发音：美式发音 语速：150词/分钟 使用方法：精听+角色扮演
小编Tips:发生在office里的对话,我们也叫Office Talk。它可以是关于工作的讨论,也可以是上班族休闲时的闲聊。Office Talk的话题通常贴近生活和工作。比如今天Stephanie和Brian就微软推出的新搜索引擎“Bing”和流行音乐天王Michael Jackson逝世这两件事聊了起来,我们来看看他们都说了些什么。
Stephanie: Ah, ①Google is down again.
Brian: Try Bing. It should be up.
Stephanie: Bing? Huh, I’ve never heard of that. Just bing.com? Oh, yup, it’s working.
Brian: Yeah, it’s Windows’ new search engine.
Stephanie: Ah, I see. Yeah, it looks pretty cool.
史蒂芬妮:啊,谷歌又用不了了。
布莱恩:试试“必应”吧。它应该能用。
史蒂芬妮:“必应”?呵,我从来没听说过呢。就是bing.com吗?哦,对,它能用。
布莱恩:嗯,它是微软最新推出的搜索引擎。
史蒂芬妮:啊,我知道了。嗯,它看起来很不错哦。
Brian: Yeah, I find it pretty easy to use. Apparently ②it’s expected to give Google a run for its money.
Stephanie: What?! No!
Brian: Huh? What happened?
Stephanie: Oh, nothing. I’m sure it’s just some 1)prankster trying to pull my leg. There is an article saying Michael Jackson is dead.
Brian: Oh, what a sick joke! Check out another site and see if it is being reported elsewhere.
1)prankster [ˈpræŋkstə] n. 开玩笑者、恶作剧者
布莱恩:对,我觉得它用起来挺方便的。它显然是要跟谷歌分一杯羹了。
史蒂芬妮:天啊?!不可能!
布莱恩:嗯?怎么了?
史蒂芬妮:哦,没什么。我相信有人又在散播谣言,开恶意玩笑啦。有篇报道说迈克尔·杰克逊死了。
布莱恩:哦,这玩笑可一点都不好玩!快去其他网站看看是否也有相关报道。
Stephanie: I’ll try CNN. (Pause) Yes. It’s on there also: King of Pop Is Dead.
Brian: Wow. We just heard the news about Farrah, and now this? ③That’s a lot to take on board for one day.
Stephanie: I can’t believe it. The man was a genius. What a loss!
Brian: I remember dancing around the living room as a kid, watching his music videos. Nothing beats the Thriller video.
史蒂芬妮:嗯,我来试试CNN。(过一会儿)有。它上面的标题是:流行音乐之王去世了。
布莱恩:哇,我们刚刚才得知法拉(译者注:法拉·福赛特,电视影集《霹雳娇娃》女星)的死讯,现在又来这个?这一天要承受的东西太多了。
史蒂芬妮:我无法相信。他是个天才。真是太可惜了!
布莱恩:我还记得小时候在客厅里,一边看着他的音乐录影带,一边跳舞。《颤栗》那个音乐录影带是史上最好的。
Stephanie: Bad was the first CD I ever bought. I would stay up all night listening to it with my sisters. I mean, his music changed the face of pop music forever.
史蒂芬妮:《真棒》是我买的第一张CD。那时我和我姐姐会一整晚不睡觉,就都听着它。我的意思是,他的音乐彻底改变了流行音乐的面貌。
Brian: Not to mention what he did for the black community and 2)racial equality.
Stephanie: And he just announced his final show performance this year. He still had so much more to give the world. Sure, he had his problems over the years, but his passion for music and dance was undeniable.
Brian: You’re right. Some people come along once in a lifetime, or once in a generation, but ④Michael Jackson only comes along once.
2)racial [ˈreiʃəl] adj. 种族的
布莱恩:更别说他为黑人团体和种族平等所作的贡献。
史蒂芬妮:他才宣布今年要开告别演唱会,他还有很多东西可以贡献给这个世界。当然,这些年来他一直被他个人的问题困扰,但是他对音乐和舞蹈的激情是不容质疑的。
布莱恩:你说得对。有些人能让人记住一辈子,或者只有一代人的辉煌,但迈克尔·杰克逊会让世人永远铭记。
Smart Sentences
① Google is down again. 谷歌又用不了了。
down: sth. is temporarily not working(暂时不能正常运行)。例如:
Our printer is down again.
我们的打印机又坏了。
② It’s expected to give Google a run for its money. 它是要跟谷歌分一杯羹了。
give sb. a run for sb.’s money: sb. can provide strong competition to another(不相上下,剧烈的竞争)。例如:
Someone said she can really give Sarah Brightman a run for
her money.
有人说她与莎拉·布莱曼不相上下。
③ That’s a lot to take on board for one day. 这一天要承受的东西太多了。
take on board: begin to accept sth. or understand it(开始接受或理解某事)。例如:
I hope the new staff will take on board at least half of what I said today.
我希望新员工至少能听明白我今天说的话的一半。
④ Michael Jackson only comes along once. 迈克尔·杰克逊会让世人永远铭记。
come along: sth. occurs or arrives by chance(某事只碰巧发生,这里指Michael Jackson是可遇不可求的人才)。例如:
A smart manager like Linda doesn’t come along often.
像琳达这样聪颖的经理是不常见的。