《洋话连篇》之鹦鹉版

jed-wu

洋话连篇》之鹦鹉版



1 健身秘诀 Exercise/Health
(Lifting a dumbbell)
Miss ABC: You look great! Have you been working out?
Hogan: (dreaming of standing on the podium)Yes, I have. I’m preparing for the 2008 Olympics!
You look great! Have you been working out?你最近在锻炼身体吗？如果你想知道别人是怎样锻炼身体的，首先你得赞扬一下人家。这是美国人得处世方式。Work out是指锻炼身体。现代生活的繁忙和紧张，让我们无暇顾及自己。随着岁月的流失，我们的体形逐渐发胖，身体越来越笨拙。偶尔老朋友聚会，你会听到一声惊呼:You look great! Have you been working out? 可是后来发现这句话不是对你说的，而是对你身边那位身体健硕的先生有感而发的。是不是感到很失望呀？那就赶紧开始锻炼吧！

Hogan: I need to get back in shape.
Miss ABC: Why? You look fine.
Hogan: I know. But I feel sluggish for some reason.(sitting in front of the TV with a whole bunch of food around him.)
Sluggish: 行动迟缓的，不机警或不灵活的，无精打采的。
不知道从什么时候起，你发现自己的肌肉开始变软，连小肚子也开始长起来。这时你最想做的就是回到你体形还不错的时候。那么你就要说：I need to get back in shape.为了恢复体形我得开始锻炼了。In shape的意思体形不错，身体状况良好的样子。Get back in shape意思就是恢复体形。但是当有人说 That guy is out of shape.不是说那个人体形不好。而体形不好的英文的表达方式则一般要说具体些，比如 You are too skinny!你太瘦了！或者 You are too fat!你太胖了！
Miss ABC: What do you do for exercise?
Dr. Weird: Well. I like to swim…
Miss ABC: Really? Me too. Which pool do you go to?
Dr Weird: I swim in my bathtub.

看到别人的体形很好，你在羡慕的同时，不禁想弄清楚他们是怎样锻炼以保持体形的。那么你应该这样问 What do you do for exercise?你做什么健身运动呀？他们可能每天早晨坚持慢跑(go jogging)，或者一周做几次健身(do some exercises),或者游泳(go swimming)，这些都是锻炼身体的好方法。看来如果你想开始健身，但是又不知道该做什么运动好时，就可以适当地听听别人地意见。调查一下做什么运动最有效果，然后就开始行动吧。

Some comment
Are you out of shape? Do you eat too much junk food? Do you watch too much television? Maybe you should go on a health kick. Many people in the United States and Canada every year, they look at themselves and they think “I’m outta shape. I haven’t been exercising. I need to go on a health kick”. Then they go out and do as much exercise as they can.
They go jogging every night, swimming every morning, they ride their bike as much as possible, lift weight, play tennis. But soon, the realize this exercise is a lot harder than it looks, so they decide to stop exercising, their health goes right back on down. But, every year it’s the same thing. Usually people go on health kicks right before summer comes so that they can look good outside in their swimsuits. But you don’t have to wait until summertime.



2. 恭维之词 compliments
（William is practicing plate spinning）
Hogan: You’re really something else! How do you make it look so easy?
William: Just relax and open your mind. Give it a try.
You’re really something else! 你可真是歌别的什么东西呀！如果有人这么对你说，你可千万别生气，以为人家在骂你。实际上，这是一句赞扬的话。表示你真了不起，你好棒呀！所以下次如果想夸别人的话，不妨用这句话试试：You’re really something else!另外美语中有很多种类似的夸人的句子，比如说：You’re one in a million! 意思是你可真是百里挑一啊！

(Dr. Weird is riding a unicycle)
Hogan: You’re out of sight!
Dr. Weird: Give it a shot.
Hogan: This is harder than it looks!
你知道眼下在美国年轻人中间流行怎样赞扬别人吗？You are out of sight! 你都看不见了？不要误会，这句话的意思是说你很出众，你好棒呀！和 You’re really great!表达的意思是一样的。是不是挺不好琢磨的？看来东西方文化差异着实挺大！如果你帮别人一个忙，你也会听到别人这么谢你：You’re great!你这人真不错！但是在说这句话的时候要注意自己的语气，否则的话，会让别人感到你在讽刺他呢！

(Miss ABC is juggling 9 balls)
Hogan: You rule! Where did you learn how to do that?
Miss ABC: My dad was in the circus.
如果你很cool,你的朋友就会冲你说：You rule!什么意思？意思很简单：你很棒！You’re the ruler! You rule!一个国家的统治者cool 不cool? 当然cool了，所以若有人对你这么说，你就可以坚信自己确实出类拔萃，无人能比了！ The cream of crop的意思就是出类拔萃. 一般来说，老外也并不总是当着你的面赞扬你：You rule！他们也会在和朋友聊天的时候说：That guy rules! He’s the cream of the crop! 那个家伙了不起。

Some note: There’s common saying that goes You catch more files with honey than you do with vinegar. And so it is the whole world round that if you’re nice to people. Things will be better off than if you’re not nice to them. A compliment can turn a stranger into an acquaintance. And an acquaintance into a friend. It can make a very nervous situation relaxing. So the reasons for giving compliments between the West and the East are pretty much the same. But how you receive the compliments can be very different sometimes. In the West, if someone gives you a compliment that you feel you didn’t do much to earn or that it really doesn’t deserve a compliment, then you can try to refuse it. “your English is so good!” “Oh, it’s not that good, I still need to study more”But if they continue to give you compliments, or if it’s something that you fell you worked very hard to achieve, then you can just say, Thank you very much. Oh, your English has improved so much. Thank you very much. I practice everyday by wanting yanghualianpian.



3. 焦头烂额的学生 The busy Student
(William holding a racket and birdie)birdie=bird羽毛球William: Let’s go play badminton!
Miss Bookworm: I can’t, I’ve been studying my tail off.
William: What a drag! Drag: boring 没意思
不论在东方还是在西方，做学生都是最辛苦的。每学期要应付两次大考不说，平时的小考还不断。在校园里，你可能经常会遇到一些满脸愁容，气色苍白的学生抱怨说：I’ve been studying my tail off. 把尾巴都学掉了。什么？成精了吗当然不是了！这句话的意思是说我们最近学习太辛苦了。该句众用了我们常说的exaggeration,也就是夸张的手法。同样，如果你觉得自己工作很辛苦，老板给你太多的工作压力，你也可以这样说：I’ve been working my tail off! 我的工作太辛苦了！把我的尾巴都忙掉了！老板，给我加薪吧！

(William is singing karaoke)
Hogan: William, why aren’t you studying for your calculus test?
William: I’ve still got a whole week.
Hogan: If you wait until the last minute, you might fail!
中国有句俗语：临时抱佛脚。专门指那些做事情拖拖拉拉，直到最后一分钟才着急的人。在美国这种人往往会说：I do things at the last minute我总是拖到最后一分钟才做事儿。这句话还可以这么说：I’m a last minute man.也是指办事拖拉的意思。比如说，马上就要开学了，你还没有买文具，或者马上就要出国了，你还没有出去准备东西。那么你就该说：I do things at the last minute.或者：I’ve got some last-minute things to do.

Hogan: What’s up William?
William: Oh, I’ve got to cram for the test tomorrow.
Hogan: Yeah? I told you so! Ha, Ha, Ha…
William: Shut up!!
Cram是填塞的意思。比如说：The room was crammed with many people standing.房间里挤满了站着的人，而cram在这个句子：I’ve to to cram for a test tomorrow.中的意思是指把许多东西填塞挤压到你空空的脑子里面去。明天就要考试了，那些平时不用功的人，总是在最后一刻，像填鸭子似的，试图把很多很多的知识信息一下子全部压到脑子里去。对了，英语中还有一种专门的说法来表示那种填鸭式的教学法，就是spoonfeeding, 老师一勺一勺地喂，而学生则被动的学。这种教学方法也同样是不可取的哦！

Some note.
Hey, did you know that in the United States and Canada, students have certain required courses that they must complete for their major. But in addition to those, they have other courses called electives that can be anything they want to be, even something completely different from their major. Students who live on campus usually have access to places like study lounges and other study rooms that are open twenty four hours a day. So they can study as much as they want, as long as they want, as late as they want. And very often there are at least a few people in there pulling all-nights, meaning they’re up all night studying.
Different people like different study environments. Some people like silence, they can go to the library where it’s usually very quiet, or they can stay in their room and keep it quiet too. Some people like music. They can turn up the music and study and dance. You can also go to a coffee shop or a café that has music and study there. Another good thing about coffee shops and cafes is there are many people there doing many things. Eating, talking and studying and it’s very friendly and after all when you study yo



4. 喜怒哀乐 Surprise, happiness and anger
Hogan: How do you like your meal?
Miss ABC: It's very tasty!!
Hogan: Did I tell you it's rat meat?
Miss ABC: Holy cow!!!
当你怀着焦急的心情守候在爱妻的产房外面不停的祈祷，医生走了出来对你说：恭喜你母子平安，你儿子可爱极了！狂喜的你此时想必会蹦起来，高呼：Wow! Holy cow! That's great!没错，这句话的意思就是：哇塞！太棒了！没治了！Holy cow从字面上理解是\"圣牛\"的意思，但在这里没有什么特殊的含义，只是表示人们狂喜的情绪。如果你的好朋友告诉你一个很不幸的消息，你就可以表达一下你的同情： Oh, no! That's terrible!除了这样说之外你还可以说： Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! 或是 That sucks!

(William's girlfriend wearing a nun's habit and packing the suitcase)
William: What the heck is going on?
Girlfriend: After knowing you, I want to be a num.
What the heck is going on这句话的意思是：\"究竟发生了什么事？\"这句话可以用在不同的情况下，比如说窗外总有一些奇怪的嘈杂声吵得你无法入睡，你就可以说：What the heck is going on?当一些奇怪而不可思议的事情发生的时候，老外往往会脱口而出： What the heck!究竟是怎么回事啊？heck是地狱hell的意思，只不过委婉一些。What the heck后面是可以根据具体情景变化的，比如，你的好朋友突然对你挤眉弄眼，搞的你丈二和尚摸不着头脑，你可以问他 What the heck are you doing?


(Hogan's pulling out his hair)
Hogan: Darn it! My horse lost by a hair!!
尽管中国人以温良谦逊为美德，但人非圣贤，谁能无气？哈哈，任你的脾气再好，也有生气的时候啊。假如你再美国，为了让你在生气的时候不至于\"气得说不出话来\"，我来教你几句生气得表达方法。那就是：Darn it all!或者再加上一个 Gosh darn it! Gosh是上帝God得委婉语。在美国，基督教徒是很多得，因此在你说话得时候直接提到God是有些不妥的，尤其是这么一句气话。Darn相当于damn，表示愤怒、诅咒。虽然你咆哮着说这句话时应该很过瘾，还是希望你少说为妙。气大伤身，以和为贵吧。

Some note:
What the heck is going on? That's what I thought when I first came to China. I mean, I didn't know much about the language or about the culture, so I couldn't really tell when people were feeling surprised or angry or happy or sad. In fact, sometimes when I thought someone was very, very angry, they weren't angry at all. Things are much better now. But any foreign country you'll go to, you'll have the same problems. Usually, you can break people up into two kinds of people, the more passive and the more aggressive.
People who are more passive tend to be quieter, tend to complain less, and also to follow more. People who are more aggressive tend to be louder. They also tend to say things like\" Gosh darn it!\" \"What the heck is that?\" or \"Ah, no!\" and try to lead more often than not. Whether you are being passive or aggressive, if you use the sentence we taught you today, then foreigners will always know how you feel, and they will tell you Holy cow! Your English is great!



5.妙语珠玑 Some expressions and Idioms
(very bored, on the phone doing her nails)
Miss ABC: Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah
Dr. Beard: Get to the point!!
生活中我们经常会碰到说话拐弯抹角，没有重点的人，就好像《大话西游》里的唐僧，怎么办？直接对他说：Hey! Get to the point! 嘿！别绕来绕去了，讲一些重点的东西吧！美国人很讲究效率，因此与他们交谈时应尽量简洁。你的朋友在电话里大有跟你煲电话粥的架式，而你明天就要向主编交稿子，这时你就可以向朋友说：Could you please just get to the point? 这虽然有不礼貌之嫌，但总好过被主编炒鱿鱼。表达同样的意思，你还可以说： Don’t beat around the bush! 不要拐弯抹角了！

William: How do I win Chinese girl’s heart?
Hogan: As a matter of fact , I have the same question.
当你想认真诚实的表达一个观点时，你可以说: As a matter of fact…中文意思是：事实上…，举一个浪漫又实用的例子：月光下，交往已久的女孩问你: Do you love me?这时你就可以说：As a matter of fact, I do love you.这种回答会让她觉得你非常有诚意，你们的关系自然也会更进一步。正所谓：真心赢得美人归。中国人比较含蓄，往往喜欢把自己的真实想法隐藏在心底，但是外国人却比较直接的表达自己的观点。

(Hogan is getting ready to marry a polar bear at the North Pole)
Hogan: I’m so nervous I’m shaking.
William: I think you just have cold feet.
千万不要把to get cold feet理解成”脚冷了”,这句话的意思是由于紧张而害怕做什么事情。比如说，你在结婚之前非常紧张，不知道自己是否真的想结婚，那么别人会劝你：Don’t worry. You just got cold feet. Soon you’ll be OK.其实记住这句话也不难，我们中国人常常说某人吓得手脚冰冷，跟这句话倒是有异曲同工之妙。 To give someone the cold shoulder,在这里的意思就完全一样了。它的意思是说你的一腔热情，却得到人家的冷脸相对，没有被理睬。

Idioms and expressions are very useful, because they take a lot of information or a big idea, and they crush it down into a small phrase that’s quick and easy to use. For example: Are you having problems with your girlfriend still? “As a matter of face, I am. I tried calling her last night, but she gave me the cold shoulder. I want to apologize to her, but, I’ve got cold feet. Idioms and expressions like these sound wonderful to the ears of native speakers. And if you use them, you’ll sound natural and possible even quite cool. “Get to the point!” ah, get to the point. The point is that using idioms and expressions is not only useful, but it also makes you sound more interesting. And as a matter of act, if you know them well, then you’ll never get cold feet. And if use them well, then no one will ever give you the cold shoulder.