Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
學普通話和美語發音會話不難, 省時方便而且完全免費,無時間都可以下載落MP3聽
<<按此下載第1課錄音>>
Y: 各位聽眾好, 我是楊晨，歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。
J: Hello everyone, my name is Jody ! And welcome to American Cafe! American Cafe is a place where you can improve your spoken English by meeting people who actually live and work in the United States. You're going to learn a lot more than English. I promise.
Y: 沒錯, 我們這個節目非常豐富多采。您在這裡不但可以學到地道的美國英語，還可以認識很多的美國人。
J: For today, Yang Chen and I spent our Sunday visiting a famous Washington D.C. hangout that's been a success here since 1976. It's called Kramer's Books & Afterwards Cafe.
Y: 對，在今天的節目中，我們要帶您到一個非常有意思的地方。這裡是華盛頓當地的居民非常喜歡的一個hangout, 等一下我們要解釋這個詞。
J: It's a combination of a cafe, a bookstore, a restaurant and a bar.
Y: 這個地方是1976年開業的。它不僅是一個書店，還是一個咖啡館和餐廳。
J: Great! Let's introduce Mark who has been working at Kramer's for 20 years.
實錄1: Mark: It was ... in 1976 when they opened it, it was a unique idea combining a restaurant, bar with a bookstore.
Y: 我想在這裡我們用hangout來形容Kramer's是再合適不過了。我們倆在這裡真的是渡過了一個很愉快的下午，又買書，又吃，非常非常的放松。這也就是人們到咖啡館的目的吧。
J: Exactly. And that's exactly what a customer named Peter explained why people come to Kramer's and why it's such a popular destination.
實錄2: Peter: It's a great meeting place. It's a very diverse bookstore. And it's just a good place to come. Um, this bookstore has been here a long time, I don't know what long is, maybe 20 years or so. It's always been successful. It's always been lively. It's in a very lively part of town, probably the most cosmopolitan part of Washington.
Y: 這個Peter有點兒英國口音。不過他已經在Washington住了三十多年, 我們可以說他是地道的Washington 人。
J: I think 30 years makes you a resident of the District.
Y: 對， 如果Jody你要是到北京住三十年，我也可以說你是地地道道的北京人。
J: 好，謝謝您。
Y: 我們沒有問Peter是做什麼的，不過我覺得聽他說話好象是一位教授。你看他用的這些詞都很好。他用了一個“Cosmopolitan."
J: I really like that word. "Cosmopolitan." You're hip. You're with it. Modern. Urban.
Y: "Cosmopolitan" 這個詞有世界性的，見過世面的這些意思。 我們可以說在中國，北京了，上海了，這些城市都非常cosmopolitan.
J: I think D.C., Washington D.C. the nation's capitol, is a very cosmopolitan city. You know, Mark mentioned a good word that I would like to go back to for a minute.
實錄3: Mark: Location, Location, location. Dupont Circle is a pedestrian neighborhood. There are people walking on the streets from early in morning 'til the middle of the night. And we're the kind of place where you stop in and browse for books, stop in and have a cocktail. It's just an easy, fun place to go.
Y: 我覺得Mark很有生意頭腦。他說Kramer's為什麼這麼成功，首先是它的地區。這一帶叫Dupont Circle，是華盛頓非常繁華的一個地區，有很多年輕人住在這裡。
J: It's not only the young people who make it successful. It's that diversity of the clientele. Where all different types of people come in ... professors or diplomats, famous authors. Everybody stops in Kramer's. It's kind of a joke. When someone says what are three things important for the success of a business. The answer is "Location, location, location."
Y: 一定要說三次。
J: So I thought we would include that. It's kind of a funny expression in English.
Y: 對，如果你選對了地方的話，即使你不會經營，它可能也會財源滾滾。
J: Right, right. So both Mark, who is the employee and Peter, who is the frequent customer of the bookstore, - both of them talked about the importance of having a diverse and cosmopolitan clientele for success.
Y: Peter是位顧客，那我們就從一個顧客的角度來聽聽為什麼Kramer's這麼受歡迎。
實錄4: Peter: Where you locate a bookstore is really absolutely critical. There is a cosmopolitan crowd around this area. If you stuck this in the middle of the country it would be a total failure.
Y: Jody, 時間過得好快，五分鐘馬上就要到了。
J: I know. It went so fast.
Y: 我知道。用五分鐘來談論咖啡文化到底對美國人意味著什麼顯然是不夠的。
J: Really five minutes is not enough time. So, I think everyone should join us again for another program of American Cafe.
Y: 那麼希望下次節目和您再見。
J: Come on Yang Chen, let's go hang out over a cup of coffee!
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
<<按此下載第2課錄音>>
J: Hello, I'm Jody!
Y: 大家好, 我是楊晨!
J: And welcome to American Cafe.
Y: 歡迎您到美語咖啡屋.
Enter pipe band music
Y: Jody, 今天的這個音樂, 我怎麼覺得怎麼熟悉啊 ？
J: Today I thought we would introduce Margaret Peng, the Chinese-American woman we met who does something quite uncommon. She's a drummer in a Scottish pipe band. Yang Chen, how cool is that!?
Y: 你說得沒錯，我對她的印象特別的深. 這個女孩兒叫Margaret Peng, 是一位華裔，是華盛頓蘇格蘭風笛樂隊的隊員之一。在這種樂隊裡華人並不多見。那麼，作為一個華裔，她是怎麼迷上這種音樂的呢？我們來看看她是怎麼說的：
實錄1: Margaret Peng: I'm a tenor drummer in the pipe band and I started playing in high school. Eh... I had a friend who was in the bagpipe band in high school. That what she played. She said: "Come on join it with me, join it." So I did it and I didn't think I'd keep doing it but I am (laughs).
J: How many years now?
MP: I've been in this band I've been in for 12, 12 years. Right.
Y: Margaret剛才說她是在高中就加入了樂隊一直到現在她練了十二年了，很長時間。
J: 12 years! Wow.
Y: 真的很不簡單。 她加入樂隊的原因其實很簡單。 她當時她有一個朋友在樂隊裡吹bagpipe 的, 就問她, 你參加不參加? 她說好啊，就是那麼簡單.
J: That's simple. She was in high school and a friend told her to come join the band.
Y: 沒錯，沒錯。她在樂隊裡是鼓手。
J: Yang Chen, I was so impressed when we saw Margaret Peng twirling her mallets in the air! It's like she was dancing! Really beautiful. She explained to me that the mallets are actually the sticks you use to bang the drum.
Y: 對，“mallet”就是敲鼓用的鼓槌，或者小音槌。當時如果你能看到Margaret Peng揮舞小音槌的姿勢，你會覺得她非常優美，簡直就象跳舞一樣。
J: The music of the Scottish pipe band is so bizarre, isn't it?
Y: Bizarre?
J: You know, 奇怪。
Y: 我想在這裡可能說它奇特更合適吧。
J: Oh, 不是奇怪的意思?
Y: "Bizarre"當然有奇怪的意思，不過這裡說奇特更合適一些，因為這個音樂還是很好聽的。
J: I don't think anything sounds quite like the music of Scotland. And especially the bagpipes. While the drums are familiar, Yang Chen, to many cultures, I don't think the bagpipes are.
實錄2: Margaret Peng: It takes a lot of time. It's very difficult. There's a bag that you inflate with a blowpipe in your mouth. And you inflate the bag and every time you blow then you squeeze after you finish blowing. And you have to keep the pressure constant to keep that drone sounds. And then you have to play and then you have to walk. So there's a lot of things going on at the same time.
Y: 說起來這種樂器的名字裡面有個“笛”，風笛。其實它比中國笛子或長笛相比要大得多，看上去也很重。
J: They have to carry all their instruments as they are marching.
Y: Margaret剛才提到吹奏風笛有一種“drone sound”。我想要讓聽眾更好地了解這種聲音，還是讓他們聽一段音樂。
J: Of course that's the best way. Let's play a droning bagpipe.
Enter bagpipe music.
J: I mean, picture this, Yang Chen. A group of musicians, men and women, dressed in the same very formal Scottish costume with kilt, you know a skirt, and carrying their instruments as they parade around.
Y: 大家可以想象一下，一群人帶著自豪感，昂首闊步地前進。我還記得Margaret當時給我的印象很深，她很威風，對不起？
J: Exactly.
Y: 蘇格蘭男子身上穿的這種花格裙是蘇格蘭特有的一種服飾。這種裙子的正確說法是 "kilt," 而不是 "skirt."
J: You're right Yang Chen, the word is "kilt." K-I-L-T. I think Margaret gave a good explanation of the origin of Scottish pipe band music.
實錄3: Margaret Peng: And bagpipes are the traditional Scottish instruments used in time of war to help signal whether they were going to retreat or whether they were going to attack.
Y: 原來在古代的蘇格蘭，人們用吹奏bagpipe來向軍隊發出信號，告訴他們應該進攻還是撤退。 最後我們來欣賞一段傳統的蘇格蘭音樂。Jody,你知道嗎，這段音樂是我的一個朋友演奏的。
J: Oh, that's wonderful. And actually that's the end of our show today. So, thank you for stopping in to American Cafe.
Y: 再見!
J: See ya!
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
<<按此下載第3課錄音>>
J: Hello I'm Jody and welcome to American Cafe.
Y: 各位聽眾好， 歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。我是楊晨。
J: You know, Christmas is just around the corner and I am already starting to feel Christmas all around me.
Y: 你是說商店裡現在擠滿了搶購禮物的人，還有電視上不停地在播放聖誕節的廣告，對不對？
J: No, no! I ignore all of that stuff. No, what I mean, is I'm starting to hear and smell Christmas. OK, Close your eyes, Yang Chen, and think about Christmas and tell me what you hear and smell.
(Silence. Long pause)
J: Yang Chen? Yang Chen, anything yet? You know people are waiting.
Y: 哎呀，你等一等。我正在豎著耳朵聽呢，還得使勁聞一聞。你不是說要我閉著眼睛尋找感覺嗎？呣,我找到了。 在一個美麗的夜晚，星星在閃耀，我站在雪地裡，聽到了雪橇那悅耳的聲音。對，就是這種感覺，你覺得怎麼樣？
J: That's okay. But I was thinking more like ... chainsaws.
Y: Chainsaws? 啊呀，你真是掃我的興啊。原來你說的聲音是電動鋸的聲音。太不浪漫了。
J: Well, I know it's not romantic, but I love the sound of a chainsaw and the smell of a pine tree being cut. The Christmas tree tradition is one of the best things about Christmas.
Y: 對。真正的聖誕樹用的是松樹？
J: Right, pine tree.
Y: 那人們是不是要到森林裡去砍樹呢？
J: Oh, no no-no. You don't go to a forest to cut down your Christmas tree. There are Christmas tree farms.
Y: 哦, 原來有Christmas tree farms。這還不錯，用不著去破壞森林。說道這裡，我倒是好象真的聞到了松樹的味道了。
J: Oh, that's me.
Y: 你用了什麼香水？
J: Not perfume! I have just come from a Christmas tree sale in my neighborhood.
Y: 有意思嗎？
J: I did. And it was wonderfully entertaining. The elementary school held a Christmas tree sale to raise money. And there I met a woman named Ann, who is not only the organizer of the sale but she is also very active in the elementary school with the Parent Teacher Association, also known as the PTA.
Y: 好啊，那我們就聽聽組織者Ann都說了些什麼。
實錄1: Ann: We have from Charlie Brown trees to big beautiful balsam firs And we have a range of prices. And we do this to support the school PTA and it pays for supplies and trips and things like that for the children. And, um, so we do it two days over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and hopefully raise some money. And also just build a lot of good feelings about the school inside the community.
Y: Ann剛才說的 PTA 就是老師和家長聯合組成的協會。原來他們舉辦聖誕樹銷售活動是為了協會籌款，另外還可以增強學校和社區的感情。
J: Right. And it really does spread community feelings in the neighborhood. That's what Christmas is all about!
(Enter Music "O Tannenbaum" from Cyrus Chestnut's A Charlie Brown Christmas)
Y: Ann 剛才提到Charlie Brown。 我們都知道Charlie Brown是著名的花生漫畫系列裡的人物。
J: Again, here's Ann.
實錄2: Ann: Well, Charlie Brown, the cartoon character, always had a very small little sad-looking tree that nobody wanted, but he took it home and was very happy with it. So we always have some people that come and look for a Charlie Brown tree.
Y: Ann 剛才說的多好啊，一棵瘦小的聖誕樹在可憐巴巴地等待著有人把它帶回家。
J: The holiday cartoons with Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang are really an important part of Christmas for almost all children in the United States. Well, not just children. because every year I watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.
Y: 你要借給我看一看。
J: I will, I will give it you. You and your family will love it. And truly Charlie Brown fell in love with a small, scrawny, little lonely Christmas tree that nobody wanted. And took it home and he gave it love. And it turned out to be a perfect Christmas tree.
Y: 沒錯。Charlie Brown過聖誕是一個非常經典的故事，大人小孩都喜歡。Jody，你知道嗎，我們家那棵聖誕樹又小有不太好看，而且是塑料的，用了好幾年。我今年本來打算把它扔了，可是我女兒不讓我扔。我想她可能對這棵樹非常有感情。不過今天聽你解釋了Charlie Brown Christmas tree，我想要是下次有人再笑話我們家的樹太小太難看的話，我就可以告訴他這棵樹可是典型的Charlie Brown Christmas tree。
J: Of course, you tell them you have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, Yang Chen!
Y: 沒錯。我可以向別人炫耀我有棵Charlie Brown Christmas tree。
J: Thanks for tuning into American Cafe. Okay, see you again!
Y: 謝謝大家到我們的美語咖啡屋。好，我們下次再見。
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
<<按此下載第4課錄音>>
Y: 各位聽眾好。我是楊晨，歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。在今天的節目中...。 哎，我們的另外一位節目主持人,Jody, 還沒來哪。Oh, Jody... 別擔心，別擔心， 她來了...。
( Door closing. Bags rustling.)
J: Yang Chen, I'm so sorry I'm late. Has the program started yet?
Y: 當然已經開始啦。
J: Oh, I'm so sorry everyone. Hello everyone! Welcome to American Cafe. My apologies.
Y: 你怎麼今天遲到了?
J: Just go ahead without me. I'm going to get my bags...
(Sound of rustling bags.)
Y: Jody 你干嗎呢? 能不能集中點精神？ ... 啊?! 你竟然去逛街去了？
J: Shopping? No, no, no. I was not shopping.
Y: 那這些購物袋是怎麼回事兒呢？
J: What bags? Oh, these bags? Right, You see, Yang Chen, I was doing research.
Y: 作研究, 做什麼研究啊？
J: Research on ... buying and selling.
Y: 啊哈，作市場調查。那還不是和逛街差不多。
J: Okay, I may have done a little shopping. But I just wanted to get in the mood. Because I thought shopping is such a popular pastime for Americans, we could do a show on shopping. What do you think?
Y: 我知道美國人，特別是女士們周末喜歡逛街。我也很喜歡啊。你下次再作市場調查可要叫我和你一快去啊。
J: Oh, absolutely! Actually for today's show I thought we could talk about a special type of store that I've always wanted to know more about, a consignment store!
Y: Consignment store? 哎, 咱倆那天在Dupont Circle路過的那家店就是一家consignment store,對不對？
J: The one and the same! It's called Secondi Consignment Store. And when I went back, I spoke with Molly, an employee there, who helped me understand exactly how a consignment store operates.
Y: 我們來聽聽Molly怎麼解釋consignment store是什麼意思。
實錄1 Molly: A consignment store is a store where people own the items that the store sells for them on their behalf. The original owner of the items is only paid once the items are sold on the store.
Y: 這種商店在中文裡應該叫寄售商店。
J: Let's listen to Molly again as she talks more about how a consignment store operates.
實錄2 Molly: The consigner comes in. One of the managers goes through the items and tells the consigner "Yes, we can sell it" or "No, we can't." "Here's what we think we can sell it for" pricewise. And then the consigner gets 50 percent of that price.
Y: Molly 剛才提到的"consigner"... right?
J: Consigner. Correct.
Y: ... 就是委托他們出售商品的客戶。一般來說，客戶拿東西到她們商店來，有一位專門負責收購的經理決定哪些她們能賣出去，哪些她們不願意賣。然後和客戶商訂價錢，商店會得到售價的50%。
J: Wow, Yang Chen, you summed that up really well. A consigner is the person who brings the clothes in that they want the store, the consignment store, to sell for them. So a consignment is just like being a distributor. You know, a slang word for distributor is "middle man." And you say "middle man" even if it's a woman.
Y: 呣, 在中文裡呢, "middle man"應該就是"中間人" 或者"經紀人"的意思。
J: Oh, hey, Yang Chen, also at Secondi they have a great system that keeps the inventory fresh.
Y: 這家商店，就是Secondi這家商店，那麼他們怎麼避免貨品的積壓呢？我們再讓Molly解釋一下。
實錄3 Molly: After the first month the clothing goes down 20 %, and after the second month it goes down 40%, and after the third month if it's still here, the contract that we have with the consigner is just that we can donate it automatically for them.
Y: 噢，原來她們的貨物第一月沒賣出去就降價20%，兩個月賣不出去就降40%，三個月還賣不出去就要捐出去了。聽 Molly 怎麼一說，如果我們每天去這家商店，那每天都能看到她們的貨架上有新的東西。
J: Oh, they have some really great items there. Some were way out of my price range. Too expensive!
Y: 我知道，你說的 "well out of my price range"就是對我來說價錢太貴了，買不起。
J: But look at my new jeans! $28 and they still had the tag on them!
Y: 才28美元？太值了！好了，各位聽眾，您今天了解了美國的consignment store，不知道您有什麼感想呢？我覺得，我真是一種很不錯的消費方法，以低於零售商店的價格買到名牌衣服。這簡直就是每個女士的夢想。哎，Jody， 咱們現在就去吧！
J: Thanks for tuning to American Cafe. Come on, Yang Chen, lets go!
Y: 謝謝您收聽美語咖啡屋，我們下次再見。
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
<<按此下載第5課錄音>>
J: Hi everyone! I'm Jody and welcome to American Cafe
Y: 大家好，我是楊晨，歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。在我們這個小小的咖啡屋裡，您可以了解美國文化，還可以認識美國朋友，最重要是還可以學地道的美國英語。
J: That's right! And on today's program, we are going to take you to the Big Apple...New York City, to talk about something New Yorkers cannot live without, Restaurants!
Y: 對，今天這個題目大家一定都喜歡。我們要帶您到最有美國特色的大都市紐約，了解對紐約人來說至為重要的餐館文化。
J: Well, Yang Chen I spoke with Brian Carson, who is the manager of a restaurant located in the heart of New York City.
Y: 這個Brian Carson是我們今天要認識的第一位美國人。他在這個熱鬧的紐約市中心的一家餐館做經理。好，我們聽聽他來解釋這個餐館文化對紐約人來說意味著什麼。
實錄1 Brian Carson: Most people don't cook in this city because it's set up to eat. You walk outside your door and there's a sea of 10000 restaurants on the isle of Manhattan. It's just that it's part of the convenient, ummm, way of life in New York City. People eat out. They dine out, that's what they do.
Y: 哇，你聽見他說了嗎? 他說光在曼哈頓區就有一萬個餐館。而且他用了一個詞，用"sea”來形容餐館林立。 "Sea" 就是海洋的意思。
J: He said "a sea of 10,000 restaurants," to describe when something is abundant. You could say, "the grassy field was a sea of green." Ah, you could say, "she is drowning in a sea of confusion."
Y: 你是在說我嗎？
J: No, not you. Another example, "The streets of New York are a sea of people."
Y: 確實，中文裡也有“人山人海”這種說法。下面我們再接著聽聽Brian介紹餐館文化的意義。
實錄2 Brian Carson: What makes...um, things special for New Yorkers is when they throw dinner parties. It's the opposite. They invite people into their world and they create feasts in their environments. That to me and to them is a special night. Eating out is almost like a necessity in this city. It's just what people do.
Y: 這麼說來，紐約人請別人到餐館吃飯是很普通的，如果請你到家裡那是特殊的情況，是不是？
J: Right. And when I spoke to a customer, her name's Tammy, she was very honest in her response. She also said she doesn't cook. Much like you, Yang Chen.
Y: 就是想我一樣。
J: And she said that it's simply easier for her to meet her friends out at restaurants. But it is a very special event when they come to her home.
實錄3 Tammy Scotsafaber: Eating out is very important for me because I don't cook, A. I think it is one of the main ways that people end up seeing their friends at dinners and drinks or dinners then drinks. If you have someone to your home then you have to be a hostess as opposed to being able to just relax and have dinner.
Y: 她說得太對了！你想一想，在家請客又費力，又費心，花那麼多的精力去准備，對不對？
J: Sorry to interrupt, but I was going to say, you also have to clean your house.
Y: 沒錯！
J: And New Yorkers, I mean, people who live in big cities, not only New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, you just don't have time.
Y: 並不是說我很懶惰！
J: No. It's not because we're lazy. We're busy women!
Y: 因為我的時間太寶貴。說起服務員的工作，我想，這份工作挺好的。
J: Well, we spoke with a man by the name of Aaron Zebrook and he has many reasons why he likes to work as a waiter.
實錄4 Aaron Zebrook: Pretty women. Lots of cash. Stuff like that is involved. Good food. You learn about wine, you learn about food. You have to know these things. And that's again appealing. Who doesn't want to learn about food and wine and try all this good stuff and make cash at the same time at night when you have free time?
Y: 哇，他總結得很精彩，美酒佳餚，金錢美女，聽起來真的是很誘人。
J: You learn about lots of stuff, food and wine and people. It can be a really good job.
Y: 也是一種社會經驗。
J: Yeah. And I'll tell you what, for students, it is one of the most popular jobs to have. All this talk about restaurants, Yang Chen, is making my stomach growl.
Y:對，我聽到你的肚子在叫了！
J: I know! It's embarrassing, but I'm starving! So, let's go to a restaurant and get something to eat.
Y: 好了，今天我們的節目時間到了！我和 Jody 要趕快到外邊吃飯去了！
J: Thanks for joining us on American Cafe! Let's go eat!
Y: 咱們走罷！
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
New Year's Resolutions
[size=12px]
<<按此下載第6課錄音>>
Y: 各位聽眾好！歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。我是楊晨。
J: Hello, everyone, I'm Jody! Welcome to American Cafe! And Happy New Year
everyone! Happy New Year, Yang Chen! You know what January brings, don't
you?
Y: 一月份是新年的開始，人們當然要快快樂樂地迎接新年。比如說打扮得漂漂亮亮
地參加舞會，走親訪友，還有逛街買東西等等。
J: Of course, but after all that is over that's when the New Year's Resolutions
kick in. You know when they start.
Y: New Year's Resolutions，新年的決心。哎呀，我還沒想好呢！
J: You know, maybe we should talk about New Year's Resolutions a little
bit to find out, you know, what we should give up for the New Year.
Y: 對。我們還是給大家解釋一下什麼叫New Year's Resolution。
J: Good idea. Here's Chuck from Washington DC with a definition of New Year's
Resolutions...
實錄1 Chuck： Well, a New Year's Resolution is something that an individual
chooses to do on the occasion of the new calendar year. They are starting
off with a clean slate. They are sort of having a fresh beginning and are
going to take the occasion of the new year to introduce a new behavior or
set some goals or, to the contrary, they are going to eliminate some behavior,
perhaps a vice or a bad habit, and do their very best through the new year
to improve their behavior.
Y: Chuck 剛才說的clean slate是一個很有用的說法，你給大家解釋一下它的意思
好嗎？
J: Sure. A clean slate. And it just means a fresh beginning. You know adding
a good habit or giving up a vice or bad habit. But I'm still not sure of
anything I should give up for the New Year's. What about you?
Y: 嗯，我想想看。A clean slate可以解釋成從頭開始。可是說到要放棄什麼壞習
慣，我還真想不出來。你看我這麼老實，遵紀守法，根本沒什麼壞習慣啊。
J: What, no bad habits?! Are you sure?! I can think of a couple bad habits
you may have.
Y: 可別告訴別人！
J: Okay we'll keep that between us. Let's introduce some of the people we
met on New Year's Eve and hear what they were giving up for the new year.
The first one is Jen, from Boston.
Y: 我們聽聽Jen有什麼打算。
實錄2 Jen： My name is Jen and I'm from Boston and for 2004 I hope to be
healthier, eat healthy, go out running and relax and find a balance in my
life between work and relaxation, take some time for myself.
Y: Jen說她要多跑步。這個主意倒是不錯。
J: Oh, are you kidding!? No thanks. I hate running. Jen can do all the running
she wants. What else did Jen have to say?
Y: 她還說她要在工作和休閑之間找到更好的平衡。
J: Now that sounds like a good idea: finding a balance between work and
play. Here's another person. His name's John and he has a New Year's resolution
too.
Y: 好。那我們聽聽John有什麼打算。
實錄3 John： My name's John and I'm from Boston. And New Year's Resolutions
would be to go to the gym more. Um
Y: Gym? 不行。我最不喜歡到健身房和一大堆人一塊兒鍛煉了。
J: Oh, I'm with you! You know since we don't like working out or dieting
maybe we could change a part of our behavior, like Corby, a visitor to Washington
D.C., had many New Year's Resolutions.
Y: 這個Corby夠貪心的。她說她有好幾個New Year's Resolutions。我們聽聽她是
怎麼說的。
實錄4 Corby： Resolutions for next year is to control my temper, and not
judge people and to quit smoking. I will probably focus on those. They're
a handful.
Y: Corby 真有意思。他不只有一個，而是有好幾個新年的決心。她壞毛病還真不少：
喜歡批評別人，壞脾氣，還抽煙。哎呀，我們又沒有這些壞毛病，所以我們也不用
去想什麼新年決心了。
J: Maybe you're right. You know, we're both pretty easygoing and neither
of us smoke.
Y: 就是，就是，我們都快成了道德典范了。
J: Here's a woman named Terry who explains why she gave up giving up stuff
for New Year.
Y: 我們聽聽Terry是怎麼說的。
實錄5 Terry： Most of the times it's because when I make them they are very
difficult to follow through on and complete. So I don't feel successful
and nobody likes to do failure sorts of things. So, I guess I just don't
do New Year's Resolutions.
Y: 還是Terry看得開。她知道自己沒有毅力堅持下去，所以也就不去強求自己了。
J: We'll just keep on doing what we're doing.
Y: 沒錯。不用改變什麼。喜歡作什麼就作什麼。太好了。這就是我的New Year's
Resolution! 只要高興，我們做什麼都可以。
J: But good luck with your New Year's resolutions and Happy New Year.
Y: 好。我們今天的時間就到了。下次再見。
J: See you later.
[/size]
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
Grassroots Campaign
[size=12px]
<<按此下載第7課錄音>>
J: Hello and welcome to American Cafe! My name is Jody!
Y: 大家好，我是楊晨。Eh, Jody... 你拿了一堆什麼東西啊?
J: Oh, this stuff? Let's see, I have political posters .... what else do
I have flyers, you know, information sheets... Wow, I really have a lot
of work to do!
Y: 一大堆工作你還這麼高興啊，為什麼？
J: Well, I'm excited because the work is for a political grassroots campaign.
See, I volunteered to hang posters and hand out flyers to people at subway
stops.
Y: 噢，原來你是熱衷於這種基層群眾活動。
J: It's the best way for everyday citizens to get involved and make a difference!
But hey, some of the people I met a grassroots campaign meeting can explain
that it much better than I. Let's hear from them. Here's Rudy who organized
the meeting that I went to.
Y: 下面我們就來聽聽Rudy是怎麼說的：
實錄1 Rudy: My name is Rudy. I've lived in DC for a little under a year.
And grassroots campaigning to me is a movement of people coming toward for
a common cause, be it political or social, or whatever, banding together,
working together to come to a common goal and hopefully be victorious in
its outcome. The hierarchy is loose so everybody's voice counts. And in
the end hopefully everyone is happy with the outcome.
Y: Rudy總結的很好。他說基層活動就是為了共同的目的， 大家聚集在一起，共同
努力，最後獲得成功。 Jody, 你給大家解釋一下hierarchy的意思好嗎？
J: Okay! The hierarchy means the chain of command. And in a grassroots campaign
the structure of the hierarchy is very loose. That means there's really
no specific leader or boss.
Y: 對，這個hierarchy就是指揮系統，或者說體系。當然了，既然是基層群眾運動，
那麼它的結構一定是比較松散。
J: Right. And in a grassroots campaign everybody comes together for, as
Rudy said, a common goal and contributes what they can.
Y: 那多好啊。每個人都是平等的，沒有什麼上下級之分。
J: Right, like a true democracy.
Y: 你說的一點沒錯。這一類的自發性群眾活動正是美國民主的基礎。
J: Here's another definition of grassroots campaigning that I liked a lot
from Michael.
Y: 好，我們再聽聽Michael的觀點。
實錄2 Michael Briggs: If I had to define grassroots campaigning, I would
think that it's people working with each trying to really bring democracy
to life, share ideas, get people involved behind their candidate, trying
to change minds, and raise awareness about an issue or a politician.
Y: 哎，Jody，我突然想到，grassroots campaign這個說法是怎麼來的呢？
J: Oh, you know, I was curious about the origin, or the roots, haha, get
it? Grassroots...anyway. I was curious about that myself. So let's have
Michael help us out again.
實錄3 Michael Briggs: My understanding of it is that grass has roots that
are very broad, and they're not very deep but they broad. The way grass
grows is it sends its roots out and then sprouts and those sprouts send
more and more roots out. So it's about a chain reaction or a growing web
of people that over time come to life.
Y: 中文裡的“grassroots”就是草根的意思。草的生命力很旺盛，它的根部蔓延得
很快，用這個詞來形容這種基層群眾活動非常形象。另外，Michael說的chain reaction就
是連鎖反應的意思。
J: The more people you reach out to, the more people they reach out to,
and so on, and so on and so on. I'd say that joining a grassroots campaign
is the best to empower yourself.
Y:你說得沒錯。這種親身參與確實有一種鼓舞人心的力量。
J: That's why a woman named Catayune joined a grassroots campaign to elect
a political candidate.
實錄4 Catayune: My name is Catayune and I live in Washington DC. I grew
up in Ohio. Grassroots campaign helps me because it means that ideas and
emphasis and energy comes up from the grassroots, from everyday citizens.
So it helps empower everyday citizens to really have a voice in national
politics.
Y: 你覺不覺得今天我們采訪的這幾個人他們都強調群眾參與，每個公民都應該發出
自己的聲音這樣一種概念，這也正是群眾運動的意義所在。
J: Well, what do you think, Yang Chen. Joining a big group of people and
fighting for the same common goal doesn't it sound exciting?
Y: 嗯，太讓人激動了。
J: You don't sound very 激動了. Come on let's go join everyone and take
part in the grassroots campaign.
Y: 那就走吧，還等什麼呢？
J: Thanks for joining us on American Cafe. We gotta go! See ya!
[/size]
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
Powerball Lottery
[size=12px]
<<按此下載第8課錄音>>
Y:大家好, 我是楊晨! 歡迎您到美語咖啡屋!
J: Hello and welcome to American Cafe! I'm Jody. Here, Yang Chen. I bought you something. An instant Lottery Ticket. See, you scratch off the surface to see if you have won. Let me do mine first. (scratch, scratch) Come on Lady Luck! Make me a winner! (scratch, scratch) Damn! Nothing.
Y: Hmm, 好象幸運女神不太喜歡你。
J: I guess not. Well, you try yours and see how you do.
Y: 好，我來試試我的運氣。(scratch, scratch) 哇! 我贏了五塊錢!
J: What! Let me see that. You won five bucks! I think I gave you the wrong ticket. I think I gave you mine. Can I have it back?
Y: No way!
J: Now, what would really be exciting is if you won the BIG Lottery.
Y: 你說的好多州一起辦的那個超級樂透獎,對不對？
J: Yes. That's right! The POWERBALL!
(Enter sharp lightning crack)
Y: 這個聲音好恐怖啊！
J: What our listeners may not know but a well-timed lightning bolt sound is meant to signify the mysterious, the awesome, like the POWERBALL!!!
(Enter sharp lightning crack)
Y:好了，好了，我現在已經感受到超級樂透的威力了。現在你這個音響效果可不可以停止了呢？
J: Okay. No more lightning bolts. For a while.
Y: 可是，我們是不是先來解釋lottery這個詞，然後再發揮你的音響效果。
J: Let's do. The Lottery is gambling. It's a drawing of numbers. And you have to get all six numbers right AND pick the right number as the Powerball to win.
Y: 噢，對，Lottery是以買彩票或獎券的方式進行賭博。
J: The jackpot recently is really high: $210 million!
Y: 哇! 兩億一千萬美元!! 啊，我要昏倒了。
J: That's right, Sister! You go ahead and faint. The night before the drawing, I stopped at my neighborhood store and there was a line of about 50 people waiting to buy their lottery tickets. Here's some on-site interviews of people actually buying their lottery tickets.
Here's Carl from Miami...
實錄1 Carl: Lottery ticket is a gambling format for a winning of a ticket for $210 million.
J: $ 250 million. What are the odds that you can win?
Carl: one in 250 million, I think.
J: So why are you here?
Carl: Someone's gotta win, that's basically it. The chances are low, but someone does have to win.
Y: 他剛才提到一個詞“odds”，我看我們需要先給大家解釋一下。
J: Sure. O-D-D-S. You know, your chances of winning. What are your odds of winning? But for this lottery, the odds were 1 in 250 million.
Y: 那麼這裡就是說贏得機律是1比2億5千萬。
J: So the odds are very low. And this woman Susan had a very funny way of describing how she views her odds and why she still plays.
Y: 好，我們聽聽Susan的見解。
實錄2 Susan: Your have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than you do of winning the lottery. However, people do get hit by lightning. So it does make sense to give it a try.
J: So, you're willing to risk a couple of dollars and see if you can win the jackpot.
Susan: Yes!
J: See! She mentioned the word "lightning!"
(Enter sharp lightning crack)
Y: 你知道嗎，你聽起來象個巫婆一樣。
J: Okay. Now, get serious, Yang Chen. You know, after I started interviewing people they all started talking about the big "what if?" You know what if I win?
Y: 就是，我都替他們發愁。如果贏了，那麼多錢怎麼花呀？
J: Here's what Susan had to say.
Y: 好吧, 我們來聽聽Susan的宏偉計劃。
實錄3 Susan: Well, that's what everyone always thinks as they're waiting in line ... "What would they do if they won." And of course, the first thing you think is quit your job and buy all those things that are on your list, that you wanted to get...you know...
J: Another woman, Olivia from New Orleans, Louisiana, said that after she paid off her and her family's debt she would give some of her winnings to charities.
實錄4 Olivia: I would definitely donate some to charity, because there are a lot of good courses. And pay off all my debts, my mother's debts, my sister's debts and travel.
Y: 每個人都那麼說。如果贏了以後先把工作辭了，然後買下所有以前買不起的東西，還要捐一部份給慈善機構。
J: Well, that's what they say before they win. I don't know what they say after they win.
Y: 好，我們的時間到了。謝謝大家收聽美語咖啡屋。
J: Yeah! Thanks for joining us today at American Cafe. I certainly enjoyed talking with you about the American tradition of the...
Y: Stop it, Jody! 如果你再讓我聽到...
J: ...POWERBALL!!
(Enter sharp lightning crack)[/size]
[ 本帖最後由 RedSun 於 2006-12-9 13:26 編輯 ]
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
Brunch
[size=12px] <<按此下載第9課錄音>>
Y: 大家好，我是楊晨。歡迎您光臨美語咖啡屋。
J: Hello and welcome to American Cafe. My name's Jody! Hey Yang Chen I am having Brunch this weekend with some friends. Do you have time to come join us?
Y: 好啊。不過這次可不會象上次那樣一吃就吃四個鐘頭吧。
J: Oh, but that's the whole point of Brunch. After a long workweek, a nice long Brunch is the perfect end to the weekend! And as a matter of fact the meal is so long and so relaxing that it is a combination of breakfast and lunch. It's spelled B-R-U-N-C-H.
Y: 你說的到是有道理。既然brunch是把早飯和午飯合並在一起，那麼當然時間就應該長點了。不過說起來brunch這個詞不好把它翻成中文呢。我看聽眾朋友喜歡怎麼叫它就怎麼叫它什麼吧。或者干脆就用英文brunch。
J: Hey Yang Chen, remember we talked to Edina, the manager of the restaurant where we had Brunch last time.
Y: 沒錯，我們來聽聽Edina給brunch下的定義。
實錄1 Edina：Brunch is a very special time in American life. It's a time where after a very busy workweek a family or friends have time to actually sit down and enjoy their meal.
Y: 下面我們就讓講一講他們的顧客最喜歡點什麼菜。
實錄2 Edina：It's usually French toast, pancakes, omelets, lots of eggs.
Y: 你記不記得我那天就點了omelettes，煎蛋餅，非常好吃。French toast是一種炸面包片，也很受歡迎。哎，你會作嗎？
J: Oh, I make a wonderful French toast.
Y:不過我很好奇，它為什麼叫French toast，和法國有關嗎？
J: I don't think so. We have French fries and French toast 跟法國沒有什麼關系。
Y: 你說人們是不是只有在周末才會吃brunch呢？
J: Most definitely! And it's usually on Sunday after, you know, you go out with your friends and party a little, have a couple drinks, listen to music.
Y:人們在周末都愛睡懶覺，早上一起來早飯的時間就已經過了，那麼乾脆把兩頓飯合在一起，尤其在星期天，很多人在星期六晚上已經狂歡了一整夜，星期天和朋友享受一頓美味的brunch，的確是很開心。
J: Remember we spoke with a group of people who were out having Brunch after a fun night together on the town together.
Y: 我們上次碰到的一個女孩Kristine，她是這麼說的：
實錄3 Kristine: Brunch tradition is usually, I feel, the nice end of weekend to start off the new week. Nice comforting feeling. Usually very relaxed and laidback, late in the afternoon and really just a nice cap to the whole weekend and it is a chance to catch up on, on the week, I think, too.
Y: Kristine 提到了幾個很好的詞，比如"relaxed," "laidback" ，都有休息，放松的意思。
J: And brunch is definitely a laidback and relaxed meal, because, you know, if you go out drinking the night before you may be a little bit tired the next day.
Y：那人們在吃brunch的時候會喝酒嗎？
J: Not everyone. But many people do. In fact, restaurants on their menu, include two particular drinks. You can choose to have either a Mimosas, a mixture of orange juice and champagne or a Bloody Mary, which is a little bit of vodka and tomato juice with spices.
Y: 對，可是喝了酒是不是更覺得沒精神呢？
J: No, not really. It's just a small amount of alcohol to take off the edge.
Y: 我曾經聽過這麼一個習慣用語，叫 "the hair of the dog that bit you."
J: Ha! I can't believe you know that! That is the perfect idiom. "The hair of the dog that bit you" is exactly right. Here's Edina to explain.
實錄4 Edina: If you have a weekend to yourself most people go out. You go out Friday night or you go out Saturday night. You enjoy alcohol and you drink as much as you want. You wake up and still have the that sort of taste of the night before. So, something like a Mimosa will give you that sense back. That's what the hair of the dog, the dog is the night before, and the hair is the memories.
Y: 這個習慣用語很難解釋。
J: "Hair of the dog that bit you" ... I'm having trouble to explain it too!
Y: 我想可不可以這麼打個比方呢，就是說你星期六徹夜的狂歡，灌了一肚子烈性酒，就好像你被一只大狗咬了一口。到第二天早上還有點暈暈呼呼的，那麼你呢就少喝一點點酒，好像這樣能幫助你恢復正常。那麼這一點點酒就好象你從狗身上拔的一根毛一樣。
J: I think that's a good explanation. You just need a little hair though. Thanks for joining us on American Cafe!
Y: 好，我們今天的時間到了，歡迎您下次再到美語咖啡屋。再見!
[/size]
Posts: 141
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
10 Scuba Diving
[size=12px]
<<按此下載第10課錄音>>
Y: 各位聽眾好，我是楊晨，歡迎您到美語咖啡屋。
J: Hello I'm Jody and welcome to American Cafe. Hey, Yang Chen, guess what this sound is.
(Enter breathing sounds)
Y: 噢，聽不大出來，好象是有人打電話惡作劇，是不是？
J: No, no, no! It's not an obscene phone call. It's is the sound of scuba diving.
Y: Scuba diving? 潛水，那一定很好玩吧。哎， Jody, 我一直想學潛水，但是我很怕水。
J: Well, if you want to study scuba diving you better get over that.
Y: 說到scuba diving，我就想到要全副武裝，背著那個很重潛水設備。太難了吧。
J: Well, the next time the Scuba Tour comes around you should try it!
Y: Scuba Tour是什麼呢？潛水不是要到那種熱帶或者是靠近海洋的旅游勝地嗎？
J: Oh, that's the special thing about the Scuba Tour ... it comes to you! When I went to a Health and Fitness Exposition at the DC convention center. There, they had a Scuba Tour. But, let's hear from Scott Evans who was a member of the Scuba Tour to find out what it is.
實錄1 Scott Evans: My name is Scott Evans. We're at the D.C. Convention Center doing the Scuba Tour, which is an experience for non-divers to discover Scuba, basically.
Y: Scuba Tour就是到不同的地方舉辦活動，教那些初學者體驗潛水的樂趣。這到真是個好主意。
J: Oh, it's a brilliant especially if you're in the Scuba business. The Scuba Tour brings it to people who may not have the chance to try it! Here's another diver named John talking about why the Scuba Tour is important.
實錄2 John: My name is John, I'm from the Dive Shop in Fairfax, Virginia. There's always people who have always wanted to try it and that's one of the nicest things about an event like this is that they have a chance to try it in a non-threatening environment.
Y: 嗯，太棒了。通過這樣的活動能讓大多數人不出遠門就能學習潛水。
J: Exactly! And I think when John mentioned non-threatening that is really important. The Scuba Tour brought the pool, the equipment, but not the sharks.
Y: 沒錯。雖然Jody剛才提到有鯊魚是有點嚇唬人，不過第一次學潛水就到海裡的確是很驚險，游泳池當然讓人覺得安全多了。你那天去的時候人很多嗎？
J: Oh, there were many people waiting in line to try out scuba diving.
Y: 哎，說了半天我們是不是先給大家解釋Scuba這個詞是怎麼來的？
J: Well, first we should that Scuba is an acronym. S-C-U-B-A. And it stands for something. Here's John Harmon to give us an explanation.
實錄3 John Harmon: Okay, my name is John Harmon and SCUBA stands for self-contained, underwater, breathing apparatus.
Y: Scuba這個詞在中文裡就是水肺，是一種幫助人在水下呼吸的設備。
J: The self-contained, underwater, breathing apparatus or scuba equipment, allows you to stay underwater, like a fish.
Y: 那我們來形容一下它的樣子好嗎？
J: Let's have John explain the specific equipment used for scuba diving.
實錄4 John Harmon: And basically what that consists of is some equipment, which is a tank which contains air; a regulator, which actually is the apparatus that we breathe...to deliver air from the tank to our mouths and a vest which actually allows us to sink under water or float to the surface.
Y: 聽他這麼一說，這種潛水設備挺嚇人的，又是氧氣罐，又是呼吸器，還得穿上潛水背心。
J: Oh, exactly. Well think about it. You're going underwater. You need good equipment. There's the air tank, the regulator, that delivers the air from the tank, and the vest for floating or sinking and, Yang Chen, don't forget about the wetsuit. Trusting the equipment for breathing is the hardest thing for a scuba student to learn.
Y: 沒錯，我覺得對我來說，最難做到的大概就是對你的設備感到放心，特別是在深水裡，萬一出現意外情況該怎麼辦呢？
J: Exactly! Your life depends on it. So, let's hear what George had to stay.
實錄5 George：You gotta learn to trust the equipment and that's probably the biggest thing for students is to trust the equipment. The equipment is high performance. This is life support equipment.
Y: 我完全同意George的話。
J: I know. Even though he says it's high-performance, life support equipment, I would still be nervous.
Y: 哎，等一等，你說你也會nervous。那說了半天，你自己也不敢下水啊？
J: Well, see the line was really long, Yang Chen. And I wanted to try it... but you know...
Y: 好了， 好了，你不用解釋了，反正我知道你沒敢下水就是了。
J: Possibly. Okay, thanks for joining us on American Cafe. That's all the time we have for today.
Y: 好， 謝謝大家收聽，我們下次節目再見。
[/size]
|
