Here with my friend Tom, my favorite Rachel's English teacher, besides myself. -Of course.
这是我的朋友Tom，除了我以外我最喜欢的Rachel’s English老师。-当然。
We're going to have a little conversation and then turn it into a Ben Franklin exercise.
我们会进行一段小对话，然后把它变成一个本·富兰克林练习。
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach? Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
“小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？我能叫你小瑞吗？”-“你可以叫我小瑞。”
"Um, sort, of, but in a very good way. You know I'm leaving for Europe."
“嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。你知道，我要去欧洲了。”
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?" - "I'm going to be gone for five weeks."
“是啊，你要离开多久？”-“我要离开五周。”
"That's a good long time." -"It's a good long time. I'm leaving in 10 days. So it feels like there's a lot to be done."
“那可是挺长的一段时间。”-“是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了，所以感觉有好多事要做。”
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach?" (loop two times)
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？（循环两次）
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach?" Every word there was quite fast except for the word "you".
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？这里除了单词“you”之外，其他的每个词都很快。

It's a little uncommon to stress a function word like this.
像这样重读一个虚词是有点不寻常的。
Normally, I think I would stress the word "stressed". "Are you stressed about anything, Rach?"
通常，我认为我会重读单词“stressed”。“Are you stressed about anything, Rach?”
But the reason why Tom stressed the word "you" is because I had just asked him if he was stressed about anything.
但是Tom重读单词“you”是因为我刚问他有没有压力。
So now, he was turning the question to me, and he stressed "you".
所以，他现在将这个问题反过来问我，于是重读了“you”。
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach?"
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach?" (loop two times)
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？（循环两次）
A couple other things I notice about this sentence, Tom turns the T into a D, making it a flap. "About anything, about anything."
这个句子里我还注意到了其他的几处，Tom把T音变成了D音，把它变成了一个浊音。“About anything, about anything.”
He's doing this because it's a T coming between two vowel sounds.
他这样做是因为这个T出现在了两个元音之间。
Even though it's two separate words, the T still comes between two vowel sounds,
即使这里是两个单词，T还是在两个元音中间，
which means it's a great opportunity to link the two words together with a Flap T (which sounds like the American D).
这意味着这里就是用浊音T（听起来就像是美式的D音）来把两个单词连读起来的好机会。
"About anything. (loop three times) Are you stressed about anything, Rach?"
“About anything.（循环三次）小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach?" (loop two times)
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？（循环两次）
Did you notice how the intonation went up at the end? "About anything Rach? Rach? Rach?"
你注意到我的语调在句尾上升了吗？“About anything Rach? Rach? Rach?”
That's because this is a yes/no question. And yes/no questions go up in pitch at the end.
这是因为这是一个简单疑问句，简单疑问句的语调在句尾要上升。
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach? Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？我能叫你小瑞吗？”-“你可以叫我小瑞。”
"Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
我能叫你小瑞吗？“你可以叫我小瑞。”
These next two sentences are great examples of reducing the word "can".
接下来的两个句子是略读单词“can”的好例子。
"Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
我能叫你小瑞吗？“你可以叫我小瑞。”
The word "can" is so fast there, as if it has no vowels at all. Just the K sound and the N sound. "Kn, kn, kn. Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach."
单词“can”在这里特别快，就像它里面没有元音一样。只有K音和N音。“Kn, kn, kn. Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach.”
"Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach." (loop two times)
我能叫你小瑞吗？“你可以叫我小瑞。”（循环两次）
Notice how everything flows together.
注意这里单词的连接。
We don't feel like we have five separate words in this sentence. "Can I call you Rach? Can I call you Rach?" It's just like one long word.
在这个句子里我们好像感觉不到有五个独立的单词。“Can I call you Rach? Can I call you Rach?” 它就像一个长单词一样。
We do that by linking words together.
我们通过连读单词来达到这样的效果。
When a word begins with a vowel, and the word before ends in a consonant, this is an easy time to link.
当一个单词以元音开头，而它前面的单词以辅音结尾时，就很容易连读了。
Just like up here, when we used a Flap T to link. "Can I." (loop three times)
就像这里，我们用一个浊音T来连读。“Can I.” （循环三次）
Linking an ending consonant to a beginning vowel helps smooth out the line. "Can I. Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach."
把辅音结尾元音开头的单词连读起来会使句子更通顺。“Can I. Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach.”
Again, the word "can" is almost lost here. "Kn, kn. You can call me Rach."
这里的“can”就像被省略了一样。“Kn, kn. You can call me Rach.”
"Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach." (loop two times)
我能叫你小瑞吗？“你可以叫我小瑞。”（循环两次）
We reduce the word "can" like this when it's not the only verb in the sentence.
当句子里不止有这一个动词时，我们就像这样来略读单词“can”。
In these two sentences, the main verb is "call". That means the word "can" is a helping verb. That's a function word, it's not as important as the main verb "call".
在这两个句子里，主要的动词是“call”。这意味着单词“can”是一个助动词。它是一个虚词，没有动词“call”重要。
The word "can" is usually a helping verb. When you pronounce it reduced, "kn, kn",
单词“can”通常是一个助动词。发它的略读音“kn, kn”
it will help you sound more American. "Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach. Kn, kn."
会使你的英语听起来更美式。“Can I call you Rach? You can call me Rach. Kn, kn.”
"Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
我能叫你小瑞吗？“你可以叫我小瑞。”
"Um, sort of, but in a very good way."
嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。
Did you notice? Another Flap T here, linking the word "sort" and "of". "Sort of, sort of, sort of." So it sounded like an American D.
你注意到了吗？这里又有一个浊音T将单词“sort”和“of”连接了起来。“Sort of, sort of, sort of.” 所以它听起来就像是美式的D音。
I just said that when the T comes between two vowel sounds, it turns into a Flap T and can link words. But R is not a vowel sound.
我刚刚说过，当T出现在两个元音中间时，它就变成了浊音T，可以将两个单词连接起来。但是R不是元音。
The rule is, if the T comes between two vowels, or after an R, before a vowel, that it becomes a Flap T.
规则是，如果T出现在两个元音中间，或者是在R音后，元音前，它就可以变成浊音T。
"Sort of." (loop three times) If we think of this as one word, stress is on the first syllable. "Sor-duv."
“Sort of.”（循环三次）如果我们把它当成一个单词的话，重音是在第一个音节上的。
And the second syllable is very fast. It has the schwa, not a full vowel. "Sort of." (loop two times)“Sor-duv.”
第二个音节很快。它有个弱读音，不是完整的元音。“Sort of.”（循环两次）
"Um, sort of, but in a very good way."
嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。
Let's go back for a second. I left something important out. The word "um".
回过来看一下。我漏掉了一个很重要的东西。单词“um”。
This is the word we use when we're thinking. "Um" or "uh". These thinking sounds use the UH as in BUTTER vowel. "Uh, uh."
这是我们在思考时用到的单词。“um”或“uh”。这些词里都有单词BUTTER里的元音UH。“Uh, uh.”
I call this the core sound of American English. Everything in the mouth, face, neck, throat is extremely relaxed.
我把这些称为美语里的基本音。嘴，脸，脖子，喉咙都非常放松。
"Uh, um." That allows the placement to be lower in the body, less in the face. Very American. "Um, uh."
“Uh, um.” 这样相对于脸来说，重点更多地放到了下面的身体上，这非常美式。“Um, uh.”
"Um, sort of, but in a very good way." (loop two times)
嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。（循环两次）
The first syllable of the word "very, ver-", and the word "way, but in a very good way", are the most stressed.
最重的音节是单词“very”的第一个音节，“very, ver-”。还有单词“way, but in a very good way”。
Do you hear how fast this string of function words is? "But in a. (loop three times) But in a very good way." They all link together.
你听到这一串虚词有多快了吗？“But in a. （循环四次） But in a very good way.”它们都连在一起。
Again, we have ending consonant linking into a beginning vowel, ending consonant linking into a beginning vowel.
这里我们又有辅音结尾与元音开头相连，辅音结尾与元音开头相连。
Both of these links help to make it sound like one word, very smooth. "But in a, but in a."
这两处连读都像是一个单词一样，很顺。“But in a, but in a.”
Again, this T is turning into a Flap T, or, a D sound. "But in a, but in a. But in a very good way."
这里的T又变成了一个浊音T，或者说是一个D音。“But in a, but in a. But in a very good way.”
"Um, sort of, but in a very good way. You know I'm leaving for Europe."
嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。你知道，我要去欧洲了。
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." What do you hear as the most stressed syllables in this sentence? I hear "know", "leav-", "Eur-". "You know I'm leaving for Europe."
你知道，我要去欧洲了。你在这个句子里听到的重读音节是哪些呢？我听到的是“know”，“leav-”，“Eur-”。“You know I’m leaving for Europe.”
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." (loop two times)
你知道，我要去欧洲了。（循环两次）
These are all the most important parts of the sentence, the content words.
这些是句子中最重要的部分，实词。
Content words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Here we have verb, verb, and proper noun.
实词是名词，动词，形容词和副词。这里有动词，动词以及专有名词。
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." Notice that in a content word, for example, "leaving", that only the stressed syllable is stressed.
“You know I’m leaving for Europe.”注意在实词里只有重读音节会被重读，比如“leaving”。
Even though this is an important word, and it's a stressed word in the sentence, the unstressed syllable, the –ing ending, is not stressed.
即使它是一个重要的单词，并且在句子里是重读单词，非重读音节ing结尾也不会被重读。
So, unstressed syllables, even in stressed words, are still unstressed syllables.
所以，即使是重读单词，它里面的非重读音节仍然是非重读音节。
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." (loop two times)
你知道，我要去欧洲了。（循环两次）
Notice I use the contraction "I'm".
注意我在这里使用了缩写形式“I‘m”。
Some of my students don't like to use contractions because they don't think they're clear enough. They will say "I am".
我有一些学生不喜欢使用缩写形式，因为他们觉得这样会不够清楚。他们会说“I am”。
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." But using a contraction, like "I'm", is just like up here,
“You know I’m leaving for Europe.”使用缩写形式，就像这里的“I'm”，
where we took these three words and linked them together and made them very fast. "But in a."
我们把这三个词连读得非常快。“But in a.”
So, contractions are words we reduce and link together in writing and in speech. "I'm, I'm."
因此，缩写形式就是我们在书写和说话时略读和连读的单词。“I’m, I’m.”
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." (loop two times)
你知道，我要去欧洲了。（循环两次）
Reducing and contracting words will help you sound very American.
略读和缩写单词会使你说话听起来非常美式。
There's actually one more example of a reduction in this sentence. It's the word "for". "For Europe. For Europe."
这个句子里还有一个略读的例子，那就是单词“for”。“For Europe. For Europe.”
I reduced that vowel to the schwa. And the schwa-R together make one sound, "rr, rr, rr, fr, fr, fr. For Europe, for Europe."
我把它的元音略读成了弱读音。弱读音和R音一起组成了一个音，“rr, rr, rr, fr, fr, fr. For Europe, for Europe.”
And again, here we have an ending consonant linking into a beginning vowel. "For Europe." (loop three times)
这里我们又有一个辅音结尾与元音开头的连读。“For Europe.”（循环三次）
So those two words glide together very easily. "For Europe, for Europe."
因此这两个单词很容易就连在一起了。“For Europe, for Europe.”
"You know I'm leaving for Europe." -"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?"
你知道，我要去欧洲了。是啊，你要离开多久？
This was all very fast. "Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?"
这些读得都很快。“Yes, that’s right. How long are you going to be gone for?”
Wow. Tom didn't even really finish the word "right". "Yes that's right how long?"
哇，Tom甚至没有读完单词“right”。“Yes that’s right how long?”
He certainly didn't pronounce a full T. He moved on to the next sentence before he even finished that word.
他当然没有发出完整的T音。他在说完这个单词之前就开始读下一个句子了。
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?"
是啊，你要离开多久？
So there was no real break here between sentences.
所以在句子之间其实没有间隔。
You probably noticed he took "going to" and turned it into "gonna".
你可能注意到了他把“going to”变成了“gonna”。
"How long are you gonna? You gonna? (loop three times) How long are you gonna be gone for?"
是啊，你要离开多久？
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?" (loop two times)
是啊，你要离开多久？（循环两次）
Did you notice Tom did not reduce the word "for" to the schwa.
你注意到了吗，Tom没有把单词“for”略读成弱读音。
Well, I just said that that's something that we want to do with this word in order to make it sound more American.
我刚刚说到，为了使发音更美式，我们会略读单词。
But, I do need to add: we don't reduce words like "for" when they're at the end of a sentence.
但是我需要补充一点：当“for”这样的单词出现在句尾的时候，我们不会略读。
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?"
是啊，你要离开多久？
There, they need to be fully pronounced. Even though it was still very fast, it wasn't a stressed word, it did have the full vowel.
在这里它们的音需要被完整地发出来，即使它很快，不是个重读单词，它也有完整的元音。
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?" -"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." (loop two times)
“是啊，你要离开多久？”-“我要离开五周。”（循环两次）
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks."
我要离开五周。
Again, I used "I'm" instead of "I am". That helped me make it fast and less important, compared to the more important words in the sentence.
这里，我再次用了“I'm”，而不是“I am”。这样，相比句子里的重要单词，使用缩写形式会让我把它读得更快。
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。（循环两次）
You also may have noticed, I also took "going to" and pronounced it "gonna".
你可能还注意到了，我还把“going to”读成了“gonna”。
"I'm gonna." (loop three times)
“I’m gonna.”（循环三次）
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。（循环两次）
How do you hear this word "for"? Listen again.
你听到单词“for”的发音了吗？再听一次。
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。（循环两次）
You're right, it's reduced. "For, for, for, for five, for five. For five weeks."
是的，你没听错，它被略读了。“For, for, for, for five, for five. For five weeks.”
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。（循环两次）
So, the most important words there, the loudest, the clearest, are "gone", "five", and "weeks". Those are the words that carry the actual meaning of the sentence.
所以，这里最重要，音最高，最清晰的单词是“gone”，“five”和“weeks”。它们是句子里带有实际含义的词。
So, we don't reduce these more important words.
因此，我们不会略读这些重要的单词。
But if we say all the other words fast, reduce them, then it makes these more important words stand out the most. "I'm going to be gone for five weeks."
但是如果我们把句中其他单词读得快一点，略读它们，那么这些重要的单词就会更突出了。“I’m going to be gone for five weeks.”
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." -"That's a good long time."
我要离开五周。那可是挺长的一段时间。
"That's a good long time." Tom didn't really pronounce the TH here. He reduced the word "that's" to just the schwa-TS sound. "Utsa, utsa, utsa good long time." (loop two times)
“That’s a good long time.”Tom并没有把这里的TH音发出来，他把单词“that's”略读成了弱读音TS。“Utsa, utsa, utsa good long time.”（循环两次）
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." -"That's a good long time." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。那可是挺长的一段时间。（循环两次）
We reduce "that's, it's, what's", at the beginning of a sentence like this a lot.
在句子的开头，我们经常会像这样略读“that’s, it’s, what’s”。
And look, we have an ending consonant beginning vowel to link. "That's a", (loop three times) that's a good long time." He stressed the last three words.
看，我们有辅音结尾元音开头的连读。“That’s a,（循环三次）that’s a good long time.”他重读了最后的三个单词。
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." -"That's a good long time." (loop two times)
我要离开五周。那可是挺长的一段时间。（循环两次）
We have adjective, adjective, noun.
这里有形容词，形容词，名词。
The three content words are stressed, longer, clearer.
这三个实词要重读，音要更长，更清晰。
"I'm going to be gone for five weeks." -"That's a good long time." -"It's a good long time. I'm leaving in ten days."
我要离开五周。那可是挺长的一段时间。是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了。
I reduced the word "it's" by dropping the vowel. "Tsa, tsa, it's a good long time."
我通过省略里面的元音略读了单词“it's”。“Tsa, tsa, it’s a good long time.”
"It's a good long time. I'm leaving in ten days."
是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了。
"It's a good long time." Linking the TS cluster into the schwa. "Tsa, tsa, it's a good long time. It's a good long time."
“It’s a good long time.”把TS与弱读音连读起来。“Tsa, tsa, it’s a good long time. It’s a good long time.”
Again, these three words are stressed, "good long time".
这里的三个单词是重读单词，“good long time”。
I stressed the word "good" the most. "It's a good long time. It's a good long time."
我把单词“good”读得最重。“It’s a good long time. It’s a good long time.”
Just like Tom did earlier, I didn't really leave a sentence break here, did I? I went straight on to my next thought.
就像Tom之前那样，我在句子之间并没有停顿，对吗？我直接开始了下一句话。
"It's a good long time. I'm leaving in ten days."
是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了。
Look. Another contraction. The most important syllables in that sentence: "leav-, ten, days."
看，这里又有一个缩写形式。这句话里最重要的音节是：“leav-, ten, days.”
"I'm leaving in ten days." (loop four times)
我十天以后就要走了。（循环四次）
Again, they're the most important parts of the sentence for content. The verb "leaving", and the time amount, "ten days".
它们也是句子里包含内容的最重要的部分，动词“leaving”和时间长度“ten days”。
"I'm leaving in ten days, so it feels like there's a lot to be done."
是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了，所以感觉有好多事要做。
I notice the word "it" is not very clear. "So it feels." (loop two times)
我注意到了单词“it”并不是很清晰。“So it feels.”（循环两次）
"I'm leaving in ten days, so it feels like there's a lot to be done."
是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了，所以感觉有好多事要做。
"So it feels like." The word "it" begins with a vowel. Here, the word before ends with a vowel. So we can link vowel to vowel. "So it. (loop three times) So it feels like."
“So it feels like.”单词“it”以元音开头。这里它前面的单词也以元音结尾，所以我们可以将元音连读。“So it. （循环三次） So it feels like.”
It's a very smooth transition. And it can feel like I go through the glide consonant W. "So it." (loop three times) That helps me link them together. "So it feels like."
这是一个很流畅的转换，它就像辅音W一样。“So it.”（循环三次）这样会帮助我把它们连读在一起。“So it feels like.”
What's happening with the T in "it"? It's a Stop T. "So it, so it, so it feels."
那么“it”里面的T发生了什么呢？它是一个顿音T。“So it, so it, so it feels.”
"So it feels like." The T is not fully pronounced, "tt. So it, so it."
“So it feels like.”T并没有被完全读出来，“tt. So it, so it.”
But instead, I stop the air. "So it." In general, we pronounce T's this way when the next sound is a consonant.
相反，我停顿了一下。“So it.”总之，当后面是一个辅音时，我们就这样来发T的音。
"So it feels like there's a lot to be done." And the ending Z sound of "there's" links right into the schwa sound uh. "There's a, there's a, there's a lot to be done."
“So it feels like there’s a lot to be done.”“there's”结尾的Z音与弱读音uh连读。“There’s a, there’s a, there’s a lot to be done.”
"There's a lot to be done." (loop two times)
有好多事要做。（循环两次）
How are these two words pronounced? "Lot to, lot to."
这两个单词是怎样发音的呢？“Lot to, lot to.”
This is clearly not an "oo" vowel, it's a schwa. "Lot to." But what about the T's? "Lot to."
这显然不是一个“oo”元音，它是一个弱读音。“Lot to.”那这些T是怎样发音的呢？“Lot to.”
I'm making the first T a Stop T. "Lot." So I'm just stopping the air for a second—"lot to, lot to"—before releasing to make the second T. "There's a lot to be done."
我把第一个T发成了顿音T。“Lot.”所以在这里我停了一下——“lot to, lot to”——然后才发第二个T音。“There’s a lot to be done.”
"There's a lot to be done." (loop two times)
有好多事要做。（循环两次）
We use these three words together, "a lot to", quite a bit.
我们经常把这三个单词连在一起用，“a lot to”。
Let's do a quick comparison to "a lot of", which we also use together frequently.
让我们来快速地比较一下另一个我们经常用到的短语“a lot of”。
Here we have an ending T consonant and beginning vowel.
这里我们有一个辅音结尾和元音开头。
The T comes between two vowels, so it's a Flap T or a D sound. "A lot of, a lot of."
T出现在两个元音之前，所以它是一个浊音T或是D音。“A lot of, a lot of.”
So the T in "lot" is pronounced one way in this phrase, "a lot to", and a different way in this phrase, "a lot of".
所以在这个短语里，“lot”里的T是这样发音的，“lot to”，在短语“a lot of”里又是以另一种方式发音。
Let's listen to the whole bit of conversation one more time.
让我们再来完整地听一遍这段对话。
"Are you stressed about anything, Rach? Can I call you Rach?" -"You can call me Rach."
“小瑞，你现在压力很大吗？我能叫你小瑞吗？”-“你可以叫我小瑞。”
"Um, sort, of, but in a very good way. You know I'm leaving for Europe."
“嗯，有点压力，不过是好的方面。你知道，我要去欧洲了。”
"Yes, that's right. How long are you going to be gone for?" -"I'm going to be gone for five weeks."
“是啊，你要离开多久？”-“我要离开五周。”
"That's a good long time." -"It's a good long time. I'm leaving in 10 days. So it feels like there's a lot to be done."
“那可是挺长的一段时间。”-“是挺长的。我十天以后就要走了，所以感觉有好多事要做。”
Even with just a little bit of speech, there's a lot to study.
即使这只是一小段对话，里面也有很多可以学习的东西。
Thanks for studying with me.
谢谢你和我一起学习。
That's it, and thanks so much for using Rachel's English.
这次的学习就到这里，非常感谢使用Rachel's English。