A: 欢迎大家来到这期的美语训练班! 我是杨琳!

B: 我是Mike! 杨琳,来说说咱们今天都要学什么吧!

A: Sure! 今天,我们要一起看看如何保证网络安全,学学怎么表达运转异常,还要告诉你势不可挡么怎么说!

B:Internet security is really an important topic right now. Last year some hackers used my credit card information to hack into my bank account ! I still don’t know how they did it because I had my credit card in my wallet the whole time!

A: I don’t understand how these hackers can be super smart computer geeks and still choose to be hackers! Why not go work for Microsoft and become a millionaire?

B: Some people are just hard to understand….

A: Like you…(B: ugh…)哈哈,好啦! 不开玩笑了! 现在,咱们赶快先来进入第一个单元,learn a word!

Learn A Word   1672 free of charge

今天我们要学的词是 free of charge, free is spelled free, of, of, charge, charge, charge, free of charge.  Free of charge 免费。The course is offered to students free of charge. 学生可以免费上这门课。Google’s VoIP phone service will remain free of charge within the U.S. and Canada in 2013.  2013年用户在美国和加拿大境内可以继续免费使用谷歌的网上电话服务。Gunrights advocates in Utah trained 200 teachers in handling concealed weapons free of charge. 尤他州的枪支权利捍卫者为200名老师免费提供了携带和使用隐匿武器的培训。好的,今天我们学习的词是 free of charge, free of charge, free of charge….

A: Free of charge, 免费! I heard dunkin donuts is giving out milk shakes free of charge, wanna go together after work?

B: Free drinks? Of course I’m in!

A: 我就知道有吃的你准来!

B: Oh wait…I forget I have to go to the gym with my gym buddy! I already promised him I would go today! Oh gosh, this just threw my plans out of kilter….

A: Out of kilter? That’s an interesting phrase! 咱们来听听今天的美国习惯用语,看看这个说法是什么意思!  

Words and Idioms  819 OUT OF KILTER

美国习惯用语第 819讲

在我们这儿,常常能看到路标,警告开车的人要小心,别撞上过马路的鹿。我以前还不相信,可昨天差点儿撞上一只,好在我反应快,一个急转弯,躲开了,鹿虽然没撞上,但是车轮定位却出现了问题,开起来总是打偏。这让我想起了一个习惯用语,那就是:

M: Out of kilter. Kilter is spelled kilter. Outofkilter. Out of kilter.

说什么东西 out of kilter, 就是指因为其组成部分彼此之间失去平衡,所以运转起来不正常。刚才说我为了躲开鹿,急转弯,结果方向盘打得太急,造成了车轮定位的失调,就可以说 The wheels are out of kilter. 让我们听听下面这个人回忆他小时候干过的淘气事。

M: “Once my friend managed to get his mom’s washing machine to spin around with me standing in it! That was fun until the washer started shaking violently. We got it so OUT OF KILTER that his dad had to have it repaired. Did we get in trouble for that!”
他说,有一次,我朋友让我站在他家的洗衣机里,然后居然开动了洗衣机,好玩极了,谁知后来洗衣机开始剧烈摇晃。我们把洗衣机弄得完全失调,他爸爸不得不拿去修理,可想而知,我们受到了多么严厉的惩罚。

在孩子眼里可能挺好玩,但是在大人看来,这太危险了。好在现在的大部分电器都有安全设置,不让小孩子进行这种危险的举动。很多人听到刚才那个例子,肯定会说,”Boys will be boys.” 男孩就是男孩。难道淘气真是男孩子的本性吗?

上个周末,我们一家本来说好了要开车到海边去玩,谁知星期六一大早下起了瓢泼大雨,完全打乱了我们的原定计划。Our schedule was thrown out of kilter. 好的,让我们再来听听上面那段话。

M: “Once my friend managed to get his mom’s washing machine to spin around with me standing in it! That was fun until the washer started shaking violently. We got it so OUT OF KILTER that his dad had to have it repaired. Did we get in trouble for that!”

大家肯定都知道,苹果和樱桃等水果都需要蜜蜂的授粉。我以前从来没怎么考虑过这个问题,直到不久前,忽然听说,美国的蜜蜂不见了。让我们一起来听听下面这个农业记者是怎么说的。

M: “Millions of bees in the U.S. have mysteriously died or disappeared. As a result, crops in 24 states have been severely thrown OUT OF KILTER. While scientists continue to search for answers, farmers wonder how long this disorder will last.”

这位记者报道说,美国数以百万计的蜜蜂都奇怪地死去或是消失了。这样一来,24个州的粮食作物的生长都出现了失常的现象。科研人员正在寻找问题的答案,而农民们想知道的是,这种情况还会持续多久。

我敢肯定,科学家们一定能够找到问题的答案。他们既然能发现,风向、洋流、地震,甚至是融雪,都能影响到地球的运转,那么屈屈一起蜜蜂失踪的小事情,肯定难不倒他们。好,我们再听一下上面的例句。

M: “Millions of bees in the U.S. have mysteriously died or disappeared. As a result, crops in 24 states have been severely thrown OUT OF KILTER. While scientists continue to search for answers, farmers wonder how long this disorder will last.”

说了半天,大家一定想知道,Kilter 这个字的意思。Kilter 的意思就是“良好的状态”。这个字的准确来源无法确定。有人说,Kilter 原来是指手里没用的废牌,也有人说,这个字跟砍或是打有关系。因此,out of kilter 也可以说成是 out of whack. 不论 kilter 这个词是怎么来的,大家需要记住的就是,out of Kilter 可以用来形容任何机械设备的失调,也可以用于某个系统、过程、机构、预算、或是日程的失常。

好的,这次美国习惯用语就到此结束了。我是杨晨,我是 Douglas Johnson。只有勤学苦练,才能不断进步。大家在学习过然b中,一定要注意准确理解和应用,这样才能保证你的英语不会 out of kilter.

M: Until next time.

下次节目再见。

M: This has been Words and Idioms.  

A:  说起out of kilter, 我觉得这个词最适合用来形容网络了! Remember last time the building’s Internet service was down? All our work got thrown out of kilter!

B: Yeah. 10 years ago, who could have imagine that Internet would play such a big role in our life? I mean, searching for information, managing your money….we are doing everything on the Internet!

A: That’s true. our social lives have even moved into cyberspace! I have such mixed feelings towards social media right now. While it’s super convenient and can connect people all around the world, once your information is out, it’s there forever! For example, I really don’t want Facebook to store all my personal information.

B: That’s why Internet security is so important! And…that’s the topic of today’s business etiquette. Let’s listen and see if we can learn some useful tips to protect ourselves on the Internet!

礼节美语BE219 Internet Security I

Dylan早上见到同事Cory和Brenda, 告诉他们公司出事了。

Dylan: Hey, Cory….did you hear about the breakin?

Cory: No! Burglars broke in? Did they steal anything valuable?

D: Actually, they might have gotten quite a bit of valuable information. But it wasn’t thieves, it was online hackers.

C: Ah, so somebody broke into our computer system! Oh, good morning, Brenda. Did you hear the news? There was a cyber attack!

B: Oh my! But I thought we had very strong Internet firewalls.

D: We do, but all it takes is one mistake and hackers can come pouring in like an invading army.

Dylan问同事Cory听没听说公司有人非法闯入breakin, 不过不是真的有人夜盗,而是 online hackers 网上的骇客。The hackers broke into our computer system. 骇客进入了公司的电脑系统,这也可以被称为 cyber attack. 尽管公司安装了 Internet firewalls 互联网防火墙,但是稍一疏忽大意,还是被骇客钻了空子。

B: Does the I.T. department have any idea how this happened?

D: It looks like the hackers got in from an unsecure corporate email account.

C: And then they loaded up a virus?

D: Not a virus, but they put spyware or malware into our system.

C: I’ve heard of spyware but what’s malware?

B: Malware is short for “malicious software.” Malware is any kind of software that is specially designed to infiltrate a computer system.

C: So spyware is a kind of malware.

公司电脑技术部门的调查显示,这次袭击是通过一个 unsecure email account 没加保密措施的电子邮箱偷偷安装的 spyware 或 malware. malware是 malicious software两个字连在一起产生的,spyware间谍软件是malware恶意软件的一种,都是破坏电脑安全的软件,目的是渗透进入电脑系统,infiltrate is spelled infiltrate, infiltrate, infiltrate 意思是渗透 。

B: Sometimes the malware follows each keystroke you make, and then sends the information back to the hacker.

D: Or, sometimes they install a program called a Trojan horse that steals data.

C: Do you think this cyber attack was instigated by one of our competitors?

D: I don’t want to point fingers, but it certainly could be. If a Trojan horse got into our mainframe it could download a lot of sensitive info about our company’s upcoming product launches.

B: Many companies do spy on each other….but of course, it’s illegal.

特洛伊木马程序 Trojan horse 也是骇客常用的一种程序,目的是盗取电脑系统里的数据。Brenda说,现在很多公司都 spy on each other 彼此展开电子间谍行动,那这次的骇客入侵是不是他们公司竞争对手干的呢?Dylan说,I don’t want to point fingers. 我不想指责谁,to point fingers at someone 是一种很形象的说法,意思是指责某人做某事,但是如果骇客真在他们公司的电脑系统里安装了特洛伊木马程序的话,就可能盗取很多 sensitive information 敏感的信息。

A: 原来,Brenda 和Dylan的公司遭到了cyber attack, 网络黑客袭击。黑客利用malware恶意软件, infiltrate the company’s system, 渗透了公司系统。这黑客真是高智商犯罪呀,随便动动手指头,就能让你好久的努力付诸流水!

B: Yeah, people are gradually realizing it now. After my bad banking experience, I’m really careful about giving out my personal information on the Internet. The more information the hackers have, the easier it is for them to hack into your system.

A:I guess setting strong password also helps.

B: Yep! Let’s see what Dylan and Brenda have to say about it!  

礼节美语BE220 Internet Security II

公司电脑系统遭到骇客入侵,Dylan跟同事Cory和Brenda一起讨论,Dylan说:

D: We may never be able to trace the origin of this attack. But what we can do is work harder to make our systems impenetrable.

B: Yes, a lot of people are quite lazy with computer security.

D: That’s true. For example, many people almost never change their passwords.

B: Or they use ridiculously easytoguess passwords.

C: Um….I guess I’m guilty of that. I don’t think I’ve ever changed my password.

Dylan说,他们可能永远都查不到这次骇客袭击是谁干的,但他们可以吃一堑长一智,加倍努力 to make our systems impenetrable. 让我们电脑系统的安全滴水不漏,impenetrable is spelled impenetrable, impenetrable 是无法进入的意思。Brenda说,很多人太大意,不重视电脑安全,从来不换密码,或是用的密码太简单。Cory说,I’m guilty of that. 我就是这种人,从不换密码。Dylan 说,

D: And let me guess…..your password is, “1234.”

C: Well, it’s not quite that simple….

B: Let me take a guess…. It’s your wife’s birthday.

C: That’s incredible! How did you guess that? Have you been spying on me?

B: (chuckle) Nope. It’s just that you selected one of the most common passwords on the planet. Are you a member of any social networking websites?

C: Yes, a couple.

B: Then your wife’s birthday is probably public knowledge.

D: That’s right! In the Internet age, very few things are private anymore. If I do a little research on you, I’ll bet I can find out where you were born, what school you went to, your wife’s maiden name….even the name of your dog!

Dylan和Brenda一下子就猜到了Cory的密码,原来他用的是太太的生日,one of the most common passwords on the planet 最常见的密码之一。由于Cory业余时间用社交网站,所以实际上,他太太的生日简直就是public knowledge 公开的信息。Dylan还说,在互联网和社交网站如此发达的今天,没有多少信息是真正保密的,稍微上网找一下,出生地,上过的学校,太太的名字等等都能找到。Cory说,

C: Wow, I hope I wasn’t responsible for this recent attack. What’s a good password then?

D: A good password uses a mixture of letters and numbers. For example, think of a simple sentence such as, “I like ice cream on Sundays.” Take the first letter from each word in the sentence….and, because Sunday is the first day of the week, add the number 1 at the end.

C: So my password would be, “ILICOS1?”

B: Yeah! That’s a pretty difficult password to break….and it’s easy to remember.

D: And….don’t forget to change it every couple of months.

C: Good thinking. I’m going to go change my password right now!

Dylan说,密码最好是用字母和数字的组合。他举例说,可以想一句话,I like ice cream on Sundays. 用这句话每个单词的首写字母,最后面再加个1,因为星期天是一周的第一天。这样的密码又好记,又难破译。Cory 高兴地说,他现在就去改密码。

A: What kind of password do you use, Mike?

B: I’m not going to tell you!

A: Let me guess….its’ the day you got your dog Sunny, right?

B: Stop it! And OMG, how do you know that! Now I’m going to have to go change my password right after the show….

A: Haha, My powers of deduction are unstoppable!

B: And…that’s what we are going to listen to in the next learn a word!

Learn A Word 1677 unstoppable

今天我们要学的词是 unstoppable, unstoppable is spelled unstoppable, unstoppable. Unstoppable 无法阻挡的。The Washington Redskins have won 7 games in a row. They’re unstoppable. 华盛顿美式足球红人队连赢七场比赛,势不可挡。Ever since the introduction of Apple’s iPad in 2010, tablets have been enjoying seemingly unstoppable growth. 自从2010年苹果首先推出iPad以来,平板电脑的发展突飞猛进。In the last few years, the acceptance of gay rights in America has been seemingly unstoppable. 过去几年里,美国社会对同性恋权利的认可度看起来势不可挡。好的,今天我们学习的词是 unstoppable, unstoppable, unstoppable….

A: 虽然大家总说iPhone 5这不好,那不好,可是买的人还是非常多!

B: Seems like that’s the case for all apple products. Once they have a new product, their sales always seem to unstoppable!.

A: 就是! 我这次回北京,整个苹果店里就都是人,到处都有科技发烧友呀!

B: All right all right. Calm down. Let’s put the apple fanboy fever aside. Now we are going to continue with our last segment, another words and idioms!  

Words and Idioms  820 Know One’s Place

美国习惯用语第 820讲

我最近一直在上一门艺术史的课。就在上个星期,一个学生在课堂上跟教授吵了起来,非说教授讲得不对,让我大吃一惊。我们上学那会儿,绝对没有人敢去指出老师的错误。不过,这倒让我想起了一个习惯用语,那就是:M: Know one’s place. Place is spelled place. Knowone’splace. Know one’s place.

to know one’s place 意思是按照自己的身份和地位行事,特别是指自己的地位比较低下的时候。中国文化讲究的是尊师敬长,老师说的都是对的,学生怎么能反过来质问老师呢?要让我说,He didn’t seem to know his place. 他的表清太不得体了。让我们听听下面这个工厂工人的经历。

M: “During my first year on the assembly line, I noticed the foreman making a lot of mistakes. But I kept quiet. As a lowlevel worker, I KNEW MY PLACE. I didn’t want to get fired for telling my supervisor what he had been doing wrong.”

他说,我在组装线上工作的第一年注意到,工头犯了很多错误,但是我一声没吭,作为刚上岗的新人,我知道自己的身份,我可不想因为批评自己的上司不好,而被炒了鱿鱼。

这个工人看来挺会做人的,不象某些初出茅庐的年轻人。He knows his place. 我先生的公司去年夏天曾经来过一批实习生。临走的时候,他们居然给公司总裁写了一封联名信,历数公司在管理上所犯的错误。有人说,他们真是不知深浅,居然教育老板如何去经营自己的公司。They should have known their place. 你觉得呢?畅所欲言需要考虑身份和等级吗?

好的,让我们再来听听上面那段话。

M: “During my first year on the assembly line, I noticed the foreman making a lot of mistakes. But I kept quiet. As a lowlevel worker, I KNEW MY PLACE. I didn’t want to get fired for telling my supervisor what he had been doing wrong.”

大家肯定还记得美国前总统卡特吧。他的太太罗莎琳•卡特受到很多美国人的敬重,但也有些人对罗莎琳颇有微词。为什么呢?让我们一起来听听下面这个历史学家是怎么解释的。

M: “During her years in the White House, Rosalyn Carter was not a traditional First Lady. She would often sit on her husband’s senior staff meetings and sometimes represented President Carter in discussions with world leaders. As a result, some voters criticized her for NOT KNOWING HER PLACE.”

这位历史学家说,在白宫的时候,罗莎琳并不是一位传统的第一夫人。她经常参加卡特政府高级官员的会议,有时候还代表卡特总统跟外国领导人会面。因此,有些选民批评她,说她没有摆好自己的位置。我祖母就有这种看法。她觉得卡特夫人作为第一夫人,任务就是端端茶,或是跟其他政要的夫人聊聊天。不过,这也反应了我祖母那辈人的传统思维。在她们眼里,A woman who knows her place will not try to compete with a man for a job. 女人本来就不应该跟男人抢工作,女人就是应该待在家里,照顾孩子、做饭、打扫卫生。好,我们再听一下上面的例句。

M: “During her years in the White House, Rosalyn Carter was not a traditional First Lady. She would often sit on her husband’s senior staff meetings and sometimes represented President Carter in discussions with world leaders. As a result, some voters criticized her for NOT KNOWING HER PLACE.”

根据我的研究,know one’s place 这个习惯用语是十六世纪后半叶开始流行的,也许是因为那个时候,逐渐出现了严格的社会地位的规范吧。如果你有什么更好的解释,一定要告诉我,I’m not going to come down on you for not knowing your place. 我不会因为你纠正我而迁怒于你的。

好的,这次美国习惯用语就到此结束了。我是杨晨,我是 Douglas Johnson。

M: Until next time.

下次节目再见。

M: This has been Words and Idioms.

A: See, you should always know your place. 你可以每天向你的领导我进贡食品呀,咖啡呀,之类的。

B: Sorry, But I think you misspoke. You put the words “you” and “my boss” in the same sentence. Did you mean to say that your going to bribe with food?

A: Dream on! 好了同学们,这次节目时间就到这里了。

B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!  

A: See you next time!