【B-Line or Beeline?】 老外英文講太快聽不懂？你一定要會這招！

在哥倫比亞大學上語音學課程時，有一次教授給我們一個
音檔，要我們寫出逐字稿。我還記得有一個地方我一直聽不到，所以第一次請了我兩個美國人室友過來幫我聽聽。
其中一個室友 (Rugters University 畢業、典型兄弟會白人男生類型)，看到一個 Columbia 的亞洲人在作業上有求於他，一副想大展身手幫我解決困難的樣子。不料他聽了前三次以後，他也聽不出來音檔裡的人在說什麼。他露出不可置信的表情說：Hey, play it again play it again, 再試了近七、八次以後，他沮喪地說: "Man, I dunno what he's talkin' about."

他的沮喪換來的是我的我的釋懷和小確幸 (笑)。

其實很多時候，在聽東西的時候，要完全地了解，並不是
每一個字都要聽到才能完全了解對方的意思。雖然我和我的美國人室友都聽不到那個音檔裡的某個字，但完全不影響我們理解整個脈絡。

由此我們可以看到，英文聽力的學習極為複雜，要學好絕對不是「多聽」、「聽多次一點」這樣簡單的方法可以完全解釋的。那有什麼 solution 呢？

今天想要介紹給大家的觀念，就是「上下文」在聽力裡頭扮演的重要角色。舉兩個具體的例子給大家。

假設你在跟/r/ 不太會去捲的英國人在一個有點吵雜的 bar 對話，所以 pull over (停車) 和 pore over (讀) 其實很難以分辨。這時他說： "You know...I was p__________ over this book the other day..."

除非你有機器去測量他的舌頭、嘴型，不然你可能聽起來會覺得一模ㄧ樣。但這時，因為你聽到了 book，或是上面你們在聊逛書店，所以幾乎 99% 你知道是 poring over。 這就是不靠「耳朵」靠上下文的理解方式。

同樣的，英文裡有個片語叫 make a beeline (+for) 意思是「直奔過去～」的意思。這時，如果你位在的國外城市有一條地鐵是 B Line，你跟朋友要去逛街，剛從地鐵站
出來，他說：Let's make a beeline for the shopping mall. 你如果聽成 Let's take the B line to the shopping mall. 你應該要能用上下文判斷，請他再解釋一次，因為剛從地鐵站出來，馬上要再搭地鐵，除非是向東京般複雜的轉乘，不然上下文應該會告訴你：「我聽錯了」。

這就是 context 在聽力裡扮演的重要角色。在聽力訓練裡頭，會被分在 Top-down training裡頭。而 bottom-up training 又是另外一回事了。

若你對英文聽力和發音如何系統性地學習，我在哥大的學妹楊子萱老師在明天 10/6 (日) 下午2:00 - 3:00 有一場公開課，不要錯過喔！

公開課一秒報名：
https://www.accupass.com/event/1910020921103068735510

【B-Line or Beeline?】 老外英文講太快聽不懂？你一定要會這招！

在哥倫比亞大學上語音學課程時，有一次教授給我們一個
音檔，要我們寫出逐字稿。我還記得有一個地方我一直聽不到，所以第一次請了我兩個美國人室友過來幫我聽聽。
其中一個室友 (Rugters University 畢業、典型兄弟會白人男生類型)，看到一個 Columbia 的亞洲人在作業上有求於他，一副想大展身手幫我解決困難的樣子。不料他聽了前三次以後，他也聽不出來音檔裡的人在說什麼。他露出不可置信的表情說：Hey, play it again play it again, 再試了近七、八次以後，他沮喪地說: "Man, I dunno what he's talkin' about."

他的沮喪換來的是我的我的釋懷和小確幸 (笑)。

其實很多時候，在聽東西的時候，要完全地了解，並不是
每一個字都要聽到才能完全了解對方的意思。雖然我和我的美國人室友都聽不到那個音檔裡的某個字，但完全不影響我們理解整個脈絡。

由此我們可以看到，英文聽力的學習極為複雜，要學好絕對不是「多聽」、「聽多次一點」這樣簡單的方法可以完全解釋的。那有什麼 solution 呢？

今天想要介紹給大家的觀念，就是「上下文」在聽力裡頭扮演的重要角色。舉兩個具體的例子給大家。

假設你在跟/r/ 不太會去捲的英國人在一個有點吵雜的 bar 對話，所以 pull over (停車) 和 pore over (讀) 其實很難以分辨。這時他說： "You know...I was p__________ over this book the other day..."

除非你有機器去測量他的舌頭、嘴型，不然你可能聽起來會覺得一模ㄧ樣。但這時，因為你聽到了 book，或是上面你們在聊逛書店，所以幾乎 99% 你知道是 poring over。 這就是不靠「耳朵」靠上下文的理解方式。

同樣的，英文裡有個片語叫 make a beeline (+for) 意思是「直奔過去～」的意思。這時，如果你位在的國外城市有一條地鐵是 B Line，你跟朋友要去逛街，剛從地鐵站
出來，他說：Let's make a beeline for the shopping mall. 你如果聽成 Let's take the B line to the shopping mall. 你應該要能用上下文判斷，請他再解釋一次，因為剛從地鐵站出來，馬上要再搭地鐵，除非是向東京般複雜的轉乘，不然上下文應該會告訴你：「我聽錯了」。

這就是 context 在聽力裡扮演的重要角色。在聽力訓練裡頭，會被分在 Top-down training裡頭。而 bottom-up training 又是另外一回事了。

若你對英文聽力和發音如何系統性地學習，我在哥大的學妹楊子萱老師在明天 10/6 (日) 下午2:00 - 3:00 有一場公開課，不要錯過喔！

公開課一秒報名：
https://www.accupass.com/event/1910020921103068735510

柏柏爾人與撒哈拉 Berbers and the Sahara
(This post is bilingual. Please scroll to the bottom for English version.)

（昨天在沙漠裡過夜無法發文，今天加倍奉還文章較長敬請見諒。 Wasn't able to post in the desert last night. This one is therefore longer -- please bear with the lengthiness :D）

1. 柏柏爾人

撒哈拉行程第二天一早，帶我們參觀柏柏爾村莊的當地響導請我們一行人站在田埂上，和我們分享著他們族群的生活。

「我們每個人看起來都一樣，只有帽子的顏色不一樣。阿拉伯人、柏柏爾人、猶太人……住在一起都沒有問題。因為我們所有人都有同樣的爸爸和媽媽。」

說到這裡他停頓了幾秒看我們的反應。歐洲人的眼神看起來是領會到什麼了，其他人則有點茫然。

「亞當和夏娃。」他補上了這句。令我印象深刻的是他並沒有用英文裡Adam和Eve的發音，反而相當接近中文翻譯的「亞當」和「夏娃」兩個字。

嚮導帶著我們穿過田埂和水圳，告訴我們不同作物的季節和用途、哪個是橄欖樹哪個是杏仁樹、當地人如何只交換不交易等等。接著來到一個土造的傳統建築裡，在裡面向我們介紹他們手工地毯的文化，向我們解釋流程及困難之處，也告訴我們這些地毯都是沒有設計圖的，樣式全靠家族中的婦女傳承各家的專屬樣式。不出所料，下一步就是鼓勵我們買東西，還說他們現在提供DHL送貨到府。雖然是推銷，看在他那麼誠懇的份上我們也沒什麼抱怨（雖然也沒有人買啦）。

最後我們走過河上的木板橋，河邊正好有幾個婦女在洗衣，嚮導就順道提起：「柏柏爾人的女性力氣都很大，因此有時候男人蠻辛苦的……。」我馬上察覺到他在開玩笑，於是便反問他：「所以請問您有這樣的困擾嗎？XD」

他笑了笑之後說：「我太太嘛，生氣的時候真的很……（做出頭腦爆炸的手勢）；不過還好，他通常燒的都是綠色的火，不是紅色的火，兩天之後整個人又開開心心的了。」說完他馬上問我：「所以你的太太如何？」接下來過了一秒鐘，我還來不及接話，他隨即補上：「你沒有太太。來，下一位！」（我心想，哇，你這嚮導婊人的功力果然還是魔高一丈呀！XD）

2. 撒哈拉

前段故事埋了個跟撒哈拉有關的哏，不知道各位有發現嗎？

沒錯，就是村裡的作物「橄欖樹」，同時也是三毛作詞、李泰祥作曲、齊豫原唱的歌曲名，連同三毛女士的作品，是使許多華人嚮往撒哈拉的啟蒙作品，按我同團的兩個中國女生也提到這件事（他們受友人之託要把撒哈拉的沙帶回去）。「不要問我從哪裡來，我的故鄉在遠方」的歌詞，配上李大師刻意營造不規則感的旋律，也曾經讓我對於這首歌的意境嚮往；當天下午四點，我們終於一睹撒哈拉的廬山真面目。車子在基地營把我們放下，接下來得騎一個半小時的駱駝到達沙漠中的營地，在那邊吃飯過夜之後隔天返回。

那晚，我們這些觀光客們圍在營火旁邊，當地嚮導們拿出了各種大大小小的鼓，叫我們自己先玩玩。我對於一開始大家不夠high這件事看不過去，於是就自己開始憑感覺亂敲亂唱，用固定但帶一點變化的鼓點配上五聲音階的即興旋律，後來當地嚮導竟然請我和他們一起演奏、吟唱他們的傳統音樂（我只好繼續用萬用和弦與結奏矇混過去，哈哈）。最後所有人都手舞足蹈完，大家也終於放開了，在星空下圍著逐漸黯淡的營火聊著彼此的故事。

隔天早上天還未亮就得拔營起行，原本應該是「夜色茫茫、星月無光」的（欸這是不是有幫某人助選嫌疑啊？XD），結果碰上大滿月，沙丘的輪廓一清二楚，連我們騎在駱駝上的影子都清晰可見，沉睡在黝黑中的沙漠其實很美，只不過氣溫是要命的冷，冷到讓人對撒哈拉完全失去興趣，只想回基地營吃熱騰騰的早餐；一直到接近基地營時，嚮導帶我們來到一座沙丘頂端看日出。這時天色已經不是魚肚白，沙丘也從全黑慢慢被調成土灰色；突然，太陽從地平線上出來了！

只見眼前無數的沙丘從頂部開始被一一打亮，接著整片沙漠像是前晚點燃木炭一般，從灰暗中緩緩轉成溫潤的黃褐色，不見烈焰飛騰，卻像是被陽光烘烤到燒了起來一樣。事後回想此情此景，我突然理解某首台灣國語流行歌詞表達的意境了：

「我的熱情（啊！），好像一盆火，燃燒了著整個沙漠。」

（結果這篇文章莫名其妙的用了一大堆國語歌曲哏，不知道自己在寫什麼，大概是腦袋被撒哈拉的太陽給燒壞了，哈哈。）

1. The Berbers

"We are all the same. Only our hats are different. Berbers, Arabs, Jews... we have no problem living together, because we all have the same father and mother..."

It was the second day of the Sahara tour, and this was said by our Berber guide. The Europeans in our group seemed to get something, while the other remained intact. Then the guide continued: "Adam and Eve." (Interestingly, his pronunciation of the names were very different from English, which I guess were probably Arabic or Hebrew.)

The guide led us through the fields into his village, showed us olive trees and almond trees, and told us how they exchange instead of purchase them. Afterwards we were led into a mud-made residence, where he introduced how traditional carpets are made, and how women passed down family-specific patterns down without any draft. At the end, unsurprisingly, he encouraged us to buy. While one of us bought anything, everyone seemed to be comfortable with that, as he had been passionately showing us his culture.

Finally, we crossed a river while some women were washing clothes. He said, "the Berber women have a lot of strength, and sometimes it can be hard..." Understanding his humor, I jokingly asked, "so, do you have this problem?" He laughed, "Well, when my wife is angry she is... (showing head explosion with gestures); but she usually has green fire, not red fire. After two days she is happy again..." Then he turned to me, "how is your wife?" Not waiting for me to respond, he contiuned, "you don't have a wife. (Indifferent and turning to the next guy,) so how is your wife? ..."

(I have to say he is indeed a very professional tour guide, who even knows how to play back on visitors' jokes.)

2. The Sahara

Many Mandarin speakers became interested in the Sahara because of the literature and a pop song "Olive Tree" of San-Mao, a Taiwanese writer who moved to the the Sahara with her husband in 1970s. The irregular, mysterious melody of the song also helped build my impression about the Sahara. Decades later, I finally arrived at the desert's margin around 4pm. Our trip began at the base camp, and we spent the night in the dessert after 1.5 hours of camel ride.

That night, we gathered around a campfire, and the local guides gave us some traditional drums to play. As an icebreaker, I started making regular beats with some random 5-node scale singing. The local guides were excited and invited me to join their playing and singing. Finally, after some singing and dancing, the group got relaxed, and people exchanged their stories around the dimming campfire.

The next morning, we headed back in the darkness -- well, not completely. It was close to the full moon, and the ride therefore came with very pleasant and tranquil desert view. However, feeling frozen in the temperature, all we wanted was to escape from the desert. Finally, we were led to the top of a sand dune to watch the sunrise. At then, the desert already turned from black to brown-gray. All of a sudden, the sun came up from the horizon. Gradually, the entire desert was "toasted" like charcoal, injected with very warm and amicable soil yellow color. The desert was ignited!

I can't think of any better way to end our time in the Sahara.

Refined version:

I’m here at this press conference today for one reason - I’d like to tell you in my own words how sorry I truly am. I have to express my deepest apologies to my family, my wife’s family, our friends and all those who have loved me because I‘ve made a mistake. A mistake which I can never make up for. A mistake that is unforgivable. Because of this wrong that I’ve done, I’ve been reviewing and reflecting on my behaviour. Indeed, I’ve made a disgrace of myself. That’s why I’m here today to tell you that I shall bear full responsibility for what I’ve done.

It is true that I was under the heavy influence of alcohol that day, but being drunk can in no way excuse the grave mistake that I’ve made. I have felt deeply regretful for what I’ve done. I have found it difficult to face and accept myself. After reading the news report, I have found myself and my behaviour most shameful, deplorable, abominable, disgusting and absurd. I have pondered and reflected deeply on why I had not been able to exercise better self control and why lust would have had the better of me.

I shall bear full responsibility for what I’ve done. To that end, I shall do two things. The first thing is that I shall suspend all projects at hand until I found good in myself again and I have examined the way I’ve been conducting myself. The second thing is that I have, from the bottom of my soul, found myself to be ridiculous. Because of my wrongful behaviour, people around me, who have loved me, have been facing up to immense stress and pain. I hope that I could properly make it up to all those on whom I have inflicted pain. This report has made me reflect deeply on what I’ve done. The worst mistake that I’ve committed here is that I’ve gone astray from my former self. Last but not least, I need to say this to all those who have loved me once again: I have brought shame on you all; I’ve been wrong and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Sammi. I don’t know what I am going to do in the future. I am a heartless and broken mess. I hope everyone will be kind enough to let me have the time (to make amends for what I’ve done).


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