A: 美语训练班上课啦! 大家好，我是杨琳!
B: 我是Kat! 杨琳，快说说咱们今天都要学什么?
A: 好! 今天，咱们一起去学学怎么打篮球，看看怎么装饰办公室来鼓舞士气，吃顿饕餮大餐，还要告诉大家怎么说”换位思考”!
B: 换位思考! 这是我无数优点中的一个呀!
A: Uh oh…大家都笑了…. 好了好了，言归正传，我们赶快先来进入第一个单元，Learn a Word!
今天我们要学的短语是lock horns. Lock是锁上， horn是动物头上的角，lock horns原指动物用角互顶打架，引伸为“激烈争论”，杠上了。India and the European Union are likely to lock horns over new green energy norms at the Earth Summit in Brazil. 在巴西召开的地球峰会上，印度和欧盟很可能就新的绿色能源标准争论不休。U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder locked horns with congressional Republicans at a hearing on a gun-trafficking case. 美国司法部长霍尔德同国会共和党人在听证会上因一起枪支走私案顶了起来。The mayor and her deputy locked horns over plans for a new road. 市长和她的副手因为修路计划而激烈争吵。好，今天我们学习的词是lock horns.
A: 说起lock horns, 你看了这一期的Iron Chef, 料理铁人了吗? I love that show so much! It’s so intense- I can’t get enough of watching the competitors lock horns in epic food battles!
B: Yeah, that kitchen is definitely a war zone. I saw this one episode where the chefs had to cook five dishes with just eggs! Only eggs! Now that’s a seriously tough challenge.
A: 可不是! They’re amazing- for me, I have to keep my fingers crossed that even my scrambled eggs in the morning don’t turn out horrible!
B: Hahah, well in the end, the contestants successfully made some AMAZING gourmet food! 你刚才提到了一个很好的词儿，fingers crossed!! 咱们一起来听听这个习惯用语的用法!
现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 969讲。我是杨琳。
M：我是 Steve Baragona.
这个周末是我和男朋友在一起一周年的纪念日。我们计划去远郊的一个酿酒场品酒，然后再去吃一顿法国大餐。我男朋友还说要带我去坐热气球! 听起来真棒!不过我有些担心这个周末的天气，天气预报说周末要刮大风，还可能会下雨! 这也就让我想到这个习惯用语，那就是:
M: Cross one’s fingers. Cross is spelled c-r-o-s-s and fingers; f-i-n-g-e-r-s. Cross-one’s-fingers.
女：大家都知道，cross是交叉的意思，fingers是手指，cross one’s fingers, 字面意思是手指交叉，实际上就是希望得到好运气的意思。美国人经常把食指和中指交叉，意思就是祝你好运! I cross my fingers, hoping the weather would be good this weekend. 我交叉手指，希望这个周末会有好天气。下面例子里的这个排球运动员也相信这个动作能给他们带来好运，我们来听听看:
M: “Our volleyball team has beaten every team in the division so far. I know it’s because we have better players and we’ve practiced harder. Still, we’re up against our greatest challenger next week and many of us are crossing our fingers. We’re hoping that we’ll be successful and win the trophy.”
这段话是说：[我们排球队到现在为止一直保持全胜。我们一直很努力地训练。不过下个星期，我们将面临这个赛季最强劲的挑战，很多队员都交叉手指期盼好运。我们希望我们能够获胜，赢得奖杯。]
女：有时候一点小小的迷信无伤大雅，对吧? 想想我从小一直弹钢琴，每次演奏之前，我都会交叉手指，期盼好运。I cross my fingers every time before performing in the concerts. 也许是我迷信，不过每次我这么做，表演都很成功! 所以，这也就成了我的好运标志。 好了，enough about me. 言归正传，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
M: “Our volleyball team has beaten every team in the division so far. I know it’s because we have better players and we’ve practiced harder. Still, we’re up against our greatest challenger next week and many of us are crossing our fingers. We’re hoping that we’ll be successful and win the trophy.”
女: 自从2008年以来，美国的经济情况一直不好，就业市场也一直很低迷。很多人失去工作，而在找新工作的过程中也遇到很多阻碍。下面的例子就谈到了类似的情况，让我们来听听看:
M: “My daughter has been looking for a job for almost two years. After sending in lots of resumes and going on a number of interviews, she’s become really frustrated. The position she just applied for looks like a good match for her skills and experience. She’s got her FINGERS CROSSED. This may be the chance she’s been waiting for.”
[这段话是说：我女儿找工作已经找了两年了。在无数简历和若干次面试之后，她特别沮丧。现在她刚刚申请的职位特别适合她的技能和经验。她交叉手指，祈求好运。这可能就是她一直在等待的机会。]
女: 我们也祝她好运! 不知道大家有没有注意到，这个短语也可以使用被动语态。所以对于我的情况，我也可以说 I have my fingers crossed that my hot air balloon adventure will take place. 我交叉手指，希望热气球之行能够成行。The team members have THEIR FINGERS CROSSED that they’ll win the next game. 球员交叉手指，祈求好运，希望能够赢得下一场比赛。好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
M: “My daughter has been looking for a job for almost two years. After sending in lots of resumes and going on a number of interviews, she’s become really frustrated. The position she just applied for looks like a good match for her skills and experience. She’s got her FINGERS CROSSED. This may be the chance she’s been waiting for.”
今天我们学习的习惯用语是 cross one’s fingers，意思是“交叉手指，祈求好运”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是杨琳，我是 Steve Baragona。谢谢各位的收听。
A: 其实吧，我煮饭水平也还行，fingers crossed I can be a real chef one day! 你就做我的专业试吃员 professional food taster 如何？
B: Uh… I know that we’ve talked about how much I like a life full of adventures, but I think that might just be a bit too dangerous for me…
A: 哈哈，don’t be scared, Kat! I know how important eating delicious and interesting food is to you- I’ll take good care of you! 在今天的美语怎么说里，我们就要来教教大家怎么形容Kat这类人—食客!
MC: 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。今天是方方要问的：食客。
FF：Jessica, 今晚跟我去吃饭怎么样？
Jessica: 好啊! 吃什么!
FF: 吃正宗的湖南菜，怎么样？Look, this is the restaurant I’m talking about.
Jessica: Hmm, I’ve never heard of this restaurant. Are you sure its food is authentic?
FF: Authentic? 什么意思？
Jessica: Authentic is spelled a-u-t-h-e-n-t-i-c, authentic的意思是“真实的”，“地道的”。 For example, authentic Chinese food 就是地道的中餐。
FF: 哦! 那authentic American English就是“地道美语”，对不对？
Jessica: 没错! 对了, You haven’t answered my question yet–why are you so sure that restaurant serves authentic Hunan cuisines?
FF: 因为这是一个特别会吃的朋友推荐的。他可是个老饕，或者叫食客，专门能发现一些不起眼，但是特地道的餐馆。对了，这种食客在美语里要怎么说呢？
Jessica: We call those people foodies. F-o-o-d-i-e, foodie refers to someone who loves everything there is to know and learn about food. You can rely on their picks of restaurants.
FF: My friend is totally a foodie! He took me to a small eatery last week, and the food there was terrific!
Jessica: Wow, you must have pigged out!
FF: Pig out?
Jessica: To pig out means to eat a lot until you’re really full.
FF: 哦，to pig out就是甩开腮帮子狂吃! Sometimes I like to go to KFC to pig out!
Jessica: Watch your waistline, Fangfang!
FF: 哈哈，I will. 不过话说那天我和这个朋友去吃饭，本来打算pig out, 可是我这个人啊，总是眼大肚子小，没吃多少就饱了，唉! 真不争气! 眼大肚子小你懂吧？
Jessica: You mean you have big eyes and a small belly? Are you saying you’re good-looking?
FF: 哈哈! No. “眼大肚子小”就是 you want to eat a lot, but your belly can’t take all the food.
Jessica: I see. There’s a similar expression in English: your eyes are bigger than your stomach.
FF: 原来”眼大肚子小”是 eyes are bigger than stomach. Jessica, please make sure I don’t eat anything before tonight’s dinner. I want to pig out on great Hunan food.
Jessica: 哈哈，别光想着吃，还是先说说，今天都学了什么。
FF: 好，今天我们学了：表示地道，用authentic; 会吃的食客，老饕，是foodie; 大吃大喝是to pig out; “眼大肚子小”则是eyes are bigger than stomach.
A: I can definitely admit that my eyes are totally bigger than my stomach! 就像上个周末，我在家组织了一个party, 准备了无数好吃的，最后都没地方放了!
B: Wait.. you had a party and didn’t invite me???
A: 因为这是个sports party! 组织大家一块看球的! 我记得你说你不是个篮球迷，对吧?
B: True- I’m not really a sports fan. Okay, I’ll let you get away with it just this once.
A: See, I know you so well! 不过在下面的美语三级跳里，我们就要带着大家去打一场篮球，顺便学学这些个篮球术语该怎么说!
B: Let’s listen!
大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“体育运动”单元的初级课程。
Ryan 想锻练锻练，改善自己的身材。他的朋友Alice篮球打得很好，Ryan打算拜她为师。
Professor: That’s right, Winnie. Basketball is a very popular sport in America.
中国人也很喜欢打篮球啊! 姚明就是中国人，而且有很多粉丝!
Professor: That’s true. Do you think Ryan will be a good
basketball player?
咱们来听听吧！
Ryan: Thanks for teaching me how to play basketball, Alice.
Alice: No problem. I am happy to be your basketball coach.
Ryan: Great. Where did you learn how to play?
Alice: I played basketball in college.
Ryan: Were you better at offense or defense?
Alice: I was better at offense. I was the best shooter on the team.
Professor: So Winnie, where did Alice learn to play basketball?
Alice说她是在大学里学会打篮球的，她不光是校队成员，还是the best shooter–最棒的投手呢! 这么说，Alice投篮肯定特别准!
Professor: Right. And in basketball, when you shoot and score a point, you can say you scored a basket.
MC: 没错! 如果你投篮成功，就可以说“score a basket.”
Professor: So, is Alice better at offense or defense?
Alice说， she was better at offense than defense，进攻能力比防守能力强。这不难理解，她是the best shooter–最棒的投手嘛! 有她当教练，Ryan肯定很快就能变成篮球飞人。
Alice: Alright Ryan, first you have to learn how to dribble.
Ryan: Don’t worry, I know how to dribble. Let’s just play some one-on-one.
Alice: Uh…. are you sure you don’t want to practice a little first?
Ryan: Nope! I’m ready to play. Don’t go easy on me.
Ryan是不是有点自信过头了？Alice想慢慢教他，从 dribble–“运球”开始。可Ryan上来就要打one-on-one–一对一的比赛! Professor, one-on-one这个短语可以用在其它语境里么？
Professor: Sure! For example, you can say I didn’t want the other students to hear me talk to the teacher, so I asked to talk to her one-on-one.
“Talk to her one-on-one”, 就是单独和她谈话。对了，Professor, Ryan 让Alice不要”go easy on him”，是不是说，Alice对他不用手下留情？
Professor: Right. For another example, “I haven’t studied much for the test, so I hope my teacher goes easy on us.”
啊~~因为没好好复习，所以希望老师手下留情。好! Ryan和Alice一对一比赛已经结束了，我们看看谁胜谁负!
Alice: Great game, Ryan! I had a lot of fun.
Ryan: (Panting) Yeah, I hope so. It must have been a lot of fun beating me 20 to zero.
Alice: Well do you want to have a re-match? I think you will score a basket next time.
Ryan: I don’t think so … and I can only take one shutout per day.
看来，Ryan根本不是Alice的对手! 让人家打了个20比零! professor, 什么叫shutout？
Professor: Winnie, if one team doesn’t score any points in the game, you can say the game is a shutout.
哦，shutout, s-h-u-t-o-u-t, shutout 就是输掉的队伍得零分的比赛。
Professor: Ryan didn’t score any points, so you can say he was “shutout”. Alice asks him if he wants a rematch, but Ryan says no.
是啊，Ryan 不愿意再被刷个零，所以他不想play a re-match–再打一次了。真希望Ryan学篮球的热情没有被彻底浇灭!
Professor: Let’s see what Alice says.
Alice: Ryan, I think I know a better way to teach you basketball.
Ryan: Really? What is it?
Alice: I’m going to take you to watch a basketball game.
Ryan: Great! I love watching professional basketball.
Alice: Professional? I didn’t say we’re going to a
professional basketball game!
哦，原来，Alice打算带Ryan去看篮球赛，让他观摩观摩。不过，他们要去的不是a professional game–专业球赛。
Professor: Right. What kind of game do you think they’re going to?
我们下次就知道啦!
A: 说起来，我原来上初中还是篮球队的呢! I used to be great at shooting! You should come play basketball with me- I can teach you!
B: Well, thanks for the invitation, but I would rather go to a museum and enjoy the AC and the beautiful art!! You can go run around and get all sweaty- I, on the other hand, want to surround myself with 高雅文化。
A: 呦，原来你还是个艺术爱好者? 那下面的 business etiquette正合你的胃口，今天，我们要去看看怎么用不同形式的艺术作品来进行装饰!
B: Let’s take a look!
公司主管 James 找到公关部主任 Felicia.
James: Hey, Felicia…do you have time for a quick conversation?
Felicia: Sure, boss. What’s up?
J: I was walking through the hallways of our office yesterday and it struck me that we could use a little beautification around here.
F: Are you thinking about repainting the hallways?
J: Well, actually I was considering buying some art to display around the office and factory grounds. I think we could all benefit from a little touch of culture, don’t you think?
F: Yes…that’s a great idea. I think looking at beautiful things helps lift morale.
公司主管James说，自己昨天经过公司走廊，突然觉得，We could use a little beautification around here. 我们的工作环境需要美化一下。beautification is spelled b-e-a-u-t-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n, beautification 是名词，意思是美化。原来，James是想购置一些艺术作品，给公司增添些许文化气息。Felicia 表示赞成，她觉得，看到赏心悦目的东西，也有助于 lift morale 提高员工士气。James 说：
J: Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It might brighten up the office and lift people’s spirits a bit as well. I’m not really sure about what kind of art to buy though.
F: That is a tricky issue. Everyone has different tastes. You know the old expression: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
J: What about you Felicia? What kind of art do you like?
F: Well, actually I like abstract modern art. I love the works of Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
J: I see. So you’re a bit of a modernist, huh?
每个人对艺术的偏好都不一样，Everyone has different tastes. taste is spelled t-a-s-t-e, taste 在这里是名词，意思是品味。俗话说： Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 只要看的人喜欢，那就是美。这句话经常被用在情感方面，相当于中文里所说的情人眼里出西施。Felicia 说，她偏爱 abstract modern art 抽象派现代艺术。为什么呢？
F: I feel modern art is open to interpretation. Each person looks at the painting with a different understanding and gets a different message from it. Sometimes I find landscape paintings or more traditional art to be a bit boring.
J: Yes, I would agree with that. I don’t want any pictures of fruit in bowls hanging on our walls…it needs to be something inspirational!
F: How about you, boss? What kind of art inspires you?
J: I’m a big fan of photography. I like real images captured by a camera. They’re so genuine, and I find that I don’t get tired of looking at them over and over again.
Felicia 喜欢抽象派现代艺术作品是因为：It is open to interpretation. 这类艺术作品给观众留下了解释的空间，每个人对抽象派艺术作品的解读都可能不一样。James 说，他最喜欢摄影作品。I’m a big fan of photography. 用相机捕捉的真实画面，令人百看不厌。
A: 所以，你喜欢哪种呀 Kat? Abstract modern art or photography?
B: I think I enjoy photography more. It captures an authentic moment and you can feel the different emotions in each piece. Actually there’s a new exhibit opening today, do you wanna go see it with me?
A: 我还是算了， 我对艺术一点也不懂，去了也看不明白!
B: Well that’s true. I don’t think you will enjoy it much if art’s not your thing- you’ll just be bored and your feet will hurt from standing there for hours.
A: 谢谢你能换位思考！在下面的美语怎么说里，我们就要来看看Kat无数优点中的一个—换位思考该怎么说!
Put yourself in someone’s shoes
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：换位思考。
YM: Hey Jessica! How’s it going?…你怎么看起来气呼呼的?
Jessica: I AM angry! One of my friend said she’s going to come visit me, but she canceled her trip AT THE LAST MINUTE! I’ve saved all my weekend for her!
YM: 啊? 这可真扫兴，不过你有没有问她，为什么不来了呢?
Jessica: She said a very important client is coming to town over the weekend, and she got the opportunity to accompany them.
YM: 哦，原来是这样。你想想，你朋友刚开始工作，能有这么好的接触大客户的机会，你应该为她高兴呀! 试着换位思考一下嘛!
Jessica: 换位思考?….哦，我知道了，you are telling me to put myself in her shoes. Yeah, I guess I’m being a little harsh.
YM: 对啊! 她一定也很想跟好朋友过个休闲的周末，but sometimes you’ve got to sacrifice your personal life for work, especially when you are new at your job! Jessica, 你这么善解人意，一定明白的!
Jessica: Yeah, I guess I should be more considerate.
YM: 哦! 原来善解人意就是 considerate! 我其实特别明白你朋友的心情，我感同身受! Hmm, 这个“感同身受”用美语要怎么说呢?
Jessica: You can say it strikes a chord. Strike is spelled s-t-r-i-k-e； and chord, c-h-o-r-d, chord. If something strikes a chord, it means it evokes a similar emotion or reaction. 就是你说的感同身受!
YM: 原来是这样! Yes, your friend’s situation strikes a chord with me!
Jessica: You know, Yumiao, I think you are right. I will call her and apologize for overreacting, and I will wish her good luck!
YM: 我来总结一下今天所学的：第一，换位思考叫做 put oneself in someone else’s shoes;
第二，善解人意可以用 considerate;
第三，感同身受，叫做 strike a chord!
B: If I put myself in other radio host’s shoes, I realize that they must have a lot of pressure! They don’t get to have half as much fun as we do, right Yanglin?
A: Ha, yeah, right, 不知道微薄上谁的粉丝多呀? (两人笑) 好啦同学们，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: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!
A: See you next time!