美語訓練班126

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

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Are you a smart investor? Do you know how to better manage your money? We will offer you some useful tips in today's business etiquette.

　　A: 調皮的小孩長大后更容易成功? 我們在下面的節(jié)目中為你介紹。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "squeak by" and "long shot" 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 1839 misbehaving

　　今天我們要學的詞是 misbehaving. Misbehaving is spelled m-i-s-b-e-h-a-v-i-n-g, misbehaving. Misbehaving 形容詞，意思是表現(xiàn)不好的，行為不端的。A new study listed a number of signs that misbehaving children may become extremely successful. 一份最新研究列舉了一系列跡象，那些表現(xiàn)不好，但是帶有這些特征的孩子，長大后很可能會極其成功。Compelled by the U.S. Justice Department, a Mississippi school district has agreed to keep more misbehaving students in the classroom instead of suspending or expelling them. 在美國司法部的要求下，密西西比州的一個校區(qū)同意讓更多表現(xiàn)差的學生留在學校，不讓他們暫?；蚴情_除學籍。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 misbehaving, misbehaving, misbehaving...

　　A: Misbehaving children may become extremely successful? OMG does that mean I'm gonna be super successful soon?

　　B: The study says "may", not "will" YL. I'm willing to bet that you belong to the latter group...

　　A: Ugh...At least I'm intelligent enough to squeak by in life, unlike some people I know...

　　B: Ouch! That was harsh...but since you only said to introduce the idiom we are going to teach.....I guess I'll let it slide....

　　A: Haha, you know I'm kidding! 我們來聽聽今天的美國習慣用語，學學squeak by 這個短語的用法!

　　Words and Idioms 875 Squeak by

　　美國習慣用語第 875 講

　　我不久前帶侄子去考駕照，眼看著他倒車上了馬路牙子，本以為這下沒戲了，沒想到考官居然給了他第二次機會，最后擦著邊兒通過了路考。這也讓我想起一個習慣用語可以跟大家分享，那就是：

　　M: Squeak by. Squeak is spelled s-q-u-e-a-k. Squeak by.

　　聽過老鼠的尖叫聲嗎，這種叫聲在英文就是 squeak. To squeak by 意思是勉強通過，僥幸成功。剛才說，我侄子駕照路考的成績剛好過線，我們就可以說，He squeaked by. 不過，我的鄰居詹姆斯太太就沒有這么幸運了。75歲的她為了延駕照，要接受視力測試，考官讓她從后視鏡里分辨蘋果和桌子兩個圖像，她居然問考官，你說什么桌子?What table? 結果駕照沒延成。The official didn't let her SQUEAK BY.

　　下面例子里的學生拿到考卷后如釋重負，我們一起來聽聽是怎么回事。

　　M: "My university doesn't allow graduate students to get any Cs. So I was really nervous about my final exam in chemistry. But when my grades were posted, I discovered that I had gotten an 80, which qualified as a B. Whew! If I hadn't SQUEAKED BY, my dad would have been furious."

　　這個學生說：在我們學校，研究生是不允許得C的。我這次化學期終考完試后，心里特別緊張，最后成績下來，我得了八十分，剛好夠得上B，真是萬幸，如果沒能僥幸過關的話，我爸一定會氣炸了。

　　還記得前年帶孩子去游樂場玩，兒子因為個頭不夠高，很多姐姐能玩的東西他都不能去。一年下來，他長了足足兩英寸，去年再去，剛好擦邊夠高，所有翻滾過山車都能坐了。He was thrilled to have squeaked by. 好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "My university doesn't allow graduate students to get any Cs. So I was really nervous about my final exam in chemistry. But when my grades were posted, I discovered that I had gotten an 80, which qualified as a B. Whew! If I hadn't SQUEAKED BY, my dad would have been furious."

　　如果讓你在富有但卻空虛，和貧窮但卻充實這兩種生活之間選擇一個，你會選哪個?我們一起來聽聽下面的例子：

　　M: "I admire my friend Alice. She could have easily chosen a high-paying career. Instead, she took a position with a non-profit organization dedicated to saving endangered tigers. I don't know how she manages to pay her bills on her meager salary. But somehow she SQUEAKS BY."

　　這個人說：我很佩服我朋友 Alice. 她原本可以選擇一份高薪的工作，但是她沒有，反而加入了一個挽救瀕危老虎的非盈利機構。我真不知道她掙的那點兒錢，怎么夠付賬單，不過她好象也能湊合過。

　　我們剛結婚那會兒，兩個人沒多少錢，家里開支卻很多。It wasn't easy SQUEAKING BY. 一分錢掰成兩半花的日子確實不好過。那會兒我們還年輕，在英語里，叫 Salad Days, 意思是少不更事的青春年華。好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個例句。

　　M: "I admire my friend Alice. She could have easily chosen a high-paying career. Instead, she took a position with a non-profit organization dedicated to saving endangered tigers. I don't know how she manages to pay her bills on her meager salary. But somehow she SQUEAKS BY."

　　To squeak by 這個習慣用語是二十世紀上半葉出現(xiàn)的，想想看，squeak 指的是勉強發(fā)出來的聲音，所以，用 squeak by 來指勉強通過，僥幸獲勝，也就不難理解了。

　　好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　B: When I had just graduated from college I couldn't find a job right away, it sure wasn't easy squeaking by.

　　A: Look at you now, things worked out just fine!

　　B: Yeah. I feel like I need to learn some investing skills though, no one gets rich by living paycheck to paycheck every month.

　　A: That I agree! And in today's business etiquette, we will discuss that exact topichow to make smart investment!

　　B: Let's check it out!

　　禮節(jié)美語 Investing I

　　Frank 去見投資顧問 Jerry.

　　Frank: Jerry! My financial counselor! Good to see you... as always.

　　Jerry: Hey Frank, nice to see you, too. How's your stock portfolio these days?

　　F: Not that bad. I bought into a hedge fund and it helped minimize my losses.

　　J: Wise! You seem to beat the market at its own game pretty often. What's your secret?

　　F: I don't really have a secret. I just read a lot and pay attention to trends.

　　投資顧問 Jerry 問 Frank 投資的股票賺不賺錢，How's your stock portfolio? portfolio is spelled p-o-r-t-f-o-l-i-o, portfolio 是投資組合的意思。Frank 說他買了 hedge fund 對沖基金，減少了不少損失。Jerry說Frank投資總能賺錢，beat the market at its own game. 這里所說的 to beat someone at his own game 意思是以其人之道還治其人之身，在這里意思就是利用市場規(guī)則，成為市場投資的贏家。

　　J: Well, I commend your business sense. You seem to be staying ahead of the curve.

　　F: You win some and you lose some, that's business. So, I hear you have a sales pitch for me.

　　J: Well, actually...it's not really a sales pitch...I have a vision I want to share with you! This idea could turn your company into a leader in the industry!

　　Jerry對 Frank 的商業(yè)頭腦 business sense 表示贊賞，說 Frank 總是 stay ahead of the curve, 走在別人前面，stay ahead of the curve 意思是比別人更有遠見，更能預見未來走向。Frank則說，You win some and you lose some, that's business. 做生意就是有賺有賠。you win some and you lose some. 是很常用的一句話，意思是有輸有贏，正?，F(xiàn)象。Frank 問 Jerry 想向自己推銷什么。a sales pitch 是推銷的意思。Jerry 說有個投資想法，能讓 Frank 的公司成為行業(yè)領軍人, turn your company into a leader in the industry。Jerry 的想法是什么呢?

　　F: Ok...you've got me interested. Let's hear the idea.

　　J: You know that old expression: strike while the iron is hot?

　　F: Uh huh.

　　J: Well, it comes from blacksmiths. They would get the iron really hot so they could shape it. But, if the iron cooled down, the blacksmith couldn't beat it into the shape he needed.

　　F: Ah...I never thought about where that expression came from...Makes sense: you've got to strike while the iron is hot.

　　Jerry 問 Frank 聽沒聽說過 strike while the iron is hot 趁熱打鐵這句話，這句話是從打鐵來的，鐵匠打鐵，一定要趁熱，等鐵冷卻下來，就不行了。可這跟 Jerry 的投資想法有什么關系呢?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

　　A: 投資顧問Jerry詢問Frank他的stock portfolio 投資組合怎么樣，F(xiàn)rank說，他買了hedge fund, 對沖基金，所以還不錯。Jerry說，I commend your business sense, 贊揚Frank的商業(yè)頭腦，說他總是stay ahead of the curve, 走在別人前面。

　　B: That's why he's ready to pitch an investing idea to him! Smart people always share information with each other, and that information can help them really stay ahead!

　　A: True. Let's keep listening to Jerry and see what idea he's going to pitch!

　　禮節(jié)美語 Investing II

　　投資顧問 Jerry 跟客戶 Frank 見面，向他推銷一種投資想法。

　　Jerry: I believe the iron is hot right now in the field of energy and transportation. Everyone is looking for new ways to reduce energy consumption.

　　F: Yeah, you're right. I bought a hybrid car last month...saves me as much as 50% in gasoline use!

　　J: Hybrids are the hottest thing on the market these days, and I think they fill a niche right now, but I'm betting that the future belongs to fully electric-powered vehicles.

　　Jerry 覺得，能源和交通是投資的正確方向，一定要趁熱打鐵。Frank 表示贊成，說自己上個月剛買了一輛汽電混合動力車 hybrid，耗油量少了一半。Jerry 承認，汽電混合動力車現(xiàn)在很流行，有自己的市場定位 niche, niche is spelled n-i-c-h-e，但他覺得，汽車今后還是要向純電動的方向發(fā)展。

　　F: That might be true. But I manufacture in China. Millions of people there don't even have a gas-powered car yet.

　　J: Yes...but don't you see? This is a golden opportunity! Millions of middle class Chinese could potentially leapfrog over the old technologies and embrace electric vehicles.

　　F: It's an interesting idea. I know the government is supporting electric vehicles since many cities have serious air pollution.

　　Frank 的工廠在中國，而中國很多人連汽油動力車都沒有，哪談得上什么純電力車呢?Jerry 卻覺得，這是絕好的機會。This is a golden opportunity. 因為中國數以百萬計的中產階級都可以跨越陳舊的技術，直接利用新技術，這里所說的 leapfrog 蛙跳，是躍過，跨過的意思。Frank覺得，這種想法有道理，因為中國政府為了治理空氣污染，非常支持電動汽車的發(fā)展。

　　J: Just imagine! You could make a lot of money AND help make China a better place for people to live.

　　F: So you want me to invest in producing electric cars?

　　J: I think the real area of interest here is batteries. Battery technology needs to catch up. We already have a lot of companies that can make the cars, but batteries are far too expensive.

　　開發(fā)電力汽車，這種既能賺錢，又能改善中國生活環(huán)境的事何樂而不為呢?Jerry 補充說，他其實不是建議 Frank 投資電力汽車，The real area of interest is batteries. 真有干頭的是電池這一塊，因為 battery technology needs to catch up. 電池技術還需要改進。Frank 會被 Jerry 說服，投資電力汽車電池技術的開發(fā)嗎?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

　　A: 原來Jerry想讓Frank投資電動汽車業(yè)，it's a golden opportunity, 絕好的機會，像中國這樣的發(fā)展中國家可以leapfrog， 蛙跳，直接接觸最新的電池技術。

　　B: That's actually a really good idea! If everyone chose hybrid cars over traditional cars, I bet the smog in Beijing would improve!

　　A: That's true. 咱們接著來看看Jerry和Frank談得怎么樣吧!

　　禮節(jié)美語 Investing III

　　投資顧問 Jerry 跟客戶 Frank 見面，建議他投資電動汽車電池技術的開發(fā)，F(xiàn)rank 似乎有顧慮。

　　F: I don't know....sounds like a gamble to me.

　　J: All investing is a gamble! But sometimes gambling pays off big time!

　　F: That's true...but sometimes you lose your shirt.

　　J: I'd recommend we take it step by step. The first step is to do lots of research. We really have to do our homework.

　　F: And then? What's step two?

　　J: I'm recommending buying a small Chinese company called WinTron Power. They hold several key patents and they have a good R&D department.

　　Frank覺得投資電池技術的開發(fā)聽上去有些象 gamble 賭博，可是話說回來，投資就要有風險，堵注下對了就會賺一大筆錢，pay off big time, 全軍覆沒則會 lose your shirt 傾家蕩產。Jerry 已經做好了全盤規(guī)劃，第一步是要做一下市場調查，do our homework 意思是先做好準備工作。第二步是收購一家叫 WinTron Power 的小公司，這家公司掌握著好幾項關鍵專利，而且有優(yōu)秀的 R&D Department 研究和開發(fā)部。

　　F: How much is this going to cost me?

　　J: The initial investment is about five million.

　　F: Five million U.S. dollars? That's steep!

　　J: Yes...but you could end up becoming a major supplier to the auto companies of the future. Invest millions for a chance to make billions.

　　F: It's a tempting idea. It could be huge.

　　Jerry 說，首期投資 the initial investment 估計要500萬美元，F(xiàn)rank 說，that's steep. 這么多錢。steep is spelled s-t-e-e-p, steep 意思是傾斜度大，坡陡，也有過份的意思，比如說 The price is steep. 意思是價錢太貴。 Jerry 勸他說，如果成功，投個幾百萬，就有機會賺回幾十億，是個上算的買賣。Frank說，It's a tempting idea. 他好象動心了。

　　J: China has the potential to be the leader in the field. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I think it would be foolish to let it slip away.

　　F: Jerry...you sold me. I'll get working on this project right away. This could be my big break! Thanks for the info!

　　J: Just doing my job.

　　Jerry 說，This is an once-in-a lifetime opportunity. 這可是千載難逢的好機會，過了這個村就沒這個店了，這樣的機會千萬不能錯過。Frank 終于被說動了。他說，you sold me. 意思是你把我說服了。This could be my big break. 這回沒準我的機會來了。big break 往往用來指突如其來的好運氣。Jerry 回答說，Just doing my job. 這是我份內的工作，這是我應該做的。

　　A: Jerry想讓Frank投資500萬，F(xiàn)rank說，that's steep, 錢真夠多的。Jerry說，投資就像賭博，有時pay off big time, 賺一大筆，但是不注意也會lost your shirt, 傾家蕩產。最后Frank被說動了，this could be my big break,沒準我的機會來了。

　　B: Wow, invest millions to make billions! I wish I had that kind of initial investment capital...

　　A: Maybe one day, but that's a long shot!

　　B: Haha, very funny. (A: Ha!) Well you just mentioned an idiom, long shot, let's check it out in today's words and idioms!

　　Words and Idioms 876 Long Shot

　　美國習慣用語第 876 講2010年，我的宏偉目標是鍛煉身體。從1月1號開始，我一直堅持去健身房，每周四次，每次一小時，剛開始的時候，我只能跑一公里，現(xiàn)在已經能跑三公里了。教練鼓勵我去參加小型馬拉松。我知道自己肯定跑不下來，不過覺得，試試看也沒什么不好。這倒讓我想起一個習慣用語可以跟大家分享，那就是：

　　M: Long shot. Long is spelled l-o-n-g. Long. Shot is spelled s-h-o-t. Shot. Long shot.

　　在中文里，long 是長的意思，說一件事情是 long shot，意思就是成功的可能性很小，不過還是值得嘗試。就好比，我想去參加小型馬拉松比賽，明明知道跑下來的機會很小，it's a long shot. 但我還是很想去試試看。下面例子里這個人正在鼓勵自己的弟弟去申請一份管理層的工作，我們一起來聽聽他是怎么說的。

　　M: "Sure, it's a LONG SHOT, but why not? You thought you weren't going to get your current job! You said they'd never hire you straight out of college. But you got that job and who knows, maybe you'll get this one too."

　　這個人說：沒錯，申請到這個工作的機會確實不大，但為什么不去試試看呢?你原來也沒想到能爭取到現(xiàn)在這份工作啊!還說什么他們死活不會招個象你這樣大學剛畢業(yè)的新人，結果他們還是雇了你啊，誰知道呢，沒準這次你又能拿到呢。

　　我最近一直在鼓勵女兒申請去做?？庉?。I know it's a LONG SHOT, 我也知道可能性不大，但我還是希望她能去試試看，起碼可以積累點兒經驗。好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

　　M: "Sure, it's a LONG SHOT, but why not? You thought you weren't going to get your current job! You said they'd never hire you straight out of college. But you got that job and who knows, maybe you'll get this one too."

　　A LONG SHOT 這個習慣用語是從十九世紀末開始流行的。最早起源于打槍。槍支剛剛出清b時，準性很差，距離稍微遠一點就打不中目標。因此，A LONG SHOT 就成了成功可能性很小的意思。這個習慣用語在賽馬中也很常用，指不被大家看好的參賽馬匹，但是賠率一般很高。我們一起來聽下面這個例子中有關肯塔基賽馬大會的一段報道。

　　M: "In this year's Kentucky Derby, Brother Derek is a safe bet but if he wins you'll only win a small amount. However, if you want to take a LONG SHOT, put your money on Giacomo. He doesn't have the best record, but if he wins you'll win a lot of money!"

　　這段話說：今年的肯塔基賽馬大會，把賭注押在德拉克弟兄身上很保險，但是如果它贏了，你只能贏一點點錢。不過，如果你決定選擇一匹勝算不大的馬，那就把錢押在 Giacomo 身上吧，它的比賽記錄雖然不是最好的，但如果它贏了，你就能贏很多錢。

　　最近，我的一個朋友決定去參選市議員。他明明知道，It's a LONG SHOT, 勝選的可能性微乎其微，但還是打算試試看，因為他覺得，美國華裔參政的比例太小，希望盡自己的一份力，增加華裔在政治事務中的能見度。好的，我們再來聽一下上面那個例句。

　　M: "In this year's Kentucky Derby, Brother Derek is a safe bet but if he wins you'll only win a small amount. However, if you want to take a LONG SHOT, put your money on Giacomo. He doesn't have the best record, but if he wins you'll win a lot of money!"

　　好的，這次美國習慣用語就到此結束了。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: I have to admit, when I first met you I thought it was a long shot that you would last this long!

　　B: I know! but now it's a long shot that you will ever get rid of me!

　　A: guh, don't remind me! 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!