Modern English 洋话连篇（八十七）_洋话连篇
michael是一个在纽约上大学的美国年轻人，他经常跟中国李华一起玩。michael向李华学中文，李华向michael学。michael正在准备考试，有很多功课要做，但是李华要他出去休息休息，两人约好下午在动物园见面。他们在对话中会用这两个词：all-nighter和cram。
l:嗨，michael.我在这儿！
m: hey, li hua. oh, the elephant house, let's go in and take a look.
l:噢，那是大象馆啊？好，进去看看。不行，不行，这儿太臭了。走吧！
m: oh, yeah. let's get out of here. in fact, i've got a lot of studying to do. i'm going to need to pull an all-nighter.
l:我知道你有很多功课，但是你在准备考试的时候也总得休息休息嘛。我听说这次考试会很难。你刚才说all-nighter是不是开夜车的意思呀？
m: yeah, that's what i meant. li hua, you're smart!
l:我是猜出来的，all的意思是整个，全部，nighter和night很像。我想一个人要整夜学习，那不就是开夜车吗？但是，有一点我不太懂，你说：to pull an all-nighter，什么是pull ?
m: pull means to get yourself through a difficult time.
l:噢，pull an all-nighter，就是迫使自己整夜念书，因为要这样做是很辛苦的。
m: yep. you wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter because you have been studying all semester, i haven't been.
l:这你可说对了。我不需要开夜车，因为我整个一学期都在学习。你要开夜车，因为你平时不学习。
m: i know, i know, you're a better student than i am.
l: michael,我真喜欢纽约的秋天，空气很清新。你要是能跟我一起玩，不用回去念书，那该多好啊！
m: i don't want to go study either, but i should.
l:对啊，你要是上星期多花点时间念书不就好了嘛。现在你得临时抱佛脚了。
m: i perform better on tests when i cram.
l: cram? cram是把什么东西塞进去的意思，跟学习有什么关系呢？
m: well, it's sort of the same meaning. i'm going to do a lot of studying at the last minute, that's what it means to cram.
l:意思差不多？噢，我知道了！cram就是我们中文里说的填鸭式方法，就是硬把食品塞给鸭子吃，这样鸭子就长得肥。北京烤鸭就是用这种鸭子做的。你说的cram是临时抱佛脚，在考试前猛记猛背，把知识往脑子里塞。你还认为这是好办法？
m: well, everyone's different. cramming works for me.
l:你认为临时抱佛脚对你来说行得通。可是，michael，想把半学期的内容在一个晚上记住，这样做可真傻。
m: stop being my mother, li hua!
l:我才不想当你妈呢，你不听我的话，那就算了。michael, cram这个词是否还能用在别的场合呢？
m: not really. it's only used to describe studying for a test, usually college or high-school level.
l:噢，只能指大学生或中在考试前开夜车，临时抱佛脚。
m: and that's what i need to do, right now. it's getting late and i know i will have to pull an all-nighter.
l:好吧，我明天早上给你打电话。
m: no, don't worry about me, i'm sure i will still be cramming.
l:哟，你还准备开夜车开到天亮呐？ok, well, good luck!
今天李华向michael学了两个常用语，一个是：all-nighter,意思是开夜车；另一个是：cram,这是指中学生或大在考试前临时抱佛脚。