VOA慢速英语:Hey, Buddy, Wanna Buy a Piece of the Empire State Building?

短语讲解：

1. Americans like to joke about the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

joke about开玩笑; 不严肃地对待
例句：Please don't joke about such a delicate subject.
请不要拿这样敏感的问题开玩笑。

2. But, over the years, we have never heard about someone selling New York’s Empire State Building -- until now.

hear about得悉, 听说
例句：I have never heard about such a man.
我从未听说过这样一个人。

3. Teresa Martin set up the Real Estate Investment Association in New York.

set up建立，建造, 创立, 竖立
例句：Plenty of foreign firms have set up factories here.
很多外国公司已在这里开办工厂。

4. But she does not plan to put all of her money into the investment.

put into使处于某种状态
例句：The regulations have been put into practice on a trial basis.
这些规定已开始试行。

5. The one-hundred-two-story building is often lit up at night in honor of different causes or events.

light up照亮, 亮起来
例句：All the streets were lit up with electricity.
所有的街道上电灯通明。
in honor of为了向…表示敬意
例句：A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.
宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6. They formed a Statehood Committee in nineteen forty-nine to work toward that goal.

work toward致力于
例句：The committee will work toward the establishment of a school for the handicapped.
该委员会将为建立一所残疾人学校而努力。

7. Their new album, “Here and Now,” came out late last month.

come out出版; 发表
例句：That year they came out with another article.
那一年他们又发表了一篇文章。

8. And then the song calls for change. It says that everybody wins when people stand together, hand in hand.

call for要求; 需要
例句：The letter calls for an investigation of the facts.
来信要求对这些事实进行调查。
hand in hand手拉手; 密切合作
例句：War and suffering go hand in hand.
战争总是与苦难相伴。

9. Nickelback seems to take criticism well. Recently, tens of thousands of people in Michigan signed a proposal to keep the band from performing at a Detroit Lions football game.

keep from阻止; 免于
例句：Urgent business kept me from attending the meeting.
因有急事我不能去参加会议。

10. Nickelback members answered by making fun of themselves in a video for a humorous web series, “Funny or Die.”

make fun of嘲弄, 取笑
例句：It is wrong to make fun of a cripple.
嘲笑残疾人是不对的。