Spot-Dictation

今年是令十三億中國人驕傲自豪的奧運(yùn)年，而與時(shí)俱進(jìn)的中級口譯考試當(dāng)仁不讓地將奧運(yùn)作為了第一大題Spot-Dictation的主題。這可是眾所周知的考試熱點(diǎn)。不過，考試是結(jié)束了，但奧運(yùn)尚未開始，讓我們再來回味一下吧！

本文介紹了奧林匹克的淵源，最初是為了祭祀希臘神話中的眾神之王宙斯，然后慢慢失去了地方特色而演變?yōu)槿蛐缘闹卮蠡顒?dòng)(lost its local and national characters, and became first a national event)。雖然沒有人知道奧林匹克具體追溯到哪一年，但它從公元前776年開始有了記錄。古代奧運(yùn)會從第一屆開始，直到公元前724年，都只有一個(gè)項(xiàng)目---200米短跑（200-metre dash）。公元前708年，Pentathlon出現(xiàn)了。即時(shí)考生不認(rèn)識這個(gè)字，也可以根據(jù)它的前綴pent---“五”，以及后文對其的定義“5-event match, which consisted of running, wrestling, leaping, throwing the discus and hurling the javelin”猜出“五項(xiàng)運(yùn)動(dòng)”的意思。

古代奧運(yùn)會從公元前776年到公元后394年，每4年舉行一次，共延續(xù)了1170年。之后，歷史中斷了，直到1896年現(xiàn)代奧運(yùn)會（the first of the modern summer games）的興起，它才再次綻放輝煌。奧林匹克不再局限于希臘一個(gè)國家，而在世界各地輪流舉行，由主辦國負(fù)責(zé)提供運(yùn)動(dòng)場館和運(yùn)動(dòng)員食宿（The host country provides vast facilities such as stadiums and living accommodation）。新的項(xiàng)目也被不斷地添加進(jìn)奧運(yùn)會，比如馬拉松。每屆奧運(yùn)會的前奏，就是從奧林匹亞山上采集的火種，經(jīng)過無數(shù)火炬手的傳遞，點(diǎn)燃開幕式上碩大的主火炬塔。圣火象征著古希臘人奧林匹克運(yùn)動(dòng)理想的延續(xù)（The Olympic flame symbolizes the continuation of the ancient Greek athletic ideal），將一直燃燒到本次奧運(yùn)會閉幕（and it burns throughout the games until the closing ceremony）。另外，奧運(yùn)旗幟上的五環(huán)緊緊相扣（5 interlocking rings），代表著參加比賽的五個(gè)大洲。

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Statements

1.?????? Diana is working as a sales-person for an insurance company this summer, it is a tough job and she gets to be outdoors from time to time. But the pay is decent.

本句是個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)折題，盡管句子的前半形容Diana在保險(xiǎn)公司做銷售的工作很辛苦，但句子的重心還是出現(xiàn)在but的后面，即報(bào)酬豐厚上。

2.?????? Please don’t get annoyed over what I said now. I’m just worried about the delay. In no way do I blame you for what happened. You have tried your best.

本句用in no way的倒裝結(jié)構(gòu)表達(dá)出否定的意味，顯示出說話者的態(tài)度并非指責(zé)對方。

3.?????? Mrs. Green called the after-sale service agency and had her almost-new refrigerator repaired for free because it was still under warranty.

有意思的是，昨天正巧是“三·一五”消費(fèi)者維權(quán)日，這句話描述的就是在under warranty---保修期內(nèi)，消費(fèi)者找售后服務(wù)修冰箱的事情。

4.?????? George is a true pal. He is ready to offer any kind of assistance whenever you are in need. Friends like him are few and far between.

本句出現(xiàn)詞組few and far between，“稀少，很少見”的意思，曾經(jīng)在托?？荚囍谐霈F(xiàn)過。即時(shí)考生不知道詞組的含義，也能根據(jù)前文的內(nèi)容判斷出來。

5.?????? Unless the whole production cost could be reduced to a reasonable limit, the company would have to double its budget by next year.

作為條件句的一種，unless句型在歷年考試中出現(xiàn)的并不多?！俺前旬a(chǎn)品成本降到合理極限，否則明年前公司不得不將預(yù)算翻倍”，也就是說，成本降不下來的話，預(yù)算就必須翻倍。

6.?????? If the goods could not arrive in time for the Christmas rush, good quality and competitive price would mean nothing at all.

圣誕購物高峰前貨物到達(dá)不了的話，再高的質(zhì)量和再有競爭力的價(jià)格都于事無補(bǔ)。這句話還是比較容易理解的。

7.?????? Well, I’m sure we can work something out but it’s almost dinner time. May I suggest that we come back tomorrow, say 9 o’clock, to continue the talk?

我們在新東方的口譯課上強(qiáng)調(diào)過小詞用法的重要性，考生應(yīng)經(jīng)常在詞典上翻閱諸如work, get, take等詞后接不同介詞的意思及用法。本句中詞組“work things out”的意思---解決問題。

8.?????? If our products are to compete on the international market, advanced technology is a key element. The higher the technology, the better the products and the greater the competitiveness.

本次考試關(guān)于商務(wù)類的內(nèi)容考得非常多，這句話牽涉到“科技是第一生產(chǎn)力”的問題，技術(shù)越高，產(chǎn)品越好，越有競爭力。

9.?????? The fact that Mr. Parkinson is a high-ranking CEO doesn’t mean that he can advise you about finance and investment questions.

句子雖長，但應(yīng)抓住主干The fact…doesn’t mean…，就算是CEO也不一定能給你關(guān)于金融投資問題正確的建議。

10.?? In this country, the total number of people over 65 years old is 23 million today, but it will swell to 45 million by the year 2020.

唯一的一道數(shù)字題，即時(shí)出現(xiàn)的數(shù)字不一定每個(gè)都考，但應(yīng)作好筆記。2千3百萬和4千5百萬，一看就知道是2倍的關(guān)系。