【大家说英语】 第194期:我说错了什么?(2)

June 19 6月19日

Read it! 读读看！

"Have you eaten yet?" is a common greeting in Chinese culture. "吃过饭了没？"是中华文化里常见的寒暄语。

Taylor didn't know that. 泰乐不知道这一点，

She thought Alex was asking her out. 她以为亚力克斯要找她约会。

It is important to learn about cultural differences. 了解文化差异是很重要的事情，

Susie learned¹ that Americans are very direct². 苏希知道美国人非常直率，

They point out problems. 他们会指出问题。

And Alex learned that Americans like to be private. 亚力克斯则是得知美国人喜欢保有隐私。

Conversation A 会话A

Hey, Rob³. Can I ask you a question? 嘿，罗柏，我可以问你一个问题吗？

Sure. What is it? 当然可以，什么事？

Alex said something to me today. 今天亚力克斯对我说了一些话，

It made me uncomfortable. 让我觉得不太自在。

What did he say? 他说了什么？

He asked me, "Have you eaten yet?" 他问我："妳吃过饭了没？"，

Was he asking me to have lunch with him? 他是在邀请我和他共进午餐吗？

Oh, no! That's just a common greeting in Chinese. 不是！这只是中华文化里常见的寒暄语而已。

So he wasn't asking me out? 所以他不是要找我约会？

No. He was just being friendly. 不是，他只是表达友善而已。

Conversation B 会话B

I learned some things about cultural differences today, Abby. 雅碧，我今天学到了一些文化差异的事情。

Oh, really? Like what? 真的吗？像是什么？

In Chinese culture, you can ask personal questions. 在中华文化里，你可以向别人问私人问题。

You mean things like, "Are you married?" 妳是说像"你结婚了吗？"这种问题吗？

Yes. Or, "Why aren't you married?" 对，或者是："你为什么没有结婚？"

Interesting. What else did you learn? 真有意思。妳还学到了什么？

Americans are very direct. 美国人很直率。

When they see something wrong, they point it out. 我们只要看到什么东西有问题，就会指出来。

And Chinese don't? 华人不会吗？

No. They don't want others to be embarrassed⁴. 不会，他们不想让别人觉得尴尬。

Conversation C 会话C

So, Alex, you've been learning⁵ about American culture. 亚力克斯，你最近了解不少美国文化。

Yes. Things are different here. 是啊，这里的行事作风不一样。

I try to be friendly but am rude instead. 我想对别人友善，却反而让人觉得没礼貌。

I also had to learn what was polite and what was not. 我也必须学习什么样的行为算是有礼貌或者没礼貌。

Right. I can't ask personal questions. 没错。我不能问别人私人问题。

Yes. Americans like to be private. 的确，美国人喜欢保有隐私。

Well, then, what can I talk about? 既然如此，那我可以谈什么？

The weather! That's always safe. 天气！谈论这个话题绝对安全。

1 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

2 direct   

adj.直接的；直达的；v.指挥；知道；监督；管理

参考例句：

• This train is direct,you do not have to change.这辆火车是直达的，你不必换车。
• The army is under the king's direct command.军队由国王直接统帅。

3 rob   

v.抢劫；vi.抢劫，盗窃；vt.非法剥夺，使丧失，抢劫

参考例句：

• Two men formed a plot to rob the bank.两人制定了抢劫那家银行的秘密计划。
• They were scheming to rob the bank.他们在密谋抢劫银行。

4 embarrassed   

adj.尴尬的，不好意思的

参考例句：

• He was very embarrassed to hear people speak so highly of him.他听见别人这样夸他,感到很难为情。
• He is somewhat embarrassed.他稍微有点窘迫。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。