美語訓(xùn)練班134

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

　　A: And I'm 蔚然. 楊琳 is on leave. 我來帶班。

　　B: Do you work in an environment where a lot of people smoke? How do you deal with that? We’ll touch on the issue in today's business etiquette.

　　A: 英國為什么對碳酸飲料加征稅? 答案節(jié)目中揭曉。

　　B: And in words and idioms, we will learn what "to have one’s back against the wall" and "back to the drawing board" mean!

　　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 1895 hefty

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 hefty. Hefty is spelled h-e-f-t-y, hefty, Hefty 形容詞，有數(shù)額很大的意思。英國是歐洲肥胖人數(shù)比例最高的國家。最新研究顯示，Slapping a 20 percent hefty tax on soda could cut the number of obese adults by 180,000. 對碳酸飲料征收20%的高銷售稅，可以讓英國減少18萬成年肥胖者。Taiwan's health authorities leveled a hefty fine against a company for misleading consumers by selling adulterated products as pure oil. 臺灣一家公司因為銷售摻假油品，以次充好，欺騙消費者，被臺灣衛(wèi)生福利部門開出巨額罰單。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 hefty, hefty, hefty....

　　A: Mike, 考考你. 你知道一聽可樂里有多少克糖嗎?

　　B: Let me guess, 20?

　　A: 再加一倍!一聽可樂里有39克糖。

　　B: Wow! I know soda is packed with sugar, but I didn’t know it was this bad.

　　A: 新年決心加一個：跟碳酸飲料說拜拜。

　　B: Count me in. OK, let’s check out today’s words and idioms!

　　Words and Idioms 891 to have one’s back against the wall

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 891 講

　　我是Douglas Johnson.

　　這幾星期我都在看棒球比賽，我支持的隊最近幾天表現(xiàn)得不錯，終于打贏了幾場! 不過，我對它進決賽不抱任何幻想，因為這個賽季剛開始的時候，隊員們的表現(xiàn)實在是差勁透了! 差點就被淘汰了! 現(xiàn)在他們的戰(zhàn)績有所好轉(zhuǎn)，可能也是因為認識到了形勢的危急，只能奮力一搏了。我們可以用一個習(xí)慣用語來形容他們的處境，那就是：

　　M: "To have one's back against the wall. Back is spelled b-a-c-k. Back. Against is spelled a-g-a-i-n-s-t. Against. Wall is spelled w-a-l-l. Wall. To have one's back against the wall."

　　To have one's back against the wall 字面的意思就是“后背貼著墻”，表示“沒有退路”，“情況危急”。如果你已經(jīng)毫無退路的話，就只有硬著頭皮去面對問題了。在我們下面聽到的這段話中，一個學(xué)校的董事會可能要采取不得以的行動：

　　M: “If we do not receive the necessary funding OUR BACKS WILL BE AGAINST THE WALL. We will be forced to fire some of our teachers.”

　　這段話意思是：如果得不到必要的資金，我們的處境就會非常困難，我們將迫不得已解雇一些老師。

　　如果有辦法，誰也不愿意裁員啊! 可見學(xué)校真的是面臨很大的財務(wù)虧空。to have one's back against the wall 最初是用來描述軍隊陷入絕境，當(dāng)軍人們無法繼續(xù)撤退的時候，只能迎敵作戰(zhàn)。到了16世紀，人們開始用這個短語形容進退維谷的處境。好，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

　　M: “If we do not receive the necessary funding OUR BACKS WILL BE AGAINST THE WALL. We will be forced to fire some of our teachers.”

　　To have one's back against the wall 經(jīng)?？梢杂迷谏虡I(yè)領(lǐng)域，形容公司面臨的嚴峻形勢。我想，如果你是一家公司的雇員，你一定不愿意聽老板說下面這段話：

　　M: "I'm afraid we really HAVE OUR BACKS AGAINST THE WALL now. We have no choice but to heavily discount all of our merchandise. If we don't bring in some money immediately, we'll have to shut down in two weeks."

　　這段話的意思說：恐怕我們真的到了山窮水盡的地步了。我們現(xiàn)在別無選擇，只能把所有的商品都大幅降價銷售。如果我們不能立即獲得一些收入，兩個星期后，我們就得關(guān)門大吉。

　　唉，不是裁員，就是清倉甩賣，經(jīng)濟形勢不好的時候，很多店家都會這么做。不過，俗話說，山窮水盡疑無路，柳暗花明又一村。就如同我喜歡的棒球隊一樣，眼看要被淘汰，反而被激發(fā)了斗志，表現(xiàn)越來越好。希望這些面臨困境的企業(yè)也能起死回生，有更好的發(fā)展。到時候，再回過頭來看看 have their backs against the wall 的時候，可能會別有一番感慨吧! 好，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

　　M: "I'm afraid we really HAVE OUR BACKS AGAINST THE WALL now. We have no choice but to heavily discount all of our merchandise. If we don't bring in some money immediately, we'll have to shut down in two weeks."

　　聽眾朋友，今天我們學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語是 have one's back against the wall， 意思是陷入困境，情況危急。如果您的生活也正遇到困難，覺得 you have your back against the wall， 請不要灰心，because there is always a way out!

　　好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: Mike, 你有沒有過這種山窮水盡的情況?

　　B: Totally! I was in between jobs, and my savings were almost gone.

　　A: 那后來呢?

　　B: A friend of mine recommended me to his boss, and I was hired on the spot.

　　A: 柳暗花明又一村啊。

　　B:Yep. But I also hope I never have to go through that again. It was the worst experience ever. Well, It’s time for our next segment: Business Etiquette

　　Business Etiquette 263

　　Antismoking campaign I

　　Marissa 早上一到辦公室，就開始跟同事 Hank 發(fā)牢騷。

　　Marissa: I hate walking into our building in the morning! --All the smokers stand around the building's entrance puffing away....I can't take it! Sorry....I'm just a little bit worked up.

　　Hank: That's okay. I understand. A lot of people really hate smoke.

　　M: I'm glad they banned smoking inside the office, but I wish I didn't have to smell it while walking on the street. It makes me feel nauseous. I simply can't understand why a person would want to smoke.

　　H: well....I used to smoke. I quit about 20 years ago.

　　M: Yeah...I would assume at this point in history - especially given what we know about the dangers of smoking - most people would have quit already!

　　Marissa 說，每天早上來上班，大樓門口都有很多煙民在 puffing away 吞云吐霧，she can't take it. 實在讓她受不了，煙味讓她覺得反胃 nauseous, nauseous is spelled n-a-u-s-e-o-u-s, nauseous 意思是惡心，反胃。她覺得，現(xiàn)在吸煙的危害已經(jīng)眾所周知，怎么還會有人吸煙，真是讓人匪夷所思。Hank 20年前也抽煙，我們看看他是怎么說的。

　　H: You know the saying, "old habits die hard." I think I would add that bad habits die even harder. You know, you could always move to Bhutan.

　　M: Bhutan? I don't think I've ever heard of it.

　　H: It's a small kingdom located in the Himalayan Mountains....near Nepal. In 2004, Bhutan banned tobacco altogether.

　　M: Cool! Did it work? If I go to Bhutan will I never smell cigarette smoke?

　　H: Actuall....no. I read a recent report that said there's a lot of loopholes in the law....and if you go to restaurants and bars you'll still see lots of people lighting up.

　　M: (Sighs) So I guess I'm just have to learn to put up with it.

　　俗話說得好，old habits die hard. 積習(xí)難改。Hank 覺得，壞習(xí)慣更難改。他開玩笑，建議 Marissa 搬到 Bhutan不丹去，因為不丹2004年就全面禁止煙草了。不過，這項法律其實還是有很多可以鉆的空子，loopholes, 所以，在不丹的餐館和酒吧里，還是能看到很多人 light up 點煙抽。

　　H: Things are changing, however. Smoking rates are dropping all around the world. Just the other day there was a newspaper report that said New Zealand is raising prices on a pack of cigarettes to US$15 by the year 2016!

　　M: US$15!? Wow! That's really expensive. But is there any proof that high prices are a deterrent?

　　H: There have been quite a few studies that show that every time a country raises cigarette taxes and prices, a certain percentage of smokers quit.

　　不過，情況也在逐漸向好的方向轉(zhuǎn)變， Smoking rates are dropping all around the world. 世界各地的吸煙人口比例都在下降。Hank 看到一篇報道說，新西蘭2016年之前，要把一包香煙的價格提高到15美元的天價。Mimi 問，有證據(jù)證明漲價能起到抑制作用嗎? Deterrent is spelled d-e-t-e-r-r-e-n-t, deterrent 意思是起到阻止和威懾效果的因素。Hank 說，有不少研究都發(fā)現(xiàn)，一個國家每一次給香煙漲價或是提高稅率，都會有一部分煙民戒煙。

　　A: Old habits die hard. 一點沒錯。我哥原來就抽煙，怎么也戒不掉，最后我嫂子威脅說，不戒煙就不生孩子，他才把煙給戒了。

　　B: How did he do it?

　　A: He went cold turkey. 什么辦法也沒用，生戒。

　　B: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s keep on listening to the second half of

　　Business Etiquette.

　　Business Etiquette 264

　　Topic: Antismoking campaigns Part II

　　Marissa 和同事 Hank 正在討論吸煙的問題。Hank 說，有不少研究都發(fā)現(xiàn)，漲價確實能起到一定的抑制作用，促使一部分人戒煙。Marissa 說，

　　M: I see. The high prices act as "the straw that broke the camel's back." Smokers that have been meaning to quit see the price increase and it gives them a little push.

　　H: Yeah. But on the other hand, prices are already quite high in many places. A pack of cigarettes in London costs about US$10... in New York a pack costs roughly 8 dollars.... and in Norway it's already around $14....but I was in London not that long ago and I saw plenty of smokers!

　　M: Yeah. The last time I was in New York there also seem to be plenty of smokers. I guess there are some people who are wealthy enough to afford whatever price.

　　因此說，給香煙漲價就好像是 the straw that broke the camel's back 壓倒駱駝的最后一根稻草，幫了那些本來就想戒煙的煙民一把，give them a little push. 但是高價格也只能對某些人發(fā)揮作用。現(xiàn)在倫敦一盒煙賣十美元，紐約賣8美元，挪威賣14美元，可抽煙的人還是很多，看來價格再高，也攔不住那些經(jīng)濟上能負擔(dān)得起的煙民。

　　H: Definitely. I think the best way forward is to push education efforts for young people. If we can convince the next generation that smoking isn't "cool", eventually we might be able to eradicate smoking.

　　M: I suppose you're right. You can pass all the laws you want but that doesn't mean people will follow them. People's attitudes need to change.

　　H: Exactly! In the 1920s they banned alcohol in America, but of course people didn't stop drinking. Instead, lots of people got sick and even died from drinking industrial alcohol.

　　Hank 覺得，要真想杜絕吸煙，the best way forward 接下來最好的辦法還是要通過宣傳和教育，讓年輕一代覺得，抽煙不是一件很酷的事情。Marrissa 表示同意，不管你通過多少項法律，只要大家的觀念沒有發(fā)生變化，法律就無法得到有效執(zhí)行，就好像美國20年代時的禁酒令，并沒有讓人們停止飲酒，反而有很多人因為沒有酒喝，結(jié)果飲用工業(yè)酒精而死亡。

　　M: I would imagine that as cigarettes get more expensive, smokers looking for a cheaper option will turn to counterfeit ones. I wonder if those would be even worse than the originals!

　　H: You're probably right. But I do think smoking will not be nearly as common a couple decades from now. That article about New Zealand said that country hopes to eradicate smoking by 2025.

　　M: That's not that long from now! Maybe I should start thinking about moving to New Zealand!

　　H: (Chuckles) Perhaps you should!

　　Marissa 覺得，如果香煙價格不斷上漲，很多經(jīng)濟上負擔(dān)不起的煙民，恐怕就會轉(zhuǎn)向 cheaper option, 相對便宜的替代品，也就是 counterfeit ones, 假煙，counterfeit is spelled c-o-u-n-t-e-r-f-e-i-t, counterfeit 是假冒偽劣的意思。這些假煙的危害八成比正品的危害還要大。Hank 覺得，未來的前景還是很樂觀的，新西蘭就打算在2025年之前，徹底鏟除煙草。也許，Marissa 真的可以考慮移民到新西蘭去。

　　A: 哈哈，為了躲開二手煙移民，這還是第一次聽說。

　　B: What would it take you to move to another country?

　　A: 這我還真沒想過。唯一的可能是，如果孩子長大去了別的地方，我賴著過去伺候他們啊。

　　B: Haha. You’re a typical helicopter parent.

　　A: Guilty as charged. Ok，let's listen to another learn a word!

　　Learn A Word 8 sought after

　　今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 sought-after. Sought-after is spelled s-o-u-g-h-t, sought, and after, a-f-t-e-r, after, sought-after. Sought-after 有受歡迎的，被追捧的意思。圣誕季節(jié)將至，Every year, the Toy Retailers Association releases a list of what it predicts will be the most sought-after toys of the Christmas season. 美國玩具零售商協(xié)會每年都會公布一份清單，預(yù)測當(dāng)年圣誕季節(jié)最搶手的玩具都有哪些。CBS has won the bidding war for one of the most sought-after comedy projects this year. 美國哥倫比亞電視臺通過競標，拿到了今年最搶手的喜劇節(jié)目之一的播放權(quán)。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 sought-after, sought-after, sought-after....

　　A: 每年到了這會兒，搶手的玩具就會脫銷。

　　B: You can say that again. The most sought-after toys are really hard to find now.

　　A: Mike, 你今年準備給女朋友買什么?

　　B: I was trying to land either an Xbox One or a Playstation 4, but couldn’t find any. Now I am back to the drawing board.

　　A: sigh you don’t understand women at all do you? Well at least you just introduced our next segment.

　　B: Yeah, let’s check out words and idioms and see what “back to the drawing board” means!

　　Words and Idioms 892 back to the drawing board

　　美國習(xí)慣用語第 892 講

　　我是Douglas Johnson.

　　明天是我女兒生日，我們要給她開個Party。今年，我打算自己做生日蛋糕。這是我頭一次做這么大的蛋糕，所以下足了功夫。昨天晚上，蛋糕胚子終于烤好了，奶油也抹上了，眼看就要大功告成，誰知道一個不小心，蛋糕掉在了地上，被砸癟了一大塊兒! 啊呀，我這個心疼啊! 沒辦法，我只好從和面開始，一點點重來了! 這個倒霉的經(jīng)歷讓我想到了一個習(xí)慣用語，那就是：

　　M: “Back to the drawing board. Drawing is spelled d-r-a-w-i-n-g. Drawing. Board is spelled b-o-a-r-d. Board. Back to the drawing board.”

　　Drawing board 指的是繪圖板，back to the drawing board 表示在做事的過程中遭遇失敗，于是“從頭再來”，“重起爐灶”。就好比我做蛋糕，蛋糕被摔爛了，小規(guī)模的修修補補是不行的，只能一切重來。雖然很倒霉，但是和下面這段話中的科學(xué)家們相比，我這點挫折真不算什么。我們來聽聽，火星探測器出了什么問題：

　　M: "We spent five years and I don't want to tell you how much money on designing and constructing that little video camera on wheels. And now that we've lost contact with it, well, it's BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD."

　　這段話意思是：這個火星探測器輪子上的小攝像頭是我們花了5年時間搞成的，花在設(shè)計和制作上的錢更是不計其數(shù)，可現(xiàn)在，探測器和地球失去了聯(lián)系，沒辦法，我們只能一切從頭開始。

　　哦，我想起來了，在探測火星的過程中，那個像玩具吉普車一樣的探測器曾經(jīng)給地面上的科研人員發(fā)回了一張張珍貴的火星表面圖片，可是有一天，探測器突然中斷了和地球的聯(lián)系，什么都不發(fā)了。也許，是火星人看到這個玩具吉普，拿走玩兒去了! 好的，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

　　M: "We spent five years and I don't want to tell you how much money on designing and constructing that little video camera on wheels. And now that we've lost contact with it, well, it's BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD."

　　Back to the drawing board 這個說法起源于二次世界大戰(zhàn)時“紐約客”雜志上的一副漫畫。在漫畫中，很多軍人奔向一架墜毀的飛機，而設(shè)計這架飛機的工程師把圖紙夾在胳膊底下，默默地走開了。漫畫的標題是：“唉，只好重新拿起繪圖板了”。意思是，設(shè)計師看到他的飛機在戰(zhàn)場上墜毀，只好從頭再來，再設(shè)計一架。在生活中，很多東西需要多次嘗試才能找到正確的途徑，比如，下面這個公司，就在為營銷策略頭疼：

　　M: “I think we're going to have to fire our marketing director. None of our new promotions have worked. I think we need to reconsider our entire marketing strategy. I'm afraid it's BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD."

　　這段話的意思是：我覺得，我們得解雇現(xiàn)在的這位市場總監(jiān)。我們新推出的這幾次促銷都不奏效。我認為，我們需要重新考量整個市場營銷的戰(zhàn)略。恐怕，我們要做出一些根本性的改變，重新制定一套戰(zhàn)略。

　　聽起來，這個公司的營銷部門可有的忙了! 如果是戰(zhàn)術(shù)上的修補和改變，還好說，可要是戰(zhàn)略上的更新，哈，換掉總監(jiān)可能只是其中最簡單的一步! 所以，每次聽到別人用 "back to the drawing board"，您就知道了，很多工作等著呢! 好，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

　　M: “I think we're going to have to fire our marketing director. None of our new promotions have worked. I think we need to reconsider our entire marketing strategy. I'm afraid it's BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD."

　　聽眾朋友，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語是 back to the drawing board， 意思是從頭開始，重來。其實，“從頭再來”雖然聽起來麻煩，但是因為你已經(jīng)從先前的失敗中領(lǐng)悟了教訓(xùn)，增長了經(jīng)驗，所以這次一定能做得更好! 當(dāng)然了，我們還是希望您能一次成功，順利達到目標!

　　好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束。

　　M: Until next time.

　　下次節(jié)目再見。

　　M: This has been Words and Idioms.

　　A: 好了同學(xué)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!