美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班084

A: 歡迎大家來(lái)到這期的美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來(lái)告訴大家今天都要學(xué)什么?

A: 沒(méi)問(wèn)題! 今天，我們要聊聊怎么對(duì)付討厭的飛機(jī)場(chǎng)安檢，看看現(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)情況下最好投資什么，還要告訴你怎么說(shuō)行跡可疑!

B: Ugh! Airport security is such a hassle! Every time I go to China, I have to stand in line for hours! The security checks are the worst, you have to take off your shoes, take off your hat, remove your belt, and I end up feeling like a criminal!

A: Yeah, everyone hates airport security, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry! Also, are you sure it’s not because you look suspicious with that beard?

B: What? My beard is awesome!

A: 哈哈，其實(shí)說(shuō)起機(jī)場(chǎng)安檢我也一肚子牢騷!不過(guò)呢這個(gè)咱們等會(huì)再說(shuō)，趕快先來(lái)進(jìn)入第一個(gè)單元，Learn a word!

Learn A Word 1620 hiccup

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 hiccup. Hiccup is spelled h-i-c-c-u-p, hiccup. Hiccup 打嗝，可以引伸為小障礙，小問(wèn)題。Google's Gmail had a significant service hiccup earlier this year. 谷歌電郵Gmail今年早些時(shí)候曾出現(xiàn)過(guò)服務(wù)大規(guī)模中斷的情況。美國(guó)郵政總局今年先后兩次支付不起退休員工的醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)用。These two incidents are not temporary hiccups for the postal system. 這兩次拖欠情況并非郵政系統(tǒng)遇到的暫時(shí)的困難。Apple's Map app had some hiccups when it was first released. 蘋(píng)果的地圖應(yīng)用剛剛推出的時(shí)候，曾遇到了一些磕磕絆絆。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 hiccup, hiccup, hiccup....

A: 這個(gè)好玩，我還不知道 hiccup，打嗝，還有小障礙的意思!那我也來(lái)造個(gè)句：After an initial hiccup in submitting my time card, I FINALLY GOT PAID!!

B: WOOOHOO! That means you’re going to buy me lunch right?

A: Sure! 午飯我來(lái)請(qǐng)!

B: Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second, you have never been so generous to me, what’s going on here?

A: Nothing’s going on! I just want to treat my co-worker to a nice lunch, what’s wrong with that? (slow and suspicious)

B: I definitely smell some funny business. I guess I’ll pass you up on this …

A: 哈哈哈，膽小鬼!不過(guò)呢你剛才提到了一個(gè)很好的詞兒，funny business, 在今天的words and idioms里，我們就要來(lái)學(xué)學(xué)這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)的用法!

B: Let’s listen!

Words and Idioms 994

現(xiàn)在播送<美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)>第 994講。我是楊琳。

M: 我是Steve Baragona.

我一直覺(jué)得我的鄰居看起來(lái)很可疑，他年紀(jì)輕輕，有什么正經(jīng)工作，可是他卻開(kāi)著一輛豪華轎車(chē)，還有一艘游艇。后來(lái)我注意到，總是有人上他家做客，而且這些人都是過(guò)半個(gè)小時(shí)就出來(lái)。這可疑的情形，讓我想到了一句習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，那就是:

M: Funny business. Funny is spelled f-u-n-n-y, and business; b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s. Funny business. Funny business.

這兩個(gè)詞大家應(yīng)該都非常熟悉，funny 滑稽可笑的，business 事情，生意。連起來(lái)，funny business, 意思卻來(lái)了個(gè)180度大轉(zhuǎn)彎，指的是非法的，或者不合道德的。所以說(shuō), After seeing people coming and going from the neighbor's house, I began to suspect there was some FUNNY BUSINESS taking place. 看到我鄰居家老是有人進(jìn)進(jìn)出處，我開(kāi)始懷疑他們?cè)谶M(jìn)行什么非法交易。居然被我猜對(duì)了!1個(gè)月之后，警察就出現(xiàn)在他們的家門(mén)口，原來(lái)他在做毒品交易。幸好這不是個(gè)暴力案件，而在下面的例子里，我們來(lái)看看這名記者為我們講述一場(chǎng)犯罪情況:

M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."

[這段話(huà)是說(shuō): 警察知道這個(gè)壞人身上帶了槍?zhuān)芪ｋU(xiǎn)。她最終抓到他的時(shí)候，警察告訴他放下武器并把手放到腦后，并且警告他不要耍任何把戲。很明顯，如果他有任何舉動(dòng)，警察會(huì)毫不猶豫地開(kāi)槍。]

警察的顧慮是對(duì)的。很多犯罪份子都會(huì)在他們的衣服或者鞋里藏另一把槍。這就是為什么警察需要隨時(shí)保持警惕。The cop needs to remain cautious in case there's any funny business. 為防止壞人耍把戲，警察必須隨時(shí)隨地保持警惕。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話(huà):

M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."

上面我們說(shuō)到, funny business 除了指非法的事情，還可以指不道德，不合理的行為。下面的例子就講到了這樣一個(gè)情況，讓我們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)看:

M: "Recently, Paula's husband was busier than ever, and had to go out of town one weekend every month to meet with clients. She started to wonder if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"

[這段話(huà)是說(shuō)：寶拉的丈夫最近比以往都要忙，而且每個(gè)月都有一個(gè)周末要出差，去跟客戶(hù)見(jiàn)面。寶拉開(kāi)始懷疑是不是有什么問(wèn)題。不久之后，她發(fā)現(xiàn)丈夫在用信用卡購(gòu)買(mǎi)女士珠寶和內(nèi)衣。原來(lái)他跟他的秘書(shū)有一腿!]

女人的第六感通常特別準(zhǔn)! 就像上次我?guī)业那澳杏鸦丶遥覌寢尵吞貏e不喜歡他! 她覺(jué)得這個(gè)人看起來(lái)不夠正直。之后的幾個(gè)星期，我們竟然一起看到這個(gè)男人在跟別的女生約會(huì)! 可真不怎么樣! 呵呵，好了，言歸正傳，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話(huà):

M: "Paula's husband was having to work late more and more. Then, he was expected to spend one weekend every month away to meet with clients. She started wondering if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"

今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是funny business, 意思是非法的，不合道德的。好的，這次[美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)]就到此結(jié)束，我是楊琳，我是Steve Baragona。謝謝各位的收聽(tīng)。

B: Ugh, it would be awful to find out that your husband or wife is cheating on you! I’m so glad that I don’t have to deal with that kind of funny business.

A: Well, I don’t think you need to worry about that Mike. 你姐姐不是都說(shuō)了么?你們家娶不上兒媳婦啦!(B: Hey!!) I am kidding, I’m kidding. Yeah, I hope that never happens to either of us!

B: Well, I think your best bet is to make sure your relationship with your spouse is based on good communication. I feel like if people could learn to talk about what makes them angry instead of bottling things up, everyone would be a lot happier.

A: True! You also mentioned another good word “best bet” , 咱們來(lái)看看這個(gè)詞兒該怎么用!

Learn A Word 1624 best bet

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 best bet. best is spelled b-e-s-t, best, bet is spelled b-e-t, bet, best bet. best bet 意思是最好的選擇。投資業(yè)界人士說(shuō)，Stocks are still the best bet for long term investment. 從長(zhǎng)期投資來(lái)說(shuō)，股票依然是最佳選擇。銀行業(yè)專(zhuān)家說(shuō)，Credit Unions are still the best bet for consumers. 對(duì)消費(fèi)者來(lái)說(shuō)，信用合作社依然是他們的最佳選擇。在美國(guó)目前這種經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣，工作不好找的大環(huán)境下，A college degree is still your best bet for getting a job and a decent pay. 擁有一個(gè)大學(xué)學(xué)位，依舊是幫大家找到一份工作，得到像樣收入的最有效的手段。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 best bet, best bet, best bet....

A: Hmm, what do you think is our best bet to make our show go viral? I think we need to interact with our fans more on 微博.

B: Well, that leopard print dress you have might do the trick (laughs) ok ok, actually I think our best bet is to use social media more effectively by posting more practical language points everyday as well as interact more with our fans.

A: Lucky for us, I am the Office’s social media expert!

B: 楊琳, spending all day on Facebook when you should be working does not qualify you as an expert!

A: What? That’s YOU! You had better get wise to who is in charge here, otherwise I might have to bring you back to heel again (both laugh)

B: (Laughs) ok ok, speaking of “get wise to”, now let’s get wise to the meaning of this idiom!

Words and Idioms 995

現(xiàn)在播送<美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)>第 995講。我是小北。

M: 我是Dan.

我有個(gè)朋友在政府部門(mén)工作。他這工作以前可是個(gè)“肥缺”，經(jīng)常用公款吃喝旅游?？珊镁安婚L(zhǎng)，這種揮霍公款的行為被發(fā)現(xiàn)了，他被調(diào)查機(jī)構(gòu)請(qǐng)去喝茶了。這讓我想到了一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，那就是:

M: Get wise to. Wise is spelled w-i-s-e. Get-wise-to.

Wise, 形容詞，是“明智”的意思。Get wise to somebody or something 是“知道，了解到”的意思。The investigators began to get wise to the reckless spending of taxpayer money. 調(diào)查人員開(kāi)始察覺(jué)到揮霍納稅人錢(qián)財(cái)?shù)男袨椤?在下面的例子中，也有一個(gè)人像我的朋友一樣，沒(méi)法繼續(xù)過(guò)舒服日子了。

M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"

[這段話(huà)是說(shuō): 我們部門(mén)太大了，所以沒(méi)人注意到弗萊德經(jīng)常星期一時(shí)不在辦公室。不過(guò)后來(lái)，老板開(kāi)始星期一召開(kāi)員工會(huì)議。很快，她就發(fā)現(xiàn)了弗萊德經(jīng)常不在的情況。從那以后，弗萊德再也沒(méi)逃過(guò)一天工!]

不來(lái)上班?曠工?他膽子還真大。不過(guò)說(shuō)起來(lái)，辦公室里經(jīng)常有些人偷偷上網(wǎng)買(mǎi)東西，或者網(wǎng)上聊天，Then they act shocked when their supervisors have gotten wise to them. 當(dāng)他們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的這些小動(dòng)作時(shí)，他們往往會(huì)嚇一跳。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話(huà):

M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"

我一個(gè)好朋友交了個(gè)新男友，這人看上去隨和幽默，絕對(duì)是個(gè)好男人。可有一次，我朋友無(wú)意間發(fā)現(xiàn)這男人手機(jī)中有不少曖昧短信，When he knew that she was getting wise to his deception, he stopped calling her. 這個(gè)男人知道我朋友已經(jīng)察覺(jué)到他不忠的行為后，就不在聯(lián)絡(luò)她了。所以說(shuō)，看人不能光看外表。當(dāng)然，買(mǎi)東西的時(shí)候，也不能光聽(tīng)商家的花言巧語(yǔ)，讓我們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)下面這個(gè)句子:

M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."

[這段話(huà)的意思是說(shuō)：我太太是個(gè)聰明的消費(fèi)者。她經(jīng)常會(huì)留意那些把自己標(biāo)榜得很健康，但其實(shí)含有大量糖、脂肪或化學(xué)成分的商品，以及那些聲稱(chēng)很實(shí)惠其實(shí)很不劃算的東西。一旦識(shí)破這些商家的把戲，她就會(huì)去網(wǎng)上寫(xiě)博客揭露它們。她不想讓其他消費(fèi)者上當(dāng)。]

我們要感謝這種熱心人! 我們小區(qū)里也有這樣的人，他們會(huì)定期給所有居民寫(xiě)信，告訴大家社區(qū)的最新動(dòng)態(tài)，以及地方政府都做了些什么事情。Thanks to these people, I've gotten wise to all kinds of recent decisions by my town council. 托他們的福，我對(duì)鎮(zhèn)政府近期做出的決定都有所了解。好了，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)剛才那段話(huà):

M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."

今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)是get wise to, 意思是知道，了解到。好的，這次[美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)]就到此結(jié)束，我是小北，我是Dan。謝謝各位的收聽(tīng)，下次再見(jiàn)。

A: I can’t wait to fly home for 春節(jié) this year! It’s been almost five years since I’ve been home for the spring festival.

B: Five years? Man that is a long time! It’s always nice to spend time with your family, but the flight to China is such a pain in the neck!

A: Tell me about it! The security check for international flights is such a hassle. 這兩天我就琢磨呢，我怎么帶兩臺(tái)蘋(píng)果電腦回去捏?

B: Well, you can give one to me, and I will bring it back for you….. whenever that is.

A: 你又開(kāi)始做夢(mèng)了….I’d better get wise to the new airport and custom rules before my trip!

B: In today’s Business Etiquette, Lisa is telling her co-worker Jonah about what happened on her trip back home. Let’s check it out!

禮節(jié)美語(yǔ) Airport Hassles I

Lisa 從美國(guó)出差回來(lái)，同事Jonah問(wèn)她此行的情況。

Jonah: Lisa! You're home! Nice to see you! How was your trip to America?

Lin: The trip was good, but boy, American airport security is such a hassle!! I was standing in line for over two hours!

J: Oh...that's a long time!

L: You said it! They made me take off my shoes, take off my hat, remove my belt...and then they still frisked me! I felt like a criminal!

J: Well, you know what they say: better safe than sorry!

Lisa 抱怨美國(guó)機(jī)場(chǎng)安檢麻煩，American airport security is such a hassle, hassle is spelled h-a-s-s-l-e, hassle意思是惹人煩惱的事。脫了鞋帽，解了腰帶不說(shuō)，they still frisked me! 安檢人員還是搜了她的身。frisk is spelled f-r-i-s-k 意思是搜身。不過(guò)Jonah說(shuō)，better safe than sorry 小心總比出事好。

L: Yeah...but I'm not too sure they're making us any safer. I saw them pat down this old lady. She was at least 80 years old! There is no way she could be a terrorist!

J: Yeah, well the U.S. government says they are doing random searches. So if you are the fifth person to walk through security, you'll get searched.

L: But isn't that sort of ridiculous? What if the fifth person is a pregnant mother with a small child? Are they really very likely to be involved in terrorism?

J: Maybe not, but the government says it's the only fair way to do it...otherwise people might say they are doing racial profiling.

Lisa說(shuō)，她看見(jiàn)一個(gè)老太太也被搜身，I saw them pat down this old lady，pat down和frisk一樣，也是搜身。Jonah說(shuō)，這是 random search, 隨機(jī)抽查，如果不這么做，就會(huì)有人覺(jué)得安檢人員是在racial profiling。什么是racial profiling呢?

L: What's racial profiling?

J: Racial profiling means singling out a certain group of people for special investigation. For example, if a security agent only searches people who look like they are from the Middle East, that would be racial profiling.

L: But not many 80-year old great grandmothers are terrorists, either!

J: I see your point, but it's hard to know how to do the searching fairly. Should we stop everyone who has a beard?

L: No, of course not. But there must be a better way than making me wait for more than two hours while they search the inside of my shoes. Do I look like a terrorist?

原來(lái)，racial profiling 就是把某個(gè)種族的人作為調(diào)查目標(biāo)，有歧視之嫌，這里所說(shuō)的 to single out someone 就是把某人單獨(dú)挑出來(lái)的意思。Jonah說(shuō)，雖然隨機(jī)檢查有它的缺點(diǎn)，但除此以外，很難找到公平的辦法。Lisa 似乎并沒(méi)有被說(shuō)服，我們下次繼續(xù)聽(tīng)。

A: Lisa向同事Jonah抱怨美國(guó)機(jī)場(chǎng)安檢太過(guò)苛刻，it’s such a hassle, 讓人惱火，不僅要脫鞋，解腰帶，而且每五個(gè)人就要frisk or pat down, 搜身。Jonah說(shuō)，這是機(jī)場(chǎng)的random search，隨機(jī)抽查，不然安檢人員可能就會(huì)被控racial profiling, 有種族歧視的嫌疑。

B: It’s really hard to single out who poses a real threat though. I agree the US airport sometimes go overboard with these security checks. Sometimes they will even stop pregnant women!

A: But it’s possible that she’s hiding something in her belly! Actually they are strict with everybody. Last time when I entered the U.S., the customs officer made me list all the courses I was taking at graduate school, and then the security officer asked me to open my suitcase and checked the items one by one! I was about to faint after 20 hours of flying and all these hassles!

B: Tell me about it. I always want to go to China, but customs and airport security are the biggest things that hold me back. But again, 911 was such a real shock for our nation. I guess better safe than sorry.

A: 沒(méi)錯(cuò)!好了，Lisa還在跟Jonah抱怨這些麻煩的安檢，咱們繼續(xù)來(lái)聽(tīng)吧!

禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)-Airport hassles II

Lisa 向同事Jonah抱怨，美國(guó)機(jī)場(chǎng)安檢太麻煩。Jonah解釋說(shuō)：

J: Anyone could be a bad guy. Remember that guy who tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoes? He got through security too easily because he had a UK passport.

L: Yeah, these days it is hard to know who to trust. And I guess I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective.

J: Yeah, 9-11 changed America in a big way. Everyone got really freaked out...maybe too freaked out.

Jonah 說(shuō)，人不可貌相，現(xiàn)在誰(shuí)都可能是壞人。Lisa表示，I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective，就算美國(guó)的保護(hù)措施有點(diǎn)過(guò)份了，也可以理解。Jonah說(shuō)，9-11恐怖襲擊改變了美國(guó)，Everyone got really freaked out， 所有人都嚇壞了。

L: I can understand that. The attacks on New York and the Pentagon were a real shock!

J: But I have to agree that maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions. The last time I flew into New York, they told me I had to throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave! It was only a five c.c. bottle, but they said it could contain some kind of explosive material!

L: Yeah, no liquids are allowed. They even confiscated my tiny scissors! I don't think it's possible for a five foot woman like me to hijack a plane with tiny scissors!

J: (Chuckle) Yep. But as they say: rules are rules...no exceptions.

Jonah 說(shuō)，maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions，美國(guó)的預(yù)防措施可能確實(shí)有些過(guò)份。overboard is spelled o-v-e-r-b-o-a-r-d, go overboard 意思是過(guò)頭了。Jonah就曾被迫扔掉一小瓶刮胡水，throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave. Lisa 的小剪刀也被沒(méi)收過(guò)。

L: I was going to complain to the security personnel, but they looked so serious and scary!

J: Yeah, you don't want to complain because that will get you nowhere. Just try to be as

cooperative as possible. If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you!

L: Well, I hope someday the threat of terrorism will be gone and we can travel without all these hassles.

J: I'd like that too, but don't bet on it. I don't know if terrorism is going away anytime soon.

L: I guess I'd better learn how to live with the hassles then.

J: That's probably the wiser choice!

Jonah 告訴 Lisa，抱怨也沒(méi)用，that will get you nowhere. 此外，If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you! 如果你找麻煩，他們還會(huì)把你抓起來(lái)!只要恐怖威脅不消失，就只好 learn how to live with the hassles，學(xué)習(xí)如何在麻煩中生活吧!

A: Learn how to live with the hassles, 學(xué)習(xí)在麻煩中生活! 這簡(jiǎn)直就是說(shuō)出了我的心聲呀! I think I’m just going to have to learn to live with the hassle of working with you.

B: Hassle indeed! You wouldn’t know what to do without me in this office!

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