GoEnglish: TV Advanced
各位听众,大家好!今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“电视节目”单元的高级课程。
Professor: Will and Jane are on a date and talking about what kind of TV shows they like to watch, and it so happens that Will loves TV crime dramas.
Winnie: Crime drama 就是“侦破片”,Professor Bowman, 我听说最近几年,crime drama 已经是美国最受欢迎的电视剧了。这是为什么呢?
Professor: Let's see what Will and Jane have to say about it.
Jane: So Will, you really like crime dramas, huh? Why are you so into them?
Will: I really want to become a lawyer one day, so I think watching shows like "Law and Order" is pretty good preparation for my future career.
Jane: Oh come on .... that show is so boring. Each show has the same plot. The police arrest someone for a crime, and then he goes to trial.
Will: No way! It's totally interesting the way it shows how the American justice system works. If it were so boring, why would there be so many spinoffs?
Jane: Well that's one thing we can agree on. There are definitely a lot of cookie-cutter spinoffs.
Winnie: "Law and Order"--“法律与秩序”, 讲的是警察侦破罪案,法庭审案的故事。Will喜欢看这个片子,因为他可以从中学到关于美国司法系统的一些知识。
Professor: That's right. Will likes it, but what does Jane think about the show?
Winnie: Jane觉得这片子没意思。不过,Will说,如果这片子不吸引人,就不会有那么多spinoffs--仿照它所拍的同类型电视剧了。
Professor: Exactly. You know, you can call other things spinoffs too. For example, "The new Italian restaurant was so popular that there were soon three other spinoffs, all exactly the same, on the same block. "
Winnie: 对了,Jane还用到了cookie cutter这个词,cookie cutter就是做饼干时切面的模子。Professor, 在这里,cookie cutter 是不是指“千篇一律的东西”呢?
Professor: Yes! For example, I could say that I never believe my students when they give me cookie-cutter excuses for why they didn't do their homework, like saying that their dog ate it.
Jane: Well what are some of the other crime dramas you like?
Will: Do you know the show Crime Scene Investigation? We usually call it CSI. It's about a team of police
investigators solving crimes in Las Vegas.
Jane: Sure, I've heard of CSI. What other shows do you like?
Will: There are lots of other great crime dramas. There is also CSI New York and CSI Miami.
Jane: Will ... can't you see that those are all the same show! They just happen in different cities!
Will: No way! They're all totally different. And besides, they all get really good ratings and rave reviews.
Winnie: CSI--“犯罪现场调查”,也是个非常红的电视剧! 后来的CSI New York 和CSI Miami就是最初那版CSI的spinoffs.
Professor: That's right. But what does Will say?
Winnie: 他说,这些电视剧都得到了good ratings--高收视率,还有rave reviews--非常好的评论。
Professor: That's right, Winnie. The word "rave" is often used as a verb, meaning to praise something highly.
Winnie: rave 通常是动词,意思是“极力赞扬”。您能举个例子吗?
Professor: Well, I decided to take my next vacation in Greece after my sister came back from her visit there raving about how great it was.
Will: You know, all this talk reminds me that CSI Miami is coming on pretty soon. Do you mind if I cut our date short so I can get home to watch it?
Jane: You want to end our date early just so you can go home and watch TV? Was the last episode a real cliffhanger, and you have to see tonight's episode?
Will: Yeah! I can't wait to get home so I can see the sequel.
Jane: Well I hope you enjoy it, Will, because there will definitely not be a sequel to this date!
Winnie: Will居然要提前结束约会,赶回家看今晚播出的CSI Miami?我看这只是个借口吧! 不过,Professor, Jane提到一个词--cliffhanger,这是什么意思?
Professor: A "cliffhanger" is a chapter of a book or an episode of a TV show that ends without resolving the plot.
Winnie: 哦,我明白了,cliffhanger这个词由两个部分组成:cliff--悬崖,hanger--悬挂物,所以,cliffhanger就好比是有人在悬崖边,命悬一线! 指的是书和电视中那种有悬念、令人紧张的情节!
A:现在电视剧都爱跟风,If one show gets high ratings and rave reviews, the market will be flooded with cookie-cutter spinoffs.
B:没错! That's why original ideas are so precious.
A:不过,要想作出有创意的东西,员工要对工作有热情,而公司领导也得鼓励创新,不然好的创意永远不能被发现,也不能变成好的产品。
B: That's very true! Now let's listen to "Business Etiquette". Lisa is complaining that her good ideas are not taken seriously by the company.
Business Etiquette: Looking for a change II
Lisa告诉同事Emily新年过后准备辞职,因为她觉得眼下的工作很无聊,没有升职的机会,她还说:
Lisa: The other problem is that I think the company is really set in its ways.
Emily: What do you mean?
L: In other words, I think management is resistant to change. I've given great proposals to my section chief and I've even sent emails with ideas on how to streamline operations to the big boss, but the reaction is always the same.
E: What do they say when you offer suggestions?
L: Usually something like: "We'll take a look and get back to you." But that's the last I'll ever hear from them.
Lisa 还觉得公司运作墨守成规,set in one's ways 是指生活方式或做事方法一成不变,类似的说法还有 stuck in a rut, rut is spelled r-u-t, rut 是指车轱辘留下的印儿,to stuck in a rut 陷在车轱辘印里,也是墨守成规,一成不变的意思。Lisa 说自己向部门经理和公司老板提出过很多好建议,但都没有得到重视。得到的回答一般都是:We'll take a look and get back to you. 我们看一下再答复你,然后就再也没有任何消息了。
E: So, do you have any job prospects lined up?
L: I've been sending out resumes and I've gotten a couple of bites.
E: I see....so you've pretty much made up your mind to quit then?
L: I think so. I'll miss seeing you everyday.
E: I'll miss you, too. Can I make a suggestion?
L: Sure!
E: Don't burn any bridges when you make your move.
L: What do you mean?
Emily问她工作找得怎么样了,Do you have any job prospects lined up? Lisa说自己发了一些简历,已经有一些公司对她表示有兴趣了,I've gotten a couple of bite. bite, b-i-t-e, bite 在这里是上钩的意思,意思是她的简历已经引起了一些公司的兴趣。看起来Lisa去意已定,Emily好心地建议Lisa, Don't burn any bridges. 辞职的时候不要把事做绝,最后给自己留条后路。Emily进一步解释说:
E: I mean, don't tell the boss you hate your job or him. Simply inform them that you plan to resign from your position and do your best to train your replacement. That way, this company can remain a back-up option for you.
L: You make a good point. I'll try to be as professional about this as possible. Thanks Emily! Talking to you makes me feel much better.
E: Sure! Now let's eat!
Emily劝Lisa不要burn any bridges 断了自己的后路,不用告诉老板对公司有多不满意,而且还要 do your best to train your replacement 尽力把交接工作做好,这里所说的replacement 指的是接替Lisa工作的那个人。Emily说,这样的话,现在的公司还能是Lisa的候补选项 back-up option. Lisa觉得Emily这番话很有道理,并保证自己在处理这件事的时候,I'll try to be as professional as possible. 这里的professional是专业的,as professional as possible意思是尽可能按照职场的惯例去做。
A:Don't burn your bridges 这句话说得好,We all need back-up plans,得给自己留条后路。
B: Well, that maybe true, but sometimes you need to burn the bridges and put yourself against the wall, and only by that way you can fully committed into doing something.
A:你是说自己断了后路,背水一战?That's too risky! Don't be too hard on yourself!
B:No pains no gains!
A:好了,咱们别争论了! 还是轻松一下吧,Now let's go bowling!
ASE: bowling
P: Hey Yang Chen, Let's go bowling.
_
Y: 我不会打保龄球。
P: Well don't worry, you are in good hands. I'll teach you how to bowl.
Y:那你可要耐心点儿。Be very patient with me.
P: No problem. First you need to learn how to hold the bowling ball. Well, first hold the ball in your left hand.
_
Y: Whoa, 好重啊,差点闪了我的腰。
_
P: It's not that heavy. Well, now put the first and second fingers of your right had in the top two holes and your thumb in the bottom hole.
_
Y: OK, Patrick, I'm ready! Now what do I do?
P: Walk up to the line at the top of the bowling lane with the ball and center yourself in the lane.
Y: Okay, 站到bowling lane保龄球道中间。
_
P: Now, hold the ball with your right hand only. Swing it behind you, and then swing it forward and let it go.
_
Y: Here it goes!
P: Oh No, Yang Chen. Your ball went into the gutter.
Y: A gutter?
P: Yep, those long troughs on both sides of the bowling lane are gutters G-U-T-T-E-R-S. And when your ball goes in the gutter it is called a gutter ball.
Y: 保龄球掉到旁边的沟里,就叫gutter ball沟球。
P: And since you didn't hit anything, you don't get any points, but you do get another chance.
Y: Okay, let me try again. 我再来一次。(Sound of ball hitting lane and going in the gutter) Rats! I got another gutterball.
P: It is pretty common to get gutterballs when you first start bowling. You just need practice.
Y: Okay, then let me try again. (Sound of ball hitting lane and going into gutter). Aiya! 又一个gutter ball!
P: Practice makes perfect!
A:打保龄球时扔出gutterball最丢人了!
B: 多练练就没事啦!
A: But it's so embarrassing!
B:If you're afraid of losing face, you can practice bowling at home. For example, you can play blowing video games.
A:在家里用保龄球游戏模拟练习,这个主意好!Do you want to join me?
B: Sure!
A:那咱们就比试一下!好,今天节目时间差不多了,这次节目的撰稿人是哓北,编辑是蔚然,同学们,咱们下次的美语训练班节目再见!
B: Bye!