美語訓練班085

A: 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來告訴大家今天都要學什么?

A: 沒問題! 今天我們要聊聊神秘的直覺，看看在美國如何閃購，還要告訴你怎么說有商有量!

B: Yeah, I have this gut feeling that I should start investing into Chinese companies! I bet I can make a ton of money on the Chinese stock market!

A: Whoa wait, can you even buy stocks on the Chinese stock market? I thought you had to be a Chinese citizen to do that!

B: Well, you do. But I have this friend in Shenzhen that I met over QQ. He says if I send him a check for 3000 dollars and my bank account info he'll buy stocks for me!

A: You realize in all likelihood this is a scam, right?! He's not your friend, he's just trying to steal your money!

B: What? No no no! You are just being overly paranoid Yanglin.

A: 你真是二中最二! 那我也不勸你了，咱們趕快先來進入第一個單元，Learn a word!

Learn A Word 1626 likelihood

今天我們要學的詞是 likelihood. likelihood is spelled l-i-k-e-l-i-h-o-o-d, likelihood. likelihood 可能性。美國西維吉尼亞州連續(xù)六年，一直是開車最容易撞到鹿的州。The likelihood of a West Virginian driver to hit a deer is 1 in 68. 西維吉尼亞州有駕照的人，每68個人里，就有一個人可能會撞上鹿。 颶風Sandy在美東登岸前，天氣預報說，The likelihood of a big storm, with monster winds and heavy rains is increasing. 天氣出現(xiàn)狂風暴雨的可能性越來越大。以往八屆總統(tǒng)大選，美國科羅拉多大學都事先準確地預測出了選舉結果。這次，The model indicates that Mitt Romney has a 77 percent likelihood of winning the popular vote. 該模型預計，羅姆尼有77%的可能贏得全民選票。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 likelihood, likelihood, likelihood....

A: Mike, just to let you know, there's a 99% likelihood that you are going to have to take over all my work when I go home for the spring festival.

B:What!! That's not fair!

A: But you always claim that you are doing all the work! So it shouldn't be a problem right?

B: (laughs) Fine, but I feel like I need to be compensated. What are you willing to offer?

A: (Jokingly) I can tell you about all the great things I eat in Beijing when I'm back.

B: Sorry girly, but this is a give and take relationship. (Both Laugh)

A: Jokes aside, you mentioned a really good phrase: give and take. Why don't we listen and find out what it means

Words and Idioms 996

現(xiàn)在播送美國習慣用語第 996講。我是小北。

M: 我是Dan.

咱們生活中常有這樣的人：能力強，熱心腸，點子多，可就是聽不得別人說“不”。給這種人提意見，很難被采納。因為他們不喜歡---

M: Give and take. Give is spelled g-i-v-e, and take; t-a-k-e. Give-and-take.

大家一定都知道Give是給的意思，Take則是“拿”，give and take有給有拿，引伸為“有商有量”，妥協(xié)折衷。Those who don't appreciate give and take are not likely to listen to others. 那些不喜歡妥協(xié)折衷的人不太可能聽取別人的意見。在下面的例子中，我們要聽一聽，在夫妻相處之道中，是不是也需要一些妥協(xié)。

M: “It's natural for couples to argue once in a while. But whether those two people will have a long future together often depends on how well they work out their differences. Conflicts shouldn't always be about one person being right and the other wrong. There has to be a healthy GIVE AND TAKE. Without that ability to negotiate, couples can't survive.”

[這段話是說: 夫妻間有時發(fā)生爭吵是很正常的。但是兩人是否能長久地一起生活下去通常取決于他們能不能調和彼此間的差異。在有沖突時，并不一定要分出誰對誰錯。倆人之間必須有健康的商量妥協(xié)。如果倆人都不肯低頭，那日子過不長久。]

很多幸福夫妻都說，過日子的秘訣是寬容對方的缺點，而不是爭辯是非對錯。英文里有句話叫My way or the highway! 意思就是“不按我說的做就拉倒!”，大有順我者昌逆我者亡的意味。要是按照這個原則去經(jīng)營婚姻，恐怖得一路打到離婚。好的，讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: “It's natural for couples to argue once in a while. But whether those two people will have a long future together often depends on how well they work out their differences. Conflicts shouldn't always be about one person being right and the other wrong. There has to be a healthy GIVE AND TAKE. Without that ability to negotiate, couples can't survive.”

Do you negotiate with others or do you feel that give and take is a sign of weakness? 你會和別人妥協(xié)么?還是覺得和別人商量就等于服軟?其實，遇事和他人有商有量，達成大家都喜歡的結果，對一個團隊是非常有益的，下面這個句子就是一例，我們來聽聽:

M: “Our labor union has few complaints with the managers of our factory. That's because everyone works pretty well together. Whenever there's a conflict, we sit down together and discuss the best way to deal with it. Each side is willing to let the other get some of what it wants. That GIVE AND TAKE makes for a much better environment.”

[這段話意思是說：我們的工會從來不會收到對工廠管理人員的投訴。這是因為大家共事得相當愉快。每次有矛盾出現(xiàn)時，我們都坐下討論最好的解決辦法。每一方都愿意讓另外一方達到部分目的。這種凡事有商有量的方式營造了一個更優(yōu)良的環(huán)境。]

這種相互尊重的態(tài)度往往能帶來雙贏的結果。不是說偏聽則暗，兼信則明么。好了，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M:“Our labor union has few complaints with the managers of our factory. That's because everyone works pretty well together. Whenever there's a conflict, we sit down together and discuss the best way to deal with it. Each side is willing to let the other get some of what it wants. That GIVE AND TAKE makes for a much better environment.”

今天我們學習的習慣用語是give and take, 意思有商有量，妥協(xié)折衷。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是小北，我是Dan。謝謝各位的收聽，下次再見。

A: Ah, I miss shopping in the night markets in China! I loved the give and take of haggling with the merchants to get the best deal possible.

B: Really? I was always so intimidated and felt like I was getting ripped off. I think I would rather just pay whatever is on the price tag.....

A: You are such a baby! 跟小商販打交道，砍價是必備本領!

B: Well, bargaining is not my strong point. Generally I just go online and look for flash sales, which are a lot cheaper than the ticket price.

A: Because I'm your friend I'm going to give you the facts: you have zero strong points. But you just mentioned a really good word, flash sale! 咱們來學學這個詞兒是什么意思!

Learn A Word1635 flash sale

今天我們要學的詞是 flash sale, flash is spelled f-l-a-s-h, flash, sale is spelled s-a-l-e, sale, flash sale. Flash sale 是限時搶購，也叫閃購。有研究顯示，Accessories are among the most sought after items on flash sale sites. 閃購網(wǎng)站上，服裝配飾屬于最搶手的商品。Flash sale web sites claim to offer deep discounts on brand products to attract consumers. 閃購網(wǎng)站以低價出售名牌產品為賣點，吸引消費者。The new flash sale site is targeting young mothers with small children at home. 這個新開的閃購網(wǎng)站，希望吸引的消費人群是那些家里孩子還小的年輕媽媽們。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 flash sale, flash sale, flash sale....

A: 閃購是不錯，不過我覺得這樣特別容易讓人沖昏頭腦，看見特便宜就拼命買! 最后買的都是一些你永遠不會用的東西。

B: Exactly, It's an old marketing trick. They create a false sense of urgency so the buyer doesn't have time to talk themselves out of the purchase.

A: Exactly. Sometimes the companies try to gloss over any defects the product has, which is probably why they are so cheap in the first place!

B: Yep, they definitely tend to gloss over things! Let's listen to today's words and idioms and find out what it means!

Words and Idioms 997 glass over

美國習慣用語第 997講。我是小北。

M: 我是Dan.

上個月我和一個好朋友一起出去旅行，整個旅程差強人意?；貋碇?，別人問我們玩兒得如何。還沒等我張口，我那快人快語的朋友搶先說我們的旅程多精彩，看到的景色多迷人，沒有一句不好，沒有一點抱怨。我當時簡直懷疑我們倆去的不是一個地方!

M: Gloss over. Gloss is spelled g-l-o-s-s and over; o-v-e-r. Gloss-over.

Gloss over意思是把不好的事情隱瞞起來或者輕描淡寫。我的朋友沒把旅行中的種種不好對人提起，She chose to gloss over all of them. 而是決定把這些不好的部分都忽略不計了。這種“報喜不報憂”的情況也出現(xiàn)在下面的例句里，我們聽一聽：

M: "My daughter likes the sweet icy drinks at our local convenience store. But she's tried to avoid them because they have so much sugar. Now that she's heard that new flavors are being offered with artificial sweeteners, she's excited. I'm not. Because they still have no nutritional value. The company GLOSSES OVER that information in its ads!"

[這段話是說: 我女兒喜歡喝我家附近便利店賣的甜味冰飲料。不過她盡量少喝，因為這些飲料里糖分太多。現(xiàn)在她聽說，新口味的冰飲里面用了代糖，所以她高興極了。不過，我可不高興，因為這種飲料還是沒有任何營養(yǎng)價值。不過對于這個事實，廠家在廣告中一句都沒提。]

商品廣告當然是撿好的說，這樣才能吸引顧客! 不過說起來，現(xiàn)在各種飲料的賣點真是五花八門，不過要是我說，還是白水最解渴，絕對沒有不良成分。好的，讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: "My daughter likes the sweet icy drinks at our local convenience store. But she's tried to avoid them because they have so much sugar. Now that she's heard that new flavors are being offered with artificial sweeteners, she's excited. I'm not. Because they still have no nutritional value. The company GLOSSES OVER that information in its ads!"

美國的教育制度時常受到稱贊，美國的大學也是國際學生們出國深造的首選，不過，美國大學的學費也貴得可以。在這里，學生貸款負債平均值達到10萬甚至20 萬美元，每個月的還款額可能相當于畢業(yè)生半個月的工資!不過，Universities don't include those numbers on their web sites. They conveniently gloss over these shocking statistics! 大學不會把這些數(shù)字發(fā)在他們的網(wǎng)站上，他們很“方便”地忽略了這些統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)!說起隱瞞不報，我們聽聽下面的例句

M: "People can be fascinated with celebrities. We love how they overcame great challenges in their rise to success. But often their life stories fail to mention drug or alcohol addictions, problems with relationships or criminal behavior. Indeed, biographers have a habit of GLOSSING OVER such unpleasant facts."

這段話意思是說：很多人崇拜名人。他們在通往成功的道路上克服巨大的困難，這種故事讓我們喜愛不已。不過，他們的人生故事通常不會提及吸毒、嗜酒、感情問題或者犯罪行為。事實上，寫傳記的作家們都有把不好的事情輕描淡寫或者干脆不提的習慣。

其實，人無完人，寫出自己生活中陰暗的經(jīng)歷，并不一定會破壞在粉絲心中的形象，反而會讓大家覺得你更真實，更立體。好了，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M:"People can be fascinated with celebrities. We love how they overcame great challenges in their rise to success. But often their life stories fail to mention drug or alcohol addictions, problems with relationships or criminal behavior. Indeed, biographers have a habit of GLOSSING OVER such unpleasant facts."

今天我們學習的習慣用語是gloss over, 意思是把不好的事情隱瞞起來或者輕描淡寫。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是小北，我是Dan。謝謝各位的收聽，下次再見。

B: Never gloss over things with me Yanglin! If I'm not doing good enough on the show, just tell me!

A: 這可是你說的啊! 說到你的缺點那簡直是一籮筐了! 比如說吧，吃得太多，說話太多，表演不夠自然，邏輯性一般....

B: Hey!! Come on!! I didn't think I was that bad!

A: Hahah, well if it helps, from the very beginning my intuition told me that you would be a great team member! And turns out I was right!! 在今天的Business Etiquette里，F(xiàn)aith和Katie就在討論直覺這個話題，咱們一起來聽聽吧!

禮節(jié)美語 Intuition 1

MC: 銷售部的 Steve, Faith 和 Katie 開會討論項目進展。Steve說，

Steve: Ok, so are we all agreed that we'll move forward on this project?

Faith: You know, I'm not so sure. I have a funny feeling about this.

Katie: You smell a rat?

F: Kind of. All I can say is that something is definitely not right. I just "feel" it.

Steve 征求大家意見，決定項目可否進入下一階段?？蒄aith說，她總覺得哪不對勁。I have a funny feeling about this. funny 在這里不是好笑，而是奇怪的意思。Katie 問，you smell a rat? smell a rat 也是覺得可疑、不對勁的意思。Faith 承認，她也說不清楚，I just "feel" it. 就是一種感覺。

S: But Faith, do you really think we should base a decision on a feeling?

F: Well, feelings can be a warning. I believe very strongly in the power of intuition.

K: Do you mean that emotions are important, even in the business world?

F: Yes, I do. You know how people say, "I have a gut feeling?" What they really mean is that their intuition is giving them a signal.

Faith 說自己特別相信直覺。I believe in the power of intuition. intuition is spelled i-n-t-u-i-t-i-o-n, intuition 直覺。很多人都說，“I have a gut feeling.”gut, g-u-t, gut. gut feeling 也是直覺的意思。

S: But we should make choices based on data and information...not emotions!

K: I think perhaps both information and intuition are necessary.

F: I agree. Data is for the brain but intuition is for the heart.

S: But every decision we make in life is based on the available facts, no?

F: Not really. When we go on a date with someone, we usually make a decision about whether or not we like someone almost instantly?

Steve 好象很理性，認為一切決定都應該以事實為依據(jù)。Faith卻認為，不能一概而論，比如說，When we go on a date with someone, 跟別人約會，倆人是否會繼續(xù)交往下去往往都是一上來就決定了。

K: That's true. I usually only have to meet a man for less than a minute before I know whether or not I want to date him.

S: And that's intuition?

F: Yes, and we use it every day. Intuition is very important in business. Remember your first job interview here?

S: (chuckle) Yep. I was so nervous! I was sweating and stammering.

F: But my intuition told me you would make a good employee...and I was right!

Faith說，我們其實每天都會用到直覺。Steve 第一次面試，緊張得渾身冒汗，說話也結結巴巴的，可Faith卻說，直覺告訴她， My intuition told me...Steve 一定會是好員工，結果一點沒錯。

A: Faith說，I believe in the power of intuition, 我很相信直覺。她覺得Intuition is really important in business,在生意場上特別重要，經(jīng)常能發(fā)現(xiàn)別人發(fā)現(xiàn)不了的蛛絲馬跡。 I would never be able to live my life just by intuition. I just don't think it's reliable.

aLaB: Huh, that's funny, I find that a lot of the time I end up just following my gut feelings.

A: Really? Well, it looks like your "gut feelings" lead you to a lot of restaurants huh? (HEY!) (both laugh)

B: Seriously though, you can't tell me you never follow your intuition.

Didn't you say that you can tell if a guy is a good person or not within just a few minutes of meeting him?

A: That's different! That's just because I am a very good judge of character.

B: Right..... Well, Steve, Faith and Katie are still talking about intuition, let's continue!

禮節(jié)美語 Intuition II

銷售部的 Steve, Faith 和 Katie 圍繞直覺展開了討論。Katie 說

Katie: I think perhaps everyone has different kinds of intuition. I'm a pretty bad judge of character, but I'm a wiz at picking stocks!

Steve: You should go to Las Vegas! You'd make a killing!

Katie: (Chuckle) That's not a bad idea!

Faith: But what Katie is doing is not exactly the same as gambling. She reads and watches business news, but her intuition is better that other people's. She can pick out the signs and clues that the rest of us miss.

Katie 說，人跟人不一樣，比如她自己，I'm a pretty bad judge of character 看人就經(jīng)常走眼。但是 I'm a wiz at picking stocks. 挑選股票確是奇才，wiz, w-i-z, wiz. Steve 開玩笑說，Katie應該到賭城拉斯維加斯去，You'd make a killing! 保準走運，賺大錢?？蒄aith卻說，Katie選股票不是盲目下注，而是她在這方面的直覺比其他人更敏感，可以 pick out the signs and clues that the rest of us miss. 發(fā)現(xiàn)很多其他人注意不到的線索和跡象。

K: I've read books by famous CEOs and most of them talk about how important it is to develop your intuition. Of course, not every hunch you have will turn out to be right.

F: That's true. Sometimes my intuition is really off! Like with my last two boyfriends.

K&S: (laughter)

S: Intuition might play a bigger role than I think it does. My brother is a police officer and he says nine times out of ten he will just feel that something isn't right. Then when he investigates, he usually discovers he was right.

直覺也不是每次都對。除了Intuition 和 gut feeling，hunch, h-u-n-c-h, hunch 也是直覺的意思。Faith 承認，Sometimes my intuition is really off! off, o-f-f, off 在這里意思是不符合標準。例如，His performance was really off recently. 他最近的表現(xiàn)不太好。Steve 最后承認，直覺可能確實比他以為的更重要，他當警察的哥哥就說，nine times out of ten 十有八九都是他的直覺告訴他有問題，調查結果還真是那樣。

K: So what should we do about this deal? Faith's intuition says there's something wrong.

S: How about if we crunch the numbers again and see if there is anything fishy?

F: Sounds good. Let's go over all the documents with a fine-tooth comb and see if we can find the problem.

K: Will do. I'll work on it this afternoon.

F: Thanks for your input, guys!

Steve 建議，從頭再算一遍 crunch the numbers again, crunch, c-r-u-n-c-h, crunch 在口語里有計算、處理的意思。Faith表示贊成，決定把所有文件重新仔細地過一遍，with a fine-tooth comb 用一把細齒的梳子，引伸為仔細檢查。

A: Hmmm, My female intuition tells me that you were the one who stole the Oreo cookies from my desk!

B: Hmm I have a hunch that your Female intuition is wrong! I didn't steal Oreos! I just took some chocolate....

A: Got you! 回頭再給買10塊就行! 哈哈， 好了同學們，這次節(jié)目時間就到這里了。