評論
打印
A:Kat, 最近新上了好幾部電影，你去看了么？
B:還沒有。Have you?
A:我本來想去看其中一部，因為這個電影宣傳了很久，排場很大。可昨天一個朋友跟我說，她看了，沒意思。
B:所以這個電影是吹牛嘍？
A:也許吧。起碼是炒得太過火!
B:炒？吵架么？Why did they fight?
A:不是吵架，是炒作! 聽聽“美語怎么說”你就明白啦!
JESSICA 在北京學漢語，她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞，就會來請教他。今天是怡茹要問的: 炒作。
YR:JESSICA, 你看，這兩個電影明星被偷拍到一起吃飯逛街。
JESSICA:Hmm, interesting. So, are they dating?
YR:雜志說他們約會，可他倆不承認。我看，這一定又是炒作，因為他們一起拍的電影快上映啦! 哎？“炒作”美語怎么說啊？
JESSICA:We call that a "publicity stunt". Publicity is spelled p-u-b-l-i-c-i-t-y; and stunt, s-t-u-n-t. A publicity stunt.
YR:Publicity 是“宣傳”， stunt 是“特技”，放在一起，a publicity stunt，“為了宣傳而使出的絕招”，這就是炒作!
JESSICA:Right. 炒作是為了票房。I bet that this is a publicity stunt to make the movie a box office hit.
YR:哦~~box office 就是票房。 賣座好，票房高的電影就是 a box office hit. 不過 JESSICA, 我聽說這部要上映的片子還真不錯，要不咱們也買張票去看看，支持一下他們的 box office?
JESSICA:No, I'm not going! YR, 現在很多電影都沒有宣傳的那么好，they're promoted too excessively!
YR:你是說好多電影被吹過頭了？
JESSICA:Right. We have a word for that---overhyped, o-v-e-r-h-y-p-e-d.
YL:overhyped 就是名不副實，吹噓過頭。那我如果說，The movie star's performance in this comedy was overhyped.——這個明星在這部喜劇中的表演被吹過頭了。對不對？
JESSICA:That's correct. Now let's see what you've learned today!
YR:第一: 炒作叫 a publicity stunt; 第二，票房叫 box office; 第三，形容吹噓過頭，可以用 overhyped.
B:Overhyped movies rarely meet your expectations.
A:不光是電影。有時出去吃飯，在網上看餐廳的reviews, 說得天花亂墜，可去了感覺也就一般。
B:沒錯! Sometimes, reviews are inflated. But, you know, it's all about personal taste. For example, a lot of people like Paris and say it's the most attractive city in the world, but some say it's the most overhyped tourist destination.
A:對，這可能是因為蘿卜白菜，各有所愛。
B:What? You just mentioned some vegetables and I don't have a clue what you meant.
A:哈哈！待會兒我解釋給你聽，咱們還是繼續聽節目吧。Let's listen to GoEnglish!
Go English Wedding:Intermediate
大家好！今天我們為您播出“美語三級跳”節目“婚禮”單元的中級課程。
Professor:John and Carmen decided to have their wedding in a small church in Carmen's home town. Today, they are planning the details.
John本想到拉斯維加斯去結婚，可最后還是聽了 Carmen的話，在Carmen的家鄉辦傳統婚禮。不知道在籌劃婚禮的過程中，John是不是還會處處遷就Carmen。
Professor:Let's listen.
Carmen:Gosh, John, I just love being back in my home town. It's the perfect place to get married.
John:Yeah, I guess it's pretty good. I can't wait for the wedding. It's going to be a great party!
Carmen:A party? John, this wedding is supposed to be a romantic event for you and me.
John:Yeah that's fine. But I'm also definitely going to party with the groomsmen at the wedding reception!
Professor Bowman, groomsmen 是婚禮伴郎么？
Professor:That's right, Winnie. The groom's friends are called the groomsmen, and the bride's friends are called the bridesmaids.
MC:哦，伴娘就是bridesmaids。那么，reception又是什么呢？
Professor:The reception is the dinner after the wedding ceremony.
哦，reception就是喜宴! 怪不得John說，婚禮是個大派對，他等不及跟伴郎們在喜宴上大吃大喝呢!
Carmen:That's right, we have to plan the reception too. How many people do you think will come?
John:I don't know... but we have a pretty big wedding party, and I have a really big family.
Carmen:That's true! I don't think I will be able to remember the names of all my in-laws.
John:Don't worry. I often forget some of their names too!
這個John，三句話不離"party"! Carmen問他喜宴會有多少客人，可他只會說“We have a pretty big wedding party.”
Professor:Actually, Winnie, in this case the wedding party is the people who are directly participating in the wedding.
哦，原來這個wedding party不是婚禮派對，而是“婚禮團”，也就是雙方父母，伴郎伴娘等婚禮中的關鍵人物!
Professor:Yes. Carmen says John's family is so big that she won't remember the names of all her "in-laws".
嗯，in-laws 就是配偶的家里人，包括岳父，婆婆，小姑等等。
Carmen:Say John, do you know who your best man is going to be?
John:No, I haven't decided yet. I'll probably choose whichever friend can give the best toast. What about your maid of honor?
Carmen:I haven't had time to decide because I've been so busy thinking about all the other planning. We haven't even talked about the rehearsal dinner yet!
John:Don't worry. The groom's family is supposed to plan the rehearsal dinner.
Professor:So Winnie, how is John going to pick his best man? Best man就是主伴郎，或者叫男儐相。John說他會讓那個give the best toast--最會致祝酒詞的朋友當他的best man.
Professor:Right. And what about Carmen? Has she picked her maid of honor?
Maid of honor就是主伴娘，女儐相，Carmen忙著籌備婚禮，還沒想好讓誰當maid of honor. 對了，professor Bowman, 什么是rehearsal dinner？
Professor:The day before the wedding, everyone in the wedding party practices what they have to do. Afterward they all have dinner together at the rehearsal dinner.
哦，我明白了。婚禮前，婚禮團的人會把所有儀式彩排一遍，然后一起吃飯，這頓飯就叫"rehearsal dinner".
Professor:Yes, that is the tradition.
John:I know, let's just get a wedding planner to do all the work for us.
Carmen:A wedding planner? No way! I don't want a stranger planning our wedding.
John:Well if you don't want to get a wedding planner, my mother said she would be happy to help you plan the wedding.
Carmen:Your mother? You know, John, maybe a wedding planner isn't such a bad idea after all.
哈，看來Carmen 不想讓未來的婆婆策劃自己的婚禮，所以她寧可請一位wedding planner——婚禮策劃師來出謀劃策。
Professor:You know, Winnie, I have to agree that even though a wedding planner is a stranger, having your mother-in-law planning your wedding could be a lot worse....
A:原來 wedding party 指的是婚禮中的那些關鍵人物，就是新郎新娘最核心的親友團。
B:That's right. One thing worth pointing out is "wedding party" isn't the "party" after the ceremony. That's called the reception.
A:對，婚宴是 reception. 在中國，婚宴一般是越盛大越好，最后搞成一個banquet, 宴席。
B:Wow, that's a lot of work for the wedding planner.
A:其實在婚宴上忙碌的主要是新人和雙方父母！比如說，最直接的工作: 排桌！
B:Arranging seats?
A:對啊！把哪個賓客安排在哪一桌，和誰坐在一起，離舞臺有多遠，這里面都是很有講究的！
B:I don't really care. I just want to enjoy some Chinese food at the reception.
A:你真是個好客人。不過，別人可沒你這么隨和。說到安排座位，在工作場合，開會或吃飯的時候，座位的安排也有一些講究，咱們來聽一聽!
