美語訓練班123

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

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Want to know how to enjoy life on a tight budget ? We will offer you some good tips in today's show.

　　A: Is "staycation" even better than vacation? 我們在下面的節(jié)目中為你介紹!

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "seal one's fate" and "sign one's own death warrant" 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 1815 blood drive

　　今天我們要學的詞是blood drive. Blood is spelled b-l-o-o-d, blood, and drive, d-r-i-v-e, drive, blood drive. Blood drive 是獻血活動的意思。The first national gay blood drive was held recently to combat the FDA's ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. 美國不久前舉行了第一次全國性的同性戀獻血活動，專門針對美國食品藥物管理局禁止同性戀和雙性戀男性獻血的禁令。Blood drive organizers wanted to show how much blood gay communities can contribute. 這次獻血活動的組織者希望借此證明，同性戀人群到底能捐獻多少血液。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 blood drive, blood drive, blood drive...

　　A: 我最怕獻血了! 看見那個大粗針頭我就直哆嗦!

　　B: Yeah, I'm not a fan as well. Needles terrify me! But there is also a real need for blood donors and the knowledge that I might be sealing someone's fate by not donating is more than I can handle.

　　A: That's true. 誒，你提到了一個有意思的短語， seal one's fate, let's check it out in today's words and idioms!

　　Words and Idioms 867 Seal One's Fate

　　美國習慣用語第 867 講

　　我侄女好幾個月來，一直在為學校的圣誕舞會做準備，可她爸警告她說，如果物理成績拿不到 B，就不許去參加舞會。我真替她捏把汗。不過，這倒讓我想起一個習慣用語，叫

　　M: Seal one's fate. Seal is spelled s-e-a-l, and fate; f-a-t-e. Seal-one's-fate.

　　在這里，seal 是確定，決定的意思。fate 大家都知道，是命運。 to seal one's fate 意思就是決定命運，往往指不好的命運，就象剛才說到的，如果我侄女的物理成績不能提高的話，It will SEAL HER FATE. 她就別想去參加什么圣誕舞會了，那她一定失望死了。下面這個例子里的年輕人似乎也很失望，是什么事情決定了他的命運呢?讓我們一起聽：

　　M: "My son graduated 1 in his class, got near perfect scores on the national aptitude tests and had an impressive background. We were so hopeful when he sent in his college application. But the rejection letter he received SEALED HIS FATE. He wouldn't be getting into Harvard after all."

　　這位媽媽說：我兒子畢業(yè)時，是班里第一名，參加全國能力考試幾乎得了滿分，而且過去表現(xiàn)一直特別棒，他遞交大學申請的時候我們滿懷希望，但是一封不予錄取通知書就決定了他的命運。他最終還是沒能上成哈佛大學。

　　這么厲害的學生，進不了哈佛也一定會有出息。美國的好大學多得是，很多事業(yè)有成的人，其實并不是長春藤名校的畢業(yè)生。不過，這個孩子的失望心情是可想而知的。讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "My son graduated 1 in his class, got near perfect scores on the national aptitude tests and had an impressive background. We were so hopeful when he sent in his college application. But the rejection letter he received SEALED HIS FATE. He wouldn't be getting into Harvard after all."

　　在下面這個例子里，一個保齡球隊的隊長談到了他們即將參加的比賽。我們一起聽聽，這場比賽為什么那么重要。

　　M: "We've been bowling strong all season. Yet everything depends on tonight's play off. We'll be up against our toughest challenger. If they beat us, they'll SEAL OUR FATE. Since only the winning team will advance to the finals, we've got to play our best! "

　　他說：我們整個賽季發(fā)揮得都很好，但關(guān)鍵還是要看今天晚上季后賽的表現(xiàn)。我們要對付的是最厲害的對手，如果他們贏了，一切就都完了，因為誰贏誰就能獲得決賽的資格，所以我們一定要發(fā)揮出最高水平。

　　我最喜歡的經(jīng)典電影之一是“雨中曲”， Singing in the Rain. 片子結(jié)尾的時候，觀眾才發(fā)現(xiàn)，原來他們最崇拜的女明星說話的聲音居然如此難聽。That sealed her fate. 好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個例句。

　　M: "We've been bowling strong all season. Yet everything depends on tonight's play off. We'll be up against our toughest challenger. If they beat us, they'll SEAL OUR FATE. Since only the winning team will advance to the finals, we've got to play our best! "

　　Seal One's Fate 這個習慣用語歷史久遠，出現(xiàn)于十七世紀中期。我最近收到一封新聽眾的來信，他說自己以前錯過了很多集習慣用語，擔心會影響到英語水平的提高。我告訴他，missing a lot of our previous shows won't SEAL HIS FATE. 我們的文字和聲音文檔在網(wǎng)上都是可以找到的。

　　好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: Hear that Mike? You need to find a way to cure your laziness, otherwise it will seal your fate...

　　B: Haha, If I do then that just gives me an excuse to have a "staycation at home!

　　A: Wait...staycation? What's that?

　　B: With the bad economic situation, maybe families are turning vacations into staycations. That is, staying at home, spend time around each other, and be cozy!

　　A: That...actually sounds not bad at all!

　　B: Haha, sounds like you have a lazy bone as well! (A: Ugh...) Speaking of getting laid off, In today's business etiquette, we will take a look at how to live on a tight budget!

　　A: Let's check it out!

　　禮節(jié)美語Living with less"Staycation" I

　　很久不見的好友 Lisa, Karen 和 Gina 一起吃飯。Lisa 先到，注意聽她幫朋友點了些什么菜。

　　Lisa: Karen! Gina! So good to see you! Sit down!

　　Karen: Hi, Lisa!

　　Gina: Good to see you, too! It's been so long!

　　L: Indeed it has! I ordered your favorite dish: spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and I got Gina the vegetarian pasta!

　　G: Excellent!

　　K: I really do love the spaghetti here.

　　Lisa 最早一個到，已經(jīng)幫 Karen 和 Gina 點好了她們愛吃的菜 their favorite dish，Karen 愛吃 spaghetti with cherry tomatoes 加小西紅柿的意大利面條;Gina 愛吃 vegetarian pasta 素的通心粉，vegetarian is spelled v-e-g-e-t-a-r-i-a-n, vegetarian 吃素的，素食的。

　　L: So what's new? Are you planning a vacation this summer?

　　G: Well...frankly...I'm not sure we have the budget for a vacation this year.

　　K: Yeah, actually we're thinking about skipping the vacation too.

　　L: I think money is tight for everyone these days. Last year we went to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for six days! It was incredible, but we did end up spending over five grand!

　　K: We went to Mexico last year and stayed at a villa by the beach!

　　G: Last year we did Alaska...absolutely gorgeous...but pretty pricey as well.

　　Lisa 問大家，夏天計劃去哪里渡假。Gina 說，I'm not sure we have the budget for a vacation this year. 今年恐怕沒錢出去玩了。Karen 也說，考慮 skip the vacation 渡假就免了。Lisa 說，現(xiàn)在大家手頭都緊，money is tight for everyone. 去年她們一家去巴厘島，結(jié)果花了五千多美元。end up doing something 意思是最后，結(jié)果做了某事。five grand 就是 five thousand dollars. Karen 去年去了墨西哥，Gina 去了阿拉斯加，都很貴，pricey, pricey is spelled p-r-i-c-e-y, 是價錢很貴的意思。

　　L: Well, we have to face reality and adapt to it. There just isn't any extra money lying around these days.

　　K: You can say that again! I've been penny-pinching all year!

　　G: Our family has basically stopped eating out. I cook almost every meal and while it takes some extra effort...cooking at home saves us a lot of money!

　　Lisa 說，大家都要面對現(xiàn)實，適應(yīng)現(xiàn)實，to face reality and adapt to it. 如今誰都沒有多少閑錢，There isn't any extra money lying around. Karen 馬上表示贊同，說她一年來花錢一直特別節(jié)省，I've been penny-pinching all year. penny-pinch 意思是一分錢掰成兩半花，節(jié)省。Gina 也說，她們一家現(xiàn)在基本上不出去吃飯 to eat out 是出去吃飯的意思，相反的是 cook at home 自己在家做，能省不少錢。她們?nèi)齻€人還有什么省錢的訣竅呢?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

　　A: 三個好朋友聚在一起吃飯，Lisa說，她可能需要skip the vacation, 不能去渡假了，因為現(xiàn)在出去渡假對她來說too pricey, 太貴了?，F(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟環(huán)境下there isn't any extra money lying around, 誰都沒有什么閑錢。Karen說，I've been penny-pinching, 意思是一分錢掰成兩半花。

　　B: I've been watching my budget too. Dining out is a really big part of the DC culture, but once I start cooking by myself, it saved me a lot of money!

　　A: True, and I bet it's healthier! Let's keep listening to Lisa, Karen and Gina and see what good tips they have on saving money!

　　禮節(jié)美語Living with less"Staycation" II

　　很久不見的好友 Lisa, Karen 和 Gina 一起吃飯。三個人都說，現(xiàn)在手頭很緊，彼此交換勤儉持家的經(jīng)驗。Karen 說，

　　K: We've stopped going to the theater! We used to take the kids every Saturday, but with each ticket costing about 10 bucks, it adds up to a couple of hundred dollars a month! These days we just rent a movie and stay at home.

　　G: But you know, even though we can't do as many things as we used to, I feel like our family has grown closer since we've been spending more time together.

　　Karen 說，原來每星期六都要帶孩子去看電影，但是電影票一張十塊錢，10 bucks, buck is spelled b-u-c-k, buck 是口語里提到美元時常用的詞。一個月下來，一家人看電影就要兩百塊，上面用到的 it adds up to 是加在一起的意思，把這筆錢省了，一家人租影碟在家看。Gina 說，雖然沒那么多錢玩這玩那了，但是一家人經(jīng)常在一起，our family has grown closer 感情反而更親密了。

　　L: That's true for us as well. We play board games at night with the kids and when we watch movies we do it as a family. It's funny, but the recession is forcing us to get creative and actually...it's kind of fun!

　　K: You know the old saying: troubles can be a blessing in disguise.

　　L: I think it all depends on your attitude. If you stay positive, saving money can be a fun challenge. But being depressed about it doesn't help anything.

　　Lisa 也有同感，因為經(jīng)濟衰退逼得大家不能花錢買娛樂，不得不回去陪孩子玩游戲，一家人一起看電影，反而其樂融融。老話說，troubles can be a blessing in disguise. 塞翁失馬，焉知非福。Lisa 表示同意，說一切都取決于心態(tài)，如果心態(tài)是 positive 積極的話，省錢也能變成一件開心的挑戰(zhàn)，萎靡不振 doesn't help anything. 于事無補。

　　G: Another thing that has really helped our family is instituting the thirty-day rule.

　　K: What's the thirty-day rule?

　　G: Well, every time we think about buying something we don't really need, we wait thirty days and then ask ourselves if we still want it. A lot of times after thirty days, we can't even remember why we wanted it in the first place!

　　Gina 說，為省錢，她們家還采納了 thirty-day rule 三十天原則，就是買一件東西之前，必須等30天，如果30天后還是想買的話，才可以買。Gina 說，a lot of times 很多時候，30天過后，她們早就記不起來當初為什么想買了。三個人省錢還有什么高招嗎?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

　　A: Gina說，現(xiàn)在沒有閑錢出去，一家人反而經(jīng)常在一起，our family grow closer since we've been spending more time together。Lisa也有同感，troubles can be a blessing in disguise, 塞翁失馬，焉知非福。

　　B: Exactly! If you stay positive, saving money can be a fun challenge! And once you form healthy spending habits, it's going to benefit you for the long run!

　　A: True! Gina also invented this 30 day rule! Will it work? Let's listen and find out!

　　禮節(jié)美語Living with less"Staycation" III

　　很久不見的好友 Lisa, Karen 和 Gina 一起吃飯。三個人都說，現(xiàn)在手頭很緊，彼此交換勤儉持家的經(jīng)驗。Gina 說，她們家實行三十天規(guī)則，想買什么東西，先要等上三十天，如果三十天過后還覺得需要的話，才能買，Lisa 覺得這個辦法不錯。

　　L: What a great rule! My kids keep bugging me to buy a flat screen TV and I really think we can wait until next year when they will be cheaper. I'm going to institute the thirty-day rule and see if they still want it!

　　K: I find that if I write a very specific shopping list before I go to the mall and stick to it...I'm much less likely to buy unnecessary stuff. The trick is to force yourself to stick to the shopping list! No exceptions!

　　Lisa 說，孩子一直吵著要買個平面電視，bug someone to do something 意思是纏著某人做某事。Karen 又說，如果把需要買的東西列在單子上，write a shopping list, shopping list 意思是購物清單，就不會看見什么買什么，結(jié)果買了一大堆不需要的東西回來。她還介紹經(jīng)驗說，The trick is to force yourself to stick to the shopping list! 訣竅是必需嚴格遵照購物清單，stick to something 是嚴格遵守的意思。No exceptions. 不能有例外。

　　G: Yep...Sticking to it is the hard part! In any case, this recession is teaching all of us to have better discipline and that's a good thing.

　　L: Yes, it sure it. We could all learn some self-control!

　　K: We sure could! The days of free spending are over. No more "putting it on the card."

　　Gina 表示贊同，說 sticking to the shopping list is the hard part. hard part 指難度較大的部分，換句話說，Writing down the things you need to buy is the easy part.

　　Sticking to the shopping list is the hard part. 把需要買的東西列在購物清單上很容易，能完全按照這個單子買東西就沒那么容易了。Karen 在上面那段話中還說，The days of free spending are over. 花錢不假思索的日子結(jié)束了。no more "putting it on the card." 這里所說的''put it on the card''意思是刷卡。

　　G: Hey! I've got a great idea! Let's have a three-day "staycation"...it's a vacation at home! You can bring the kids over to my place and we'll all have fun together.

　　L: That sounds like fun!

　　K: Super idea! Let's start our "staycation" this Saturday!

　　G: Great! See you then!

　　Gina 突發(fā)奇想，建議大家一起來個三天的 "staycation," staycation is spelled s-t-a-y-c-a-t-i-o-n, staycation, 是 stay 跟 vacation 連在一起組成的，是這兩年出現(xiàn)的新詞，指經(jīng)濟不好，在家渡假。大家一致同意，覺得這個主意真不錯。

　　A: Karen說，一個省錢的好方法是每次都寫一個shopping list, 購物單，然后force yourself to stick to it, 嚴格按照購物清單的條款來買，no exceptions，不能有例外。

　　B: Yep, I guess the days of free spending are over! But it might be a blessing in disguise, it could help the whole nation learn how to save.

　　A: 哈哈哈，沒錯! 好啦，staycation 就到這里吧! 現(xiàn)在咱們來進入今天最后一個單元....

　　B: Let's listen to another words and idioms!

　　Words and Idioms 868 SIGN ONE'S OWN DEATH WARRANT

　　美國習慣用語第 868 講

　　我剛跟我一個做銀行出納的朋友吃完午飯。她最近失業(yè)了，不過也要怪她自己。不久前開會，她好心建議，可以增設(shè)自動提款機，減少開支，銀行高層接受了她的建議，結(jié)果非常成功，反而不需要她們這些出納了。這讓我想起一個習慣用語，叫

　　M: To sign one's own death warrant. Sign is spelled s-i-g-n; death is d-e-a-t-h, and warrant; w-a-r-r-a-n-t. To-sign-one's-own-death-warrant.

　　Sign 是簽署的意思。death warrant 死亡證書。to sign one's own death warrant 自己簽自己的死亡證書，顯而易見，就是自我毀滅，自尋死路的意思。就象我那個出納朋友，主動提議銀行增設(shè)自動提款機，全自動了，還要他們這些出納做什么呢?這就叫 She signed her own death warrant. 在下面這個例子里，一位作者怎么會搬起石頭砸了自己的腳呢?我們一起聽：

　　M: "One of my best selling authors became a multi-millionaire with the continuing adventures of "Detective X". So why did he decide to have his lead character murdered? I don't understand. He must have known that by doing so he was SIGNING HIS OWN DEATH WARRANT. His long career with the series is now over!"

　　這個作家的經(jīng)紀人說：我的最暢銷的作家之一就是仗著他的‘偵探X’系列才成為百萬富翁的。他為什么要讓主角給人謀殺呢?這我就不懂了。他一定知道，這樣做是自毀生路。他寫了這么長的系列就算結(jié)束了。

　　美國不久前剛剛發(fā)生了一起氣球男孩事件，孩子的父親承認，他們欺騙媒體和警方，說孩子爬到熱氣球里在天上飛，其實完全是為了增加知名度，爭取能做個真人秀?？墒聦嵣?，he signed his own death warrant. 不僅沒做成真人秀，反而可能要去坐牢。讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "One of my best selling authors became a multi-millionaire with the continuing adventures of "Detective X". So why did he decide to have his lead character murdered? I don't understand. He must have known that by doing so he was SIGNING HIS OWN DEATH WARRANT. His long career with the series is now over!"

　　在下面這個例子里，一家錄像出租店順應(yīng)時代潮流，改變經(jīng)營模式，讓我們聽聽他們的訣竅。

　　M: "Star Video did a thriving business when everyone was going to their stores to rent movies. Then the industry began to change. So they added an online mail-order service, featuring all kinds of entertainment, including video games. They could have SIGNED THEIR OWN DEATH WARRANT. Instead, they made a smart move that kept them competitive."

　　這段話說的是：原來，所有人都到明星錄像店去租電影看，他們的生意火得要命。后來，整個錄像帶租賃行業(yè)發(fā)生了變化，他們就增加了網(wǎng)上郵購的服務(wù)，提供各種娛樂產(chǎn)品和電子游戲。他們不僅沒有自毀前程，反而采取了很聰明的做法，保存了競爭力。

　　跟 to sign one's own death warrant 相類似的，還有一種說法，叫 to order one's own execution 自己下令處死自己，意思也是自絕生路。好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個例句。

　　M: "Star Video did a thriving business when everyone was going to their stores to rent movies. Then the industry began to change. So they added an online mail-order service, featuring all kinds of entertainment, including video games. They could have SIGNED THEIR OWN DEATH WARRANT. Instead, they made a smart move that kept them competitive."

　　好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　B: Seriously Yanglin, if you don't start dressing in more appropriate cloths when you come to work, you're signing your own death warrant when you dress like that!

　　A: Keep talking and You'll be signing yours!

　　A: 好了同學們，這次節(jié)目時間就到這里了。

　　B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!

　　A: See you next time!