Part 1 Mike Wasn't Studying Hard 麥克沒有努力學習

Dialogue Script 1 對話原文 1

Mom: Mike did WHAT?
Teacher: And this isn't the first time, Mrs. Wilson. Mike has failed his last three tests.
Mom: Oh, my goodness! He told us he was doing very well
Teacher: I wish that were the case. He just hasn't been trying very hard.
Mom: Unbelievable! I'll make sure I speak with him about this right away. Thank you.
Teacher: No problem. I'll keep an eye on his progress.
(After Mom hangs up the phone.)
Mom: Guess who just called me?
Dad: I don't know. Surprise me.
Mom: Mike's teacher called-his grades have slipped a lot recently!
Dad: What? That's not a good surprise. What can we do?
Mom: He needs a good talking to...followed by a punishment.
Dad: Let's not be too hard on him. Maybe he just needs encouragement.
Mom: I don't know. He has to be aware there are consequences when he doesn't study.

講解：

1. 對話中，學校的老師給Mike家打來電話，告訴家長Mike最近三次考試都不及格。媽媽還不相信，老師說這已經不是第一次了。fail 在這里作動詞，表示“不及格”，比如說，I failed the History test again. 我歷史考試又不及格。

2. 還有fail in sth這個詞組可以表示“在某事物中失敗，不及格”，比如說，He passed in maths but failed in French. 他算術考試通過了，但是法語不及格。那么通過考試我們就可以用pass這個詞。

3. fail還可以表示 “使失望，舍棄，辜負”，比如說，He never fails to write to his mother every week. 他每周都給母親寫信。Words fail me. 我無法用語言來表達我的感受。 Our water supply has failed us. 我們的水供應不足。

4. Mike的成績這么差，很讓媽媽吃驚，因為Mike一直告訴他們他在學校考試都考得很好。老師說，但愿如此I wish that were the case. 這是一個虛擬語氣的句子了，the case 在這里表示“實情，情況”。比如說，If that is the case, you'll have to work much harder. 果真如此，你就要更加努力了。老師說最近Mike就是不夠努力。媽媽說一定要馬上跟Mike談談這件事情，speak with sb about sth就表示“跟某人就某事談話”。

5. 老師也表示會和Mike的家長合作，密切注意Mike的學習進展。keep an eye on sth表示“特別注意，密切注意某事物”。媽媽放下電話，就跟Mike的爸爸說了這個情況。媽媽問爸爸知不知道剛才是誰打電話來呢？

6. 爸爸說不知道，給我一個驚喜吧，Surprise me. 大家知道surprise作為名詞可以表示“驚奇，驚訝，意外”，這里是作為動詞，表示“讓某人吃驚，感到驚訝”，It wouldn't surprise me if they lost. 他們要是失敗了也不足為奇。這句話也可以說成 I wouldn't be surprised if they lost.

7. 媽媽告訴爸爸，Mike最近在學校的成績一落千丈。slip就表示“下滑，跌落”。grade就是“考試或者作業的分數，評分等級”的意思。比如說，Pupils with 90% or more are awarded Grade A. 滿90分的學生評為甲等。 She got excellent grades in her exams. 她考試成績優異。grade還表示“年級”，比如說，My daughter is in the third grade. 我女兒上小學三年級。

8. 媽媽說，Mike的成績這么差，必須得跟他好好談一談了。He needs a good talking to...talk to本來是一個動詞詞組，這里在talk后面加上ing，就變成了名詞詞組，表示“找某人談話”。

9. 媽媽說，除了談話還要附帶一點懲罰。爸爸覺得還是不要對Mike太嚴厲了吧，也許他需要的只是鼓勵。be hard on sb 表示“對某人很嚴厲”。媽媽也不確定，只是Mike必須搞清楚不用功學習這件事情的嚴重后果。be aware of sth or be aware that 都表示“知道某事”。

Dialogue Script 2 對話原文 2

Mom: Mike! Could you come here for a second, please?
Mike: Sure, Mom. What's up?
Mom: How has school been going?
Mike: School? Oh, uh, well...it's OK. You know, not too bad.
Mom: We got a call from Mr. Flynn. He said your marks have been poor lately.
Mike: Uh, yeah. I guess I've had a few problems. There have been some tough tests.
Mom: Have you been studying hard, son?
Mike: Yeah, sometimes.
Mom: I find that hard to believe. What do I hear coming from your room every night?
Mike: Usually I'm playing comp---I mean, usually I'm studying.
Mom: Mike, it's OK if your grades are not always perfect. We can accept that.
Mike: Then it's OK to have bad grades sometimes, right?
Mom: No! Absolutely not! We can not accept that you don't try your best.
Mike: I do try hard!
Mom: Son, you're not being honest. Until we see an improvement, you're grounded.
Mike: Grounded? Oh, Mom! No! I need to go to Hank's tonight.
Mom: Mike, you need to make some changes.
Mike: OK, fine! I don't care, anyway.
Mom: When we see a better effort from you, the grounding will end. Until then, you'll stay at home.

講解：

1. 對話中，媽媽找Mike談話了。媽媽在樓下叫Mike，Mike還不知道怎么回事，問What's up? 有什么事情？這是在口語中很常用的話。朋友見面，打招呼問好的時候也可以用。

2. 媽媽問Mike最近學校的功課如何呢？How has school been going? 這里就用 school 這一個詞來表示“所有在學校里發生的事情”。我們還可以問，How was the school today? 今天上學怎么樣？

3. Mike一聽媽媽突然提起學校，就緊張起來，含糊其詞地說，一切都還好。Oh, uh, well...這些詞就是用在說話支支吾吾的時候。媽媽看他不承認，就直接說剛才接到了學校老師打來的電話，說他最近成績一直很糟糕。

4. marks 這里跟前面提到的grade一樣，表示“考試分數”。Mike知道瞞不過去了，就說自己最近是有點問題，有些考試還是很難的。媽媽問他最近到底有沒有用功讀書，Mike說有時候有。

5. 媽媽覺得Mike的話很難讓人相信。I find that hard to believe.find ...hard to believe可以用來委婉地說別人“撒謊”。我們用一個對話來作例子，---The boss finds it hard to believe that we can't sell this product. ---He should see the market. Those people don't want this all. ---老板不相信我們無法銷售這項產品。---他該看看市場狀況。大家根本不想要這種產品。

6. I find that hard to believe. 除了用來表示“不相信”或者“難以置信”，也可以用在其他情況，表示“不可思議”。比如說，---I find it hard to believe that you ate all the pies by yourself. ---I did. I was so hungry. ---我真不敢相信你一個人把這些派都吃了。---我是都吃了。我太餓了。

7. 因為每天晚上媽媽都能聽見從Mike的房間里面傳出怪怪的聲音。Mike一不小心說漏了嘴，Usually I'm playing comp---又及時改口，I mean, usually I'm studying. 其實他是想說Usually I'm playing computer games. 其實我是在玩電腦游戲。

8. 媽媽也不想太強求Mike，告訴他成績一直沒有名列前茅無所謂，是可以接受的。Mike趁機說，那么成績不好也無所謂了，是不是。媽媽說絕對不是這樣，我們可以接受你成績不好的事實，但是不能接受你沒有盡全力爭取。Mike還在辯解說，他已經盡力了。

9. 但是媽媽卻說他沒有說實話，you're not being honest. 這個句子也跟上面的I find it hard to believe. 一樣，可以用來委婉地說別人“撒謊”。我們來舉個例子，---I didn't steal your boyfriend. He's the one who called me. ---You're not being honest. You liked him from the start. ---我沒有勾引你的男朋友。是他打電話給我的。---你撒謊。你從一開始就喜歡他。

10. 媽媽不得不采取強硬措施了，如果Mike的成績還沒有任何起色，就不準他出門了。ground這里是動詞，表示“不準某人出門，禁足”。be grounded 就是“被罰禁足”的意思，grounding是名詞形式。

11. Mike一聽不讓他出去，就著急了。他今晚還約好了要去Hank家呢。但是媽媽的態度很堅決，只要Mike努力學習，他就可以自由出門了。但是在這之前，他就得呆在家里。看來Mike不得不改變計劃了。

Part 2 Time to Hit the Books 該打開書本學習了

Dialogue Script 1 對話原文 1

Mom: Mike, we'd like you to start studying in the living room from now on.
Mike: It's too noisy in there.
Mom: Don't worry. We'll make sure the house is quiet when you study.
Mike: I like my room better when I have to study stuff.
Mom: You have to prove to us that you are big enough to study by yourself.
Mike: Aw, Mom!
Mom: If you start getting "A's", you can study in your room again. And "B's" will end your grounding.
Mike: Awww! It's too difficult for me to get "B's"!
Mom: You have to put your mind to it. Your father and I can help you when things are difficult.
Mike: But I don't like studying. It's boring!
Mom: Mike, everyone goes through this.
Mike: You guys don't study!
Mom: Are you kidding? We did the exact same thing as you when we were your age.

講解：

1. 對話中，媽媽在督促Mike做作業。從現在開始，Mike必須在客廳里做作業，這樣家長就能看到Mike到底在做什么了。from now on表示“從現在開始”，那么from then on就表示“從那時起”。

2. Mike嫌客廳里面太吵，媽媽說不用擔心，只要是Mike念書的時候，一定會讓屋里靜悄悄的。Mike還在繼續找借口，說他念書的時候比較喜歡在自己的房間。媽媽還是不讓步，說Mike必須向家長證明他已經大到可以自己念書了。

3. big在這里表示“長大了的”，跟old差不多，比如我們可以說，He's big enough to go out without his parents. 他已經長大了，不用父母陪著出門了。我們還可以說He's old enough to go out without his parents. big還可以表示“年齡更大的”，我們可以說my big sister或者my big brother，就是我的姐姐或者我的哥哥。

4. Mike覺得在媽媽的監督下學習真的很煩，但是媽媽堅持說，等Mike開始拿A，就可以再回自己房間念書，如果拿B的話，就會取消禁足令了。大家對這里的A 和B一定不會陌生了吧，在這里A和B指“成績的等級”。A為優秀，相當于九十分以上，B為甲等，相當于八十到八十九分。Mike覺得自己要拿到B等就已經非常困難了。

5. 媽媽說，You have to put your mind to it.你就得專心致志了。put one's mind to sth 表示“致力于某事，專心于某事”。如果Mike學習有困難，爸爸和媽媽都會幫助他。但是Mike抱怨說他就是不喜歡學習，太無聊了。

6. 媽媽安慰他說，每個人都會經歷這個階段的。go through 這個詞組表示“經歷某事”。可是Mike 覺得這些大人們就不用學習。 媽媽說，Are you kidding? We did the exact same thing as you when we were your age. 開什么玩笑，我跟你一樣大的時候，也要做一模一樣的事情。

Dialogue Script 2 對話原文 2

Mike: I wish I was an adult too. Then I wouldn't have to study.
Mom: Not everything in life is fun and games, Mike.
Mike: This isn't fair! My friends don't have to study.
Mom: Honey, you need to have a better attitude.
Mike: Who can be happy about studying?!
Mom: Think of it this way...you have to study no matter what, so just try to be happy when you do.
Mike: That's easy for you to say! You're an adult.
Mom: Being an adult has nothing to do with it. People who think positively live happier lives.
Mike: You think so?
Mom: I know so! Plus, moms and dads know what their children are going through.

講解：

1. Mike也希望自己是一個成年人，那樣一來就不用再學習了。媽媽開導他說，人生并不是每一件事情都是輕輕松松的。fun and games 表示“輕松愉快的事情”。

2. Mike說這不公平，他的那些朋友就不用學習。媽媽覺得他應該要有好一點的態度。Mike還抱怨說誰會喜歡學習呢。媽媽勸他不妨這樣想，無論如何都得念，所以念書的時候就高興一點吧。

3. Think of it this way...表示“不如這樣想吧”，這個句子一般用在說服別人的時候，也就是建議對方“換另一種角度來看”，我們來舉個例子，---I hate going to school. ---Think of it this way...if you don't, you'll never get a good job. ---我討厭上學。---從這個角度看吧，如果不上學，就找不到好的工作。

4. 使用Think of it this way...的另一種場合就是在“解釋原因”的時候，表示別人只要從你的角度想事情，自然就會了解你的看法了。舉個例子，---I'm having a hard time understanding why the company is failing. ---Think of it this way...the boss doesn't know what he's doing. ---我不明白公司為什么失敗。---你就這樣想吧…老板根本不知道自己在干嘛。

5. no matter what 表示“無論如何”。 Mike還是不高興，That's easy for you to say! You're an adult. 你說得倒輕松！你是大人了。媽媽說，這和是不是大人無關，想法積極的人活得更快樂。positively是副詞，表示“積極地”，那么think positively就表示“積極正面思考”。

6. Mike還是半信半疑，媽媽真的是這么想的嗎？媽媽很肯定的告訴他，她知道就是這樣。而且，父母都知道自己的孩子都在經歷哪些事情，也是很理解孩子的。

Dialogue Script 3 對話原文 3

Mike: Mom, can I go to Robby's home after dinner?
Mom: Have you finished your homework yet?
Mike: Oh, Mom! Not yet.
Mom: What do you think I'm going to say?
Mike: "You have to finish your homework first before you go out to play."
Mom: I couldn't have put it better myself! Now hit those books.
(One hour later)
Mom: How's the homework coming along, son?
Mike: It's OK, Mom. But sometimes it's really tiring to finish all my work.
Mom: Welcome to the real world, son.
Mike: What do you mean by that, Mom?
Mom: Well, as the old saying goes, "Work before play." That will never change throughout your life.
Mike: I'm starting to get the idea.

講解：

1. 晚飯之后Mike想去Robby家，媽媽問他功課做完了嗎？Mike很不情愿地說還沒有呢。不用問也知道媽媽會說什么了吧，Mike替媽媽說了出來，你出去玩之前，要先做完功課。

2. 媽媽點點頭，說I couldn't have put it better myself! 我自己都沒有辦法說的那么好。put 在這里表示“說，表達”，比如說，She put it very tactfully. 她話說得很有技巧。How can I put it?我該怎么說呢？

3. 媽媽接著說，Now hit those books. 現在去用功看書吧。hit the books 這個短語最常掛在學生的嘴邊，表示“該看書了，該用功了”。但是只要是需要花精神讀資料、做研究的時候，都可以用到這個短語，不一定只用到學生身上。比如說，---I want to learn the roads of this city. ---You need to hit the books. Now where did I leave that map? ---我想了解這個城市的街道。---那你得做點功課。我把那份地圖放到哪去了？

4. hit the books這個短語還可以已經很久沒念書，需要“重拾書本”的時候。還是用一個對話作例子，---The manager told us to learn how to use that new computer software. ---I guess it's time to hit the books. ---經理叫我們學習使用那種新的電腦軟件。---看來是重拾書本的時候了。

5. 一個鐘頭過去了，Mike的作業做的怎樣了呢？Mike覺得還不錯，但是有時候要做完所有的功課好累哦。媽媽說，Welcome to the real world, son. 歡迎到現實世界來。這是什么意思呢，就是說現實總是殘酷的，歡迎別人來到現實世界，表示要和他一起面對世界的殘酷，而不是世界的美好。這個句子最常用來回應別人的抱怨，當有人不知人間疾苦，說些大小姐、大少爺才會說的話，就可以語帶諷刺地用這句話回應。比如說，---Life isn't fair. I never seem to have time to do what I really like to do. ---Welcome to the real world. ---生活真不公平。我幾乎從來沒有時間做我真正想做的事情。---歡迎來到現實世界。

6. Welcome to the real world. 這句話也可以做字面上的意思解釋，但是語氣會顯得夸張。比如說，---Welcome to the real world of fun and excitement. ---I didn't realize it was so nice in this city. ---歡迎來到貨真價實的精彩刺激世界。---我之前都不知道這個城市這么美好。Mike不太理解Welcome to the real world.這句話的含義，問What do you mean by that, Mom? 也就是What do you mean by saying that? 那是什么意思呢？

7. 媽媽解釋說，俗話說得好，Work before play. 先苦后樂。我們也可以說成先苦后甜。這個道理是一輩子都不會改變的。現在Mike開始了解了。get the idea，表示“了解，弄明白”，跟get it 差不多。