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2024.09.08 08:19
第十六部 第十二課: ASAP , crank out
- Larry 在學校的電腦室裡見到了李華。李華今天要學會兩個常用語 ASAP 和 crank out。
- ………………………………………………………………………………
- Hey Li Hua! What are you working on? A paper?
- 不是，我在寫申請威廉森中國歷史獎學金的申請書。
- What? But that's due tomorrow! You'd better finish that ASAP.
- 我知道明天是申請的最後期限，所以我在趕吶。ASAP, 那是什麼意思啊？
- ASAP means "as soon as possible". You need to finish that application as soon as possible!
- 噢，原來ASAP就是盡快 - as soon as possible 的縮寫。 Larry，那你為什麼不說as soon as possible而是說ASAP呢？
- Well, people say "as soon as possible", but if you are in a hurry, it's easier to just say ASAP.
- 匆忙的時候說ASAP，這能節省多少時間呢， 頂多半秒鐘吧。
- Well, it also sounds more forceful. For instance, if your boss tells you, "Li Hua, I need you to get this done ASAP!" you know that he is in a hurry!
- 那倒是。ASAP聽起來比較乾脆，比較有力。
- Or if your mechanic tells you that you car is leaking oil, and that you need to have it fixed ASAP, you'd better take his word for it.
- 你別舉這種讓我倒霉的例子。不過，要是我的車漏油了，我當然得盡快修理。I need to have it fixed ASAP。
- Wait, Li Hua, you promised me yesterday that you would proofread my Chinese composition. Have you done that yet? I need to hand it in ASAP!
- 天啊， 昨天我答應幫你修改中文作文，我怎麼把這件事給忘了呢？真的好對不起。那你今天下午交還來得及嗎？
- I need to go to work ASAP, so I need to hand this in before I go.
- (Sighs) 如果你一定要在上班之前把作業交上去， 那我現在就幫你看吧。
- Thank you so much, Li Hua. You're such a good friend.
- ………………………………………………………………………………
- (Larry returns to the computer lab later in the day.)
- Hey Li Hua! I am back from work. Are you still working on that statement?
- 是啊， 我還在寫申請。哎，Larry, 寫申請有什麼竅門嗎？你怎麼每次都寫得那麼快呢？
- Oh, I don't know. I guess because I have written so many of them, now it's easy for me to crank them out.
- Crank them out? 這是什麼意思呀？
- To crank something out means to produce something quickly and mechanically, without much thought.
- 嗯，To crank something out就是不需要太多思考，很機戒地做成某種事。
- Well, when I was an undergraduate, I would just crank out essays and term papers, no problem. Of course, it's not that easy these days.
- 我聽說了，你讀本科的時候是寫作高手， 論文和學期作文都難不倒你。現在當研究生就不一樣了；你要作大量研究才能有根有據地寫。
- Exactly. So, did you ever just crank out essays when you were a student in China?
- 當然了，我在中國讀中學的時候， 半個小時就能crank out兩頁的政論文章。Larry, to crank out這個短語還能用在別的地方嗎？
- Sure, for instance, at McDonald's, they crank out hundreds of hamburgers every day.
- 麥當勞每天製作成千上萬個的漢堡包。這一點也不錯。
- And Hollywood cranks out stupid action movies every other week.
- 我從來不看好萊塢製作的那種武打片，所以我就不太清楚了。
- Anyway, I have another piece of homework for Chinese class that I need you to look at ASAP. Can you help me?
- 沒問題，我可以幫你看中文作業，不過你得幫我修改一下我寫的申請書。I need to drop it in the mail ASAP。
- Ok, no problem. Show me what you've written so far。
- ………………………………………………………………………………
- 今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是 ASAP, 意思是盡快。還有一個是 crank out， 意思是不需多加思考地，機戒地製作某種東西。
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