美語(yǔ)訓(xùn)練班128

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

　　A: And I'm Lin Yang.

　　B: Are you a good bargainer? Do you want to know the secrets of bargaining? We will offer you some tips in today's business etiquette.

　　A: 如何用能源來(lái)幫助人們?cè)黾邮杖? 我們?cè)谙旅娴墓?jié)目中為你介紹。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "stumbling block" and "swallow one's pride" 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 1851 to the tune of

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 to the tune of. Tune is spelled t-u-n-e, tune. To the tune of 有總計(jì)的意思。近年來(lái)，美國(guó)很多州石油和天然氣產(chǎn)量出現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)。最新數(shù)字顯示，Higher energy production in the states is boosting people's energy bottom line to the tune of $1200 per household per month. 這些州增加能源產(chǎn)量，讓每戶居民每個(gè)月的收入多了1200美元。可再生能源的使用要以基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的存在為前提。有研究說(shuō)，The amount of investment required for new energy infrastructure, through 2030, will be something to the tune of $11 trillion. 到2030年，建設(shè)新能源設(shè)施需要的投入大約要11萬(wàn)億美元。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 to the tune of, to the tune of, to the tune of...

　　A: I think new energy is the way to go if China wants to solve big city pollution. I really hope we can see the blue sky again in Beijing like we used to.

　　B: True dat! But it's going to take a very long time to tackle the issue. You know, it took London 40 years to deal with the famous "London fog".

　　A:Yep, it's always hard to find a balance between protecting the environment and developing the economy. But now pollution is a stumbling block for China, I don't think we can hold any important international event until we get rid of the Beijing smog.

　　B:And...you mentioned a good idiom: stumbling block. Let's listen to today's words and idioms and check it out!

　　Words and Idioms 879 Stumbling Block

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 879 講

　　我先生準(zhǔn)備在家開(kāi)派對(duì)，請(qǐng)朋友來(lái)一起看世界杯總決賽。他早早就把客人名單和購(gòu)物清單都列好了，現(xiàn)在剩下的唯一障礙就是-我。今年春節(jié)我們?cè)诩议_(kāi)派對(duì)，結(jié)果我整整做了一天的飯，又花了一天的時(shí)間打掃衛(wèi)生。這就是為什么我堅(jiān)決抵制在家開(kāi)派對(duì)。這也讓我想起一個(gè)可以跟大家分享的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，叫：

　　M: Stumbling block. Stumbling is spelled s-t-u-m-b-l-i-n-g, and block; b-l-o-c-k. Stumbling-block.

　　Stumbling block 意思是障礙物，絆腳石。就象剛才說(shuō)的，我先生想在家開(kāi)派對(duì)，請(qǐng)朋友一起看世界杯，我是他計(jì)劃的唯一絆碉d石，I am the only stumbling block. 最后他沒(méi)辦法，只好同意，承擔(dān)所有打掃衛(wèi)生的工作。在下面這個(gè)例子里，一個(gè)汽車修配廠的車間主任，開(kāi)會(huì)討論如何才能繞過(guò)限制加班的規(guī)定，我們一起聽(tīng)。

　　M: "If there's any possibility of working overtime, we're going to have to get a change in our contract. As it is, we aren't allowed to put in more than 40 hours per week. That rule remains a STUMBLING BLOCK. Let's discuss a strategy for dealing with it at our next union meeting."

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：要想有加班的可能性，我們就必需修改合同。按照目前的規(guī)定，我們每星期的工作量不得超過(guò)四十個(gè)小時(shí)。這項(xiàng)規(guī)定是我們的絆腳石，咱們下次工會(huì)開(kāi)會(huì)的時(shí)候，可以討論采取什么樣的策略，解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。

　　我八歲的侄女覺(jué)得，只要撒嬌就能說(shuō)服她媽，允許她去扎耳朵眼兒。我知道，在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上，我妹妹可不會(huì)輕易答應(yīng)，我妹夫則是更難搬掉的 stumbling block，他絕不會(huì)同意八歲的女兒帶耳環(huán)。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)上面那段話。

　　M: "If there's any possibility of working overtime, we're going to have to get a change in our contract. As it is, we aren't allowed to put in more than 40 hours per week. That rule remains a STUMBLING BLOCK. Let's discuss a strategy for dealing with it at our next union meeting."

　　在下面的例子中，一個(gè)大學(xué)生正在考慮去哪兒度春假，讓我們聽(tīng)聽(tīng)他有些什么選擇：

　　M: "My friends and I are sick of all the winter weather. That's why we're thinking about heading down to Florida for spring break. But none of us have much money or a car. Those are a couple of STUMBLING BLOCKS we'll have to get around. Maybe we can pick up part-time jobs and earn some money and then rent a car!?"

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：我跟我那些朋友都煩死冬天的天氣了，所以想去佛羅里達(dá)過(guò)春假?？墒俏覀冞@群人誰(shuí)都沒(méi)有錢(qián)，也沒(méi)有車。這是我們必需解決的兩大障礙。興許我們可以去打點(diǎn)零工，賺錢(qián)租輛車。

　　這倒是個(gè)不賴的主意，不過(guò)，除了車，他們還得考慮住宿、吃飯、汽油費(fèi)、和玩的開(kāi)銷。交通工具固然重要，但是這個(gè)學(xué)生好象沒(méi)有考慮到其它這些 stumbling blocks. 好，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "My friends and I are sick of all the winter weather. That's why we're thinking about heading down to Florida for spring break. But none of us have much money or a car. Those are a couple of STUMBLING BLOCKS we'll have to get around. Maybe we can pick up part-time jobs and earn some money and then rent a car!?"

　　stumbling block 這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)早在十六世紀(jì)初期就開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)了。不難想象，如果你在樹(shù)林里散步，遇到被砍倒的樹(shù)，不小心，可能會(huì)被剩下的一節(jié)樹(shù)樁絆倒，這不就是 stumbling block 嗎?

　　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: During the government shutdown, the lack of manpower was a stumbling block for producing our show.

　　B: You can say that again. With this whole shutdown thing being over, I really hope the two parties can work together and keep us from going through the same thing ever again.

　　A: 嗯! 好了，不談?wù)瘟?，我們接著?lái)看看下面的內(nèi)容!

　　B: You will totally love this topic Yang Lin. In today's business etiquette, we will teach you how to bargain!

　　A: Ha, my favorite! Let's check it out!

　　禮節(jié)美語(yǔ) Bargaining I

　　Gina帶美國(guó)老板Jason去購(gòu)物。

　　Gina: Good morning, Jason. How did you sleep?

　　Jason: Pretty well, thanks. Still feeling the effects of jet lag a bit, but last night I got at lease six hours of rest.

　　G: Great! So, are you ready for a full day of shopping?

　　J: Yep. Let's do it. I'm pretty excited!

　　G: I know a place that should be perfect. It's called the "China Friendship Shopping Center" and it's pretty much like an American mallexcept with more variety. You can even buy a live chicken there if you want.

　　Jason雖然有時(shí)差，但晚上睡得不錯(cuò)，做好了去購(gòu)物的充分準(zhǔn)備。Gina 要帶他去“中國(guó)友誼購(gòu)物中心”，It's just like an American mall. 跟美國(guó)的購(gòu)物中心很象，mall is spelled m-a-l-l, mall, mall 是美國(guó)購(gòu)物中心的通稱，mall 里有很多店家，出售各種商品。

　　J: Live chicken? (Chuckle) Thanks, but no thanks. So....tell me about bargaining. How can I do it like a local?

　　G: Well. I'll be honest and say you'll never be as good at bargaining as a local person. You're a foreigner and the sellers can see that. But...if you're smart, you can get bargains that are not too far away from the "local price."

　　J: Cool! Teach me!

　　Jason聽(tīng)說(shuō)購(gòu)物中心還能買(mǎi)到活雞，覺(jué)得很好笑，說(shuō) thanks, but no thanks，意思是謝謝，但不必了。Jason讓Gina教他討價(jià)還價(jià)，bargain is spelled b-a-r-g-a-i-n, bargain, 是砍價(jià)的意思，Gina 說(shuō)，你長(zhǎng)一張老外臉，不可能 as good at bargaining as a local person. 意思是不可能象本地人一樣砍價(jià)，local is spelled l-o-c-a-l, local 意思是當(dāng)?shù)厝?。不過(guò)如果懂行的話，還是能拿到跟本地人差不多的價(jià)格的。

　　G: For starters, you want to do a lot of scouting first. You've got to know what things cost.

　　J: Someone told me to go to a convenience store and see how much a soft drink or a tube of toothpaste costs. The idea is that by comparing the prices of those items, you can figure out the relative prices of everything else.

　　G: That could be helpful. But when you go into a shopping center...prices become very flexible. You have to be able to read the market.

　　Gina說(shuō)，Jason首先要去摸清情況， scout is spelled s-c-o-u-t, scout, scout 是搜集信息的意思。有人曾告訴Jason, 可以找個(gè)便利商店，a convenience store, 看看飲料、牙膏等生活用品的價(jià)格，了解大概齊的價(jià)格標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。但是 Gina 說(shuō)，到了購(gòu)物中心，價(jià)格彈性就會(huì)變得很大，所以還是要學(xué)會(huì) read the market 弄懂市場(chǎng)行情。

　　A: 老板Jason準(zhǔn)備去購(gòu)物，Gina說(shuō)，要先scout，搜集信息，找個(gè)便利店, a convenience store, 看看基本生活用品的價(jià)格，以便figure out the relative prices of everything, 了解相對(duì)價(jià)格。

　　B: It's hard to read the market as a foreigner. When I was in China, I thought everything was so cheap, but it turned out I always paid twice as much as the locals!

　　A: I know! It's the same everywhere! I got ripped off by a car mechanic because apparently he could tell that I'm not a local...

　　B: I'm sorry 楊琳! Next time bring a car expert, aka me, with you. I'm sure you won't get ripped off!

　　A: Ha thanks! I'll take it! 好了，我們接著來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)Gina的建議吧!

　　禮節(jié)美語(yǔ) Bargaining II

　　Gina帶美國(guó)老板Jason去購(gòu)物，Jason讓Gina教他砍價(jià)。

　　Jason: So what's the general amount that they mark up by? Thirty percent? Forty?

　　G: They could mark it up seventy percent or even one hundred! That's why you've got to have an in-depth working knowledge of local pricesthat way, if they quote an outrageous price, you can just laugh.

　　Jason 想知道購(gòu)物中心商品標(biāo)價(jià)一般要比合理價(jià)格高出多少，mark up 是把抬高價(jià)格的意思，相反的，mark down 則是減價(jià)銷售。Gina 說(shuō)，有時(shí)價(jià)格會(huì)故意標(biāo)高70%，甚至100%，這也就是為什么要了解當(dāng)?shù)氐膬r(jià)格行情，have an in-depth working knowledge of something 是深度了解的意思，in-depth is spelled i-n in, and d-e-p-t-h, depth, in-depth，這樣如果別人 quote an outrageous price, 抬出宰人的高價(jià)，outrageous is spelled o-u-t-r-a-g-e-o-u-s, outrageous, 意思是超乎尋常的，另外需要注意的，要價(jià)動(dòng)詞用的是 quote, q-u-o-t-e, quote.

　　J: In America we generally can't get away with bargaining in many shops. The prices are listed on the price tag and that's that. Sometimes you can get a discount, but it's usually never more than ten percent or so.

　　G: In China, pretty much all prices are negotiable. Some vendors tell me they actually respect buyers who can drive a hard bargain.

　　J: That's interesting.

　　Jason說(shuō)，在美國(guó)，商店都是明碼標(biāo)價(jià)，The prices are listed on the price tag. Price tag 是價(jià)格標(biāo)簽的意思，有時(shí)也能享受優(yōu)惠discount, discount 是減價(jià)、打折的意思，但是一般很少超過(guò)百分之十。Gina 說(shuō)，在中國(guó)，幾乎所有價(jià)格都可以砍，negotiable is spelled n-e-g-o-t-i-a-b-l-e, negotiable是可以商量的意思。有些賣(mài)主甚至更瞧得起會(huì)砍價(jià)的買(mǎi)主，drive a hard bargain 是固定用法，意思是會(huì)砍價(jià)。

　　G: Yes...but of course the seller will always try to win the bargaining battle...that's the nature of the game.

　　J: Yeah, it is like a game, isn't it? Both people are bluffing, just like in poker.

　　G: That's right. But you have to get a sense of where the bottom line is. After a while you learn to recognize a look in the seller's eyes that says: I'm really not going to go any lower.

　　確實(shí)，砍價(jià)就象打牌，討價(jià)還價(jià)的雙方都要虛張聲勢(shì)，bluff is spelled b-l-u-f-f, bluff, bluff 是虛張聲勢(shì)的意思。Gina 說(shuō)，沒(méi)錯(cuò)，關(guān)鍵是要識(shí)別賣(mài)主的底線，bottom line, 要能從賣(mài)主的眼神里看出，他真的不會(huì)再降價(jià)了?？硟r(jià)還有其他招數(shù)嗎?我們下次繼續(xù)聽(tīng)。

　　A: I totally enjoy bargaining at 秀水街! All the prices are negotiable.

　　B: I think I enjoy the American style. The prices are listed on the price tag, and you normally don't get ripped off.

　　A: 沒(méi)錯(cuò)! 我們接著來(lái)聽(tīng)Gina給Jason支招吧!

　　禮節(jié)美語(yǔ) Bargaining III

　　Gina帶美國(guó)老板Jason去購(gòu)物，Jason讓Gina教他砍價(jià)。

　　Jason: What about walking away? Some friends back home told me if I don't like the price, just walk away and the vendor will run out and give me their best price.

　　G: (Chuckle) Oh...the vendors know that tactic as well! The shopkeeper will only chase you if they are 99.9 percent sure you'll buy something. They have a knack of knowing who is serious and who isn't.

　　J: So, what's our first purchase of the day going to be?

　　Jason問(wèn)，如果覺(jué)得賣(mài)主是在宰自己，轉(zhuǎn)身就走這招管不管用。Gina 說(shuō)， 這種策略賣(mài)主早就知道，tactic is spelled t-a-c-t-i-c, tactic 是策略的意思，賣(mài)主只有在覺(jué)得你百分99.9會(huì)在他那買(mǎi)東西的情況下才會(huì)追出來(lái)，而且他們一眼就能看出誰(shuí)是真心要買(mǎi)，knack is spelled k-n-a-c-k, knack, have a knack of doing something, 是十分擅長(zhǎng)做某事的意思。他們今天先要去買(mǎi)什么呢?

　　G: I think we should start with some silk items. First, I'll make sure it's the genuine article and not a fake. Then we'll start bargaining.

　　J: Can I pay with a credit card?

　　G: In an established store, sure. But when we go into the area with lots of little stalls, they generally only take cash. Also when they see cash in your hand...prices do come down a bit more.

　　Gina 建議去買(mǎi)絲綢制品，她要先確認(rèn)產(chǎn)品是真貨，不是fake,假貨，然后開(kāi)始砍價(jià)。Gina 還說(shuō)，在 established store 正規(guī)的大商店里，Jason 可以用信用卡付費(fèi)，pay with a credit card, 但在小店里，就要用現(xiàn)金了，而且賣(mài)方看到你手里拿著現(xiàn)金，the prices do come down a bit more 價(jià)格能降得更低些。

　　J: We have an expression in English: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

　　G: Oh...I think I get it. That means it's better to have something tangible, even if it's not as exciting as other possibilities.

　　J: That's right. You know something, Gina? I think I like China's way of doing business. It's a little wild, but it's a challenge and much more interesting than shopping back home.

　　G: Ah...there's the store. Now let's get down to business.

　　英語(yǔ)里有種說(shuō)法叫 a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush 一鳥(niǎo)在手勝過(guò)兩鳥(niǎo)在林，意思是現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)有的，要比追求更多而失去一切強(qiáng)。Jason說(shuō)，他覺(jué)得中國(guó)人討價(jià)還價(jià)的購(gòu)物方式比明碼標(biāo)價(jià)更有意思，更具挑戰(zhàn)性。正說(shuō)著，商店到了，Gina 說(shuō)，let's get down to business. 開(kāi)始了，意思是咱們開(kāi)始?xì)r(jià)吧。

　　A: I think using cash can help you save money. Whenever I have my credit card in hand, I always overspend!

　　B: Well, you can use it like a debit card and be sure to pay it back every month! Never carry too much debt, it will eat you up in the end!

　　A: True, true! I don't want to end up like you! (B: Hey...) 好了，砍價(jià)就到這里，我們來(lái)聽(tīng)今天的最后一個(gè)單元，學(xué)學(xué)swallow one's pride 這個(gè)短語(yǔ)是什么意思!

　　Words and Idioms 880 Swallow One's Pride

　　美國(guó)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)第 880 講

　　我昨天跟同事?tīng)?zhēng)得面紅耳赤。美國(guó)聯(lián)邦最高法院明明是11位大法官，可她非說(shuō)只有9個(gè)，我還理直氣壯地說(shuō)人家連這點(diǎn)基本常識(shí)都沒(méi)有，結(jié)果一查，才知道，原來(lái)真是9個(gè)，是我自己錯(cuò)了。這也讓我想起一個(gè)可以跟大家分享的習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)，叫：

　　M: Swallow one's pride. Swallow is spelled s-w-a-l-l-o-w, and pride; p-r-i-d-e. Swallow-one's-pride.

　　Swallow 是吞咽，pride 是驕傲，從字面上看，swallow one's pride 意思是吞下自己的驕傲，引伸為放下自尊，忍氣吞聲。本來(lái)嘛，最高法院明明只有9個(gè)大法官，我卻很無(wú)知地非說(shuō)有11個(gè)，最后也只好忍氣吞聲地承認(rèn)自己錯(cuò)了。 I had to swallow my pride and admitted that I was wrong. 在下面這個(gè)例子里，意大利廚師羅伯特好象跟我有類似遭遇，不過(guò)人家處理得可比我強(qiáng)多了。我們一起聽(tīng)。

　　M: "Chef Roberto has received almost every honor for his Italian cooking. Yet, despite his years of experience, he accidentally cut his finger on live television last week. He could have pretended that nothing had happened. Instead he SWALLOWED HIS PRIDE, joking that even he makes mistakes from time to time."

　　這段話意思是：羅伯特廚師憑借一手意大利廚藝，幾乎贏過(guò)所有烹調(diào)比賽。盡管他有如此豐富的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，上星期還是不小心在電視上切破了手指。他本來(lái)可以裝得若無(wú)其事，可他沒(méi)有這樣做，而是放下自尊心，開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)，就連他，也會(huì)時(shí)不時(shí)犯點(diǎn)兒錯(cuò)誤。

　　或許，這樣做反而更能得到大家的尊重。不久前，日本豐田汽車公司發(fā)現(xiàn)，已經(jīng)出廠的數(shù)百萬(wàn)輛汽車都有毛病，于是， They SWALLOWED their PRIDE，宣布召回這些車輛，免費(fèi)檢修。好的，讓我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)上面那段話。

　　M: "Chef Roberto has received almost every honor for his Italian cooking. Yet, despite his years of experience, he accidentally cut his finger on live television last week. He could have pretended that nothing had happened. Instead he SWALLOWED HIS PRIDE, joking that even he makes mistakes from time to time."

　　我打電子游戲，早就不是八歲女兒的對(duì)手了，認(rèn)輸成了家常便飯，但是下面例子里這個(gè)當(dāng)舅舅的，下棋輸給七歲的侄子，卻感到十分意外。讓我們聽(tīng)聽(tīng)他是怎么說(shuō)的：

　　M: "When my seven-year-old nephew begged me to play chess, I indulged him. My plan was to let him take out a few of my pieces to build his confidence. Imagine when he checkmated me within four moves! That was humiliating. I'm not used to SWALLOWING MY PRIDE, but I had to admit defeat and congratulate him.

　　這個(gè)人說(shuō)：我七歲的侄子求我跟他下棋，我同意陪他下一盤(pán)。我本來(lái)打算讓他幾個(gè)子兒，幫他建立點(diǎn)自信心。誰(shuí)知道，他只走了四步，就將了我的軍。太丟人了。我雖然不習(xí)慣忍氣吞聲地放下自尊，但還是不得不認(rèn)輸，并向他表示祝賀。

　　這不算什么。我有個(gè)朋友，準(zhǔn)備求婚的前一天，被女朋友甩了，He had to swallow his pride and return the engagement ring. 他不得不放下自尊，回到珠寶店，把訂婚戒指退掉。好，我們?cè)賮?lái)聽(tīng)一下上面那個(gè)例句。

　　M: "When my seven-year-old nephew begged me to play chess, I indulged him. My plan was to let him take out a few of my pieces to build his confidence. Imagine when he checkmated me within four moves! That was humiliating. I'm not used to SWALLOWING MY PRIDE, but I had to admit defeat and congratulate him."

　　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, I think I need to swallow my pride and admit that your are more critical to the show than I am.

　　B: WHAT? REALLY?

　　A: No, but you could imagine! 好了同學(xué)們，這次節(jié)目時(shí)間就到這里了。

　　A: See you next time!