A: 大家好! Welcome to American English Mosaic! 我是杨琳！
B: 我是Kat! 杨琳，赶快来说说咱们今天都要学些什么!
A: 没问题! 今天，咱们要去看看养宠物需要做什么准备，去八卦一下同事的表白结果，学学怎么抱怨生活一成不变，还要告诉大家用美语怎么说“啤酒肚”和“山寨”。
B: 山寨? 这是什么意思? 咱们是要去山里旅游吗?
A: 哈哈哈，不是不是! 等会听了节目你就明白了! 咱们先赶快来进入第一个单元，Learn a Word!
Learn A Word
今天我们要学的词是reap. Reap is spelled r-e-a-p, reap. Reap 动词，是收获，获得的意思。白宫最近公布了美国总统奥巴马夫妇今年支付的联邦个人所得税税额。奥巴马夫妇两人2011年的收入比2010年减少了一百万美元，因为 In 2010, the president reaped greater profits from sales of his best-selling books. 2010年时，奥巴马从他的畅销书销售中赚了很多钱。美国政府对苹果公司和五个电子书发行公司提起反垄断诉讼，Market observers say America’s largest bookseller Amazon will reap benefit from the suit.市场观察人士说，美国最大的书商亚马逊网站将从这场官司中渔翁得利。好的，今天我们学习的词是 reap, reap, reap.
A: Maybe I should write a book, then I can reap the profit of my book sales! 要是我也写本书，是不是也能赚很多钱呀!
B: But what are you going to write about? Our lives are not as exciting as Obama’s…
A: 哎， 也是! 有时候我真觉得，上班下班吃饭睡觉，每天生活好无聊啊!一成不变的! 要我说，咱们都应该放个大假，出去旅游!
B： I love traveling! We should definitely start by planning something this weekend! 你刚才说到一成不变，在今天的Popular American里就说到了这个词儿! 咱们一起来听一听!
Popular American
现在播送《流行美语》。 Larry和李华星期六晚上待在家里，觉得有些无聊，他们会用到两个常用语：Stuck in a rut 和 someone’s cup of tea.
LH: Larry, 好无聊啊! 你说干点什么好啊？
Larry: Huh? Uh, yea… that’s nice, Lihua.
LH: 什么好好好? Larry! 你又在打电脑游戏啦？哎呀，不要玩儿了!
Larry: Hey! I was about to clear that level!
LH: 你每天晚上除了玩线上游戏就什么都不干了! 我们就不能出去转转，找点好玩的事情做吗？
Larry: You’re right, Lihua. We haven’t really done anything new recently. I guess we’ve been stuck in a rut.
LH: In a rut? 什么意思？
Larry: Being stuck in a rut means to be stuck in a boring routine.
LH: To be stuck in a rut就是生活一成不变。那么，这个rut是什么意思呢？
Larry: A rut is what happens when a wheel rolls over the same place over and over again. Eventually, the wheel will dig a line, or a rut, in the ground.
LH: 我明白了，rut是车轮不断压过同一个地方后留下的印迹。我想，这就比喻一成不变的常规吧。Larry, 我们最近的确有些stuck in a rut，感觉有点平淡无味，你说这是怎么回事呢？
Larry: I’m not sure, Lihua, but we have been together for over a year now. It’s relatively normal for couples to find themselves stuck in a rut after being together for awhile.
LH: 啊？你觉得是因为咱们在一起时间不算短了，所以生活就变得平平淡淡了？我觉得根本不是这样，We’re stuck in a rot because of that stupid computer game! 都怪你天天打线上游戏，不陪我!
Larry: I’ll admit I like to play my games, but you remember what happened last weekend, right?
LH: 上个周末？怎么啦？
Larry: I wanted to take you out for a nice dinner, but you said you were too tired. We ended up staying home and watching TV all night!
LH: 还说请我吃顿好的？Larry, 你每次请我吃饭都是汉堡和薯条，连吃饭内容都一成不变，难怪我们会stuck in a rut!
Larry: Hmm… we need to find some new things to do that we both like. Otherwise, we might be stuck in this rut forever!
LH: 可不是嘛! 咱们好久没有去打网球啦! 不如去打两场吧!
Larry: Aw, you know tennis isn’t my cup of tea, Lihua. And besides, it’s been so hot out lately…
LH: Your cup of tea? 打网球还要喝茶？你不怕热吗？
Larry: I would drink water, of course! I said “playing tennis is not my cup of tea”…in other words, I don’t really enjoy tennis.
LH: 哦，你说 playing tennis is not your cup of tea, 意思就是说你不喜欢打网球。那你的cup of tea 到底是什么呀？
Larry: I like swimming! How about we start going to the pool? It’s always refreshing to take a dip in the pool on a hot day!
LH: 去游泳？可是，游泳不是我的cup of tea。我怕晒黑! Oh, I know! Why don’t you take me to the ballet? 我们去看芭蕾舞表演吧!
Larry: The ballet? Uh, that’s not my cup of tea, either. I never understood what’s going on! It just looks like a bunch of people jumping around on stage, if you ask me.
LH: 你这人一点都不浪漫!
Larry: Being romantic was never my cup of tea, Lihua. Remember when I sent you flowers for your birthday?
LH: 记得!我生日你送玫瑰花给我，结果我花粉过敏，打了一天喷嚏!
Larry: Heheh. See? No wonder we’re in a rut. I’m horrible at being romantic, and we can never agree on anything new to do. Tell you what-let me think about it some more while I finish this last boss in my video game…
LH: 不行! 你别想溜! Get us out of this rut, Larry! 要不你就别想玩儿电脑了!
Larry: Hmmm….
LH: 什么呀？你在想什么坏主意？
Larry: You want us to do something together, right? Our group could use another warrior…
LH: 你想让我和你一起打线上游戏？我可不会! You know video games are not my cup of tea!
Larry:Well, I guess I’ll go make myself a real cup of tea and go stare out the window for fun…
各位听众，今天李华从 Larry 那儿学到两个常用语，一个是to be stuck in a rut, 表示枯燥，一成不变；另一个是someone’s cup of tea, 意思是某人有兴趣干的事。 这次《流行美语》播送完了，谢谢收听，下次节目再见。
B: Whenever I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, I take a long vacation and go traveling for awhile!
A: 我也很喜欢旅行! Traveling is my cup of tea as well! 不过也得看去哪，上次我去了一个专门酿造啤酒的小镇，可是我不太爱喝酒，所以大家都喝的津津有味，可我却觉得一般!
B: I love beer. But drinking too much beer can make you fat.
A: That’s true! 在今天的美语怎么说里，我们就要来看看啤酒肚用美语怎么说!
How to say it in American English
Donny 在北京学汉语，他的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教他。今天是Jimmy要问的：啤酒肚。
Donny: Jimmy, 天真热! Let’s go drink some cold beer!
Jimmy: 啊？冰啤酒啊，我女朋友不让。
Donny: Why?
Jimmy: 她说我有啤酒肚。But look at my belly, is it really that bad?
Donny: 呃……I have to say she has a point. You’ve got a beer belly for sure.
Jimmy: Beer belly？ beer 啤酒，加上 belly, 肚子，beer belly 啤酒肚。这个词真好记。
Donny: Yeah. It’s easy to remember.
Jimmy: 那不说 beer belly, 还有其它说法吗？
Donny: Let’s see….you can call it a “keg.” k-e-g, keg. A keg is a barrel to store beer.
Jimmy: keg 是啤酒桶？你是说我这肚子活生生就是一啤酒桶？
Donny: Don’t worry. You can go from keg to six-pack abs if you exercise and eat healthy.
Jimmy: six-pack abs? 我知道 a-b-s, abs 指腹肌， six-pack 不是半打啤酒么？
Donny: Six-pack abs are the muscles at your midsection. 一边三块，一共六块。
Jimmy: 哦，我明白了，six-pack abs 就是“六块腹肌”。天啊!从啤酒肚变成六块肌，得做多少仰卧起坐啊!
Donny: I know it’s hard, but a lot of people say sit-ups really help them lose their beer bellies. You want your girl to be happy, right?
Jimmy: 好，为女朋友高兴，我这就回家做 sit-ups，仰卧起坐！
Donny: Enjoy your workout! But first tell me what you’ve learned today.
Jimmy: 第一“啤酒肚”叫 beer belly, 或者 keg；
第二，六块腹肌，叫 six-pack abs；
第三，仰卧起坐叫 sit-up，s-i-t, sit; u-p, up. sit-up!
A: 原来啤酒肚就是beer belly! Yeah I agree, men with beer bellies are really unattractive…
B: Haha, actually I have a great quick solution for those guys with beer bellies! Get a dog! Then you’ll need to take it for walks at least twice a day- it will force you to be active!
A: 确实是这样! 我妈妈最近也在考虑要不要养一只小狗，让生活方式更健康一些! 说起这个，今天的美语三级跳里就要来讨论养宠物的事儿， 咱们赶快来听一听!
GoEnglish
Cats and Dogs: beginner
大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“宠物”单元的初级课程。
Tom 和 Mindy 刚搬进新家，打算养只宠物。可是Tom喜欢狗，Mindy喜欢猫，俩人一时决定不了到底养什么。
Professor: Say Winnie, are you a dog person or a cat person?
老实说，养猫养狗太费事儿，我都不喜欢!
Tom: I love this new house, Mindy! I can’t wait until we get a dog.
Mindy: A dog? I don’t like dogs. We’re going to get a cat, Tom.
Tom: Cats are so boring. You can’t even teach them any tricks.
Mindy: Dogs are worse. They’re barking all the time.
Mindy 说，她不喜欢狗是因为狗太吵，总是bark–叫唤。对了，professor Bowman，中国人说狗“汪、汪”地叫，美国人怎么说狗叫呢？
Professors: In America, people say “ruff-ruff”.
哈哈，还真挺像的! Tom 说养狗好，因为狗能学tricks–把戏和本领，能逗主人开心。
Professor: That’s right. Winnie, there is an English expression about dogs and tricks. It is: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
我知道! You can’t teach an old dog new tricks 表面意思是“老狗学不了新把戏”，其实就是指积习难改，固守陈规的人很难接受新鲜事物。
Tom: Mindy, dogs are much more loyal than cats.
Mindy: Maybe, but dogs are a lot more work. You have to take them for a walk every day, and sometimes they bite.
Tom: Don’t worry, we’ll get a nice one. Dogs are man’s best friend.
Mindy: Well if we get a dog you are going to need a friend because I’ll be really mad!
Professor: So Winnie, why does Tom think dogs are better than cats?
他觉得狗比猫更loyal–忠诚。不过Mindy 觉得养狗太麻烦，每天都要出门遛狗，弄不好狗还会bite–咬人。
Professor: That’s right. Have you ever heard the phrase “His bark is worse than his bite”? It means someone is not as bad as he sounds. For example, “The teacher said he would give the student bad grades for not doing her homework. But his bark was worse than his bite, and he didn’t actually do it.”
哦，老师虽然口头上说要惩罚不完成作业的同学，但却没有真的那么做。 所以His bark is worse than his bite就是指“刀子嘴，豆腐心”，虽然说了狠话，但不会真的去做。
Mindy: Tom, why don’t we get one cat and one dog?
Tom: Oh no, we can’t do that. They won’t get along at all, so we have to choose one or the other.
Mindy: That’s true. Cats and dogs are always fighting.
Tom: Come on ….. Let’s go to the pound right now and adopt a dog.
Professor: Winnie, why does Tom say that they can’t get one dog and one cat?
他说，猫和狗don’t get along–不能和睦相处，到一块儿就打。
Prof: Yes. If two people are always arguing, you can say that they “fight like cats and dogs.”
哦，原来形容两个总是吵架的人时，也可以说他们”fight like cats and dogs”， 真有意思! 不过听起来Tom是铁了心要养狗，他提出马上去”pound”, 动物收养所，adopt a dog–领养一只狗。
Tom: Mindy, if we get a dog, I promise I will do all the work.
Mindy: Hmmm ….. you promise to walk the dog and feed it every day?
Tom: Yes. And I’ll buy all the things for the dog, like its collar and its leash.
Mindy: Uh ….well alright. We can get a dog. But if it doesn’t behave, I’m going to keep it on a short leash!
Tom保证承包养狗的所有工作，包括喂食和遛狗，还说会买遛狗用的leash–皮绳和collar–项圈儿。但Mindy说 she’s going to keep the dog on a short leash, 这是什么意思呢？
Professor: It means to maintain close control over someone’s activities.
哦，keep someone on a short leash 就好比用皮绳紧紧牵着狗，也就是说要密切控制某人的一举一动。我看啊，如果Tom领来的狗狗不听话，Mindy 也会keep Tom on a short leash!
Professor: Let’s listen next time to find out.
A: Tom认为狗可以do tricks做把戏，而且more loyal, 更忠诚，现在就想马上go to the pound and adopt a dog 去动物收养所领养一只狗!
B: Well…things like this can lead to real fights between couples. Tom and Mind should sit down and talk about how important pets are to them.
A: That’s true! 好啦，宠物话题咱们暂时告一段落，在下面的business etiquette里，Dan终于要鼓起勇气约Julie出去了!
B: Did Julie say yes? Let’s listen and find out!
礼节美语 A Crush on a Co-Worker II
Dan偷偷喜欢女同事Julie. King给他打气，鼓励他约Julie出去。Dan问：
Dan: So what should I say?
King: Tell the truth! Say, “Hi Julie, I was wondering if you’d be interested in going out this Saturday? I know a great sushi place.”
D: Just like that? Don’t you think I’ll scare her?
K: Both you and Julie are adults, and that’s the way adults communicate with each other. If you’re worried about being too direct, you should make it a group event and invite her along.
D: The whole process just seems so scary.
K: You know what’s really scary? The idea that two people might be perfect for each other, but they’re too afraid to talk to each other…now that’s a frightening thought. What a waste!
D: That’s a good point.
King建议Dan直截了当，约Julie出去吃饭，但如果Dan不想过于直接的话，可以 make it a group event and invite her along 组织一次集体活动，邀请Julie一起去。King 还鼓励Dan说，如果两个人原本珠联璧合 perfect for each other, 但却因为彼此不敢主动去跟对方搭讪而擦肩而过，那才是最可怕的。What a waste! 太可惜了。King 接着说，
K: What’s the worst thing that could happen?
D: She rejects me.
K: And is that so bad?
D: No, I guess not. How do you meet your wife anyway?
K: I walked up to her on a subway car and said, “Hi, I’m King. What’s your name?” Three years later we were married.
D: Wow! All right…I’m going to do it. I’m going to ask her out.
K: Well, here’s your chance. She’s started walking this way. Go for it!
如果Dan约Julie出去，最糟糕的结果也不过是遭到拒绝。King现身说法，说当年他就是在地铁上遇到自己太太的，他走上前去自我介绍，三年后两人就结婚了。Dan 终于鼓起勇气，决定要约Julie出去，正说着，Julie走了过来，Here is his chance. 他的机会来了。我们一起听Dan是怎么说的。
D: Hey, Julie.
J: Hi Dan. How are you doing?
D: I’m good, thanks! Say, a couple of us are thinking about having dinner and maybe going to a Karaoke bar this Saturday night. Are you free to join us?
J: Sure! I’d love to. What time should I meet you?
D: How about 7:30?
J: Great! I’ll see you then. Have a nice day, Dan! Bye!
D: You too! See you on Saturday!
K: See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?
D: That was amazing! I’m totally on cloud nine right now! Thanks, dude!
K: No problem, and I hope it woks out for the two of you.
D: It’s really true: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
K: You got it!
Dan跟Julie说，办公室几个人星期六晚上打算一起出去吃饭，吃完饭去唱卡拉OK，问Julie想不想一起去，Julie欣然接受。Dan 说，I’m totally on cloud nine. 我实在是太高兴了。King说，I hope it works out for the two of you. 意思是祝 Dan 和 Julie 好运，能交往愉快。
A: See, being straightforward is the best way to approach girls! Dan成功约到Julie啦!
B: I agree. Two people might be perfect for each other, but if they’re too afraid to express their feelings, they’ll never get together! That’s really sad!
A: 其实有时候吧，要是不好意思说，你也可以送个东西什么的!
B: But what if you’re short on money?
A: You don’t need expensive things! 随便什么都行，不然买个山寨的我觉得也没什么，重要是表达心意嘛!
B: 哈哈， I don’t know about that! But since you mention 山寨, let’s learn how to say this in American English!
Jessica 在北京学中文，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。今天是于苗要问的：山寨
YM: Jessica, 你看我这块儿手表怎么样？
Jessica：LV 的! Nice! Did you win the lottery?
YM:中彩票？我哪有那么好的运气！这表是山寨的！
Jessica: Ah? What do you mean?
YM: 山寨，就是， 啊not a real LV，a fake one
Jessica: Oh, I see! The watch is a knockoff! k-n-o-c-k-o-f-f, knockoff.
YM: 哦~~~原来山寨版的假名牌儿就是 knockoff.
Jessica: Right. 朋友都告诉我 Xiushui Market is the place to go for designer knockoffs.
YM: 没错，好多人都特爱去秀水买假名牌！对了，我带上这假LV，觉得自己特有明星范儿，别人也说我是山寨版的章子怡，那我就是 knockoff Zhang Ziyi 喽?
Jessica: No, in that case, you say you’re a Zhang Ziyi lookalike!
YM: lookalike, look后面跟alike，就是山寨明星脸! 哦，Jessica, 我早就想告诉你， You’re a Lady GaGa lookalike.
Jessica:Thanks! I’m flattered!
YM: 对了，待会儿我要去看话剧，叫作“阿凡提¨达”
Jessica: 阿凡达? Avatar, the movie?
YM: 不是，这个话剧要模仿Avatar，搞笑的，是山寨版的阿凡达。
Jessica: Oh! You mean a spoof. That means you will imitate the movie’s style, but in a humorous or sarcastic way.
YM: 原来这种有点恶搞的山寨版艺术作品叫 spoof.
Jessica: That’s right! s-p-o-o-f, spoof.
YM: 我来总结一下啊，山寨版的假名牌是knockoff; 山寨明星脸是lookalike; 山寨的艺术作品是spoof。
A: 原来山寨叫 knockoff, 听我表姐说，现在北京大街上人人都背山寨的 LV. LV knockoffs are everywhere on the street!
B: 我就不明白为什么要跟别人背一样的! I’d rather have something that’s unique and one of a kind.
A: 我也这么想! 好的，同学们，这次节目时间就到这里。如果你对我们的节目有什么建议，或者想提什么问题，请发电子邮件到meiyu@voanews.com.
B: Also, let us know what you think of our show! Like how you love me and how much you hate yanglin!
A: 嘿!
B: Remember to tune in next time for American English Mosaic!