Jessica: 怡茹,why do you look so tired?
YR: 这几天又复习又考试,累得我眼睛都快睁不开啦!昨天晚上,我复习了一个通宵啊!I drove a night car!
Jessica: You drove a night car?
YR: 对啊!我开了一宿夜车!难道不是这么说的?
Jessica: 哈哈,you should use the phrase "pull an all-nighter." It means you spent the whole night studying or working to meet a deadline.
YR: 哦,整宿学习工作不睡觉,就是pull an all-nighter. 唉!都怪我平时没好好复习,期末考试前只能临时抱佛脚!
Jessica: You’re not alone, Yiru! A lot of college students pull all-nighters for exams. You can also use the phrase "cram session." It means an intense period of study before a critical exam.
YR: C-r-a-m, cram, 是仓促备考的意思,所以 a cram session 就是考前的突击复习。正说呢,My study group will have a cram session this afternoon for tomorrow’s exam. Hopefully we can get everything done before midnight so that I don’t have to pull an all-nighter again!
Jessica: Take it easy, Yiru. Isn’t your exam tomorrow an open-book test?
YR: Open-book test? 哦,你是说开卷考试吧?没错,这门是开卷,可老师对开卷考试的答案要求更高。我可不想考砸了!
Jessica: You won’t bomb it. You’re a smart girl!
YR: 你说“bomb"--那不是轰炸的意思么?我猜这就是说没考好,对么?
Jessica: Exactly.
YR: 那要是不及格,挂科了,怎么说呢?
Jessica: Then you can use the verb "flunk", f-l-u-n-k, flunk. It means you fail to pass an exam.
YR: I don’t want to flunk my exam, so---I gotta go!
Jessica: Before you go, tell me what you’ve learned today!
YR: 第一,开夜车,通宵学习工作,叫 pull an all-nighter; 考试前的突击复习叫 cram session;
第二,开卷考试是 open-book test;
第三,考试考砸了用动词 bomb, 不及格则用 flunk!