Donny代班!

A:大家好！我是杨琳！Jessica, 你刚从中国回来，怎么样，这次玩儿的不错吧？

B:The trip was terrific! 有意思的事情可多了，我待会儿慢慢给你讲。

A:好！那咱们先来说说今天节目要教的内容吧。

B:Sure! 今天，我们要聊聊好朋友一起组乐队的事儿, 要告诉大家在公司会议上如何才能有效地表达自己的意见，要看看骑自行车有什么讲究, 还要告诉大家怎么用美语说“幕后”和“放我一马”。

A:不过在讲这些之前，咱们还是先花一分钟，学一个词！

Learn A Word cope with

今天我们要学的词是cope with. Cope is spelled c-o-p-e, cope; and with, w-i-t-h, with; cope with. To cope with处理，对付。挪威7月22日发生致命袭击事件后，The country is struggling to cope with the tragedy. 整个国家努力应对这场悲剧。金融危机期间，A lot of companies are trying to cut positions to cope with losses from slow sales. 很多公司通过裁员来应付销售疲软。美国官员最近说，Washington is confident that Iraqi forces can cope with the challenges their country is facing after U.S. forces withdraw. 美国撤军后，伊拉克部队能应付伊拉克面对的挑战，美国政府对此有信心。好的， 今天我们学习的词是cope with, cope with, cope with.

A:Jessica，你这次去了中国好几个城市，肯定没少坐飞机。我听说现在飞机晚点挺严重的，So how did you cope with flight delays and cancellations?

B:Well. I just try to be patient and understanding.

A:啊？合着你就是逆来顺受啊！

B:What else can I do? 我又不能自己开飞机！

A:这倒也是，而且航空公司改变飞机行程的原因很多，比如天气，空中管制，机械故障什么的。有时候就连它们自己也控制不了飞机起飞的时间。

B:That's right. So I'd rather lay back and not ask what's going on behind the scenes.

A:既然你说到"behind the scenes," 那我们下面就来讲讲这个短语的意思。

B:请听 words and idioms.

Words and Idioms:Behind the scenes

各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 938讲。我是杨琳。<美国习惯用语>

我是 Douglas Johnson.

我们社区委员会上周末举行选举，结果，一个默默无闻的人当上了委员会主席。后来我听说，这个人在选举前一直在家里办宴会，把好多委员请去吃饭，拉关系，拉选票。这让我想到了一个习惯用语，那就是：

Behind the scenes. Behind is spelled b-e-h-i-n-d, and scenes; s-c-e-n-e-s. Behind the scenes.

Behind the scenes 是“幕后”的意思。我们社区委员会的选举就是这样，候选人请委员会成员吃饭，说服他们把票投给自己，可我们这些普通居民根本不知道这些事情。It was done behind the scenes. 这事是瞒着大家，暗中进行的。

在下面这段话中我们要谈到一个叫Wikileaks的组织，中文叫维基泄密。它到底泄露了那些秘密呢？我们来听一听：

M:"WikiLeaks is an international organization that publishes secret information from a variety of unnamed sources. Its release of several pages of sensitive e-mails from U.S. diplomats caused a lot of concern. Many in the government claim that such communications should remain private. They warn that it could harm national security and international relations to let the public learn what goes on BEHIND THE SCENES. "

这段话是说：[维基泄密是一个国际组织，专门公开来自各种匿名渠道的秘密信息。这个组织向公众泄露了长达数页的美国外交官收发的电子邮件的内容，这些敏感的信息引发了很多人的关注。许多政府人士说，这些邮件的内容不应该曝光。他们警告说，让公众了解到政府私下里进行的活动会给国家安全和国际关系带来伤害。]

不过从另外一方面说，公众是有知情权的。我们不是用“无事不可对人言”来形容行为磊落，心胸坦荡的人么？好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

M:"WikiLeaks is an international organization that publishes secret information from a variety of unnamed sources. Its release of several pages of sensitive e-mails from U.S. diplomats caused a lot of concern. Many in the government claim that such communications should remain private. They warn that it could harm national security and international relations to let the public learn what goes on BEHIND THE SCENES. "

我们常说“没有不透风的墙”。如果不想让别人知道你的秘密，唯一的办法就是不要把这个秘密告诉别人，不管是写信、电子邮件还是打电话、聊天。下面这个例句就证明了这一点，我们来听一听：

M:"Whenever players on the team were interviewed, they expressed their admiration and support for Coach Green. BEHIND THE SCENES, however, they complained bitterly about his lack of experience. Soon enough, their dislike of him became well-known. That's when fans called for the Coach to resign."

这段话是说：[队员们在接受采访时，总是表达他们对格林教练的敬仰和支持。可是，在背后，他们总是非常不满地抱怨这位教练缺乏经验。很快，队员们对教练的反感就变得尽人皆知了。于是，球迷们要求教练下课。]

behind the scenes 还可以放在一起当形容词用，表示幕后的，后台的。比如 A behind the scenes look at a fashion show, 时装秀的后台情况，a behind the scenes video of how a car is manufactured 揭密汽车制造过程的录像。好，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

M: "Whenever players on the team were interviewed, they expressed their admiration and support for Coach Green. BEHIND THE SCENES, however, they complained bitterly about his lack of experience. Soon enough, their dislike of him became well-known.. That's when fans called for the Coach to resign."

各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是behind the scenes，意思是“不公开的，幕后的”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，

B:杨琳，这次我去中国，通过朋友介绍，去参观了茅台酒公司！I got to see some really interesting behind-the-scenes work at the company's brewery.

A:啊？你看到了茅台酒不为人知的酿造过程？怎么样？学会了没有？能在你们家做出点儿茅台么？

B:别闹了，我哪有这本事！不过话说回来，去茅台酒厂参观后，My friend treated me to a nice dinner!

A:那肯定少不了请你喝茅台喽！

B:没错！I love 茅台，but it's too strong for me! 我可不想喝醉！

A:哈哈！那你只能求大家，在酒桌上放你一马啦！

B:对！咱们继续听节目，看看“放你一马”用美语怎么说！

How to say it:let someone off the hook

Jessica 在北京学汉语，她的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教她。今天是吴琼要问的是：放我一马。

Jessica:吴琼, let's hit the gym tonight!

WQ:哎哟，我上次做瑜珈的时候差点把脖子拉伤！你就放我一马吧！对了，这在美语里该怎么说呢？

Jessica:You want me to let you off the hook again? Uh-uh, 我每次叫你，你都推三挡四的，这次绝对不行！

WQ:哦，放我一马就是 let me off the hook. Jessica, could you please let me off the hook? just this once? I'm begging you!

Jessica:That's really cute, but NO, you HAVE to come with me. You're not getting off the hook this time.

WQ:瑜珈真不是我强项，要不，咱们还是去打网球吧？上次打网球，我轻而易举就打败你了！I beat you......

Jessica:Yeah, you beat me hands down! I do recall!

WQ:刚想问你轻而易举怎么说，原来是 hands down! Yes, I beat you hands down last time! 我把你打败，让你输得五体投地！

Jessica:Fine, we'll find a sport that we both like.

WQ:好啊，快走吧，再不走数学课就要迟到了！

Jessica:数学课啊。。。All of a sudden I'm not feeling well.

WQ:啊? 怎么突然不舒服? 你是不是又想翘课 escape....escape....

Jessica:Wuqiong, 翘课英语是 play hooky，H-O-O-K-Y, hooky, play hooky, 翘课！

WQ:Well, you shouldn't play hooky! Let's go.

Jessica:Do I really have to go? It's so boring.....

WQ:Yes, you do, and I am not letting you off the hook!

Jessica:Okay, let's see what you've learned today.

第一，放我一马是let someone off the hook；

第二，形容轻而易举是 hands down；

第三，翘课是play hooky！

B:Unfortunately my host in China refused to let me off the hook.

A:Did you get wasted? 你是不是喝多了？

B:可不，没两杯我就趴下了。That was hands down one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

A:喝趴下不丢人！我以前逃学被老师抓到，那才丢人呢！

B:I can't believe you played hooky! 你不是好学生吗？

A:就那么一次！我最好的朋友自己组了个乐队在酒吧表演，我去捧场，只好逃了一次课，谁知......

B:你也够讲义气的！好了，咱们来听听下面的这个“美语三级跳”吧，讲的就是组乐队！

GoEnglish:Music─beginner

各位听众，大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“音乐”单元的初级课程。

Winnie:Ernie和Beth是大学同学，俩人想组个乐队。 不过，他们要先了解一下彼此的音乐口味是否相同。

Professor:So, let's find out what kind of music they like.

Ernie:So Beth, what kind of music do you listen to?

Beth:I listen to a lot of hip hop. What about you?

Ernie:I mostly listen to pop music, but I like a lot of different stuff.

Beth:Yes, me too. I mostly listen to hip hop, but there are many genres of music I like.

Professor:So Winnie, did you hear the music genres each of them likes?

Winnie:Professor Bowman, 我正想问您，"genre"是什么意思啊？

Professor:It means "style" or "kind." For example, you can say a "music genre" or a "movie genre."

Winnie:噢，原来 "genre" g-e-n-r-e就是类型，流派的意思。这么说，Beth 常听的是"hip hop"，也就是嘻哈音乐。而Ernie常听 "pop," 流行乐。Hmm ... 我觉得他们的口味差得挺远的。

Professor:But are those the only kinds of music they listen to?

Winnie:那倒不是。他们俩人都喜欢很多其它类型的音乐，也许还是能找到共同之处的。

Professor:Well, let's see. In the next section listen for the phrase "to get into something," which means to start to like something.

Ernie:How did you get into hip hop?

Beth:Well, all my friends listen to it, so I became a big fan too.

Ernie:Who is your favorite hip hop artist?

Beth:I'm a big fan of Snoop Dogg.

Professor:Winnie, why does Beth like hip hop?

Winnie:她说，她喜欢上嘻哈乐是因为她的朋友都爱听这种音乐。而且，她还是 Snoop Dogg “史努比狗狗”的粉丝。我可不喜欢 Snoop Dogg，我觉得他早就过时了。

Professor:Well, even though you don't like him, Snoop Dogg is still popular. Now let's find out why Ernie likes pop music.

Beth:What about you, Ernie? How did you get into pop music?

Ernie:Well I always hear it on the radio, so I started to get into it.

Beth:Yeah, if something is on the radio it must be really good.

Ernie:I totally agree!

Professor:So did you hear how Ernie got into pop music, Winnie?

Winnie:他呀，是因为老听广播里播的流行歌曲，所以就喜欢上了。要让我说啊，他跟Beth都没有什么音乐鉴赏能力，只会跟着别人走，人云亦云。

Professor:So if they started a band, you wouldn't go to see them?

Winnie:肯定不会！不过，我们还是先来听听他们喜欢什么乐队吧！

Beth:What are the pop groups that you like?

Ernie:Oh, there are so many good ones! I loved the Spice Girls. They were so cool!

Beth:I agree! I cried for a week when they broke up.

Ernie:I was really sad too, but at least I can still listen to their CDs.

Winnie:什么什么？ Ernie 最喜欢的乐队居然是辣妹组合！他们俩的音乐品味还真是有问题。不过，Professor Bowman, 一个乐队难道也能像情侣那样 "break up", 分手么？

Professor:Yes. When a band decides not to play together anymore, you can say it "broke up."

Winnie:我明白了，break up 在这里是 “解散”的意思。难道Ernie 就没想到，辣妹组合解散是因为她们太烂吗？

Professor:I don't know ... some of their songs were good.

Winnie:Wait, professor Bowman, 难道你也是她们的粉丝？

Professor:Of course not! I was ... uh ... just listening to some of their songs to prepare for this class.

Winnie:Sure ...

Beth:You know Ernie, it seems we both like the same artists.

Ernie:Yes, we do. I think we have the same musical tastes.

Beth:But if we're going to start a band, we have to be able to sing and dance. Can you do that?

Ernie:I'm not a very good singer, but I'm a really great dancer! I love hip hop dancing.

Beth:Great! I'll sing, and you can dance in our band.

Professor:Winnie, is Ernie a better singer or dancer?

Winnie:他说自己歌唱得一般，可舞跳得特别棒。不过，我看Beth和Ernie的音乐品味都不怎么样，肯定没人去看。

Professor:Well, we'll have to listen next time to find out!

A:看来，Ernie and Beth have the same music tastes. 喜欢相同的音乐，这就是他们组乐队的理由。

B:Although their tastes are questionable....

A：是，他们喜欢的东西太大众化了，没新意。对了，JESSICA, what genre of music do you like?

B:当然是摇滚──rock and roll了！在北京那会儿， I got to see a Chinese rock band's performance. Those guys were so talented!

A:没看出来啊，在你斯文的外表下隐藏着一颗rocker的心....

B:嗯？你是在夸我还是在损我？

A:这个你自己慢慢体会吧。下面咱们来听听“礼节美语”，看如何在公司会议上有效地发表意见。

Business Etiquette:Get your point across

Amanda在走廊遇到Sarah，Sarah显得很沮丧。

A:Hey Sarah, are you all right? You look upset.

S:As a matter of fact, I am a bit upset. I just came out of a meeting and it didn't go very well.

A:What happened?

S:No one would listen to any of my suggestions. Instead, they just kept arguing with each other.

A:Who was chairing the meeting?

S:Bob.

A:Well, I can tell you from experience that Bob might come off a little strong sometimes.

S:That's exactly what happened! He kept interrupting everyone with his own suggestions and did not want to hear what others had to say. Then he expected everyone to agree with him.

原来，Sarah不高兴是因为刚才开会时，没人愿意听她的建议。Amanda说，根据她的经验，主持会议的 Bob有时会显得过于强硬，come off a little too strong。come off 是表现出，显得的意思。Sarah 说没错，开会时Bob不停地打岔，kept interrupting everyone. Interrupt is spelled i-n-t-e-r-r-u-p-t, interrupt, interrupt指打断别人的谈话。Amanda说，

A:What was the meeting about?

S:We were trying to come up with ideas to streamline the office's workflow to make it more efficient.

A:It's ironic that the meeting was anything but efficient.

S:Exactly. I had tons of ideas that I wanted to share, but they just wouldn't let me finish. What should I have done to get my point across?

这次开会目的是讨论如何简化工作流程，streamline the office's workflow. streamline意思是精简，目的是提高效率，make it more efficient. workflow是工作流程。Sarah问Amanda, What should I have done to get my point across? 我该怎么做才能把我的想法传递给别人呢？to get something across在这里意思是把自己的想法告诉给别人。Amanda有什么好建议吗？

A:You have to keep things short and sweet. When you get a chance to speak, try not to get into too many unnecessary details.

S:Short and sweet? But what if I have to explain something complicated?

A:You can always bring up the main points during the meeting and speak to those who are directly involved after the meeting. Not everyone needs to know all that information.

S:That's a good idea, I think I will try that at the next meeting.

Amanda告诉Sarah, 话要说得 short and sweet。Short and sweet 是个习惯用语，意思是简单明了。Amanda建议，开会的时候，应该拣主要的说， bring up the main points, 不用加太多不必要的细节，unnecessary details. 这样别人才会比较容易了解并接受她的意见。

A:很多人可能都有跟Sarah类似经历，明明有一肚子好建议，but nobody would listen to you, 但没人听你说， It's hard to get your point across. 很难让别人把你的想法听进去。

B:Amanda suggested Sarah keep her words short and sweet to make the best use of her chance to speak in a meeting.

A:对，在会上有机会发言，就必须把话说得简单明了，这样别人才会有兴趣，听得进去。

B:好了！下面咱们轻松一下，聊聊骑车。Let's listen to American Sports English.

American sports English:Cycling

Y:Wow Patrick, look at you.

P:Why are you looking at me like that? Is there anything wrong with my outfit?

Y:It's too tight. 在办公室穿这么紧的衣服。Aiyaya.

P:Yang Chen. For your information I'm training for cycling race. These clothes make me more visible and cut on wind resistance. You know, 减少阻力。

Y:Ah cycling，你在训练骑自行车。

P:I'm training to get faster. Do you ride a bike?

Y:Yes I do. 谁不会骑自行车?

P:So you ride a bike. Are you any good?

Y:I'm OK. 不过我骑车是为了get around ， 当交通工具， not for a race， 不是为了参加比赛。Unless I'm going to get lunch, then I'm unbeatable.

P:I wouldn't want to get in your way then.

Y:哎，你训练要用什么样的自行车啊?

P:I ride a 10-speed road-bike. That means it has two gears on the front and five on the back to make it easier to pedal.

Y:前面两个档，后面五个。我的自行车只有三个档，only three gears.

P:For going slow, slower and slowest?

Y:Oh, very funny. Who asked for a comedian?

Anyway, 你今天训练得怎么样?

P:It was pretty good, but I dropped my chain.

Y:Dropped your chin? 下巴掉下来了?

P:No, not my chin, C-H-I-N, I dropped my chain, C-H-A-I-N, the chain on the bicycles' gears came off of its track, which meant I had to stop and get it back on.

Y:你的自行车链子掉下来了。

所以你修自行车修得浑身是油。

P:Yes, the bike chain is pretty greasy.

Y:And dirty. When is your race?

P:Next week, you should come watch.

Y:我会去的。不过，Don't drop your chin, I mean, chain.

B:杨琳，中国以前不是被称为“自行车王国”嘛？不过这次我发现，大城市里骑车的人比以前少多了。

A:是啊，现在汽车多，公交地铁发达，骑自行车的人越来越少了。也许有一天，在北京骑车也要像美国似的，穿上紧身衣，戴上头盔，还来个10-speed road bike. 好了，今天的节目时间差不多了。这次的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

B:Bye!