1、美国人的思维课程笔记：第一单元 Hello, America and American!第一部分 Warm UpLETS GET HEATED今天我们的主要练习，首先对话 如果放在纸上它就是个字。如果我们念出来，仅仅是在读，它毫无生命色彩。1、从情感色彩上去学习如何朗 读和感受对话。2、从对话当中练习技巧。下面是两个人在交流交男女朋友的经验， 这是人类共同的话题，但文化价 值观的差异又使我们在同样的问题的处理方法上有所不同：A: Hey, theres Leo. I wonder why hes walking arm in arm with that young woman.B: Its a
2、s plain as the nose on your face. Theyre dating each other.A: Youre pulling my leg! *She must be thirty years younger than Leo. Talk about robbing the cradle!B: Well, you can bet this relationships going to be a flash in the pan.A: It must have been love at first sight because I know he didnt have a
3、 girlfriend last week.B: I think you are absolutely right. Actually, my father proposed to my mother after knowing her only two weeks. They got married a month later.词句解析： wonder ：意思是 “怀疑、纳闷儿”。因 为对话中的女人比男人小很多 walking arm in arm：意为“walking with his arm interlocked”。 Its as plain as the nose on your f
4、ace：意思是“very obvious”。 pulling my leg：意思是“kidding”。 rob the cradle：意思是“date someone much younger than you”。 be a flash in the pan ：意思是“going to be temporary”。 must have been：表推论的句型，其中MUST重读用以表明自己的态度，具有很强的征服。 absolutely right：该短语一定要充满自信地重读。思维解析：恋人之间的年龄对美国人来说永远不是问题。在美国或其他西方国家，爱情似乎只有男女之分，而没有老少之分。中国的传统文
5、化中的 Respect the authority and the old men是美国个人主 义文化氛围所不能理解和接受的在美国，爱情间不是很在乎门当 户对、年 龄等，他们更在乎两个人之间的吸引力和个人魅力。美国，更加注重自我，从自我出发，这个美国的价值观有关系。美国人对“爱”的理解和中国人很不一样“ 只求曾经拥有，不求天长地久” 的思想在美国很普遍。人们追求片刻的“爱”胜过一世家庭的稳定，可以说美国的社会是建立在“个人” 的基础上，几乎没有人把追求家庭的稳定作为人生目标；相反，追求个人的幸福成 为人们的梦想。美国社会的稳定不建立在家庭的稳定上，而是建立在个人心态的稳定上，所以美国在大学很多
6、人就会结婚，他们结婚的 时候是真的互相爱对方，没有考虑到很多现实因素，但也是因为这点，会有比较多的人离婚。下面的对话是 A 同学帮 B 同学想办法解决 B 在度假期间公寓处置的问题：A：*You must be pretty excited about your trip to Europe. When is it that you are leaving?B： In just three weeks, and I am excited. But there are still a few things I need to do before I go.A： Like what?B:： Lik
7、e renewing my passport, going to the travel agency to buy my plane ticket and figuring out what to do with my apartment while Im gone.A： You are not going to give it up, are you?B： No way. Ill never find another apartment around here. But I dont like the idea of paying three months rent on an empty
8、apartment, either. A: I dont blame you. *Perhaps you could sublet it.B： Yes, but whom to?A： Mmm let me think. Oh, I know just a person. An old colleague of mine, Jim Thomas, is coming here to do some research this summer, from June to August.B： Thats exactly when Ill be away. It sounds ideal, as lon
9、g as the landlord agrees.A： Tell you what, Ill be calling Jim late this week anyway, so Ill mention it to him then.B： Well, thanks, Bill. Let me know what happens. That extra money will really come in handy.词句解析： pretty：在口语中的意思是“very”相当于副词的作用。 a few：意思是“ 很少一些”，用来修饰可数名词。注意：如果是 few，意思就是 “几乎没有”。 Like w
10、hat：当what 重读时，表示说话方极度不耐烦 ；轻读时，表示 说话方想继续这 个对话，并想了解更多的细节。在本段对话中要轻读。 figure out：美国习语，意思是 “弄清楚、明白”。 You are not going to give it up, are you?：这种句式在英语中被称为“tag question” ，其中，“give up”是美国习语，意思是放弃。 No way：重读，表示坚决反对 或不同意。 I dont like the idea of something or doing something：美国习语，意思是“ 我不愿意干某事”。 sublet：意思是“ 转租
11、”。 Tell you what：这是美语中常用的插入 语，相当于 汉语中的 “这个、那个” ；类似的词语还有“guess what, I mean, well, anyway, you know, etc.” come in handy：美国习语，意思是“be useful from time to time。思维解析：1 You must be pretty excited about your trip to Europe.美国是个充满活力的国家。美国人好 动的性格使他们不停留于安逸，尤其是学生，都愿意利用闲暇时间去世界各地旅游、长见识。在美国国内，那些从事重复性工作或服务性行业的人多数
12、是外国劳工或美国的老年人，而年轻人都在旅游或从事 创造性强的工作。 这 是美国精神中求新求异观念的体现。美国人对于旅游都是很热衷的。美国人最喜 欢吹牛的话题就是旅游，因为这是一个花钱花体力的事儿。但并不是一定要等有钱的才能旅游。2 Perhaps you could sublet it.在美国，你租的房子可以转租，当然这要争得房主的同意；一般来 说房主会同意的，因为让空房子闲置是一种浪费，中美之间就这一点有共同之 处，但在怎 样是浪 费的问题上却存在分歧，比如：美国人认为让自己的钱静静地躺在银行里就是一种浪费，而中国人认为那是处理资金最稳妥的办法。美国人商品社会发展的比较长的必然结果，Amer
13、icans really know how to use money to make money,如何用钱 去赚钱。美国人买很多大件贵重的东西都会用credits，大多数美国人都没有闲置的财富。3. Define travel agencyTravel agency is a kind of business. It provides service to travelling.下面是电影里的一段对白，B(Ben)无所事事地在游泳池中漂流，A 对他这种颓废的表现十分不满，对话由此展开：A:：Ben, what are you doing?B： Well, I would say that Im
14、 just drifting - here, in the pool.A： Why? B: Well, its very comfortable just to drift here.A： Have you thought about graduate school?B： No.A: *Would you mind telling me then what were those four years of college for? What was the point of all that hard work?B： You got me.A： Now listen, Ben. Look, I
15、 think its a very good thing that a young man *after hes done some very good work should have a chance to relax and enjoy himself, and lie around, and drink beer and so on. But after a few weeks I believe that person would want to take some stock in himself and his situation and start to think about
16、 getting off his ass.词句解析： drift：意思是 “漂流、漂浮” thought about：要注意thought 最后一个字母“t”和about 的第一个字母“a”连读，且“t”非重读，所以实际读音接近“d”。 graduate school：意思是“研究生院”。 Would you mind telling me?：美国习语，意思是 “你介意把这件事告诉我吗？”。或者翻成再口语化一点的意思“你能跟我说说某事吗？” You got me.：美国 习语，意思是“你问住我了或我不知道” 。 listen：其中的“i”为短的,所以实际读音接近。 getting off hi
17、s ass.：美国俚语，意思是“不要懒惰，开始工作 ”，再口 语化一点的翻译是“ 该挪动屁股干活去了”。思维解析：1. Would you mind telling me?这是美语中非常客气的说法，美国是个人主 义盛行的国家，所以尊重别人的隐私是非常重要的。当你要别人为你干某事时，这是非常合适的句型，即使你们俩人的关系非常 亲密，比如：父子、夫妻、母子等，也千万不要用命令的口气让别 人为你干事。例如：有人抽烟，你觉得很受打 扰，可以用一种比 较严肃的语 气说“Would you mind?”，来委婉的进行提醒。2. After hes done some very good work shou
18、ld have a chance to relax and enjoy himself.在努力的工作之后，进行全身心地放松是典型的美国人的工作和生活方式。美国人崇尚 hard work。在他们工作时，非常敬业，进取心非常强；一旦完成了工作，就会进行娱乐活动，甚至是过分的娱乐，比如：喝得大醉，通霄跳舞等都是美国社会价值观可以接受的。中国人或者亚洲人，会认为如果大家关系很好，那么在工作的时候可以互相给予便利。但是，美国人是公私比较分明的，他们常会说 Lets get down to business.，Business is nothing you can play with.。那么当工作之后，他
19、们就会特别放松。So, next time when you are doing business with the American, its very nice to you,when you are at work, do not expect them to treat you in the same way the next on the negotiation table.见面寒暄是一门艺术，根据时间 、空 间、关系的远近，所要完成的交流功能大相径庭。成功的开场是展开一个精彩话题的基础，记住把握你自己的机会。Sentence Pattern: Open Develop CloseH
20、ow to open the conversation?打开对话的方式有千万种，但是下面是几种最不好的去open the conversation的句子，大家一定不要用。1. Can I practice English with you? / Can I speak English with you?2. Do you speak English? Do you wanna talk with me?在你要打开你的对话时，你一定考 虑到对方会怎么感觉或者对方所尊重的价值观。一个成功的opening 从语言的角度来 说有千万种表达方式，但是你的思维应该这么想，你的任何语言都要基于你对现在处的情
21、况的理解。例如：在汽车站，你遇到一个美国人，你想跟他练英语，怎么 办？能够引起你俩之间的接触是谈论汽车站的情形。可以 谈论一些交通状况或公交状况等等。引起共鸣后，可将话题进一步扩展，随后自我介绍，进入谈话。A: Well its really a long time waiting for a bus. B: ya, traffic is really a big problem in Beijing.A: ya, traffic is a problem in the whole China. By the way, my name is XXX, a student 例如：在大学，有一个美
22、国女生坐在长椅上读书，你想跟她 练 英语，怎么办呢？你可以说在这个情景下会产生共鸣的一些话题。可以假装 问路， 说一些关于图书的事情。A: Well you should be pretty good at Chinese!B: Excuse me, where can I find the library?Small Talk 1:Sam: Hi, how is it going?Ted: Pretty good, Sam. Only the awful weather, you know.Sam: Thats right. Ive never really liked it since I
23、 got here.Ted: Me either, but Im dealing with it anyway.How is it going? Hows going? 一个很舒服的打招呼的方式。天气是一个永远的safe talk。对于年龄，薪金， politics, religions, abortion, gays, lesbians等隐私性、争议性的问题不要谈论。可以 谈论天气，travelling, pets, 男生可以谈谈sports, NBA, 女生可以谈cosmetics, dress.Small Talk 2:A: Im glad to have had the opportu
24、nity to meet you here.B: I trust youre keeping well?A: Im doing great, thank you.B: So we can get down to business.这一段是在很严肃的场合下，两个人在 谈话。Small Talk 3:A: Ah, Bob. Just the person I wanted to see.B: So what is it?A: You gotta help me out this time, buddy.B: Another tough thing, I guess.这是两个非常熟悉的老朋友在谈话。
25、Small Talk 4:A: Hi, it is a pleasant surprise!B: Yeah, its been ages! So how have you been?A: Couldnt be better. And you?B: Just as usual, you know.这谈话的两个人关系也是很不错，但是没那么熟悉，很久没见。Hi how have you been?What have you been doing?How is everything going?Small Talk 5:A: Susan? What brings you here today?B: W
26、ell, Ive got some papers due.A: Really? So whats the news?B: Not too good yet. Better than I was though.something is due = something needs to be handed in一个东西要交了，该交了，到期了，due从以上几个例子中，我们可以看到 open the conversation是千差万别的。但是在打招呼时，一定要加上自己的主观能动性或者人的因素，还有文化因素。这样才能找一个比较合适的开始交 谈的方式。On Your Own语汇和句型的模版都掌握了，现 在
27、需要你大显身手，和你的 partner 独立完成四个精彩的日常交流，逐渐达到美语的自如运用。Note：场景不同，分寸迥异。1. You and your partner just meet each other in this party, introduced by another friend. You try to greet each other and begin chatting.2. You two havent seen each other for a long time. On Saturday afternoon, you are on the street and co
28、me upon each other. You are both very surprised and begin from here.3. You are coming to an office building for a job interview. You are a bit nervous. When you see your interviewer coming into the lift. When the door closes, you try to make a good impression on him by greeting him.4. Your partner just wins a horse race and is walking out of the game excited. You see him and go ahead to talk to him.
