大家好！今天我们为您播出“美语三级跳”节目“开车”单元的初级课程。

家住洛杉矶的Phil想趁周末来躺自驾游，去赌城拉斯维加斯享受一番。不过，他得先租辆车。

Professor:Winnie, have you ever gone to Las Vegas?

去过一次。Professor Bowman, 如果我是租车公司老板，一定不愿意把车租给去赌城的人，因为他们可能会连车一起输掉!

Phil:Hello, I'd like to rent a car please.

Employee:OK, how long do you need it for?

Phil:I just need it for the weekend.

Employee:Alright, how far will you drive the car?

Phil:Umm ... I'm not sure. How far away is Las Vegas?

看来，Phil准备周末打个来回。不过，租车公司的店员为什么要问Phil去哪儿呢？这关她什么事？

Professor:Winnie, sometimes if you drive a long distance, it will cost you more money to rent the car.

啊？在租车时，如果开得远就要多交钱？那么，从洛杉矶到拉斯维加斯算不算远呢？

Professor:Well, Phil doesn't know how far he has to drive, so he asks the attendant how far away Las Vegas is.

Employee:Las Vegas is about 260 miles from here. Is that where you're going?

Phil:Yes, so I need a nice car so that I look really cool.

Employee:I see .... well would you like a car with a sunroof?

Phil:A sunroof? That's not cool enough. I need a convertible.

Professor:So Winnie, what kind of car does Phil want to drive to Las Vegas.

他想开一辆酷酷的车！去拉斯维加斯这种花花世界当然得开辆好车了!

Professor:Yes, and what kind of car does the rental company employee say he might like?

店员建议Phil租一辆有sunroof--天窗的车，可他觉得这还不够酷，他要一辆convertible--敞篷车! 真希望他能把我也带上!

Employee:Yes, we have a nice red convertible for an extra 40 dollars per day.

Phil:Alright, are there any other taxes or fees?

Employee:Not if you remember to fill the car with gas before you return it.

Phil:Hmm ... well, this sounds like a pretty good deal.

看来扮酷也是有代价的！ 敞篷车每天的租金比普通车高出40美元...不过，想到开着敞篷车，在风中驰骋的感觉，这笔钱，咬咬牙，值了！

Professor:Maybe ... but then you wouldn't look very cool if your hair is all messed up by the wind and all the bugs splattered on your face.

MC:Professor Bowman，你怎么总要破坏气氛！

Professor:Okay, Winnie. So, what does Phil have to do before he returns the car?

店员说，他在还车前要把油加满。除此之外，就没有其它的taxes or fees——税和费用了。Phil觉得这是个good deal，很值，看来他就打算租这辆敞篷车了！

Professor:Well, not so fast. Let's see what happens.

Phil:Actually, I have one more question. Is the car a manual or an automatic?

Employee:It's a manual. Is that alright?

Phil:No, I can only drive an automatic.

Employee:Well I'm sorry, but all of our convertibles are manuals.

Professor:Well Winnie, do you know what the difference between a manual and an automatic car is?

当然知道，manual transmission 就是手动换档，人工换档，相反的，an automatic transmission 是自动换档的车。可惜，这里所有的敞篷车都是manual的，而Phil只会开automatic。

Phil:Oh no ... all your convertibles are manuals? Well, do you have any other cool cars?

Employee:Not really. Our cars are economical, not cool.

Phil:Well too bad ... Maybe my friend Tom will let me borrow his convertible.

Employee:I'm sorry we couldn't help you.

Professor:Winnie, do you know what an economical car is?

MC:Economical, e-c-o-n-o-m-i-c-a-l 是“经济实惠”的意思，所以economical car就是经济型轿车喽!

Professor:That's right! So Phil wants to borrow his friend Tom's convertible. That will be very "economical" for him, and he will look cool.

MC:嗯，这的确是个省钱又扮酷的好主意！就是不知道Tom愿不愿意把自己的敞篷车借给Phil。

Professor:Well, we will have to listen next time to find out!

Ａ：Driving a convertible in Las Vegas! That's really cool!

B:But Tom couldn't get the convertible because he can't drive manual cars.

A:所以他打算去向朋友借车。其实上网查一下，肯定有别的租车公司能满足他的要求。

B：Wow, Yanglin, it seems like you're a savvy online shopper!

A:Of course! 好了，咱们来继续听节目，上次在礼节美语中我们说到了office gossip, 今天，咱们来看看这闲话传得怎么样了。

B:I sure hope they've stopped gossiping![qh]

礼节美语——BE-222 Office Gossip II

Sally 跟同事Lisa和Mary议论办公室里关于Tom的传闻，说Tom 大搞婚外情，被老婆发现。Mary觉得，在办公室里议论这些不好，而且并不知道消息是否属实。Mary 问Lisa小时候玩没玩过一个叫“打电话的游戏”，玩的人坐成一圈，把一句话从第一个人用耳语的方式一直传下去，看传到最后一个人会是什么样子。Lisa 说，

L:Oh, yes! I've played that game! By the time you come to the end of the circle the original sentence has been completely mangled.

M:Right! "John hates chocolate cookies" gets transformed into something like, "James likes monkey pudding."

S:Ok, I get your point. What you mean is that when information gets passed around, often times it becomes corrupted and incorrect, right?

M:Exactly. Also, I think there is a difference between office gossip and commenting on someone's private life.

Lisa 记得，小时候确实玩过这个游戏。一圈人，等传到最后一个人，最开始那句话，已经彻底走样了。她在这里用到的一个动词mangle is spelled m-a-n-g-l-e, mangle, 意思是被肢解，破坏得不像样子。换句话说，一件事一传十，十传百，是很难保证准确无误的。Mary 还说，她觉得，大家议论办公室里发生的事情，跟讨论别人的私生活也是有差别的。

Mary:If the boss was hard on you today and you tell your colleagues about it, well... maybe that's just part of office life. But Tom's private life is no concern of ours.

L:But people have been gossiping since the dawn of time! It's sort of a way for people to bond.

M:Yes, I understand that. But I worry about spreading personal attacks or revealing secrets about someone's private life.

L:You might be right. For one thing, the person we're talking about isn't here to defend himself, and that's not really fair. And like you mentioned, we don't even know if the story is true.

Mary说，如果是老板对你过于严厉，if the boss was too hard on you. 你回来跟同事抱怨，这可能是办公室生活很正常的内容，但 Tom 的私生活 is no concern of ours. 完全不是我们应该关心的范畴。Lisa觉得很有道理，而且，被议论的对象现在不在现场，所以无法为自己做出辩解，而且大家也并不知道传闻是否属实。 Sally 说，

S:Those are good points. Tom is actually a really nice guy. I've worked with him for five years and he's always been a good friend.

L:For us, if Tom is a good co-worker that's all that really matters.

S:All right...I'm not going to discuss this rumor any further. Let's leave it alone.

L:Good idea.

M:I think we all hope Tom and his wife can work out any troubles they might be having. Let's wish them the best.

Sally跟Tom共事过五年，觉得Tom是个很好的人。Lisa说，对我们来说，Tom只要是个好同事就足够了，其他都不重要。Sally保证，不再去议论Tom的事，Let's leave it alone. 不要再去管这些流言蜚语。Mary 补充说，希望Tom夫妇两人能 work out any troubles they might be having. 妥善解决两人之间的问题。

A:有句话说：谣言止于智者。看来Mary就是这个办公室里的智者。She knows gossiping can be counterproductive and it has crossed the line between office life and private life.

B:Well, but do you think she could really stop people from talking about this alleged affair once and for all?

A:嗯，可能也不行。大家表面虽然说，对对对，不议论了，可以后说不定还是会八卦起来。最好是Tom夫妻俩能用实际行动粉碎这些传闻。Actions speak louder than words! 对不对？

B:I hope so too! 好了，now let's relax and listen to American Sports English!

A:好!今天我们要学游泳呢!

American Sports English:Swimming

Y:大家好。我是杨晨。

P:我是Patrick。

Y:Patrick，Are you ready for the pool?

P:Oh yeah, I've got my bathing suit, my goggles...

Y:这个帽子好可笑，是干什么用的?

P:This is my swim cap. It keeps the chlorine out of my hair and it lets me swim faster. Say, Are you going to do some laps?

Y:Laps?

P:You know, swimming in the lane back and forth a few times for exercise.

Y:Oh, doing laps 就是在游泳池里一趟一趟地来回游。 怪不得上次我买游泳衣，那个店员问我Are you just doing laps? 不过，Swimming laps sounds like too much work. 我还是晒太阳好了。

P:It is a good workout. Which style are you best at?

Y:我喜欢backstroke仰泳。

P:Backstroke isn't bad, you should check out my butterfly stroke

Y:That's a butterfly? 我看你不像蝴蝶，倒是像个蚂蚱。

P:I don't look like a grasshopper. Are you going to get in or just stand there criticizing?

Y:Ok, Ok, I'm coming in, 不过我要跳水。

P:Dive in? Remember not to dive in the shallow end!

Y:Why not?

P:That's the part that is not deep enough to dive in. You don't want to hit your head!

Y:Oh, OK, Thank you Patrick. Here I go!

A:我可不喜欢带游泳帽，太难看了，无法展示我的一头秀发!

B:But if you swim without wearing the cap, the chlorine will do damage on your hair.

A:少游会儿呗! 多在岸上趟会儿，看看帅哥!

B:Is that the main reason why you go to the swimming pool or the beach?

A:Bingo!

B:Then you definitely don't need a swimming cap. You should use the money to buy a good bikini!

A:That's exactly what I did! 哈哈! 好了，节目时间差不多了，这次的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

B:Bye!