這段話意思是：我當(dāng)時(shí)真該小心點(diǎn)! 那天，我開(kāi)車回家，邊開(kāi)車邊回短信，雖然只有幾秒鐘沒(méi)看路，可當(dāng)我重新把目光轉(zhuǎn)回路上時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)，我前面的車已經(jīng)突然停住了! 太危險(xiǎn)了! 我差點(diǎn)就撞上它了!

　　打電話、發(fā)短信、上網(wǎng)這些事情請(qǐng)您不開(kāi)車的時(shí)候盡情做，開(kāi)車的時(shí)候可需要全神貫注! 車禍往往就是司機(jī)分心造成的，幾秒鐘的注意力不集中就可能導(dǎo)致車毀人亡的慘劇! 剛才那個(gè)司機(jī)離車禍已經(jīng)很近了，too close for comfort! 我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話吧：

　　M: "I should have been more careful. Driving home I was answering a text message. I had only looked away from the road for a couple of seconds. But when I looked up, the car ahead of me had stopped abruptly. That was TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. I barely missed plowing into him."

　　剛才我們說(shuō)到，開(kāi)車需要全神貫注。在下面這個(gè)句子中，一個(gè)學(xué)生意識(shí)到，上學(xué)也得專心。上課走神不行，要逃學(xué)就更不成了! 我們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)他是怎么說(shuō)的：

　　M: "I'll never skip school again. When I stopped at a restaurant for lunch I saw the assistant principal sitting across from me. Luckily, I managed to slip out the door without being noticed. The risk of getting caught was TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. I learned my lesson."

　　這段話的意思是：我再也不會(huì)逃學(xué)了。那天，我逃課去飯館吃飯，結(jié)果看到副校長(zhǎng)就坐在我對(duì)面! 幸運(yùn)的是，我趁他沒(méi)注意，從門口溜走了。我差一點(diǎn)就被副校長(zhǎng)抓個(gè)正著! 這下我可長(zhǎng)記性了。

　　這孩子，因?yàn)椴铧c(diǎn)被抓到才不敢繼續(xù)逃課! 其實(shí)，就算沒(méi)有“巧遇”副校長(zhǎng)，他也應(yīng)該想想，還有那么多孩子想上學(xué)卻上不起、上不了，和他們相比，他真應(yīng)該珍惜受教育的機(jī)會(huì)才對(duì)。好了，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話：

　　M: "I'll never skip school again. When I stopped at a restaurant for lunch I saw the assistant principal sitting across from me. Luckily, I managed to slip out the door without being noticed. The risk of getting caught was TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. I learned my lesson."

　　有時(shí)候，有些東西太像了，也會(huì)讓人不舒服。比如，我一個(gè)朋友總說(shuō)她男友多浪漫，多會(huì)寫詩(shī)，她小心地保留每一首他寫的情詩(shī)。可后來(lái)她發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些詩(shī)和一本叫 “情詩(shī)大全”的書上的內(nèi)容相差無(wú)幾。She finds it all too close for comfort--內(nèi)容太像了，男友的情詩(shī)明顯都是抄書抄來(lái)的! 你說(shuō)，我這朋友能不生氣么?!

　　好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是 TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT，表示“太接近了，太像了，讓人不舒服。”

　　好的，這次美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)就到此結(jié)束。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見(jiàn)。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: Mike, 你上學(xué)時(shí)是不是經(jīng)常逃課?

　　B: What? No! I never played hookie. But I was sent home once for wearing a T-shirt with inappropriate words on it.

　　A: What did it say?

　　B: I….probably shouldn’t say. But I did learn my lesson. Dressing properly is important no matter who you are. Let’s listen to our next segment: Business Etiquette and learn more.

　　Business Etiquette

　　Topic: You Are What You Wear

　　Cathy 早上上班見(jiàn)到同事 Adam.

　　Cathy: Hi, Adam, nice tie.

　　Adam: Thanks.

　　C: By the way, can I ask you a personal question?

　　A: Ask away!

　　C: How come you're the only one at the office who wears a tie to work every day? I'm not criticizing your fashion choices, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

　　A: No. I'm happy to answer that question! I assume you're like most people: you prefer to wear comfortable clothing whenever possible, right?

　　Cathy 問(wèn)了 Adam 個(gè)personal question 私人問(wèn)題，問(wèn)Adam 為什么每天上班都西裝領(lǐng)帶的，而公司的著裝標(biāo)準(zhǔn)并不嚴(yán)格，所以其他人一般都是怎么舒服怎么穿。Cathy 還補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，I'm not criticizing your fashion choices. 意思是說(shuō)我不是想對(duì)你的穿著指手劃腳，而是好奇。Cathy 承認(rèn)，平時(shí)如果沒(méi)事，他就會(huì)穿得很隨便。

　　C: Absolutely! If it's a special event or a business meeting or something, then sure, I'll put on a suit or a nice business dress. But I much prefer to dress more casually.

　　A: I understand that logic. But of course you've heard about "power-dressing," no?

　　C: Yeah....if you wear nicer looking clothes, people take you more seriously, right?

　　A: That's the idea. I think everybody knows that the clothing we wear affects how others perceive us. But I've also discovered that what I wear affects how I think.

　　C: Really? That's an interesting idea. What exactly do you mean?

　　Cathy 說(shuō)，如果有什么特別活動(dòng)或是要開(kāi)會(huì)，She'll put on a suit or a nice business dress. 穿西裝或套裝，否則的話，她還是喜歡穿得隨便些，to dress more casually. Adam 問(wèn) Cathy 有沒(méi)有聽(tīng)過(guò) power-dressing 的說(shuō)法，也就是說(shuō)，如果穿得正式，別人就會(huì)更把你當(dāng)回事。Adam 說(shuō)，他發(fā)現(xiàn)，power-dressing 不僅會(huì)影響別人對(duì)自己的看法，同時(shí)也會(huì)對(duì)他自己的精神狀態(tài)產(chǎn)生影響。

　　A: Well, there's a lot of research out there that says the position of our bodies affects our thoughts.

　　C: I've heard about that. I read an article that said if you sit up straight your thoughts become sharper than if you were slouching.

　　A: Exactly! But there are some new studies that show what you are wearing can also affect your thoughts.

　　C: Give me an example.

　　A: Scientists found that students who were wearing white lab coats performed better on tests than students who were wearing their own clothes.

　　C: Ah! So because the white lab coat has an association with intelligence, the students' brains actually got more intelligent?

　　有很多研究顯示，一個(gè)人身體的姿勢(shì)，往往會(huì)對(duì)人的思維產(chǎn)生影響，比如，坐直了就比窩著的時(shí)候思維更敏銳。Slouch is spelled s-l-o-u-c-h, slouch 意思是很放松地窩在那里，蜷在那里。Adam 補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在的一些新的研究結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，what you are wearing can also affect your thoughts. 一個(gè)人的穿著也會(huì)對(duì)他的思維產(chǎn)生影響。比如說(shuō)，穿著實(shí)驗(yàn)室白大褂的學(xué)生，考試往往比穿日常衣服的學(xué)生成績(jī)好，因?yàn)榇┲状蠊?，?huì)讓學(xué)生覺(jué)得自己智商更高，因此考試時(shí)大腦的表現(xiàn)也就更出色。

　　A: 英語(yǔ)里有句話叫，You are what you wear. 沒(méi)錯(cuò)吧?

　　B: Absolutely. For instance, if you wear casual clothes to an interview, you pretty much have blown your chances of landing that job.

　　A: 我看到有研究說(shuō)，第一印象的形成只需要三到五秒。

　　B: Therefore, image management is very important. Let’s keep on listening to the second half of Business Etiquette.

　　Business Etiquette

　　Topic: You Are What You Wear II

　　Cathy 跟同事Adam 正在討論，一個(gè)人的穿著是否會(huì)對(duì)他的精神狀態(tài)產(chǎn)生影響。Adam 說(shuō)，

　　A: Have you ever heard the saying, "clothes make the man"? It might be truer than we imagine.

　　C: When a police officer or firefighter puts on their uniform it must affect their psychology. It probably gives them a sense of responsibility and authority.

　　A: Absolutely. When a judge puts on that heavy black robe it transmits an image of power, but it also serves as a reminder to the judge of the responsibility of their position.

　　C: I know when I'm wearing a nice suit I feel a lot more confident. If I'm going out for a night on the town and I'm all dressed up I feel a lot better about myself than if I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

　　英語(yǔ)里有一種說(shuō)法叫 clothes make the man. 相當(dāng)于中文里說(shuō)的人靠衣服馬靠鞍。Adam 說(shuō)，這句老話恐怕比我們想的更有道理。警察穿上警服，消防員穿上消防服，法官穿上黑色長(zhǎng)袍，都會(huì)平添一種使命感和權(quán)威感，Cathy 說(shuō)，她每次穿西裝，也會(huì)倍感自信，還說(shuō)，晚上出去吃飯消遣時(shí)，如果 dressed up 精心打扮，就會(huì)自我感覺(jué)更好。Cathy說(shuō)的， go out for a night on the town, 是一種固定說(shuō)法，意思是出去吃飯，喝酒，看節(jié)目，消遣。

　　A: Yeah, I think everyone recognizes that part about the power of clothes....but that's not exactly why I wear a tie to work every day.

　　C: You wear it because you think it makes you smarter.

　　A: Yes. I think putting on a shirt and tie actually affects the way my brain works. C: That's a very interesting concept!

　　A: My eyes look down and see what I'm wearing and my brain gets a reminder that I'm a businessman.... and I think the brain responds to expectations.

　　Adam 說(shuō)，他每天都穿西裝打領(lǐng)帶，不是給別人看的，更多的是在提醒自己，隨時(shí)提醒自己是商界人士，這樣大腦就會(huì)做出反應(yīng)，做出的事，說(shuō)出的話都會(huì)更加得體。

　　C: It's kind of like an actor trying to play a role...you have to have the right costume!

　　A: I think that's a good way of expressing it! I'm sure it's much harder for actors and actresses to get into character before they put on the right costume.

　　C: Yeah....but after the clothes and the makeup go on, they look in the mirror and their brains are able to shift into the role.

　　A: The symbolic meaning of a tie is "business" and so for me it's an identifying symbol that I think affects both how others see me and how I see myself.

　　C: Interesting.....hmm.....maybe I should start wearing a suit.

　　這就跟演員穿上戲服，才能進(jìn)入角色一樣。Adam 覺(jué)得，這樣比喻恰如其分，that's a good way of expressing it. 演員穿上戲服，化好妝，看著鏡子里的自己，他們的大腦就會(huì)做出反應(yīng)，help them to shift into the role. 幫他們進(jìn)入角色。Adam 最后說(shuō)，西裝領(lǐng)帶，對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)就是一種定位的象征符號(hào)，不僅影響到別人對(duì)他的看法，也會(huì)影響到他自己的精神狀態(tài)。 Clothes make the man, 也可以說(shuō)，you are what you wear, 人靠衣服馬靠鞍。

　　A: Adam 說(shuō)，穿西裝打領(lǐng)帶，不光是給別人看，也是隨時(shí)提醒自己，說(shuō)話做事都要符合身份，這一點(diǎn)我倒真沒(méi)想到。

　　B: I agree that whenever I dress formally, my self-image does go up a notch.

　　A: 看來(lái)，以后上班真要改變形象，不能穿得這么隨便了。

　　B: Yeah. It’s always better to overdress than to underdress. Ok, let's listen to another learn a word!

　　Learn A Word 1903 relinquish

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 relinquish. Relinquish is spelled r-e-l-i-n-q-u-i-s-h, relinquish. Relinquish 動(dòng)詞，意思是放棄。Tina Turner recently filed paperwork to relinquish her American citizenship. 蒂娜.特納最近遞交了申請(qǐng)文件，放棄自己美國(guó)公民的身份。華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)的報(bào)道說(shuō)，Experts believe increased tax enforcement is the major reason for a record number of U.S. taxpayers relinquishing their citizenship or green cards this year. 有關(guān)專家認(rèn)為，稅法的嚴(yán)格執(zhí)行是造成今年放棄公民或綠卡的美國(guó)納稅人人數(shù)創(chuàng)下新高的主要原因。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 relinquish, relinquish, relinquish....

　　A: Mike，你那天還在抱怨交稅太多，不如放棄公民吧。

　　B: haha...Maybe one day I’ll become filthy rich. Then I will think about it.

　　A: 好了，讓我們進(jìn)入下面一個(gè)單元，美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)。

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 896 講

　　昨晚我作東請(qǐng)客，親自下廚，請(qǐng)表弟和他的女朋友來(lái)我家吃飯。誰(shuí)知道我辛苦做的紅燒鯉魚，表弟的女友卻一口不吃! 因?yàn)?，這位小姐不吃姜，而我在魚里放了姜絲。唉，雖然我白辛苦了一場(chǎng)，但趁這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，可以給大家介紹一個(gè)新的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)：

　　M: To save one's life. Save is spelled s-a-v-e, and life; life. To-save one's life.

　　Save one's life 這幾個(gè)詞大家應(yīng)該都很熟悉，放在一起，不就是“救命”的意思么?說(shuō)得沒(méi)錯(cuò)，可是，我們今天介紹的不是這個(gè)用法。當(dāng)我們把一個(gè)有否定含義的句子和to save one's life放在一起，意思就變成“寧愿死也不做某事”，“絕對(duì)不做某事”。我表弟的女朋友不吃姜，打死也不吃，就可以說(shuō) She wouldn't eat ginger to save her live.

　　在生活中，總會(huì)有一些事情是我們絕對(duì)不做的。比如，讓你身上綁跟繩子，從飛機(jī)或懸崖上跳下去，看似有驚無(wú)險(xiǎn)，可能有些人會(huì)愿意挑戰(zhàn)看看，可還有一些人是絕對(duì)不會(huì)做的。比如下面這個(gè)人：

　　M: "Adventurous, I am not. I'd rather die than go bungee jumping, skydiving or mountain climbing. No one could get me to practice any of those sports TO SAVE MY LIFE. I'll let the thrill seekers have their fun. There's simply no possibility of me ever doing anything that's really dangerous."

　　這段話意思是：我不是一個(gè)愛(ài)冒險(xiǎn)的人。讓我去蹦極、高空跳傘或是攀巖，還不如讓我死了算了!任何人都休想讓我去玩兒這些東西。那些喜歡尋求刺激的人，盡可以去玩兒你們的。我是絕對(duì)不會(huì)做這些危險(xiǎn)的事情的。

　　哇，這人還真沒(méi)有冒險(xiǎn)精神! 他大概只喜歡坐在家里安靜地看書吧。當(dāng)然，人各有志，自己高興就好! 我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話吧：

　　M:"Adventurous, I am not. I'd rather die than go bungee jumping, skydiving or mountain climbing. No one could get me to practice any of those sports TO SAVE MY LIFE. I'll let the thrill seekers have their fun. There's simply no possibility of me ever doing anything that's really dangerous."

　　很多人夢(mèng)想上電視，當(dāng)名人，不過(guò)，電視節(jié)目也不是好上的。聽(tīng)聽(tīng)下面這段話，您也想一想，這樣的電視節(jié)目如果請(qǐng)您去，您會(huì)答應(yīng)么?

　　M: "My girlfriend has been watching that new game show. Contestants have one minute to succeed at completing outrageous tasks. They might have to wrap all the toilet paper from a roll around their bodies or shake their heads over 170 times. Even for lots of money, my girlfriend would never try those things. She wouldn't look ridiculous on TV TO SAVE HER LIFE."

　　這段話的意思是：我女朋友很愛(ài)看電視上那個(gè)新的游戲節(jié)目。參賽者要在一分鐘內(nèi)完成一些非常難的任務(wù)。比如說(shuō)，他們可能要把整卷衛(wèi)生紙纏在身上，或者要不停搖頭170多下。就算電視臺(tái)給我女朋友很多錢，她也不會(huì)去做這些事情。她可絕對(duì)不愿意在電視上出洋相。

　　有些人不愿意在電視上出丑，可也有人不在乎。比如，現(xiàn)在很流行的歌手選秀節(jié)目，有些參賽者啊，唱的還真是難聽(tīng)! They are not able to sing to save their lives! 根本就是五音不全! 可是人家還是很有勇氣地登上舞臺(tái)了啊! 好了，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話：

　　M: "My girlfriend has been watching that new game show. Contestants have one minute to succeed at completing outrageous tasks. They might have to wrap all the toilet paper from a roll around their bodies or shake their heads over 170 times. Even for lots of money, my girlfriend would never try those things. She wouldn't look ridiculous on TV TO SAVE HER LIFE."

　　今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是 TOO SAVE ONE'S LIFE， 把這個(gè)短語(yǔ)加在有否定含義的句子后面，表示“絕對(duì)不做某事”。好的，這次美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)就到此結(jié)束。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見(jiàn)。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: 剛才那個(gè)例句讓我想起楊琳，我記得她在最近一集視頻美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)里說(shuō)過(guò)，不化妝，打死也不上電視。

　　B: Haha, I remember that episode too. She wouldn’t show her face without makeup to save her life!

　　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!