第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

Billy: Oh, thank you.

Wash: Thank you, ma'am.

Billy: Very kind. How's the elbow, Scott?

Scott: You know, it's good. It's really good. It's great. Uh... I can't throw the ball at all.

Billy: Yeah. You've thrown your last ball from behind home plate. That's what I'd say.

Scott: Well...

Billy: Good news is, we want you at first. We want you to play first base for the Oakland A's.

Scott: Okay, well, I've only ever played catcher.

Billy: Scott, you're not a catcher anymore. If you were, our call wouldn't have been the only one you got.

Scott: Yeah. Hey, listen, no, I appreciate it.

Billy: You're welcome.

Scott: But the thing is, is...

Billy: You don't know how to play first base. Scott.

Scott: That's right.

Billy: It's not that hard, Scott. Tell him, Wash.

Wash: It's incredibly hard.

Billy: Hey, anything worth doing is. And we're gonna teach you.

Scott: Wait a minute here. I mean, but what about--?

Billy: Jason's gone, Scott.

Scott: You want me to take Giambi's spot at first base?

Billy: Yeah.

Scott: What about the fans?

Wash: Yeah. Maybe I can teach one of them.

Billy: The fans don't-- Good one. Fans don't run my ball club.

Scott: Honey, what are you doing awake? Sweetheart, can you...? That's my daughter. You got kids?

Billy: Uh, yeah, a daughter. Scott, this is a contract to play ball for the Oakland A's. A copy's been sent over to your agent. Discuss with your wife, let us know. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Scott’s wife: Bye.

Billy: Oh, and, Scott.

Scott: Yeah?

Billy: Don't tell anyone about the first-base thing.

Scott: Yes, sir.

Wash: Okay. Happy holidays.

Scott: All right.

*********************************

Billy: Any of these?

Casey: Um... I don't know.

Billy: Do you--?

Casey: This one's cool.

Billy: Is that good or bad? Butterflies.

Casey: They're okay. Look, that one's pretty. I like the red.

Billy: Should we try? No?

Casey: Oh, I like this one.

Billy: Yeah?

Casey: Dad, look at this one. Look how it's red.

Billy: It's beautiful.

Casey: This one's pretty.

Billy: Let's try it out.

Casey: Just right here?

Billy: Why don't we go over there? Can we go over there? Oh, honey, you need to sing. That's so good. That's beautiful.

Casey: Sometimes I sing. It's fun to sing with your song, but I don't want people to listen to me.

Billy: Well, honey, I think people would love to listen to you. That's beautiful. Would you sing a little for your dad? Right here in the middle of the store?

Casey: Little bit.

Billy: Little bit.

Casey: You ready?

Billy: I'm ready.

Casey: Okay.

♪ I'm just a little bit

Caught in the middle ♪

♪ Life is a maze

And love is a riddle ♪

♪ I don't know where to go

Can't do it alone, I've tried ♪

♪ And I don't know why ♪

♪ I'm just a little girl

Lost in the moment ♪

♪ I'm so scared

But I don't show it ♪

♪ I can't figure it out

It's bringing me down ♪

♪ I know I've got to let it go ♪

♪ And just enjoy the show ♪♪

*************************

(Year 1984)

Commentators: Billy Beane was taken in the first round of the amateur draft. I think this is a steal, to get Billy Beane. He's young, he's talented. A true five-tool player with speed. This guy is a can't-miss prospect. This is a great sign for the New York Mets. And it could be the turnaround that they've been looking for.

Referee: Ball one.

Commentators: I'll take Billy Beane over Strawberry. Billy Beane, an interesting pick, turned down a scholarship. He could've gone to Stanford. Sometimes you don't find out till you get to the big leagues...

Referee: Strike!

Commentators: This guy has never failed at anything. He's coming out of high school. Billy was gonna go to college. He could've been a great quarterback.

Referee: Strike three.

(Year 1985)

Commentators: There's not an organization in baseball who would not have taken a chance on this young guy. He didn't pan out. That happens every year. Some do, some don't.

Billy’s mother: I mean, if you're having any doubt at all about this...Having the scholarship...

Scout: Your son was born with a God-given ability.

(Year 1986) (Year 1987) (Year 1988) (Year 1989)

Commentators: Few scouts can go into the mind of a young man and determine whether he's really confident about what he can do. So you can sign him based on his ability, but then he's gotta be successful to be confident. And once he becomes confident, that's when you've got something. You make a decision on what you see. And if things don't pan out, you move on. That's baseball. Many are called, few are chosen.

[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

1. home plate: 本垒。

2. incredibly: 非常，很。看一下例句：I felt incredibly embarrassed.（我感到非常尴尬。）

3. maze: 迷宫。

4. amateur draft: 业余运动员选拔赛。

5. steal: 以极低廉价格买来的东西。请看例句：At $50 this TV set was a steal!（这台电视机只卖五十美元，真是便宜！）

6. turnaround: 转机。

7. turn down: 拒绝。例如：His proposal was turned down.（他的提议被拒绝了。）

8. pan out: 成功。请看例句：Uncle George's plans never pan out.（乔治叔叔的计划从来没有成功过。）

[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

1. 他困惑不堪，语无伦次。

_______________________

2. 她哥哥应征入伍。

_______________________

3. 没人知道事情结果将会怎样。

_______________________

4. 这本书只卖10块钱，真是便宜。

_______________________

[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：文化一瞥

趣味小百科：吉他

吉他(Guitar)，又名六弦琴，属于弹拨乐器，通常有六条弦，形状与提琴相似。其面板与背板都是平的，琴身腰部一般无角而往里凹，古典吉他一般无凹陷。琴颈很宽，长，指板上有弦枕并装有很多窄而稍向上凸起的金属制的横格，称之为「品」，它把琴弦划分为许多半音。

吉他在流行音乐、摇滚音乐、蓝调、民歌、佛朗明哥中，常被视为主要乐器。而在古典音乐的领域里，吉他常以独奏或二重奏的型式演出;在室内乐和管弦乐中，吉他亦扮演着相当程度的陪衬角色。

吉他主要有两大类：一是历史悠久、以木制共鸣箱扩音的木吉他，二是二十世纪被发明、以电扩音器扩音的电吉他。原声吉他有四种：平面吉他(在中国也叫民谣吉他)，拱面吉他(又名爵士吉他)，古典吉他和弗拉门戈吉他。木吉他通常被用于古典音乐、民间音乐及流行音乐。电吉他则通常被用于摇滚音乐、蓝调及流行音乐。电吉他的发明对西方流行文化及音乐有重要影响。吉他家族中最“贵族”的古典吉他与小提琴、钢琴并列为世界著名三大乐器。

作为乐器家族中弦乐器的一员，吉他是一种通过拨动上面一根根的琴弦发出声音的有弦的演奏乐器。弹奏时用一只手拨动琴弦，另一只手的手指抵在指板上，后者是覆盖在琴颈上的金属小条。弹奏出来的声音会通过吉他的共鸣箱得到增强。

有关吉他的起源，曾有过一个美丽而神奇的传说：阿波罗(Apollo)正追逐着一位美丽的少女。他不断讨好地向他喊道：“别累着!别累着!我保证不会追你!”最后，他还是追上了这位少女，并把她抱在自己的怀里。少女拼命地向她的父亲呼救，父亲立刻把她变成了一棵月桂树。于是，阿波罗就用这棵树的木头作了第一把吉他，并将这把吉他作成了宛如女人身躯的优美曲线外形。难怪吉他这种乐器具有一种特别的韵味：时而热情奔放，时而柔和甜美，时而又缠绵悱侧，令人魂牵梦绕，心醉神迷。

吉他的祖先，可以追溯到公元前两三千年前古埃及的耐法尔，古巴比伦和古波斯的各种古弹拨乐器。考古学家找到的最古老的类似现代吉他的乐器，是公元前 1400年前生活在小亚细亚和叙利亚北部的古赫梯人城门遗址上的“赫梯吉他”。8字型内弯的琴体决定了吉他属乐器特有的声音共鸣和乐器特点，这也成为吉他与其它弹拨乐器的最显著特点。

在十三世纪的西班牙，由波斯语逐渐演化成的西班牙语吉他一词就已经形成，在当时种类繁多的乐器中，已经出现了“摩尔吉他”和“拉丁吉他”。其中摩尔吉他琴体为椭圆形背部鼓起，使用金属弦，演奏风格比较粗犷;拉丁吉他琴体为与现代吉他类似的8字型平底结构，使用羊肠弦，风格典雅。

文艺复兴时期是吉他的鼎盛时期。十六世纪四对复弦的吉他和它的近亲——用手指弹奏的比维拉琴，在演奏与创作方面都达到了很高的水准。吉他和比维拉琴不仅深受民众喜爱，而且还常常成为宫廷乐器。当时的吉他、比维拉大师有米兰、纳乐瓦埃斯、穆达拉，以及十七世纪时五组复弦的巴洛克吉他时代大师桑斯、科尔贝塔、维赛等。他们的许多作品现在仍是现代古典吉他曲目中的不朽财富。当时吉他、比维拉琴等乐器所使用的记谱方法还不是现在的五线谱，而是用横线来代表各弦，用数字或字母表示音位和指法，与现在民谣吉他中使用的六线谱类似的图示记谱法。 　　当时著名的鲁特琴大道兰和魏斯等人的作品经后人改编，在今天的古典吉他曲目中占有重要的位置。伟大的巴洛克音乐集大成者巴赫所创作的不朽作品如大提琴、小提琴组曲、奏鸣曲的吉他改编曲，在古典吉他曲具有不朽的价值。十八世纪后期鲁特琴和比维拉琴逐渐退出了历史舞台，五对复弦和其后出现的六对复弦吉他也渐渐完成了它们的历史使命。1800年前后，全新的六根单弦的吉他以其清晰的和声及调弦方便等优点很快得到了几乎全欧洲的青睐，古典吉他的黄金时代终于到来了。

十九世纪初，活跃在当时吉他音乐中心巴黎、维也纳还有伦敦的最著名的 吉他大师有索尔，阿瓜多，朱利亚尼，卡罗利，和卡尔卡西。其中索尔和朱利亚尼除了是吉他大师外还是出色的音乐家，他们以杰出的才华为六弦古典吉他创作了包括协奏曲在内的第一批大型曲目，为六弦吉他日后的发展奠定了基础。尤其索尔在创作上承袭海顿、莫扎特的古典音乐传统，除写作歌剧、舞剧音乐外，还为吉他创作了包括系统的练习曲、教程在内的大量优秀作品，被音乐评论家称为“吉他音乐的贝多芬”。

十九世纪后期著名的吉他音乐家有考斯特、默茨、卡诺、雷冈第等，他们为吉他创作的很多优秀作品都成为了十九世纪吉他音乐的经典。吉他能在二十世纪蓬勃发展并达到前所未有的辉煌，在很大程度上应归功于“近代吉他之父”泰雷加对吉他从制做、乐器性能、演奏技术直至曲目等各方面的深入研究和革新。泰雷加和他的老师阿尔卡斯一直致力于与吉他制作家托雷斯合作，并最终生产出了琴体扩大、音量增大、乐器性能明显改善的现代古典吉他。

吉他成为和钢琴、提琴一样被人们广泛喜爱的高雅乐器，在全世界流行开来，还吸引了许多专业作曲家为吉他写下了大量高水平的音乐作品。