Welcome to engVid.

歡迎來到engVid。

I'm Adam.

我是亞當

In today's video I want to talk to you about how to improve your listening.

在今天的視頻中，我想和大家談談如何提高自己的聽力。

Now, there're a few things I'm going to talk about.

現在，有幾件事我要講講。

And, again, this is all from my own personal experience having taught for nearly 20 years.

再說一遍，這都是我自己從教近20年的親身經歷。

And I've taught people from all over the world, and there's one aspect of listening to English

而且我教過世界各地的人，聽英語有一個方面的問題

that I think is very troublesome for a lot of people.

我想這對很多人來說是非常麻煩的。

And it doesn't really even have to do much with English itself; not with the language.

而這其實和英語本身都沒有什麼關係，和語言沒有關係。

Okay?

好嗎？

It has to do with culture.

這與文化有關。

Now, a lot of people who are studying English are using textbooks; they're only studying

現在，很多學習英語的人都在用課本，他們只是在學習

from textbooks to improve their listening and improve their vocabulary, their grammar, etc.

從課本上提高他們的聽力，提高他們的詞彙量和文法等。

The problem with textbooks is that they are very limited in terms of the exposure you're

教科書的問題是，它們對你的接觸面非常有限。

getting to the language.

到了語言。

Now, "exposure" means what you're basically coming in contact with; what you're seeing,

現在，"暴露 "意味著你基本上接觸到的東西；你看到的東西。

what you're hearing, what you're reading.

你所聽到的，你所讀到的。

So, if you're only looking at textbooks, you're getting very simple English, even if you're

所以，如果你只看課本，你得到的是很簡單的英語，即使你是

doing high-level...

做高層...

Like, advanced-level textbooks, they're still very focus on very specific contexts that

就像，高級別的教科書，他們還是非常注重非常具體的語境，這一點。

they want you to study.

他們希望你學習。

And another thing they're not doing is they're not putting a lot of informal language into

而另一件事，他們沒有做的是，他們沒有把很多非正式的語言到

these books.

這些書。

Okay?

好嗎？

So, now, that's why we're going to look at culture.

所以，現在，這就是為什麼我們要看文化。

Now, the thing to remember about language, and again, this is not only English; this

現在，關於語言的事情要記住，再次強調，這不僅僅是英語，這一點。

is...

是...

This is any language that you might want to study.

這是你可能想學習的任何語言。

Language is a living thing.

語言是一種活的東西。

It evolves.

它的發展。

Okay?

好嗎？

Language evolves - means it changes over time.

語言的演變--意味著它隨著時間的推移而變化。

But it has a memory.

但它是有記憶的。

Okay?

好嗎？

And this is the problem because you have to keep up with the new language, plus you have

這就是問題所在，因為你必須跟上新的語言，再加上你必須...

to understand the references to the old language or to the old points of reference.

以理解對舊文的引用或對舊點的引用。

Okay?

好嗎？

And that's what we're talking about, here: Lack of reference.

這就是我們要討論的，在這裡。缺乏參考。

So, you might be watching a movie or even a TV show, or you're speaking to some people

所以，你可能在看一部電影甚至一部電視劇，或者你在和一些人說話時

in...

在...

Local people in the place where you're speaking English, and they might say something.

在你說英語的地方的當地人，他們可能會說些什麼。

They may say a joke, for example, or they may talk about a situation, like politics

例如，他們可能會說一個笑話，或者他們可能會談論一種情況，比如政治。

or anything like that, and they're making a reference to something.

或類似的東西，他們在做一個參考的東西。

Now, you heard it correctly, you heard the words, but you have no idea what they're talking

現在，你沒有聽錯，你聽到了這些話，但你不知道他們在說什麼？

about.

關於。

Okay?

好嗎？

And the problem, here, again: It's not the language; it's the fact that the thing that

而問題，又在這裡。這不是語言的問題，而是事實，那就是... ...

they referred to, you just don't know what that...

他們指的是，你只是不知道那是什麼... ...

What they're talking about.

他們在說什麼？

Okay?

好嗎？

So, for example: Sports, literature, movies - these are major points of reference for

所以，比如說。體育，文學，電影，這些都是主要的參考點。

a lot of people.

很多人。

Okay?

好嗎？

And think about, again, where you're going to be studying...

再想想，你要在哪裡學習... ...

Where you're going to be speaking English.

你要在哪裡說英語。

If you're planning to go to the US and you're studying American English, but then you come

如果你打算去美國，你是學美國英語的，但後來你來

to the States and you have no idea what anybody's talking about half the time - again, some

到了美國，你根本不知道什麼人在說什麼一半的時間 - 再次，一些

of it is just the language, but a lot of it is the cultural references.

它只是語言，但它的很多是文化參考。

So, let's talk about sports as an example.

那麼，我們就以體育為例來談談。

Americans love sports, and sports is such a big part of everyday life in the US that

美國人熱愛體育，體育是美國日常生活的重要組成部分，以至於。

a lot of the language from sports makes its way into everyday speech.

很多來自體育的語言都會進入日常的言語中。

Okay?

好嗎？

So, if somebody says: "Okay, well, the ball's in your court."

所以，如果有人說："好吧，好吧，球是在你的球場。"

They're talking about a situation: "I've done everything I can."

他們在談論一種情況。"我已經盡力了"

Like, my friend and...

比如，我的朋友和...

My friend and his girlfriend had a fight.

我的朋友和他的女朋友吵架了。

And he apologized and he bought her some flowers, and he did everything he could.

他向她道歉，給她買了一些花，他做了他能做的一切。

Now the ball's in her court.

現在，球的在她的球場。

And you're thinking there, like: "Ball?

你在那裡想，像。"球？

Like, what does 'ball' have to do with anything?

就像，什麼是'球'有什麼關係？

What does 'court' have to do with a girlfriend/boyfriend fight?"

'法庭'與女友/男友吵架有什麼關係？"

What this means: "The ball is in your court"...

這意味著什麼？"球在你的球場上"... ...

So, think about basketball.

所以，想想籃球。

You have a basketball court.

你有一個籃球場。

When the ball is in my court, when I have the possession of the ball, it means I'm in

當球在我的球場上，當我擁有了球權，就意味著我在球場上。

control of the ball.

對球的控制。

So, I control the play; I decide to go this way, this way, up the middle, up the sides,

所以，我控制了遊戲，我決定走這邊，走這邊，走中間，走兩邊。

slow, fast; I control the tempo, I control the direction.

慢，快；我控制節奏，我控制方向。

So, to say: "The ball's in your court" means that you have the control...

所以，說，"球在你手裡 "意味著你有控制權..:"The ball's in your court" means that you have the control... "球在你手裡 "意味著你有控制權... ...

The decision on how to proceed is now yours.

如何進行的決定現在由你來做。

So, if his girlfriend...

所以，如果他的女朋友...

If the ball's in his girlfriend's court, he did everything he can, now she must decide

如果球是在他女朋友的球場上，他已經做了他能做的一切，現在她必須決定

and continue the process.

並繼續這一過程。

Okay?

好嗎？

That's from basketball.

那是籃球裡的。

So, there was a business meeting-okay?-and we sent one of our company's representatives

所以，有一個商業會議--好嗎--我們派了一個我們公司的代表來

to the client's office to try to convince them not to leave; not to go to the competitor.

到客戶的辦公室，試圖說服他們不要離開；不要去找競爭對手。

And the guy came back and I say: -"So, how did the...?

那人回來了，我說："那麼，怎麼會......?

How did his meeting go?"

他的會議開得怎麼樣？"

-"Totally dropped the ball."

-"完全丟了球。"

And you're listening, and you're going: "Ball again?

而你聽著，你要去。"又是球？

What's with this ball?

這個球是怎麼回事？

Everybody's holding a ball?

大家都拿著個球？

Like, was it juggling?

比如說，是在玩雜耍嗎？

Are they playing basketball here, too?"

他們也在這裡打籃球嗎？"

No.

不知道

Here, they're using football analogy.

這裡，他們用足球來比喻。

American football.

美式足球

So, the player catches the ball and he's running down the field, and he gets tackled.

所以，球員接球，他在場上跑，然後被擒住。

If he drops the ball...

如果他丟了球...

Now, they also call it "fumble".

現在，他們也叫它 "失誤"。

You could say: "Oh, he totally fumbled it."

你可以說 You could say. "Oh, he totally fumbled it."哦，他完全失誤了。"

Or: "He...

或："他...

He dropped the ball."

他把球丟了。"

Same meaning.

同樣的意思。

If the ball drops, the other team can pick it up and run the opposite direction, and

如果球掉了，對方可以撿起來，然後往相反的方向跑，而且。

score and you're going to lose the game.

分，你就會輸掉比賽。

So: "If somebody dropped the ball" means he did a very bad job; he made a big mistake,

所以，"如果有人掉球 "的意思是，他做得很差，他犯了很大的錯誤。"如果有人丟了球 "意味著他做得很糟糕，他犯了一個大錯誤。

and there's going to be negative consequences.

並且會有負面的後果。

But if you know nothing about football and you don't know any of the language about football...

但如果你對足球一無所知，對足球的語言也一無所知... ...

And Americans love football, and they're going to use the football language all the time.

而美國人喜歡足球，他們會一直使用足球語言。

In fact, I'm going to make a video about sports expressions in everyday conversation to help

其實，我準備做一個關於日常對話中的運動表達的視頻，以幫助

you guys out; but for now, an example.

你們出；但現在，一個例子。

Sports, if you're going to the States: Learn about football, learn about baseball, learn

體育，如果你要去美國。瞭解足球，瞭解棒球，瞭解... ...

about basketball because these words are going to be used in everyday conversation.

關於籃球，因為這些詞會在日常對話中使用。

In literature.

在文學方面。

Catch-22 is a famous novel by Joseph Heller.

Catch-22》是約瑟夫-海勒的一部著名小說。

And "catch-22" is an everyday expression; it means either way you look at a situation,

而 "捕風捉影 "是一個日常用語，它的意思是無論你從哪方面看都是如此。

it's a bad outcome.

這是一個不好的結果。

For example, in the common...

例如，在常見的...

The most common example of a catch-22: When you graduate high...

最常見的例子是：當你高中畢業...

University, you want to find a job.

大學，你想找工作。

Most companies want you to have job experience.

大多數公司希望你有工作經驗。

But if you...

但如果你...

If you need job experience to get a job, then you can't get the job to get the experience.

如果你需要工作經驗來找工作，那麼你就不能找工作來獲取經驗。

Right?

對吧？

So, it's a catch-22; either way, you can't do anything.

所以，這是一個陷阱，無論怎樣，你都不能做任何事情。

And this came from the novel.

而這來自於小說。

But it doesn't mean that everybody has read this novel, but everybody knows this expression

但這並不意味著每個人都讀過這本小說，但每個人都知道這個說法

made famous by this novel.

由這部小說而聞名。

Or: "A rose by any other name".

或者說："一朵名不副實的玫瑰"。

Now, this is a line from Shakespeare, and a lot of Shakespeare's language is used in

現在，這是莎士比亞的一句臺詞，莎士比亞的很多語言都被用在了這裡。

everyday conversation.

日常對話。

Most people don't realize it's from Shakespeare, but they know the expression.

大多數人不知道這是莎士比亞的作品，但他們知道這句話。

"A rose by any other name is still a rose."

"再美的玫瑰也是玫瑰"。

So, you can look at something, and you can call it something else; you don't change the

所以，你可以看一些東西，你可以叫它其他的東西，你不會改變的。

fact of what the situation is.

事實的情況是什麼。

So, if you can look at a...

所以，如果你能看一個... ...

Let's say politics.

就說政治吧。

You look at a particular situation: The president did this, but he called it something else

你看一個特定的情況。總統做了這件事，但他卻稱之為別的事

that sounds good.

這聽起來不錯。

He did something bad, he called it, like, philanthropy - it's still something bad.

他做了壞事，他把它叫做，比如，慈善事業--這還是壞事。

You can change the name; you can't change the fact.

你可以改變名字，你不能改變事實。

But...

但是...

And another thing to keep in mind: Remember I said: "A rose by any other name is still

還有一點要注意。記得我說過："一朵玫瑰無論叫什麼名字都是

a rose"?

對玫瑰"？

People who are familiar with these expressions - they're going to use half the expression;

熟悉這些表達方式的人--他們會用一半的表達方式。

they're not going to use the full expression because saying half is enough.

他們不會用完整的表達，因為說一半就夠了。

Everybody understands the ending; they don't need to say it.

大家都明白結局，不用說了。

Okay.

好吧，我知道了

So, you need to read a lot of stuff.

所以，你需要讀很多東西。

Movies.

電影。

And both of these two come from the same movie, actually.

而這兩個人其實都來自同一部電影。

Very famous movie.

非常著名的電影。

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"我不認為我們是在堪薩斯州了。"

I forgot the "anymore".

我忘了 "再 "字。

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" means we're in a very strange situation; we don't

"我不認為我們是在堪薩斯州了 "意味著我們現在的情況很奇怪，我們並不

know what to do because everything is not like the way it's supposed to be.

知道該怎麼做，因為一切都不像應該的那樣。

Or: "Well, he saw what's behind the curtain and he lost all hope", or faith, or whatever.

或者："好吧，他看到了幕後的東西，他失去了所有的希望"，或者信仰，或者其他什麼。

Both of these expressions come from the movie The Wizard of Oz.

這兩個表情都來自電影《綠野仙蹤》。

Dorothy says to her dog Toto, when they wake up after the tornado...

桃樂絲對她的狗託託說，當他們在龍捲風後醒來時... ...

They're looking around.

他們在四處尋找。

You got, like, a yellow-brick road, you got little munchkins running around, and a witch.

你有一條黃磚路 有一個小矮人在周圍跑來跑去，還有一個女巫。

A good witch, a bad witch, and everything: "Oh, what...?

一個好女巫，一個壞女巫，什麼都有："哦，什麼...？

What's going on?

發生什麼事了？

I'm a little confused.

我有點糊塗了。

I don't think...

我不認為...

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" means we're in a strange situation; we have

多多，我想我們已經不在堪薩斯了 "意思是我們現在的情況很奇怪，我們有。

to adjust.

來調整。

"To see what's behind the curtain".

"要看清幕後的東西"。

So, Oz was this great and powerful wizard, but then Toto went and pulled back a curtain,

所以，奧茲是這個偉大而強大的魔法師，但後來託託去拉開了帷幕。

and they could see a little, old man using some machines.

他們可以看到一個小老頭在使用一些機器。

So, when you see what's behind the curtain, you see that there's no real secret to it;

所以，當你看到幕後的東西時，你會發現，這並沒有什麼真正的祕密。

there's no great power to something.

沒有偉大的力量的東西。

It's a very simple thing made to look like something else.

這是個很簡單的東西，做起來卻像別的東西。

But, again, if you've never heard of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, and somebody uses this expression,

但是，同樣，如果你從來沒有聽說過電影《綠野仙蹤》，有人用這種表達方式。

you're not going to understand.

你不會明白的。

You heard: -"I don't think..."

你聽到："我不認為......"

-"Okay.

-"好的。

'I don't think', I know this."

'我不認為'，我知道這一點。"

-"...we are in Kansas."

-"... ...我們在堪薩斯州。"

-"'we are', okay.

- "我們是"，好吧。

I think Kansas is a state in the US.

我認為堪薩斯州是美國的一個州。

We're not in Kansas.

我們不在堪薩斯州

No, we're in New York.

不，我們是在紐約。

What does Kansas have to do with it?"

堪薩斯州跟這有什麼關係？"

So, you don't know because that's not what it actually means; it means something else.

所以，你不知道，因為這不是它的實際意思，它是另一種意思。

Okay?

好嗎？

"Show me the money" from the movie Jerry Maguire - Tom Cruise: "You show me the money.

"給我看錢 "出自電影《傑瑞-馬奎爾》，湯姆-克魯斯。"你給我看錢。

Show me the money."

給我看錢。"

Right?

對吧？

It's a good movie, by the way; you should watch it.

對了，這是部好電影，你應該看一看。

But what does this mean now?

但現在這意味著什麼？

"Show me the money" means: Prove it.

"給我看錢 "的意思是。證明給我看

Talk - cheap.

談--便宜。

I don't care about what you have to say; show me something, do something to convince me.

我不在乎你說什麼，你要給我看點東西，做點什麼來說服我。

Now, great.

現在，太好了。

All of these things...

所有這些事情...

You know all the words, you heard all the words, but you don't understand them, so how

你知道所有的話，你聽過所有的話，但你不明白，所以如何

are you going to fix this situation?

你要解決這個問題嗎？

You have to engage the culture of the country you're going to, or the country you want to

你必須參與你要去的國家的文化，或者你想去的國家的文化。

learn about.

瞭解到：

If you want to learn about the States, watch sports, watch Hollywood movies.

如果你想了解美國，看體育，看好萊塢電影。

You want to go to England, watch whatever sports they play, like soccer, or rugby, or

你想去英國，看他們玩的任何運動，比如足球，橄欖球，或

lacrosse, or cricket, or whatever.

長曲棍球，或板球，或什麼的。

Learn those languages...

學習這些語言...

Learn those words and expressions.

學會這些單詞和表達方式。

Figure out what is popular in the culture.

弄清楚什麼是流行的文化。

And again, there's a reason it's called "pop culture".

再說一遍，它被稱為 "流行文化 "是有原因的。

And if you're not sure what "pop culture" means - "pop" means popular.

如果你不知道 "流行文化 "是什麼意思--"流行 "就是流行的意思。

Find out what is popular in the culture, because these things will be referred to.

找出文化中流行的東西，因為這些東西會被提及。

And especially learn a little bit about the history of the nation.

尤其是瞭解一下國家的歷史。

Right?

對吧？

Americans and British, they always make references to historical characters, or historical situations

美國人和英國人，他們總是以歷史人物，或歷史情境為參照物

or events in modern contexts.

或現代背景下的事件。

Okay?

好嗎？

Everybody knows Napoleon, and Napoleon is always brought up in whatever contexts today

大家都知道拿破崙，今天無論在什麼場合，拿破崙總是被人提起的

even.

甚至。

Now, how are you going to do this?

現在，你打算怎麼做？

Read newspapers.

讀報紙。

You all have an internet connection; you're watching this on the internet.

你們都有網絡，你們是在網絡上看的。