零距離美語(yǔ)會(huì)話[文化風(fēng)俗差異]Lesson 4

所屬教程:零距離美語(yǔ)會(huì)話

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Four     How much did this painting cost?
這幅畫多少錢？
1    Introduction
A    Many Americans love adventures. They are often interested in exploring other cultures when they have a chance to. When they return from their vacations, they usually bring back souvenirs from their travels.
許多美國(guó)人熱愛(ài)冒險(xiǎn)。一旦有機(jī)會(huì)，他們就經(jīng)常喜歡探索異國(guó)文化。當(dāng)他們渡假歸來(lái)，他們通常帶回一些旅游紀(jì)念品。
B    Americans are often very affectionate people when it comes to family and close friends. They often exchange hugs and kisses with those who are very close to them.
一談到家庭、親密的朋友，美國(guó)人一般都充滿了深情。他們經(jīng)常與那些親密的人互相擁抱、親吻。
C   Another aspect of American culture is the tendency to say “I love you” to those they are particularly close to. Men usually don’t say that to another man.
    美國(guó)文化的另一個(gè)方面是他們喜歡說(shuō)“我愛(ài)你”，尤其是對(duì)那些與他們特別親密的人。男人通常不對(duì)另一個(gè)男人說(shuō)這句話。
D    Very rarely would one American ask another what their income is. Such things are considered private. So, it is not unusual that a family member would not know how much money another one earns.
很少時(shí)候一個(gè)美國(guó)人會(huì)向另外一個(gè)人問(wèn)起他們的收入。這樣的事被認(rèn)為是私事。所以一個(gè)家庭成員不知道另外一個(gè)家庭成員的收入是多少是很平常的。
2    Sample Sentences
1.   I hope things turn out for the best.
我想事情會(huì)圓滿解決的。
2.   He likes his independence and does not want to be a burden.
     他喜歡獨(dú)立，不想成為一個(gè)負(fù)擔(dān)。
3.   I’m looking for someone I can go on vacation with.
     我在找一個(gè)能和我一起去度假的人。
4. At the harbor festivals, you get to taste that group’s foods, hear their music, and buy traditional things from their country.
在港口節(jié)日上，你可以品嘗到那個(gè)民族的食物，聽(tīng)到他們的音樂(lè)，并買到來(lái)自他們國(guó)家的傳統(tǒng)物品。
5. If he wants to live by himself, why don’t you see if you can arrange for a nurse to visit him every week?
     如果他想獨(dú)自生活，你們?yōu)槭裁床豢纯词欠衲馨才乓粋€(gè)保姆每周去探望他呢？
6. Within five years, I hope I’ll have seen more of the world.
在五年內(nèi)，我希望我將會(huì)目睹世界上更多的地方。
7. I should have thought more about my finances before I took such an expensive trip.
在我開(kāi)始這次豪華旅行之前，我早就應(yīng)該多考慮到了我的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況。
8. It usually doesn’t embarrass me very much when someone criticizes me in front of other people.
    別人當(dāng)著其他人的面批評(píng)我時(shí)，通常我不覺(jué)得很尷尬。
9. I really enjoyed the adventures I had in China these five years.
我真的好好享受了這五年來(lái)在中國(guó)激動(dòng)人心的經(jīng)歷。
10. Something I’d feel comfortable about is living alone.
一件讓我感到舒適的事是：一個(gè)人住。
3    Conversations
1. An innocent hug. At a party.
Hans: Diana is such a warm, friendly person. I always love seeing her.
Werner: Me, too. She smiles so easily, and I like the way she hugs people when she greets them.
Elsa: Well, I don’t. Back in my village, a girl doesn’t hug a boy unless she’s seriously dating him.
Hans: Are you jealous1 because she’s so popular? Perhaps you don’t understand her culture.
Elsa: I’m friendly, and lots of people like me. I listen to my friends, and I care about them. I just don’t want boys to get the wrong idea.
Werner: How can you get a wrong idea about something as innocent2 as a hug? It’s a friendly way to greet people. I like it. You should try it.
Elsa: Well, I don’t think it’s right.
【譯文】
——戴娜是個(gè)熱情友善的人，我總是很喜歡見(jiàn)到她。
——我也有同感。她喜歡微笑，我喜歡她問(wèn)候別人時(shí)擁抱別人的方式。
——噢，我就不喜歡。要是在我的村里，女孩子是不會(huì)擁抱男孩子的，除非這個(gè)女孩子真在和他談朋友。
——她如此受歡迎，你是不是吃醋? 也許你不懂她們那兒的文化。
——我很友善的；很多人喜歡我。我傾聽(tīng)朋友訴說(shuō)，我關(guān)心朋友。我只是不想男孩子會(huì)錯(cuò)了意。
——僅僅是單純地?fù)肀г趺磿?huì)讓你錯(cuò)意呢？這是一種友好地問(wèn)候別人的方式。我很喜歡。你應(yīng)該嘗試一下！
——噢，我認(rèn)為這樣子不好。
2. How much do you make?
A Chinese businessman is visiting a government trade official in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital.
Wong: Thank you for showing me your offices, Mr. Becker. I can see why Washington bureaucrats3 enjoy their jobs.
Becker: Why do you say that?
Wong: The city is beautiful, the off ..., the offices are modern and comfortable, and the work is so interesting.
Becker: Many people work for the federal4 government their entire adult lives. Government service can be a rewarding and secure career.
Wong: Do you mean financially rewarding?
Becker: Well, many positions pay salaries that are comparable to5 those in private industries.
Wong: I’ve always thought that most bureaucrats are lazy.
Becker: Sometimes that’s true, but not usually. Most feds are honest, hard-working professionals. It’s hard to keep highly trained people, so the pay and working conditions have to be attractive.
Wong: How much do you make?
Becker: I’m a GS-15. That’s high on the scale of workers, but even a GS-1 is paid a living wage.
Helpful Information：
Often, government workers are paid according to a salary scale. Their salaries increase with years of service, education, or promotion. A new employee might be a “G-1”, and an older employee might be a “G-13”.
政府員工拿薪水往往是根據(jù)一個(gè)工資表。他們的薪水隨著工作的年數(shù)、受教育程度和晉級(jí)而增加。一個(gè)新員工可能是“G-1”級(jí)，而一個(gè)老員工可能就是“G-13”級(jí)。
【譯文】
——貝克先生，謝謝你帶我參觀你們的辦公室。我能看出為什么華盛頓政府人員會(huì)喜歡他們的工作。
—— 你為什么這么說(shuō)呢？
——城市很漂亮，辦……，辦公室既現(xiàn)代化又舒適，而且工作又是這么有趣。
——許多人的成年生活都在聯(lián)邦政府度過(guò)。政府部門的工作可以很有回報(bào)，很有保障。
——你是說(shuō)經(jīng)濟(jì)回報(bào)嗎？
——很多工作付的薪水和那些在私人企業(yè)工作的能媲美。
—— 我一直以為多數(shù)政府人員很懶惰。
——有時(shí)候是真的，但不是通常這樣。大部分聯(lián)邦官員都很專業(yè)，誠(chéng)實(shí)又努力工作。很難留住這些受過(guò)高水平培訓(xùn)的人，所以工資和工作環(huán)境必須要具有吸引力。
——你賺多少錢？
——我是GS-15。在員工當(dāng)中，算是高的，但是連GS – 1 的人，起碼的生活薪水還是有的。
3. Compliments.
Cindy, a Chinese girl, is visiting an American woman’s apartment with other two foreigners.
Bruce: Hey, look at these paintings on the wall! Aren’t they beautiful? Linda bought some good paintings.
Gilbert: Yeah, very impressive6. Oh, this one’s marvelous!
Cindy:   Sure, they’re very colorful.
Linda:   Thank you. You are very generous with your compliments7.
Bruce: You know the first thing most Chinese students would ask is “how much did this painting cost?”
Gilbert: Right. I’ve noticed that too. They always ask that question before they say anything else.
Cindy:   That’s true. Most Chinese do that. I don’t know why. It’s just a habit. I’ve noticed that foreigners often make compliments soon after they see a product someone has bought - even if they don’t really mean it.
Bruce: Yeah, we’re just different. We can’t figure out why many Chinese people don’t give big hugs to their own parents after they grow up.
Cindy:   No, we don’t do that. At least very few people I know do that.
Gilbert: And as far as I know, it’s not common for a Chinese to say, “I love you” to anyone including his or her soul mate8.
Linda:   Cindy, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not saying that one way is better than another. They’re just different, that’s all.
Cindy: I know. Americans say those three words a lot, especially in movies. I wonder if they really mean it.
Gilbert: We do, most of the time. Sometimes we tell our loved ones that we’re proud of them too. Words are important.
【譯文】
——喂，看墻上這些畫！它們難道不漂亮嗎？琳達(dá)買的油畫真不錯(cuò)。
——是啊，很令人欽佩。噢，這幅畫很了不起哦!
—— 當(dāng)然，它們很鮮艷。
——謝謝你們。你們真樂(lè)于夸獎(jiǎng)別人。
——你知道大部分中國(guó)學(xué)生第一件會(huì)問(wèn)的事便是“這畫多少錢？”
—— 是啊。我也注意到了。在他們說(shuō)其它話之前，他們老喜歡問(wèn)那個(gè)問(wèn)題。
——的確是這樣。許多中國(guó)人都這樣做。我不知道為什么。只是個(gè)習(xí)慣。我注意到了外國(guó)人看見(jiàn)別人買的東西常常會(huì)馬上稱贊一番——即使他們并不真正發(fā)自內(nèi)心。
——是啊，我們就是不一樣。我們不明白為什么許多中國(guó)人成年以后就不再擁抱他們自己的父母親。
——不，我們不這么做。至少我認(rèn)識(shí)的人中很少人會(huì)這樣。
——而且據(jù)我所知，對(duì)于一個(gè)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，說(shuō)聲“我愛(ài)你”是很不常見(jiàn)的，即使對(duì)他們的心上人。
——辛迪，你不要誤會(huì)。我們不是在說(shuō)哪一個(gè)比另一個(gè)好。它們只是不同，就這樣。
——我知道。美國(guó)人說(shuō)這三個(gè)字說(shuō)得特別多，尤其在電影里。我想知道他們是否是說(shuō)真的。
——大部分時(shí)間，我們是說(shuō)真的。有時(shí)候我們也告訴我們愛(ài)著的人我們很為他們自豪。言語(yǔ)是重要的。
4   Words and Expressions
1. jealous 妒忌的, 吃醋的
2. innocent 無(wú) 罪的,清白的
3. bureaucrat 官僚;官僚主義者
4. federal 美國(guó)聯(lián)邦政府的,國(guó)家的
5. comparable to 比得上的
6. impressive 予人深刻印象的;感人的
7. compliment 贊美的話;恭維;敬意
8. soul mate 性情相投的人,情人