礼节美语102讲
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公司总裁Tim召集部门经理开会，讨论节能措施。
F: I know it might sound like an old-fashioned idea, but what about some kind of a carpooling program?
T: You know, that just might work for a few of our departments. I know a few of the marketing guys live pretty close to each other.
H: Ah! But now we come to a problem. How do we convince people to sign up for a program that will - at least mildly - inconvenience them?
D: I have to confess, if you asked me to volunteer, I`d turn you down.
H: Sure. So would I. So we can`t rely on the kindness of people`s hearts. We`re not bad people, we`re just busy people.
Faith提议，可以考虑拼车计划，carpooling program。 Henry指出，拼车会给大家带来不便， inconvenience them, 问题是如何说服大家加入。 Sign up for something，是报名参加的意思。
T: I think I get your point. You`re talking about a fundamental motivator. What Henry`s saying is that people need an incentive.
H: Bingo! For the past few years, several companies have been experimenting with paying employees a tiny fee to carpool, use public transport or cycle. One organization in Florida pays twenty cents a mile.
D: Huh. I`d consider riding my bicycle if I was getting paid. That`s like getting paid to work out!
总裁Tim说， I get your point. 我明白你的意思了。 Henry是说要给大家一些好处，incentive 。 Henry说， Bingo! 这在口语里很常用，意思是没错！对了！
H: Yeah! The company has to consider the fee as an investment in carbon reduction and in workers` health. Less driving means less stress.
T: It`s a very interesting idea. But I think you`re right....without an incentive, it`s doomed to failure.
H: It might seem like a lot of hassle and in the end you might only get a few people to change their commuting habits, but just to put it into perspective, here`s a fact from planetgreen.com: If every commuter car in the U.S. carried just one more person, the nation would save 8 billion gallons of gas.
T: It really adds up, doesn`t it? Thanks for the tips, Henry. I think we got a lot of food for thought today.
公司要把这笔钱看成是减少废气排放，促进员工健康的投资。总裁Tim表示赞同。 Henry说，虽然听上去好象挺麻烦，但如果美国每辆上班用的车里都多坐一个人的话，美国就能节省80亿加仑的汽油， It really adds up.
流行美语第324课
李华刚刚看了她最喜欢的电影演员乔治.克鲁尼演的新片Up in the Air. 今天我们要学两个常用语：up in the air和full of hot air.
LL: Hey Li Hua, I heard you went to see that new movie Up in the Air. How`d you like it?
LH: 好看极了，情节特别曲折，让你始终猜不到结局。
LL: Maybe that`s why it`s called Up in the Air?
LH: 你说为什么叫up in the air? 我原来以为，就是因为电影里讲的故事跟坐飞机有关，在天上飞来飞去，所以叫up in the air的。
LL: Well, that`s one reason it`s calledUp in the Air.. But the phrase "up in the air" also has another meaning.
LH: 真的吗？快告诉我，up in the air还有什么其它意思。
LL: Well, people use the expression "it`s up in the air" all the time, and they are not talking about people flying.
LH: 不是在天上飞？那让我想想，说什么事情it`s up in the air在空中悬着，是指一件事情悬而未决吗？
LL: Right! Like last Sunday, my friend Greg was watching the Super Bowl and I asked him who was going to win, and he said, "I don`t know yet. it`s still `up in the air.`"
LH: 是啊，这届超级杯比赛太激烈了，难怪Greg说it`s still up in the air鹿死谁手，还很难说。
LL: Exactly... Greg was using "up in the air" to mean that the game was still undecided and it wasn`t clear who was going to win.
LH: 我明白了。那上星期我烤蛋糕烤到一半，你问我怎么样了，我因为是第一次做，不知道烤出来会不会好吃，就可以说I don`t know, it`s up in the air.
LL: You got it. You can say it`s up in the air because you don`t know whether the cake will taste good or not. This is how "up in the air" is used most of the time. It`s used to show when something is still undecided.
LH: 怎么样，Larry, 今天晚上有什么计划吗？
LL: I don`t know. It`s still up in the air.
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MC: Larry取信回来，Li Hua正坐在沙发上看电视。
LL: Hey Li Hua, what are you watching?
LH: 电视上正转播一个关于西部野火防范问题的听证会。这个国会议员还真能说，已经足足讲了十几分钟了。
LL: Oh, I know this congressman. He`s full of hot air.
LH: Full of hot air? 那是什么意思？
LL: I mean he`s talking a lot without saying anything of value or meaning.
LH: 哦，我明白了，说一个人full of hot air，就是说这个人只会夸夸其谈，但是言之无物。
LL: Yup. "Full of hot air" is also used to describe someone who is exaggerating, talking only to hear their own voice, or talking about something they don`t really understand.
LH: 哦，就是说大话，说空话，甚至对自己并不熟悉的事情也能滔滔不绝的意思。如果这么说，这个国会议员还真是full of hot air。
LL: Politicians in particular are often accused of being "full of hot air". They often talk just for the sake of talking.
LH: 那Larry, 有没有人说你也是full of hot air呢？
LL: I don`t go on and on about subjects that I don`t know a lot about, so no... But if you want, I can pretend to be "full of hot air".
LH: 真的吗，你能装出夸夸其谈的样子？那我可一定得看看。
LL: First tell me what topic you want me to be "full of hot air" on.
LH: 选题？这容易，就说眼下的经济形势吧！
LL: OK. Piece of cake! Unemployment is too high and it needs to be fixed but we need to increase consumption and lower interest rates. At the same time, exports are soaring and that`s creating inflationary issues that are spilling over into the futures markets and affecting the bull market on Wall Street. We also need to worry about the CPI and the real estate market....
LH: WOW! 你还真是full of hot air! 说了一大堆的经济术语，我完全没有听懂。
LL: Yeah. That`s called being "full of hot air".
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是up in the air, 意思是尚无定论，悬而未决。另一个是full of hot air，意思是夸夸其谈。