美語訓練班084

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，我們要聊聊怎么對付討厭的飛機場安檢，看看現(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟情況下最好投資什么，還要告訴你怎么說行跡可疑!

B: Ugh! Airport security is such a hassle! Every time I go to China, I have to stand in line for hours! The security checks are the worst, you have to take off your shoes, take off your hat, remove your belt, and I end up feeling like a criminal!

A: Yeah, everyone hates airport security, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry! Also, are you sure it’s not because you look suspicious with that beard?

B: What? My beard is awesome!

A: 哈哈，其實說起機場安檢我也一肚子牢騷!不過呢這個咱們等會再說，趕快先來進入第一個單元，Learn a word!

Learn A Word 1620 hiccup

今天我們要學的詞是 hiccup. Hiccup is spelled h-i-c-c-u-p, hiccup. Hiccup 打嗝，可以引伸為小障礙，小問題。Google's Gmail had a significant service hiccup earlier this year. 谷歌電郵Gmail今年早些時候曾出現(xiàn)過服務(wù)大規(guī)模中斷的情況。美國郵政總局今年先后兩次支付不起退休員工的醫(yī)療保險費用。These two incidents are not temporary hiccups for the postal system. 這兩次拖欠情況并非郵政系統(tǒng)遇到的暫時的困難。Apple's Map app had some hiccups when it was first released. 蘋果的地圖應(yīng)用剛剛推出的時候，曾遇到了一些磕磕絆絆。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 hiccup, hiccup, hiccup....

A: 這個好玩，我還不知道 hiccup，打嗝，還有小障礙的意思!那我也來造個句：After an initial hiccup in submitting my time card, I FINALLY GOT PAID!!

B: WOOOHOO! That means you’re going to buy me lunch right?

A: Sure! 午飯我來請!

B: Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second, you have never been so generous to me, what’s going on here?

A: Nothing’s going on! I just want to treat my co-worker to a nice lunch, what’s wrong with that? (slow and suspicious)

B: I definitely smell some funny business. I guess I’ll pass you up on this …

A: 哈哈哈，膽小鬼!不過呢你剛才提到了一個很好的詞兒，funny business, 在今天的words and idioms里，我們就要來學學這個習慣用語的用法!

B: Let’s listen!

Words and Idioms 994

現(xiàn)在播送<美國習慣用語>第 994講。我是楊琳。

M: 我是Steve Baragona.

我一直覺得我的鄰居看起來很可疑，他年紀輕輕，有什么正經(jīng)工作，可是他卻開著一輛豪華轎車，還有一艘游艇。后來我注意到，總是有人上他家做客，而且這些人都是過半個小時就出來。這可疑的情形，讓我想到了一句習慣用語，那就是:

M: Funny business. Funny is spelled f-u-n-n-y, and business; b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s. Funny business. Funny business.

這兩個詞大家應(yīng)該都非常熟悉，funny 滑稽可笑的，business 事情，生意。連起來，funny business, 意思卻來了個180度大轉(zhuǎn)彎，指的是非法的，或者不合道德的。所以說, After seeing people coming and going from the neighbor's house, I began to suspect there was some FUNNY BUSINESS taking place. 看到我鄰居家老是有人進進出處，我開始懷疑他們在進行什么非法交易。居然被我猜對了!1個月之后，警察就出現(xiàn)在他們的家門口，原來他在做毒品交易。幸好這不是個暴力案件，而在下面的例子里，我們來看看這名記者為我們講述一場犯罪情況:

M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."

[這段話是說: 警察知道這個壞人身上帶了槍，很危險。她最終抓到他的時候，警察告訴他放下武器并把手放到腦后，并且警告他不要耍任何把戲。很明顯，如果他有任何舉動，警察會毫不猶豫地開槍。]

警察的顧慮是對的。很多犯罪份子都會在他們的衣服或者鞋里藏另一把槍。這就是為什么警察需要隨時保持警惕。The cop needs to remain cautious in case there's any funny business. 為防止壞人耍把戲，警察必須隨時隨地保持警惕。好的，讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: "The cop knew the crook was armed and dangerous. When she finally caught him, he was told to throw down his gun and put his hands up over his head. She also warned him not to try any FUNNY BUSINESS. It was clear that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he made any wrong moves."

上面我們說到, funny business 除了指非法的事情，還可以指不道德，不合理的行為。下面的例子就講到了這樣一個情況，讓我們來聽聽看:

M: "Recently, Paula's husband was busier than ever, and had to go out of town one weekend every month to meet with clients. She started to wonder if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"

[這段話是說：寶拉的丈夫最近比以往都要忙，而且每個月都有一個周末要出差，去跟客戶見面。寶拉開始懷疑是不是有什么問題。不久之后，她發(fā)現(xiàn)丈夫在用信用卡購買女士珠寶和內(nèi)衣。原來他跟他的秘書有一腿!]

女人的第六感通常特別準! 就像上次我?guī)业那澳杏鸦丶?，我媽媽就特別不喜歡他! 她覺得這個人看起來不夠正直。之后的幾個星期，我們竟然一起看到這個男人在跟別的女生約會! 可真不怎么樣! 呵呵，好了，言歸正傳，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: "Paula's husband was having to work late more and more. Then, he was expected to spend one weekend every month away to meet with clients. She started wondering if there was some FUNNY BUSINESS going on. Soon enough, she found purchases of women's jewelry and lingerie on his credit card bill. He was having an affair with his secretary!"

今天我們學習的習慣用語是funny business, 意思是非法的，不合道德的。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結(jié)束，我是楊琳，我是Steve Baragona。謝謝各位的收聽。

B: Ugh, it would be awful to find out that your husband or wife is cheating on you! I’m so glad that I don’t have to deal with that kind of funny business.

A: Well, I don’t think you need to worry about that Mike. 你姐姐不是都說了么?你們家娶不上兒媳婦啦!(B: Hey!!) I am kidding, I’m kidding. Yeah, I hope that never happens to either of us!

B: Well, I think your best bet is to make sure your relationship with your spouse is based on good communication. I feel like if people could learn to talk about what makes them angry instead of bottling things up, everyone would be a lot happier.

A: True! You also mentioned another good word “best bet” , 咱們來看看這個詞兒該怎么用!

Learn A Word 1624 best bet

今天我們要學的詞是 best bet. best is spelled b-e-s-t, best, bet is spelled b-e-t, bet, best bet. best bet 意思是最好的選擇。投資業(yè)界人士說，Stocks are still the best bet for long term investment. 從長期投資來說，股票依然是最佳選擇。銀行業(yè)專家說，Credit Unions are still the best bet for consumers. 對消費者來說，信用合作社依然是他們的最佳選擇。在美國目前這種經(jīng)濟不景氣，工作不好找的大環(huán)境下，A college degree is still your best bet for getting a job and a decent pay. 擁有一個大學學位，依舊是幫大家找到一份工作，得到像樣收入的最有效的手段。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 best bet, best bet, best bet....

A: Hmm, what do you think is our best bet to make our show go viral? I think we need to interact with our fans more on 微博.

B: Well, that leopard print dress you have might do the trick (laughs) ok ok, actually I think our best bet is to use social media more effectively by posting more practical language points everyday as well as interact more with our fans.

A: Lucky for us, I am the Office’s social media expert!

B: 楊琳, spending all day on Facebook when you should be working does not qualify you as an expert!

A: What? That’s YOU! You had better get wise to who is in charge here, otherwise I might have to bring you back to heel again (both laugh)

B: (Laughs) ok ok, speaking of “get wise to”, now let’s get wise to the meaning of this idiom!

Words and Idioms 995

現(xiàn)在播送<美國習慣用語>第 995講。我是小北。

M: 我是Dan.

我有個朋友在政府部門工作。他這工作以前可是個“肥缺”，經(jīng)常用公款吃喝旅游?？珊镁安婚L，這種揮霍公款的行為被發(fā)現(xiàn)了，他被調(diào)查機構(gòu)請去喝茶了。這讓我想到了一個習慣用語，那就是:

M: Get wise to. Wise is spelled w-i-s-e. Get-wise-to.

Wise, 形容詞，是“明智”的意思。Get wise to somebody or something 是“知道，了解到”的意思。The investigators began to get wise to the reckless spending of taxpayer money. 調(diào)查人員開始察覺到揮霍納稅人錢財?shù)男袨椤?在下面的例子中，也有一個人像我的朋友一樣，沒法繼續(xù)過舒服日子了。

M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"

[這段話是說: 我們部門太大了，所以沒人注意到弗萊德經(jīng)常星期一時不在辦公室。不過后來，老板開始星期一召開員工會議。很快，她就發(fā)現(xiàn)了弗萊德經(jīng)常不在的情況。從那以后，弗萊德再也沒逃過一天工!]

不來上班?曠工?他膽子還真大。不過說起來，辦公室里經(jīng)常有些人偷偷上網(wǎng)買東西，或者網(wǎng)上聊天，Then they act shocked when their supervisors have gotten wise to them. 當他們的領(lǐng)導發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的這些小動作時，他們往往會嚇一跳。好的，讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: "Our department is so big. That's why no one noticed that Fred was often out of the office on Mondays. But then the boss started holding staff meetings at the beginning of the week. Soon, she GOT WISE TO Fred and his frequent absences. Since she became aware of the situation, Fred hasn't missed a day of work!!"

我一個好朋友交了個新男友，這人看上去隨和幽默，絕對是個好男人?？捎幸淮?，我朋友無意間發(fā)現(xiàn)這男人手機中有不少曖昧短信，When he knew that she was getting wise to his deception, he stopped calling her. 這個男人知道我朋友已經(jīng)察覺到他不忠的行為后，就不在聯(lián)絡(luò)她了。所以說，看人不能光看外表。當然，買東西的時候，也不能光聽商家的花言巧語，讓我們來聽聽下面這個句子:

M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."

[這段話的意思是說：我太太是個聰明的消費者。她經(jīng)常會留意那些把自己標榜得很健康，但其實含有大量糖、脂肪或化學成分的商品，以及那些聲稱很實惠其實很不劃算的東西。一旦識破這些商家的把戲，她就會去網(wǎng)上寫博客揭露它們。她不想讓其他消費者上當。]

我們要感謝這種熱心人! 我們小區(qū)里也有這樣的人，他們會定期給所有居民寫信，告訴大家社區(qū)的最新動態(tài)，以及地方政府都做了些什么事情。Thanks to these people, I've gotten wise to all kinds of recent decisions by my town council. 托他們的福，我對鎮(zhèn)政府近期做出的決定都有所了解。好了，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:

M: "My wife is a smart consumer. She's often alert to products that advertise being healthy when they actually contain too much sugar, fat or chemicals. She also notices when products claim to offer more, but actually contain less. When she GETS WISE TO those manufacturers, she blogs about them. She simply doesn't want anyone else to be fooled."

今天我們學習的習慣用語是get wise to, 意思是知道，了解到。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結(jié)束，我是小北，我是Dan。謝謝各位的收聽，下次再見。

A: I can’t wait to fly home for 春節(jié) this year! It’s been almost five years since I’ve been home for the spring festival.

B: Five years? Man that is a long time! It’s always nice to spend time with your family, but the flight to China is such a pain in the neck!

A: Tell me about it! The security check for international flights is such a hassle. 這兩天我就琢磨呢，我怎么帶兩臺蘋果電腦回去捏?

B: Well, you can give one to me, and I will bring it back for you….. whenever that is.

A: 你又開始做夢了….I’d better get wise to the new airport and custom rules before my trip!

B: In today’s Business Etiquette, Lisa is telling her co-worker Jonah about what happened on her trip back home. Let’s check it out!

禮節(jié)美語 Airport Hassles I

Lisa 從美國出差回來，同事Jonah問她此行的情況。

Jonah: Lisa! You're home! Nice to see you! How was your trip to America?

Lin: The trip was good, but boy, American airport security is such a hassle!! I was standing in line for over two hours!

J: Oh...that's a long time!

L: You said it! They made me take off my shoes, take off my hat, remove my belt...and then they still frisked me! I felt like a criminal!

J: Well, you know what they say: better safe than sorry!

Lisa 抱怨美國機場安檢麻煩，American airport security is such a hassle, hassle is spelled h-a-s-s-l-e, hassle意思是惹人煩惱的事。脫了鞋帽，解了腰帶不說，they still frisked me! 安檢人員還是搜了她的身。frisk is spelled f-r-i-s-k 意思是搜身。不過Jonah說，better safe than sorry 小心總比出事好。

L: Yeah...but I'm not too sure they're making us any safer. I saw them pat down this old lady. She was at least 80 years old! There is no way she could be a terrorist!

J: Yeah, well the U.S. government says they are doing random searches. So if you are the fifth person to walk through security, you'll get searched.

L: But isn't that sort of ridiculous? What if the fifth person is a pregnant mother with a small child? Are they really very likely to be involved in terrorism?

J: Maybe not, but the government says it's the only fair way to do it...otherwise people might say they are doing racial profiling.

Lisa說，她看見一個老太太也被搜身，I saw them pat down this old lady，pat down和frisk一樣，也是搜身。Jonah說，這是 random search, 隨機抽查，如果不這么做，就會有人覺得安檢人員是在racial profiling。什么是racial profiling呢?

L: What's racial profiling?

J: Racial profiling means singling out a certain group of people for special investigation. For example, if a security agent only searches people who look like they are from the Middle East, that would be racial profiling.

L: But not many 80-year old great grandmothers are terrorists, either!

J: I see your point, but it's hard to know how to do the searching fairly. Should we stop everyone who has a beard?

L: No, of course not. But there must be a better way than making me wait for more than two hours while they search the inside of my shoes. Do I look like a terrorist?

原來，racial profiling 就是把某個種族的人作為調(diào)查目標，有歧視之嫌，這里所說的 to single out someone 就是把某人單獨挑出來的意思。Jonah說，雖然隨機檢查有它的缺點，但除此以外，很難找到公平的辦法。Lisa 似乎并沒有被說服，我們下次繼續(xù)聽。

A: Lisa向同事Jonah抱怨美國機場安檢太過苛刻，it’s such a hassle, 讓人惱火，不僅要脫鞋，解腰帶，而且每五個人就要frisk or pat down, 搜身。Jonah說，這是機場的random search，隨機抽查，不然安檢人員可能就會被控racial profiling, 有種族歧視的嫌疑。

B: It’s really hard to single out who poses a real threat though. I agree the US airport sometimes go overboard with these security checks. Sometimes they will even stop pregnant women!

A: But it’s possible that she’s hiding something in her belly! Actually they are strict with everybody. Last time when I entered the U.S., the customs officer made me list all the courses I was taking at graduate school, and then the security officer asked me to open my suitcase and checked the items one by one! I was about to faint after 20 hours of flying and all these hassles!

B: Tell me about it. I always want to go to China, but customs and airport security are the biggest things that hold me back. But again, 911 was such a real shock for our nation. I guess better safe than sorry.

A: 沒錯!好了，Lisa還在跟Jonah抱怨這些麻煩的安檢，咱們繼續(xù)來聽吧!

禮節(jié)美語-Airport hassles II

Lisa 向同事Jonah抱怨，美國機場安檢太麻煩。Jonah解釋說：

J: Anyone could be a bad guy. Remember that guy who tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoes? He got through security too easily because he had a UK passport.

L: Yeah, these days it is hard to know who to trust. And I guess I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective.

J: Yeah, 9-11 changed America in a big way. Everyone got really freaked out...maybe too freaked out.

Jonah 說，人不可貌相，現(xiàn)在誰都可能是壞人。Lisa表示，I can understand if the United States is a bit overprotective，就算美國的保護措施有點過份了，也可以理解。Jonah說，9-11恐怖襲擊改變了美國，Everyone got really freaked out， 所有人都嚇壞了。

L: I can understand that. The attacks on New York and the Pentagon were a real shock!

J: But I have to agree that maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions. The last time I flew into New York, they told me I had to throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave! It was only a five c.c. bottle, but they said it could contain some kind of explosive material!

L: Yeah, no liquids are allowed. They even confiscated my tiny scissors! I don't think it's possible for a five foot woman like me to hijack a plane with tiny scissors!

J: (Chuckle) Yep. But as they say: rules are rules...no exceptions.

Jonah 說，maybe the U.S. went overboard with precautions，美國的預(yù)防措施可能確實有些過份。overboard is spelled o-v-e-r-b-o-a-r-d, go overboard 意思是過頭了。Jonah就曾被迫扔掉一小瓶刮胡水，throw away a tiny bottle of aftershave. Lisa 的小剪刀也被沒收過。

L: I was going to complain to the security personnel, but they looked so serious and scary!

J: Yeah, you don't want to complain because that will get you nowhere. Just try to be as

cooperative as possible. If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you!

L: Well, I hope someday the threat of terrorism will be gone and we can travel without all these hassles.

J: I'd like that too, but don't bet on it. I don't know if terrorism is going away anytime soon.

L: I guess I'd better learn how to live with the hassles then.

J: That's probably the wiser choice!

Jonah 告訴 Lisa，抱怨也沒用，that will get you nowhere. 此外，If you raise a fuss, they will arrest you! 如果你找麻煩，他們還會把你抓起來!只要恐怖威脅不消失，就只好 learn how to live with the hassles，學習如何在麻煩中生活吧!

A: Learn how to live with the hassles, 學習在麻煩中生活! 這簡直就是說出了我的心聲呀! I think I’m just going to have to learn to live with the hassle of working with you.

B: Hassle indeed! You wouldn’t know what to do without me in this office!

A: 哈哈， 好了同學們，這次節(jié)目時間就到這里了。