美語訓(xùn)練班104

A: 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓(xùn)練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，來告訴大家今天都要學(xué)什么!

A: 好! 今天，我們要一起來聊聊賭博上癮該怎么辦，看看億萬富翁是如何練成的，還要告訴你怎么說嚴(yán)厲懲罰!

B: I've never really been into gambling. I lived in Las Vegas for 2 years, and honestly I think I enjoyed all the buffets more than the slot machines!

A: That sounds like you!

B: Hey! ... Yeah, that's true.

A: 好了, 咱們言歸正傳，先來進入第一個單元...

B: Learn a word!

Learn A Word 1716 self-made

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 self-made. Self-made is spelled s-e-l-f, self, and made, m-a-d-e, made, self-made. Self-made 意思是憑借自己力量完成的。有統(tǒng)計顯示，在全球各大名校中，哈佛畢業(yè)生里百萬和億萬富翁人數(shù)最多。While about 14% of millionaires and billionaires inherited their wealth, 74% are self-made. 在這些百萬和億萬富翁里，大約14%的人是繼承了父輩的財產(chǎn)，還有74%的人則是白手起家，自己創(chuàng)業(yè)積累的財富。在中國百名首富里，八位是女性。與美國不同的是，Successful women in China are mostly self-made businesswomen. 中國最有錢的女性大部分都是白手起家創(chuàng)業(yè)成功的女商人。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 self-made, self-made, self-made...

A: 哈佛畢業(yè)生成為百萬富翁的機率最大! 這次我去哈佛參觀，覺得他們的畢業(yè)生不僅自身都很優(yōu)秀，而且還非常努力! 哎，怎么比嘛....

B: You don't need to compare yourself with others. Surpassing yourself is the greatest achievement.

A: 哎喲，你還真會安慰人! Speaking of improving myself, I need to improve my time management skills! I've got so much going on in my life right now I feel like I'm not getting ANYTHING done! And worst of all, my reading time has gotten lost in the shuffle...

B: Ha, that must also be the reason for arriving at the office 4 hours behind me....

A: Hey! Shush!

B: (Laugh) Ok ok. . Actually you just mentioned an idiom, lost in the shuffle, let's check it out!

Words and Idioms 829 LOST IN THE SHUFFLE

美國習(xí)慣用語第 829講

半年前，我加入了一個讀書俱樂部，每個月聚會一次，討論讀書心得。上星期聚會，俱樂部成員們沒完沒了地聊經(jīng)濟、聊大選、聊孩子上學(xué)，本來應(yīng)該討論的書根本沒有涉及到，我非常失望，所以決定退出。不過，這倒讓我想起了今天要學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語，叫

M: Lost in the shuffle. Shuffle is spelled s-h-u-f-f-l-e. Lost-in-the-shuffle. Lost in the shuffle.

如果你喜歡玩牌的話，肯定知道，Shuffle 是洗牌的意思。lost in the shuffle 意思是在混亂之中把某件事情遺漏或是忽略了。比如說我們那個讀書俱樂部。俱樂部的成員們東拉西扯，可就是忽略了俱樂部的真正目的，交流讀書心得。The discussion of our book got LOST IN THE SHUFFLE.

讀書俱樂部的“走題事件”雖然讓我很不滿，但是跟下面這個人比，我簡直可以說是“小題大做”。讓我們一起聽聽他干嗎那么氣憤。

M: "There's been so much controversy over the collapse of the bridge. The mayor's office blames the engineers for poor design while they fault the city for not keeping up with routine repairs. But no one is showing much concern for commuters like me who desperately need the bridge to be fixed. We're getting LOST IN THE SHUFFLE."

這個人說：大橋倒塌引起了極大的爭議。市長辦公室責(zé)怪工程師設(shè)計失誤，工程設(shè)計人員則指責(zé)市政府沒有定期維修?？删褪菦]有人關(guān)心象我這樣每天開車上班，希望大橋能早日修復(fù)的人。我們完全被忽略了。

我以前一直痛恨開會，因為很多時候，開來開去，討論的都是一些并不重要的話題。最近我們剛換了主管，每次開會都按照輕重緩急，列出會議日程，so that the most important issues won'e be LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. 保證重要問題不會被忽略掉。好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

M: "There's been so much controversy over the collapse of the bridge. The mayor's office blames the engineers for poor design while they fault the city for not keeping up with routine repairs. But no one is showing much concern for commuters like me who desperately need the bridge to be fixed. We're getting LOST IN THE SHUFFLE."

大家都希望得到重視，孩子也不例外。讓我們聽聽下面這個人對自己童年的回憶。

M: "Growing up as a middle kid in my family could be tough. Sometimes my folks seemed to spend a lot of time looking after my younger brother and sister or worrying about my older siblings. Is it any surprise I felt LOST IN THE SHUFFLE? I wanted mom and dad to notice me more often."

這個人說：我上面有哥哥姐姐，下面有弟弟妹妹，小時候，父母不是在照顧弟弟妹妹，就是在關(guān)心哥哥姐姐。我覺得自己簡直被遺忘了，這不奇怪吧?我真希望媽媽爸爸能更多地注意到我。

我表妹就是這種情況。小時候，她大部分時間都是在跟院子里的孩子玩，經(jīng)常在鄰居家吃飯，甚至過夜，這倒培養(yǎng)了她跟人打交道的能力，如今，她已經(jīng)成了一個成功的公關(guān)總裁。好的，我們再聽一下上面的例句。

M: "Growing up as a middle kid in my family could be tough. Sometimes my folks seemed to spend a lot of time looking after my younger brother and sister or worrying about my older siblings. Is it any surprise I felt LOST IN THE SHUFFLE? I wanted mom and dad to notice me more often."

對了!IN THE SHUFFLE 這個習(xí)慣用語源于二十世紀(jì)，毫無疑問，是從撲克牌來的。今天盡顧著解釋這個習(xí)慣用語的用法，The explanation of its original nearly got LOST IN THE SHUFFLE! 差點就忘了解釋它的來源。

好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。我是楊晨，我是 Douglas Johnson。這次節(jié)目的制作人是胡小玲。謝謝各位的收聽。我知道，大家每天的工作生活十分繁忙，但我還是要提醒大家，英語水平的提高靠的是勤學(xué)苦練。 Don't let practicing your English get LOST IN THE SHUFFLE.

M: This has been Words and Idioms. Until next time.

我們下次節(jié)目再見。

A: So how do you feel as the second kid in the family Mike, do you feel like you are lost in the shuffle?

B: Not at all. I think it's because that I'm the youngest in the family. I get tons of attention from my parents. And what about you huh? You must always be the center of attention since you are the only-child!

A: Yes...but sometimes I feel like there's just too much attention on me. My parents want to protect me from EVERTHING.

B: That sounds like my parents too. When I went to Las Vegas for my internship, they were so worried that I'm going to come home with a gambling problem!

A: 哈哈，理解父母吧! 我覺得你永遠(yuǎn)都不會成為賭徒，cuz you will be spending too much time and money at the great buffets!

B: True, true. Actually, we are going to touch on gambling in today's business etiquette. Kelly and Patricia are going to Macau for a business trip, and Patricia seems really excited to go gamble! Let's see what we can learn from them!

禮節(jié)美語BE-229 Gambling I

Patricia去找同事Kelly。

Patricia: Hey, Kelly...the boss just called me into his office. You and I have to go to Macau for a meeting with our international marketing department. The meeting is on a Friday afternoon so I was thinking we could spend the weekend down there!

Kelly: Macau, eh? So I guess you're thinking about doing some gambling, right?

P: Well, it is legal in Macau. We might as well take advantage of this golden opportunity! Oh, there's John. John and I used to win some serious money in Las Vegas.

Patricia告訴Kelly，老板讓他們兩人星期五去澳門出差，跟公司的國際營銷部同事開會，問Kelly愿不愿意索性在澳門待一個周末，去賭場試試手氣。這時候，另外一位同事John走過來，Patricia說，John和他以前就曾在美國的賭城拉斯維加斯贏過不少錢，他說的some serious money意思是可觀的數(shù)額。John說，

John: Yep, Pete and I used to go to Las Vegas at least twice a year. Gambling can be a lot of fun.

K: I've never really seen the appeal of gambling. I know it's possible to win big, but I've never won. I really hate losing money.

P: I hear you....but if you ever hit a jackpot you'll be addicted for life!

J: Winning is a pretty good feeling, but a lot of people can take it too far. Patricia, did you hear about Joe?

P: You mean Joe Klein? How's he doing?

J: Not so good. He lost his house and his wife left him. We didn't know it at the time, but he actually had a serious gambling problem.

John 和 Patricia以前每年至少一起去兩次拉斯維加斯。Kelly說自己逢賭必輸，所以賭錢對她沒有appeal吸引力。Patricia說，雖然win big贏大錢的機會不多，但是if you ever hit a jackpot, you'll be addicted for life. 一旦中了頭獎，就會一輩子上癮。John說，贏錢感覺是不錯，但千萬不能 take it too far 玩過頭，他們有個朋友Joe Klein had a serious gambling problem. 就是賭錢上癮，結(jié)果輸了房子不說，老婆也不要他了。

P: Really? That's too bad.

J: He was over $75,000 in debt...so eventually the bank took his house. As you can imagine, his wife wasn't too happy about that.

K: See? These are exactly the kind of stories I'm talking about! I think gambling can be as addictive as illegal drugs!

J: And I would have to agree. I don't have an addictive personality by nature so I'm generally able to control myself. But...I have lost more money than I can afford on more than one occasion.

Kelly 覺得，gambling can be as addictive as illegal drugs. 賭博跟毒品差不多，讓人上癮。John 表示贊同，他說自己雖然自控能力比較強，and don't have an addictive personality by nature 也不是那種做事喜歡上癮的人，但是賭錢的時候，還是不止一次輸?shù)贸隽俗约旱某惺苣芰?，這里說的 more than one occasion 意思是不止一次。

A: Kelly和Patricia討論去澳門該不該賭博，Patricia覺得他們可能會win some serious money, 贏一大筆，但是Kelly說，同事Joe就很愛賭錢, he has a serious gambling problem, 賭錢上癮，結(jié)果老婆房子都沒了。

B: Yeah, I guess if you have an addictive personality by nature, you should just stay away from casinos.

A: 沒錯! 我去Las Vegas賭場的時候都不帶卡，這樣你有多少錢，就只能賭多少錢。

B: That sounds like a smart idea for not overspending, period! Let's keep listen to Patricia and Kelly!

禮節(jié)美語BE-230 Gambling II

Patricia和同事Kelly要去澳門出差，準(zhǔn)備去賭場試試手氣。另一個同事John提到，自己有個朋友嗜賭成性，傾家蕩產(chǎn)。Patricia問：

P: So what happened to Joe? How is he holding up?

J: Joe is in Gamblers Anonymous right now. He sent me an e-mail the other day and he says he's doing better...but recovering from any addiction is a long process.

K: What's Gamblers Anonymous?

P: Have you ever heard of Alcoholics Anonymous or AA?

K: Not really.

J: Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization that tries to help people with alcohol problems overcome their addiction. Gamblers Anonymous does the same thing for gamblers.

K: I see, so it's sort of like rehab.

Patricia問起Joe近況。John說，Joe現(xiàn)在加入了Gamblers Anonymous嗜賭者互誡協(xié)會。Gamblers Anonymous跟Alcoholic Anonymous嗜酒者互誡協(xié)會差不多，是幫助賭徒戒賭的組織。在英語里，有某件事情上癮可以用problem這個字，比如，He has a drinking problem. 他酗酒成性。He has a gambling problem. 他賭博成性。因此說，嗜賭者互誡協(xié)會差不多就是一種戒賭組織，it's like a rehab. Rehab is spelled r-e-h-a-b, rehab 是戒毒，戒賭中心的意思。 John 接著說：

J: That's right. Gamblers Anonymous offers a support system to gamblers who have a problem.

K: Well, I hope your friend gets better soon. So....what casino games do you usually play?

P: I've always liked card games....poker, especially. I don't like slot machines because I don't think there are any skills involved.

J: I like poker and all kinds of table games, but my favorite is Blackjack. Blackjack is a nice mix of skill and luck.

嗜賭互誡協(xié)會為賭博上癮的人提供了一個 support system 相互支持的系統(tǒng)。話說到這，Kelly問Patricia和John去賭場一般都玩些什么。Patricia說自己一般都是玩card games玩牌，不喜歡拉老虎機slot machines, 因為他覺得老虎機完全憑運氣，一點技術(shù)含量也沒有。John說，凡是table games他都喜歡玩。在賭場里，table games除了撲克牌以外，還包括 craps輪盤骰子和羅萊特 Roulette等。John還說，但是他最愛玩的還是Blackjack, 21點。

K: I think I might be able to enjoy a game or two of Poker or Blackjack. Do you think I'll get addicted?

P: Kelly, I've known you for a few years and you have excellent self-control. I don't think you'll have a problem controlling yourself.

J: Besides, you only get to go to Macau once in a blue moon. What I suggest is you set yourself a reasonable budget of money that you can afford to lose. Don't go beyond that limit.

P: A little bit of legal gambling can be a lot of fun...but we have to know when to call it a night.

K: All right. You're on! Let's hit the casinos on Friday night.

Kelly 擔(dān)心自己賭錢上癮 get addicted. John建議她給自己設(shè)定一個合理的限度，set yourself a reasonable budget that you can afford to lose. 給自己定個輸?shù)闷鸬念A(yù)算，不要超過那個限度。John還說，況且，You only get to go to Macau once in a blue moon. 去澳門的機會少之又少，once in a blue moon 是非常罕見的意思。Patricia 也說，we know when to call it a night. 我們知道什么時候該打住。Kelly 在兩人說服下，最后說，You're on. Let's hit the casinos on Friday night. 星期五去賭場，我們就這么說定了。

A: Exactly! A little bit of legal gambling can be a lot of fun...偶爾去一次賭場玩玩，其實還挺有意思的。

B: I don't think you should ever try it， 楊琳。Remember your addiction to Korean sitcoms? or Cheese-cake? or Ice-cream?

A: Ugh....maybe I have an addictive personality by nature...

B: Haha, I don't think so, but I do know of a good "Korean Sitcoms Antonymous" group if you ready to kick the habit.

A: 哈! 咱們接著來聽下面的Learn a Word, 再來多學(xué)學(xué)additive這個詞兒的用法!

Learn A Word 1714 addictive

今天我們要學(xué)的詞是 addictive. Addictive is spelled a-d-d-i-c-t-i-v-e, addictive. Addictive 容易讓人上癮的。Deaths from drug overdoses rose for the 11th straight year in 2010. Most cases were accidents involving addictive painkillers. 2010年，藥物服用過量造成的死亡事件連續(xù)11年持續(xù)上升，其中大部分案例都涉及服用后容易上癮的止痛藥。臉書網(wǎng)和推特網(wǎng)的用戶總數(shù)加在一起，有十億多人。美國芝加哥大學(xué)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，Social networking can be more addictive than nicotine or alcohol. 使用社交網(wǎng)站甚至可能比尼古丁和酒精更能讓人上癮。好的，今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的詞是 addictive, addictive, addictive...

A:Social networking is totally addictive! I can't go on one day without checking my facebook.

B:Yeah...the first thing I do in the morning is to check my gmail and facebook accounts on my cell phone, and I definitely check my email more than necessary.

A: You are totally addicted to your cell phone! You even take it with you when you go to the bathroom...

B: Well...let's...talk about something else! We still have one last segment to go!

A: 哈哈，小樣! 好吧，來聽今天的最后一個單元!

Words and Idioms 830 LOWER THE BOOM

美國習(xí)慣用語第 830講

我剛剛參加了三天的電腦安全培訓(xùn)班。負(fù)責(zé)培訓(xùn)的老師對學(xué)生要求特別嚴(yán)格，對我們這些大記者絲毫不留情面。我的一個同事就因為培訓(xùn)最后一天遲到了二十分鐘，被老師請出了教室，要他下次培訓(xùn)班從頭來過。不過，這倒讓我想起了今天要學(xué)的習(xí)慣用語，叫

M: Lower the boom. Lower is spelled l-o-w-e-r and boom; b-o-o-m. Lower-the-boom. Lower the boom.

大家都知道，low 是低的意思，后面加上 er, 變成 lower, 就是動詞，是降低、放低的意思。 Lower the boom 里的 boom 是一個帆船上的專業(yè)術(shù)語，指的是張帆桿，又叫下桁。Lower the boom 這個習(xí)慣用語是嚴(yán)厲懲罰的意思。比如說剛才談到的培訓(xùn)班的那位老師，對學(xué)生遲到進行了嚴(yán)厲的懲罰。She lowered the boom on the student.

雖說很多人都覺得這個老師的做法未免有些過火，但是在教育孩子方面，做家長的很多時候恐怕都必需得狠下心來。讓我們一起聽聽下面這位父親是怎么說的。

M: "We warned our teenage son not to come home late again. So when he returned after midnight, we were in the living room waiting. That's when we LOWERED THE BOOM. For the next month, he'd have to stay in except for going to school. It was a harsh but necessary punishment."

這位父親說：我們的兒子十幾歲了，我們事先已經(jīng)警告過他，不要再晚回家，結(jié)果這次他又是晚上12點才到家，我們坐在客廳里等他，毫不留情地告訴他，作為懲罰，接下來的一個月里，除了上學(xué)以外，哪兒都不能去，這種懲罰雖然嚴(yán)厲，但也是絕對必要的。

在美國，家長管教孩子，不講究打罵，經(jīng)常用的手段就是在一段時間，比如一個星期內(nèi)，剝奪孩子出去玩，給朋友打電話，看電視，玩電子游戲等等的權(quán)利。好的，讓我們再來聽聽上面那段話。

M: "We warned our teenage son not to come home late again. So when he returned after midnight, we were in the living room waiting. That's when we LOWERED THE BOOM. For the next month, he'd have to stay in except for going to school. It was a harsh but necessary punishment."

剛才我們談到家長管教孩子，是為了讓孩子知道，采取行為，就要承擔(dān)后果，如果違反了規(guī)定，就會受到懲罰。這個簡單的道理，有時候連成年人都會忘記。讓我們聽聽下面這個人是怎么說的。

M: "A buddy of mine is stupid if he thinks he can avoid paying income taxes. Eventually the government will find out and then LOWER THE BOOM on him. That means he'll get a stiff fine. Well, that's what happens when you don't obey the law!"

這個人說：我認(rèn)識的一個朋友覺得自己能逃避繳納所得稅，如果他真這么想，那簡直是太愚蠢了。到頭來，政府一定會發(fā)現(xiàn)，對他進行嚴(yán)厲的懲罰。也就是說，到時候，他必需要繳納很多罰款。不遵紀(jì)守法，就是這個下場。

我注意到，一到周末，我們社區(qū)路口旁總有一個女交警在那里值勤，對來往車輛的司機進行抽查。一旦發(fā)現(xiàn)酒后駕駛的人，毫不留情。She lowers the boom on drunk drivers, immediately taking them to jail。馬上把他們帶走關(guān)起來。好的，我們再聽一下上面的例句。

M: "A buddy of mine is stupid if he thinks he can avoid paying income taxes. Eventually the government will find out and then LOWER THE BOOM on him. That means he'll get a stiff fine. Well, that's what happens when you don't obey the law!"

即使你不精通帆船，可能也會知道，風(fēng)向發(fā)生變化的時候，帆船的張帆桿會劇烈搖擺，這也是最危險的時候。Lower the boom 這個習(xí)慣用語是在二十世紀(jì)上半葉出現(xiàn)的，可能就來源于此。

好的，這次美國習(xí)慣用語就到此結(jié)束了。我是楊晨，我是 Douglas Johnson。這次節(jié)目的制作人是胡小玲。謝謝各位的收聽。我知道，大家每天的工作生活都十分繁忙，如果不能每次按時收聽美國習(xí)慣用語節(jié)目，也沒有關(guān)系。I'm not about to LOWER THE BOOM!

M: This has been Words and Idioms. Until next time.

我們下次節(jié)目再見。

A: Never try to escape from your taxes. The IRS will lower the boom on you!

B: I think the fashion police are going to lower the boom on you YL, I mean, seriously? That dress with those boots?

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!