【大紀元2012年06月01日訊】A: Hello! 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓練班! 我是楊琳！

B: 我是Kat! 楊琳，今天咱們學甚麼呢?

A:好! 今天，咱們跟科技發燒友去買最新的電子產品，聽聽世界各地不同的文化，學學怎麼坦白從寬，還要告訴大家怎麼用美語說「毛骨悚然」。

B: 毛骨悚然?? 你是說動物嗎? Who you are calling an animal?

A: 哈哈哈! 不是不是! 等會你聽了節目就明白了! 不過現在，咱們先趕快來進入第一個單元，Learn a Word!

Learn A Word Mince words

今天我們要學的詞是mince words. Mince is spelled m-i-n-c-e; and words w-o-r-d-s; mince words. Mince 是切碎，to mince words 就是把話說得婉轉。這個短語通常用在否定句裡，not to mince words 就是說話直接，不兜圈子。A frank person never minces words. 一個坦誠的人從來都是想甚麼說甚麼。Tell me what you think, and don’t mince your words. 告訴我你的真實想法，直說，別兜圈子。弗朗索瓦.奧朗德擊敗現任總統薩科齊，當選法國總統。此前，The two candidates minced no words and traded insults in their only TV debate of the election campaign. 他們兩人在總統選戰的唯一一場電視辯論上唇槍舌劍，毫不留情地互相攻擊。好的，今天我們學習的詞是 mince words, mince words, mince words.

A: So Kat, 你覺得我朋友Matthew怎麼樣? 我聽說你們倆昨天去約會了!

A: Well…he’s ok, you know, he seems nice…. dinner was fine….

A: What? Don’t mince words, Kat! Tell me what you really think of him!

B: Ok ok…I will come clean. Matthew is unbelievably boring. All he talked about the entire night was sports, sports, and MORE sports. I think I might have actually fallen asleep at one or two points during the night (snoring sound….)

A: Uh oh….原來是這樣…無聊的男生確實很可怕…不過你剛才說到了一個詞兒 come clean! 讓我們來聽聽這個短語的用法!

Words and Idioms

在播送第 963講。我是楊琳。

M：我是 Doug Johnson.

女：上個週末，我給園藝俱樂部烤了一盤曲奇餅乾。把它們晾涼的時候，我出去買了趟東西。但等我回來的時候，發現有六塊曲奇餅乾不翼而飛了。我爸媽和弟弟都 都一口否認說自己沒吃。可等到晚飯時，弟弟終於覺得愧疚，告訴我餅乾是他吃的，讓我哭笑不得。這讓我想到一句習慣用語，那就是：

M: Come clean. Come is spelled c-o-m-e; and clean; c-l-e-a-n. Come clean.

女：大家都知道，clean 意思是「乾淨的」。Come clean 字面意思是「變得乾淨」，實際上它是「坦白承認，說出一切」的意思。我弟弟就是這樣，這謊再也撒不下去了，He had to COME CLEAN. 不得不坦白交待了偷吃餅乾的事情。在下面的例子裡，這位媽媽最開始不願意告訴女兒一件事兒，但後來她改變了想法，和盤托出。我們來聽一聽：

M: “Mom came out of the doctor’s office like everything was fine. Later, I overheard her on the phone talking about going to the hospital. When she realized I’d been listening, she CAME CLEAN. She admitted that she was going to need heart surgery, and didn’t

want me to worry.”

這段話是說：「媽媽從診所出來的時候看起來跟平常沒甚麼兩樣。可是後來，我聽到她在電話上說甚麼她要去住院。她發現我聽到了，就索性把一切都坦白地告訴了我。她說她需要進行心臟手術，但是不想讓我擔心。」

女：父母都一樣，出了甚麼健康問題都不告訴子女，生怕子女擔心。我上次就因為類似的事情跟我爸好好談了一次。我問他，如果我要做手術不告訴他，結果出了問 題，他會怎樣想？所以說，不管遇到甚麼為難的事，不管是經濟方面的，健康上的，還是吃了官司，都不能隱瞞家人。It’s always best to COME CLEAN. 你都應該坦白說出來。好的，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

M: “Mom came out of the doctor’s office like everything was fine. Later, I overheard her on the phone talking about going to the hospital. When she realized I’d been listening, she CAME CLEAN. She admitted that she was going to need heart surgery, and did want me to worry.”

女: 說起 come clean 坦白，很容易讓人想到犯罪和案件的審理。下面例子裡就提到了一起案件，案件嫌疑人正在接受調查人員的訊問。讓我們來聽聽看:

M: “The interrogator had doubts that the suspect would talk. But now that she understands she risks going to jail for many years, she’s COMING CLEAN. She’s confessing everything: how she planned the burglary and got her friends to help her carry it out. “

這段話是說：「審問人員開始並不知道嫌疑人會不會交代。但是如今，她明白，不老實交代就可能會面臨多年監禁，所以她把一切都說了，從她怎樣策劃這次入室搶劫，到她的朋友如何幫助她實施，交代得一清二楚。]

女: 她這是正確決定。如果現在不坦白，之後被查出來，被判處的刑罰會重得多。就我來說，我覺得我想犯罪都沒那個本事！我根本不知道怎麼騙人，更別說幫別人騙人 了！I’m the type of person who COMES CLEAN rather quickly. 我如果做錯了甚麼事情，我肯定很快就招了。好的，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：

M: “The interrogator had doubts that the suspect would talk. But now that she understands she risks going to jail for many years,

she’s COMING CLEAN. She’s confessing everything: how she planned the burglary and got her friends to help her carry it out. “

女：各位聽眾，今天我們學習的習慣用語是COME CLEAN，意思是「徹底坦白」。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是楊琳，我是 Doug Johnson。謝謝各位的收聽。

B: See, my dream date would definitely involve something more exciting!

A: 嗯，比如呢?

B: I would love to go for a hike in the woods, or go rock climbing, or…oh yes, sky diving! Now that would be something worth staying awake for!

A: 啊？空中跳傘? 我的媽呀，要我我可不， 我肯定會被嚇死的!

B: 哈哈， 每個人不一樣嘛! 不過你剛才提到了害怕，咱們來看看美語裡有甚麼樣的時髦用法!

Donny 在北京學漢語，他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞，就會來請教他。今天是吳瓊要問的：毛骨悚然。

Donny: 吳瓊，昨天的電影好不好看？

吳瓊: 別提了，講吸血鬼的，嚇死我了。怎麼說來著，I was scared to death!

Donny: I told you you would be scared to death and you didn’t believe me.

吳瓊: 早知道聽你的就對了。特別是女主角被變成吸血鬼那段，簡直毛骨悚然，嚇得我汗毛都立起來了! 對了，美語裡有類似的說法嗎？

Donny: Yeah. We say the scene made my hair stand on end.

吳瓊: hair, 是毛髮，stand on end 立起來。連在一起，to make one’s hair stand on end 嚇得人毛髮都立起來了。所以要說那一幕嚇得我汗毛都立起來了，就可以講 the scene made my hair stand on end.

Donny: Right. Speaking of blood-sucking vampires, there is another way of saying you are scared to death. You can say it made my blood run cold.

吳瓊: blood 是血，cold 是寒冷。to make one’s blood run cold 讓血都變冷了，也就是中文裡說的嚇得我渾身冰涼吧？

Donny: Exactly. I am taking my girlfriend Rachel to see the movie tonight.

吳瓊: 甚麼？Rachel 不是特別膽小嗎？The movie will make her hair stand on end.

Donny: I know…. When she is scared to death, I will be there to comfort her. She will think I am her knight in shining armor.

吳瓊: 啊，你想讓 Rachel 覺得你是 her knight in shining armor 身穿閃亮盔甲的騎士？保護她的英雄？我看你啊，八成是別有用心。

Donny: (haha) 言歸正傳，還是說說你今天都學了甚麼吧!

吳瓊: 第一，嚇死了是 scared to death；

第二，嚇得毛髮倒立是 to make one’s hair stand on end；

第三：嚇得渾身冰涼是 to make one’s blood run cold.

這次的「美語怎麼說」就到這裡結束了。如果你也有不會說的詞，請寫信給 Donny, 電郵請寄meiyu@voanews.com

A: 這集對我真有用! I would be scared to death if I went sky diving! Even thrillers and horror movies scare me so bad that I can’t fall sleep!

B: That’s why I say everyone is different. Thrillers are definitely my favorite type of movie. 我就是特喜歡那種不知道下一刻會發生甚麼的感覺! For me, the idea of being forced to watch a romantic comedy is TERRIFYING.

A: Aha! 所以說，真的每個人都不一樣! 世界上有很多不同的文化，大家喜歡，信仰的東西都不一樣。在今天的Go English裡，咱們就要一起去看看世界各地的不同文化!

B: Let’s listen!

Culture: Beginner

今天我們為您播出「美語三級跳」節目「社會文化」單元的初級課程。

Jane和Will初次約會，想多瞭解對方，他們談到了彼此的宗教信仰。Jane的父母來自中國，她是個佛教徒，Will則在美國長大，信基督教。

Professor: That’s right, Winnie. When you talk about religion, it’s important not to offend other people.

沒錯，在美國，宗教信仰是私人事務，也是個敏感話題，所以談到這個問題的時候要禮貌、小心， 不然可能會 offend other people– 得罪別人。

Will: So Jane, what religion are you?

Jane: I guess I’m a Buddhist because both my parents are Buddhist. But I’m not really practicing.

Will: I see. So you don’t pray very often?

Jane: No. The only time I pray is during the holidays with my parents.

哇，Will 怎麼一上來就問人家的宗教，這個約會開場白還真少見。

Professor: Right. And what does Jane say?

Jane說，因為她父母都是佛教徒，所以她自己應該也算是個佛教徒，不過她並不真的practice。 Professor, practice a religion 就是虔誠地信奉某個宗教，按宗教教義來生活的意思吧？

Professor: Exactly. For example, a practicing Jew would go to the synagogue every Friday to pray.

哦，a practicing Jew–一名虔誠信奉猶太教的教徒會每星期五去synagogue–猶太教堂禱告。這樣堅持不懈也很不容易哦!

Professor: Well, many people think that praying helps them spiritually.

Jane: What about you, Will? What religion do you believe in?

Will: I’m a Christian. Most of my family are Christians too, but my brother converted to Islam.

Jane: Oh really? Why did he do that?

Will: He married a Muslim woman. She wanted them to share the same faith, so he converted.

Will的家人大多是基督教徒，不過他哥哥convert to Islam. Professor, 這是甚麼意思呢？

Professor: When you change to a different religion, you can say you converted to a different religion.

哦，convert，c-o-n-v-e-r-t 就是改變宗教信仰。Will的哥哥以前也是基督徒，但因為交了個女朋友是Muslim–穆斯林，所以也改信Islam–伊斯蘭教了。

Professor: Yes, Winnie. Have you noticed there are two different words used to describe Islam? The religion is called Islam. The people who believe in Islam are called Muslims.

對，伊斯蘭教是Islam, 而伊斯蘭教徒則是Muslims, 也就是「穆斯林」。

Will: Are your parents devout Buddhists? Do they go to the temple often?

Jane: Yes, they go there to pray a lot. Do you go to church often?

Will: I go to church every Sunday.

Jane: Isn’t it hard waking up so early on the weekend?

Will: Sometimes, but going to church is very important. I’m a pretty religious person.

聽起來Will比Jane更加虔誠，因為他每個星期天都去church–教堂。對了，professor, 基督徒去church，佛教徒去temple–寺廟，猶太教徒則去synagogue，那麼Muslims 去那裏禱告呢？

Professor: Muslims pray at their mosque.

哦，對! mosque，m-o-s-q-u-e，清真寺! Will每星期天都要起大早，去教堂，他說這樣雖然有點累，但既然是教義規定的，他就得執行。

Will: So Jane, do you think your parents would be mad if you married someone who isn’t a Buddhist?

Jane: Did you say marry? Will, it’s only our first date!

Will: I know! But I just wanted to ask you, just in case…

Jane: Actually, my parents have told me that it’s OK to marry someone who believes in other religions.

MC: 這個Will，初次約會就提到結婚的事兒了! 還好，Jane的父母同意女兒嫁給不信佛教的人! 對了，Professor Bowman, 在中國，人們可以既拜佛，拜菩薩，又拜太上老君，玉皇大帝。可是我發現，西方人只能信一種宗教。

Professor: That’s true. Which do you think is better?

我看對所有神明都崇敬，都拜，那一定就會有神來保佑你的!

A: 不同文化的融合確實得付出很大努力！別說文化，就連愛好都一樣!

B: I know! My ex-boyfriend was such a tech-head! He just had to have every new apple product or the newest camera! Sometimes I thought he would rather date his gadgets than me- honestly! He definitely spent more time and money on them…

A: Aw….I’m sorry to hear that! 不過這些科技發燒友對新電子產品的熱情也真讓我無法理解! 正好，下面的business etiquette裡就談到了這個話題，咱們一起去聽一聽!

禮節美語 EARLY ADOPTERS I

Sara在公司走廊上看到同事Henry.

Sara: Hi Henry, how was your weekend?

Henry: Excellent! I went down to the mall and got myself one of those new minicomputers.

S: You mean the new Orange SuperCom 4? I’ve seen ads for those on TV! They look really cool.

H: They are pretty cool. It has Wi-Fi, a huge memory and super fast processor. Plus, it’s so small it fits in a shirt pocket….look, here it is.

S: Wow…it’s so thin! Hey Mark, check out Henry’s new toy!

Henry 情緒很好，因為週末他去買了一個最新款的迷你電腦，the new Orange SuperCom4, 有無線寬帶，大容量存儲，超快處理器。而且，體積小到能裝在襯衫口袋裡。Sara看了覺得很酷，叫同事Mark過來，check out Henry’s new toy. 看看Henry的新玩具。Mark說：

M: Ah….the Orange SuperCom 4, eh? It’s all the rage these days.—Must’ve cost you a pretty penny.

H: Actually it was a tad bit expensive. I signed up for an early waiting list, but because demand was so strong, I did have to shell out a couple extra hundred dollars for it.

M: I saw news reports that people were lining up around the block in front of Orange Computer stores. Some people were even camping out overnight waiting for the store to open!

Mark不用看就知道Sara說的是Orange SuperCom4, 因為 It’s all the rage these day. 這是現在最潮的。說一件事情是 all the rage 意思是時下最流行的。比如 Skinny jeans are all the rage. 時下最流行穿細腿牛仔褲。Mark猜，It must’ve cost you a pretty penny. 你一定花了不少錢。cost a pretty penny 是價格不菲的意思。Henry 承認，因為訂購的人多，I did have to shell out a couple extra hundred dollars for it. 我確實不得不多交了幾百美元。to shell out 意思是出錢。Mark說，新聞裡說，為了買這款新電腦，不少人在Orange SuperCom電腦專賣店前大排長龍，甚至有人 camp out overnight 夜裡在商店門口露宿。Henry說：

H: I didn’t camp out, but I did have to stand in line for about four hours.

S: Is it really worth all the effort? I’m not that devoted to anything. If the wait is longer than 15 minutes, count me out.

M: Some people are “early adopters” of technology. They just have to get their hands on the latest product.

H: Yep, that’s me…I got my first computer when I was 14, and from that day onward I was hooked. Every time a major new product comes on the market, I’ve just got to get it! I’ll bet I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on IT products over the years.

Henry說，自己雖然沒徹夜露宿，但確實排了四個小時的隊。Sara表示不解，說不管買甚麼，如果要排十五分鐘以上的隊，count me out. 我就免了。Mark說，有些人就是科技「潮人」，early adopters of technology. 有甚麼新產品，他們都得在別人前面用上。They have to get their hands on the latest product. 這裡所說的 to get their hands on something 意思是得到。Henry承認自己就是這種人，14歲有了自己的第一部電腦後，I was hooked. 我就著迷了。這麼多年，不知道在科技產品上花了多少錢。

A: 這些科技發燒友們可真夠嗆! How do they keep up with all the new gadgets?? New things come out every day!

B: Well, it can certainly be overwhelming, but I can’t imagine life without my smartphone! What if I got lost? What if I didn’t check my email 18 times a day? What if I didn’t stalk 阿信 on weibo??? HE WOULD MISS ME.

A: He definitely would miss you Kat. 現代人生活忙得四腳朝天，要是沒有科技的幫忙，估計就瘋了! 不過正好，說到繁忙，咱們來聽聽這個詞

兒用美語怎麼說!

Donny 在北京學中文。他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞，就會來請教他。今天是楊琳要問的：忙。

Donny：Hi 楊琳，what’s up? I haven’t seen you in ages.

YL: 別提了，我最近特別忙，I am really busy! 忙得四腳朝天，怎麼說…four feet up!

Donny: four feet up? I can imagine. But in English, we don’t say that….You can say I’m up to my neck in work.

YL: I’m up to my neck… in work ? 工作太多，堆到和脖子一樣高？被工作壓得喘不過氣來。這個說法太形象了! 還有別的嗎？

Donny: There is another expression that also has to do with body parts. It is “I’ve got my hands full”.

YL: I’ve got my hands full。我明白了，就是說兩手都沒閒著。

Donny: Exactly. Oh, I just thought of another one—“I have a lot on my plate”.

YL: I have a lot on my plate? plate, p-l-a-t-e, plate 不是盤子麼？說盤子裡有很多東西，那一定是…忙著吃呢吧？

Donny: That’s possible! Anyway, when you say you have a lot on your plate, it means you’re busy.

YL: 我知道了。哎呀，我快遲到了，快，再教最後一個。

Donny: Okay, this one will be easier to remember– I’ve got a million things to do!

YL: 太誇張了吧! I’ve got a million things to do! 有一百萬件事情等著我去做。

Donny: Right! Now, Yang Lin, tell me what you’ve learned today!

YL: 今天學到的還真不少。形容特別忙可以說，I’m up to my neck in work，工作堆到脖子了；I’ve got my hands full, 兩手都佔著呢；I have a lot on my plate，盤子裡堆得滿滿的。哎呀! 我得趕緊走人了，I’ve got a million things to do!

這次的「美語怎麼說」就到這裡結束了。如果你也有不會說的詞，請寫信給Donny, 電郵請寄meiyu@voanews.com

A: 現代人的生活總是這麼忙碌，這不是，之前有好幾起年輕人猝死的事件，就是因為壓力太大，工作太累了!

B: Yeah, I heard those reports too. That’s a reminder for us, 楊琳! In the interest of our health, we should definitely take it easy with all this serious hosting and take a break to go have some fun!

A: 哈哈，我只好聽你的嘍! 好，這次節目時間就到這裡。同學們，如果你對我們的節目有甚麼建議，或者想提甚麼問題，請發電子郵件到

meiyu@voanews.com.

B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!

A: See you next time!