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B: Time to learn American English! 美语训练班上课啦! 我是Kat!
A: 我是杨琳！Kat, how was your weekend?
B: Not bad. I went fishing with my sister and we caught quite a few fish!
A: 够棒的!今天咱们节目也要带大家去钓鱼, 还要去逛街买礼物，要想想去哪儿渡假, 还要告诉大家怎么用美语说“抓狂”。
B: 听着不错!
A: 节目一开始，还是来学个词儿吧！
Learn A Word #1368 virtual
今天我们要学的词是virtual. Virtual is spelled v-i-r-t-u-a-l, virtual. Virtual , 虚拟的，模拟的。美国和伊朗没有正式外交关系，不过美国国务卿希拉里.克林顿表示，The United States plans to open a virtual embassy for Iran by the end of this year. 美国计划今年年底以前开设一个虚拟的美国驻伊朗网上大使馆。研究人员最近对网上虚拟大学的教学水平提出质疑。Experts at the University of Colorado asserted that full-time virtual schools are largely unregulated. 科罗拉多大学的专家认为，全日制网上学校很大程度上不够规范。A lot of web sites now provide virtual assistants to help customers with what they want. 现在很多网站提供虚拟助手，满足顾客的需要。好的，今天我们学习的词是virtual, virtual, virtual.
A: 现在虚拟的东西越来越多了，There's already a virtual world on the Internet!
B: That's true, but sometimes you still need the real thing. For example, when you're hungry, staring at virtual food won't help.
A: On the contrary, it'll make you more hungry!
B: Haha, exactly! Okay, now let's move on to the next program.
A: 好，一起来听今天的 Words and Idioms, 美国习惯用语。
Words and Idioms 947
女：各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 947讲。我是杨琳。
M：我是 Douglas Johnson.
女：昨天我开车回家的时候，在我们家的小路口险些撞到一辆自行车！这个路口的设计特别差，上个月又出了一起事故，两辆车相撞，车里的人都受伤了。这里真的应该树一块警示牌了! 这也让我想到一个习惯用语，那就是：
M：Bring to a head. Bring is spelled b-r-i-n-g, and head; h-e-a-d. Bring to a head.
女: Bring something to a head 意思是，使某件事情到了非做决定的紧急关头。这个短语通常用来形容比较坏的情况，形容使一件事情到了迫在眉睫，必须做出决定，加以改变的地步。比如上面的例子中，交通路口的情况太糟，车祸使警察到了要决定是否立一块警示牌，以改变这种情况的时候了。The car crash will BRING TO A HEAD the need for a stop sign at the intersection. 这次车祸使警方开始考虑在交叉路口安装警示牌的必要性。下面的例子里，是什么促使人戒烟? 我们来听听看:
M: "Cindy had been trying to persuade her husband to quit smoking. But he never made a serious effort to stop until last month. When he became short of breath playing with his grandson, he realized that his bad habit had to end. It BROUGHT TO A HEAD his addiction to cigarettes. He's been tobacco-free ever since."
这段话是说：辛迪一直试着劝她丈夫戒烟。但他从没认真尝试过，直到上个星期他陪孙子玩儿的时候气都喘不上来，他才意识到，是时候改改抽烟这个坏毛病了。这件事使他意识到他烟瘾的危害。自从那以后，他一直没有碰过香烟。
女：祝贺他! 改掉抽烟这个毛病可不容易。一些人戒烟说不抽就不抽了，不是一点一点来，也不靠外界帮助，我们可以说 cold turkey 断然戒掉烟瘾。It is difficult, but possible to quit smoking cold turkey. 虽然很难，但是断然戒烟是可能的。好，让我们再来听听刚才那段话。
M: "Cindy had been trying to persuade her husband to quit smoking. But he never made a serious effort to stop until last month. When he became short of breath playing with his grandson, he realized that his bad habit had to end. It BROUGHT TO A HEAD his addiction to cigarettes. He's been tobacco-free ever since."
女：那天我妹妹告诉我，她们公司最近走了一大批人，这些人都已经在公司工作超过40年了，很难找到经验跟他们匹配的新员工。我们来听听看:
M: "Our best trained workers are all over 60 years old. And they've been leaving the company faster than they're being replaced. The CEO ought to recognize what's happening. Retirements are BRINGING our labor shortage problem TO A HEAD. So he'd better come up with a solution quickly. "
这段话是说：我们公司最优秀的员工现在都超过60岁了。他们退休的速度远远超过了新员工的招聘速度。我们的CEO需要认识到现在的情况。老员工退休使劳动力短缺的问题迫在眉睫。老板得尽快找到解决方法。
女: 现在美国面临的很大的一个问题就是劳动人口老龄化。1945年到1961年“婴儿潮”时期出生的人现在都慢慢开始退休了，而这也给政府为他们提供的福利出了个大难题: Baby boomers' retirement has BROUGHT concerns about funding TO A HEAD. 婴儿潮一代人的退休使解决政府福利的融资问题变得迫在眉睫。好，我们再来听听刚才那段话:
M: "Our best trained workers are all over 60 years old. And they've been leaving the company faster than they're being replaced. The CEO ought to recognize what's happening. Retirements are BRINGING our labor shortage problem TO A HEAD. So he'd better come up with a solution quickly. "
女：各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是Bring to a head，意思是“使解决某事迫在眉睫”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是杨琳，我是 Douglas Johnson。谢谢各位的收听。
A：最近我生活中也有件事迫在眉睫。
B: Which is?
A：搬家！我邻居太讨厌了，每天晚上拉小提琴，那叫一个难听，吵得我没法睡觉。今天一早我已经喝了三杯咖啡提神，要不眼睛都睁不开了。It brings to a head the need to find a new place.
B：I see. Have you asked your neighbor to keep it down?
A: 说了好多次了，没用！He's driving me crazy! 我要抓狂了！
B: 先别！Don't you want to know how to say 抓狂 in American English?
A: 嘿！我都气成这样了，哪儿还有心思学英语啊？
B: 啊？So... do you want to skip the next segment of the show?
A: 呵呵，也不用。行吧，咱们就来听今天的 “美语怎么说”。
