美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班118

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

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Today we are going to take a look at the business world. What do you need to enter the global market? A competitive product, great service, and a little thing called international certification!

　　A: 我們還要來(lái)看看開(kāi)車用手機(jī)帶來(lái)的安全隱患!

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "put in mothballs" and "quit while one's ahead" means!

　　A: All coming up on American English Mosaic!

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

　　Learn A Word 1802 distracting

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是distracting. Distracting is spelled d-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-i-n-g, distracting. Distracting 形容詞，意思是分散注意力的。A new study shows that hands free cell phones are two times more distracting for motorists than those not using a cell phone behind the wheel. 一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示，跟開(kāi)車時(shí)完全不用手機(jī)的人相比，使用免提手機(jī)的司機(jī)注意力分散程度要高出一倍。澳大利亞的另外一項(xiàng)關(guān)于駕車安全的研究說(shuō)，Children riding in the car are 12 times more distracting to drivers than cell phones. 孩子讓開(kāi)車人分散注意力的危險(xiǎn)程度是手機(jī)的12倍。這一點(diǎn)估計(jì)做父母的都深有體會(huì)。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 distracting, distracting, distracting...

　　A: Yeah, nothing is more dangerous than being distracted while you are driving. People with smart-phone addiction should pay special attention to this, ahem ahem...

　　B: Ok Ok, I have to admit I've been guilty of that. I agree with you though, texting while driving is extremely dangerous. Nothing is more precious than your life, nothing is so important that it can't wait till you park your car.

　　A: I know! But today we are just too attached to our smart phones; Now we're habitually checking them without even knowing we are doing it!

　　B: Yeah...The first thing I do in the morning is check my phone for emails and Facebook updates....

　　A: We are definitely checking our emails and social media more than necessary these days...Hmm, I was about to buy a smart phone for my niece for her birthday. Now I'm thinking that plan should be put in mothballs...

　　B: Hmm...you certainly need to make it clear to her when she's allowed to use it! Well, to continue our class, you just mentioned a interesting idiom，put in mothballs.

　　A: Let's check it out!

　　Words and Idioms 857 PUT IN MOTHBALLS

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 857 講

　　我最近建議制作一個(gè)新節(jié)目，以美國(guó)語(yǔ)言和文化為主題，舉行相關(guān)的知識(shí)競(jìng)賽，大家都說(shuō)是個(gè)好主意，讓我立即開(kāi)始做。誰(shuí)知我的一個(gè)同事突然請(qǐng)長(zhǎng)假，她的工作全都推給了我，結(jié)果我的新節(jié)目還沒(méi)開(kāi)始，就被無(wú)限期擱置了。這在英語(yǔ)里叫：

　　M: Put in mothballs. Mothballs is spelled m-o-t-h-b-a-l-l-s. Put-in-mothballs.

　　mothball 在中文里是衛(wèi)生球，樟腦丸。put in mothballs 就是束之高閣，無(wú)限期擱置的意思。My show idea has been put in mothballs. 我新節(jié)目的提案就這樣被無(wú)限期地?cái)R置起來(lái)了，不知道什么時(shí)候才有時(shí)間去做。

　　很多人喜歡收藏舊東西，不舍得扔，其實(shí)，這些看似沒(méi)用的東西有時(shí)也能派上用場(chǎng)。讓我們聽(tīng)聽(tīng)下面例子里這個(gè)父親是怎么說(shuō)的。

　　M: "My son loves the ice skates his grandmother gave him. I don't think he realizes they had been mine when I was his age. Mom had PUT them IN MOTHBALLS, not sure if anyone would ever get any use from them. I'm sure glad she'd decided not to throw them out."

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：我兒子特別喜歡奶奶送他的冰鞋。其實(shí)他可能不知道，這雙冰鞋是我小時(shí)候穿過(guò)的，后來(lái)被媽媽收了起來(lái)，并不知道以后會(huì)不會(huì)有人能穿。她沒(méi)把這雙冰鞋丟掉，讓我太高興了。

　　我祖母也是一樣，什么東西都不舍得扔。She puts everything in mothballs. 家里跟個(gè)二手店似的。英語(yǔ)里有個(gè)詞專門(mén)形容這種人，叫 packrat, p-a-c-k-r-a-t, packrat。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)上面那段話。

　　M: "My son loves the ice skates his grandmother gave him. I don't think he realizes they had been mine when I was his age. Mom had PUT them IN MOTHBALLS, not sure if anyone would ever get any use from them. I'm sure glad she'd decided not to throw them out."

　　剛才說(shuō)到，我祖母什么都不舍得扔，經(jīng)常拿個(gè)舊打字機(jī)什么的老古董問(wèn)我要不要。你別說(shuō)，有時(shí)候還真有點(diǎn)兒值錢(qián)的東西。我覺(jué)得，她可以把所有東西都捐給下面這個(gè)例子里正在籌備中的歷史博物館。讓我們一起聽(tīng)。

　　M: "Our town clearly supports building a history museum. But the mayor came out to say that he's PUTTING the proposal IN MOTHBALLS for now. Apparently there isn't enough funding available. Still, no one's giving up hope that it can be reconsidered in the not-to-distant future."

　　他說(shuō)：我們鎮(zhèn)里的人顯然都很贊成建一個(gè)歷史博物館，但是鎮(zhèn)長(zhǎng)卻說(shuō)，他要暫時(shí)把這項(xiàng)提案擱置起來(lái)，因?yàn)闆](méi)有足夠的資金。不過(guò)，大家都不肯放棄，希望不久的將來(lái)這項(xiàng)提案會(huì)重新被考慮。

　　很多項(xiàng)目不能上馬，問(wèn)題都出來(lái)資金上。我的一個(gè)朋友在美國(guó)航空航天局工作，他開(kāi)發(fā)的很多項(xiàng)目都是因?yàn)槿鄙俾?lián)邦撥款而處于停頓狀態(tài)。好的，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "Our town clearly supports building a history museum. But the mayor came out to say that he's PUTTING the proposal IN MOTHBALLS for now. Apparently there isn't enough funding available. Still, no one's giving up hope that it can be reconsidered in the not-to-distant future."

　　Put in mothballs 最早是二十世紀(jì)四十年代出現(xiàn)的，如果更簡(jiǎn)單一點(diǎn)的話，可以直接把 mothball 做為動(dòng)詞來(lái)用，比如我可以說(shuō)，My show idea has been mothballed. 或者說(shuō) The mayor is mothballing the proposal for a new museum.

　　好的，這次美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)就到此結(jié)束了。我是楊晨，我是 Douglas Johnson。這次節(jié)目的制作人是胡小玲。謝謝各位的收聽(tīng)。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見(jiàn)。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: Because of sequestration, a lot of government projects are being put in mothballs.

　　B: Yeah, the budget situation is not pretty right now. But I think the whole economic picture is on the right track. Actually, because of the expansion in international market, hiring in the private sector is on the rise again in our area.

　　A: 對(duì)啊! 現(xiàn)在所有公司都要攻占國(guó)際市場(chǎng)，全球化嘛!

　　B: And that will lead to an important procedure called international certification.

　　A:國(guó)際認(rèn)證! 大家都聽(tīng)過(guò)這個(gè)詞兒，到底這都需要哪些程序呢?

　　B: Let's find it out in today's Business Etiquette!

　　禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)International Certification I

　　一家香港公司的老板 Hank 帶 Chris 去見(jiàn)部門(mén)主管 Rebecca。

　　Hank: Rebecca, I'd like you to meet Chris Lee.

　　Rebecca: How do you do, Mr. Lee?

　　Chris: Very well, thank you. And call me Chris.

　　H: Chris is here to walk us through the certification process.

　　R: Why are we getting certified?

　　老板 Hank 為部門(mén)主管 Rebecca 引見(jiàn) Chris。Chris is here to walk us through the certification process. 原來(lái)，Chris 是要幫他們公司完成國(guó)際認(rèn)證程序。to walk someone through something 意思是帶某人按部就班完成某一程序。這里用的名詞 certification is spelled c-e-r-t-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n, 意思是認(rèn)證，動(dòng)詞則是 certify, c-e-r-t-i-f-y, certify. 這家公司為什么要申請(qǐng)國(guó)際認(rèn)證呢?

　　C: You're required to get certified by an independent auditor before beginning business with certain American companies.

　　H: And as we just landed that new account in California, we have to get the ball rolling on this ASAP.

　　R: Ok, what is required?

　　C: To be honest, it's quite a lengthy list of things. Let's start with safety issues.

　　原來(lái)，要跟特定美國(guó)公司做生意，就必須通過(guò) independent auditor 獨(dú)立審計(jì)師，完成國(guó)際認(rèn)證。公司在加州剛找到一個(gè)新客戶，just landed a new account. 這里的 account 不是帳戶，而是指正式商業(yè)伙伴和客戶。所以，we have to get the ball rolling on this ASAP. 所以要立刻開(kāi)始申請(qǐng)國(guó)際認(rèn)證。to get the ball rolling, 意思是著手做某件事。ASAP 是 as soon as possible 意思是立即動(dòng)手。Chris 說(shuō)，申請(qǐng)國(guó)際認(rèn)證非常繁瑣，首先是安全方面的要求。

　　C: We need to make sure there are fire extinguishers on every floor and there should be proper ventilation.

　　H: I think we are already compliant in these areas.

　　C: Workers need to wear protective gear if they're near dangerous chemicals or machines.

　　R: Yes, we already require that.

　　C: Also, we need to make sure your factory is safe from the threat of terrorism.

　　Chris 說(shuō)，每層樓都要有滅火器，fire extinguisher, 要有通風(fēng)設(shè)施，ventilation, 靠近化學(xué)物品和危險(xiǎn)儀器的員工要穿戴保護(hù)性工作服 wear protective gear。這些都沒(méi)問(wèn)題。We are already compliant in these areas. 這些措施公司已經(jīng)在做了。compliant is spelled c-o-m-p-l-i-a-n-t, compliant 意思是遵守的，服從的?？墒?，生產(chǎn)家用產(chǎn)品的公司為什么要防范恐怖襲擊呢?我們下次繼續(xù)聽(tīng)。

　　A: 老板Hank說(shuō)，公司just land a new account, 剛剛在加州爭(zhēng)取到一個(gè)新客戶進(jìn)行國(guó)際業(yè)務(wù)，所以要get international certification, 國(guó)際認(rèn)證。Chris來(lái)這里walk them through the process, 來(lái)幫助他們按步就班完成這個(gè)程序。與美國(guó)公司合作，程序很多，他們需要get the ball rolling ASAP， 立即開(kāi)始這項(xiàng)程序。

　　B: International certification is a very complicated process and involves a lot of change and compromise. But once you get certified, you can open a lot of new doors.

　　A: Yep, in today's economy, you can't just stay in the domestic market. You need to improve yourself so you can fit into the global village economic model!

　　B: True! Let's keep listening to Chris and see what else the company needs to do!

　　禮節(jié)美語(yǔ)International Certification II

　　Chris 向一家香港公司的老板 Hank 和部門(mén)主管 Rebecca 介紹申請(qǐng)國(guó)際認(rèn)證的程序。首先是安全，其中還有防范恐怖襲擊的要求。老板 Hank 表示不解。

　　C: Well, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, all the rules and regulations have become much stricter. If you ship a container to the United States, it could possibly be used by bad guys to send dangerous materials.

　　R: So what kind of precautions do we need to take?

　　C: You need to have a 24-hour surveillance and alarm system set up, and the doors and gates should be monitored by guards to make sure only those who should be in the factory are in the factory.

　　H: That's pretty reasonable and I think we can handle that.

　　Chris 解釋說(shuō)，九一一恐怖襲擊事件發(fā)生后，保安方面的要求嚴(yán)格了很多。要得到國(guó)際認(rèn)證，需要安裝全天候的監(jiān)視和警報(bào)系統(tǒng)，24-hour surveillance and alarm system; 門(mén)口需要警衛(wèi)站崗。老板 Hank 覺(jué)得，這些要求很合理，pretty reasonable, 公司完全可以做到。We can handle that. Chris 繼續(xù)說(shuō)，

　　C: Ok, let's move on to the next point: treatment of workers.

　　H: You know, I don't mean to be rude, but why do U.S. companies need to know how we treat our workers? That's an internal affair, isn't it?

　　C: I can understand your frustration, but nowadays it's a big issue. A few years ago, many activist groups began targeting the big American retailers. They demanded that the big sellers prove that the cheap items they are selling weren't made by child laborers or through other unethical practices.

　　除去安全保障措施外，還有工人待遇的問(wèn)題。Hank 不明白，自己公司的事情，internal affair, 美國(guó)公司為什么要插手。Chris 解釋說(shuō)，這是因?yàn)閹啄昵?，一些人?quán)活動(dòng)團(tuán)體開(kāi)始針對(duì)美國(guó)一些主要零售商家，要求他們證明，自己出售的廉價(jià)商品，沒(méi)有使用童工 child laborers, 也沒(méi)有其它unethical practices不正當(dāng)?shù)淖龇ā?/p>

　　R: So now any company that sells to the big retailers has to prove they are above board?

　　C: Yep. And it's not just America. When you sell to Europe you have to do the same thing in fact, the European laws are even stricter!

　　H: Well, I guess I can understand their position, but it is quite a hassle.

　　R: Yeah, but it's worth it. As soon as we're certified we can sell our goods all across Europe and the U.S.

　　因此，現(xiàn)在凡是這些美國(guó)零售商的供貨商家，都必須證明，They are above board. 他們的經(jīng)營(yíng)方式是光明正大的。雖然申請(qǐng)國(guó)際認(rèn)證很麻煩，it is quite a hassle. 可是 Rebecca 覺(jué)得值，it's worth it. 因?yàn)橛辛藝?guó)際認(rèn)證，跟美國(guó)和歐洲公司做生意就可以暢通無(wú)阻了。

　　A: 原來(lái)，國(guó)際認(rèn)證中還有一大部分涉及到如何對(duì)待員工。比如，不使用童工, child labor, 沒(méi)有不正當(dāng)?shù)淖龇? no unethical practices。老板覺(jué)得，it's quite a hassle, 很麻煩，但是Rebecca 認(rèn)為，一旦完成，公司就能自由與美國(guó)和歐洲國(guó)家做生意了。

　　B: I agree international certification is a hassle, but it's worth it. The employees get fair treatment, and the companies can expand their business into the global market. It's a win-win situation.

　　A: 沒(méi)錯(cuò)! 好啦，國(guó)際認(rèn)證就先到這里，我們下面換個(gè)話題，來(lái)聽(tīng)今天的learn a word!

　　Learn A Word 1803 sibling

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是sibling. Sibling is spelled s-i-b-l-i-n-g, sibling. Sibling 是兄弟姐妹的意思。Sibling rivalry is a normal part of growing up. 兄弟姐妹間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)是成長(zhǎng)中很正常的一部分。Normal rivalries with siblings can foster healthy competition. 正常的你爭(zhēng)我斗可以促進(jìn)孩子間的健康競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。然而，有時(shí)候，這種爭(zhēng)斗也會(huì)對(duì)孩子的心理造成嚴(yán)重傷害。一項(xiàng)最新研究就發(fā)現(xiàn)，Bullying by a sibling can be as damaging as bullying by a classmate, neighbor, or other peers. 被自己的兄弟姐妹欺負(fù)，跟被同學(xué)，鄰居或是其他同齡人欺負(fù)，會(huì)對(duì)孩子造成同等的傷害。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 sibling, sibling, sibling...

　　A: I so wish I had a brother or a sister...

　　B: Haha, be careful what you wish for...when I was growing up, my sister and I fought all the time.

　　A: But you also learn how to share and compromise during those fights!

　　B: Well, we used to fight a lot when we were little kids. But then I grew up and got bigger than my older sister, and she decided to quit while she's still ahead!

　　A: 哈哈，she's the clever one! 哎，你剛提到了一個(gè)俗語(yǔ):quit while one's ahead, let's check it out!

　　Words and Idioms 858 QUIT WHILE ONE'S AHEAD

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 858 講這么多年來(lái)我最喜歡的一家冰激凌店居然要關(guān)門(mén)了。我問(wèn)經(jīng)理是怎么回事，經(jīng)理說(shuō)本來(lái)公司經(jīng)營(yíng)得很好，結(jié)果拓展業(yè)務(wù)，增加商品，反倒失去了很多老顧客。這讓我想起了今天要學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，叫：

　　M: Quit while one's ahead. Quit is spelled q-u-i-t, and ahead; a-h-e-a-d. Quit-while-one's-ahead.

　　Quit 在中文里是停止、放棄的意思。ahead 意思是在前面。Quit while one's ahead 就是中文里所說(shuō)的見(jiàn)好就收。就說(shuō)我喜歡的那家冰激凌店吧，本來(lái)賣冰激凌挺賺錢(qián)的，可偏偏要增加產(chǎn)品種類，結(jié)果反而造成了服務(wù)和產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量的下降。They should have QUIT WHILE THEY WERE AHEAD。他們本該見(jiàn)好就收才對(duì)。下面例句里玩撲克牌的人就明白這一點(diǎn)。我們一起聽(tīng)。

　　M: "I'm not the greatest poker player. But so far tonight, I've managed to win about $500. If I stay in the game, I stand to make even more. But I also risk losing it. I think I'll QUIT WHILE I'M AHEAD. That way, I'm sure to walk out with a nice pot of money I hadn't expected."

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：我打牌不是最厲害的，但是今天晚上已經(jīng)贏了五百美元。如果繼續(xù)打下去，我可能會(huì)贏更多，但也有輸錢(qián)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。我覺(jué)得最好是見(jiàn)好就收，這樣一來(lái)，我就能帶著一筆不小的外財(cái)離開(kāi)這里。

　　我老爸告訴過(guò)我，他年輕時(shí)有一次剛領(lǐng)了工資就被朋友拉著去賭場(chǎng)，一上來(lái)贏了不少，可是 He didn't QUIT WHILE HE WAS AHEAD. 最后輸了個(gè)精光，整整吃了一個(gè)月的方便面。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)上面那段話。

　　M: "I'm not the greatest poker player. But so far tonight, I've managed to win about $500. If I stay in the game, I stand to make even more. But I also risk losing it. I think I'll QUIT WHILE I'M AHEAD. That way, I'm sure to walk out with a nice pot of money I hadn't expected."

　　我喜歡看電影，特別是老片子。上星期，我又把七十年代的幾部經(jīng)典影片拿出來(lái)看。大家一定看過(guò) GODFATHER“教父”，如果沒(méi)有的話，請(qǐng)聽(tīng)下面這段介紹。

　　M: "Have you watched "The Godfather", a thriller about the lives of a fictional Italian-American crime family? It's ranked as the second greatest film in our country's cinematic history. After it won several Academy Awards, a sequel was planned. Although producers considered QUITTING WHILE THEY WERE AHEAD, they soon went on to make "The Godfather, Part II". It also received Oscars, including one for Best Picture."

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：你看過(guò)“教父”嗎?教父是一部關(guān)于意大利裔美國(guó)人犯罪家庭的驚險(xiǎn)片，是美國(guó)電影史上第二大經(jīng)典影片，拿了很多項(xiàng)奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)，后來(lái)有人計(jì)劃排續(xù)集。雖然制片人也考慮見(jiàn)好就收，但最后還是選擇拍了教父第二部，又贏得了包括最佳影片在內(nèi)的多項(xiàng)奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)。

　　你也許會(huì)問(wèn)，那排名第一的電影是哪部?排名第一的電影就是"CITIZEN KANE"公民凱恩。好的，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "Have you watched "The Godfather", a thriller about the lives of a fictional Italian-American crime family? It's ranked as the second greatest film in our country's cinematic history. After it won several Academy Awards, a sequel was planned. Although producers considered QUITTING WHILE THEY WERE AHEAD, they soon went on to make "The Godfather, Part II". It also received Oscars, including one for Best Picture."

　　好的，這次美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)就到此結(jié)束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見(jiàn)。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: Mike, it looks like you have put on 15 pounds while I was gone, I think it's time for you to quit while you're ahead!

　　B: Well I think.....Uh.... darn I can't argue with you when you're right.........

　　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!