零距离美语会话[文化风俗差异]Lesson 1:You must have been here a long time

Unit 1   Differences in Culture and Customs¹

One    You must have been here a long time already.
你肯定在这里等了很久了。

 1   Introduction 
A   Being on time is considered good manners².  It’s not polite to be late for classes, meetings, or appointments.  When we do business with foreigners, make sure not to be late.  Foreigners keep punctual³ time.  Punctuality⁴ can greatly increase your credibility, too.
准时被看作是很有礼貌。上课、开会或者约会迟到是很不礼貌的。当我们和老外做生意时，务必不要迟到。外国人很守时。守时作风也可以大大地提高你的信誉度。

B  In America, it’s impolite⁵ to call someone’s home very early in the morning or very late at night unless there is an emergency.  For example, 8 A.M. is considered too early and 10 P.M. is considered too late.  Especially on weekends, many people like to stay up late and get up late.  So make sure not to disturb people who may be resting or sleeping.
在美国，除非有紧急情况，早上很早或者晚上很晚打电话到别人家是很不礼貌的。举例来说，早上八点就被认为是很早，晚上十点就被认为是很晚了。尤其在周末，许多人喜欢晚睡晚起。所以确定不要打扰他人休息或睡觉。

 2   Sample Sentences
1.  She was here a moment ago.
她刚才还在这。
2.  Don’t worry, your father will come back after a while.
别担心, 你爸爸一会就回来。
3.  The rent should be paid in advance.
房租要预先支付。
4.  We must hurry up if we want to be there on time.
如果想准时到那里的话，我们就必须动作快点。
5.  I wish I could stay here another month.
我真希望我还能在这里再呆一个月。
6.  I think I can have it done in a couple of hours.
我想几个小时之内我就可以做好。
7.  Do you rent the camera by the hour or by the day?
你的照相机出租是按小时算，还是按天数算？
8.  I was five minutes late for work this morning.
今天早上我上班迟到五分钟。
9.  Your watch is ten minutes ahead of time and you’re still late.
你的手表快了十分钟，而你还是迟到了。
10.  He always leaves work at six on the dot.  He won’t work an extra minute.        他六点钟总是准时下班。他不会多工作一分钟。

 3   Conversations1.
A Chinese girl is caught at the subway station by heavy rain.  She is supposed to meet her friend, Hans, in the lobby⁶ of the Garden Hotel at 11:00 A.M., but she doesn’t have a watch, so she decides to ask a man for the time.
Girl:  Excuse me, Sir, do you know what time it is?
Man:  Oh, it’s almost eleven twenty. 
Girl:  Thank you.
Man:  You’re welcome.  The rain is quite heavy, isn’t it?
Girl:  Yeah.  I was in a hurry and I forgot my umbrella today.
Man:  I have one.  We could share it.  Which way are you going?
Girl:  Oh, that’s very kind of you.  I am going to the Garden Hotel.
Man:  I am going there, too.  We can walk together.
Girl:  Sure.

Helpful Information: 
Time and weather is the topic that two strangers often begin a conversation. Usually people begin to know each other by this way. 
时间和天气，是两个陌生人之间常开始谈论的话题。人们通常是这样开始互相认识。
【译文】
——对不起，先生，你知道几点了吗？
——噢，快十一点二十分了。
——谢谢。
——没关系。这雨可下得真大，不是吗？
——是啊。今天我匆匆忙忙忘了带伞。
——我有伞，我们可以共用。你往哪边走？
——噢，那太好了。我去花园酒店。
——我也去那里。我们可以一起走。——当然。

2.  In the lobby. Hans:  Hi, Cindy.  I thought I’d missed you.
Girl:  Oh, I am very sorry, Hans.  Thank you for waiting for me.  You must have been here a long time already. 
Hans:  It’s all right.
Girl:  I was caught in the heavy rain, or I would have come earlier.  I am sorry I kept you waiting.
Hans:  I was in a comfortable place, so really, it’s no problem.  I am happy to see you.  Did the rain hold you up1 long?
Girl:  Yes.  When I came out of the subway, it was raining cats and dogs. And I forgot my umbrella. So I had to wait for the rain to let up2.
Hans:   I totally understand.

 

Helpful Information：Things don’t often happen the way we expect.  We may miss a lot of important things in life, but we shouldn’t miss the understanding of one another.
很多时候事情都不会按照我们想象的发展。生命中我们可能错过很多重要的东西，但是我们不应该错过相互的理解。

【译文】
——嗨，辛迪。我以为我错过你了。
——噢，真对不起，汉斯。谢谢你等我。你一定在这里等了很久了。
——没关系。
——我赶上下雨了，不然我会早一点到。很抱歉，让你久等了。
——我等的地方很舒适，真的，没关系的。我很高兴见到你。你被雨碍了很长时间吗？
——是啊。我从地铁站一出来，就下着倾盆大雨。而我忘了带伞。所以我只好等雨小一点。
——我完全理解。

3.  Gary and Evelyn are boyfriend and girlfriend.  They’re going to see a movie together on campus⁷.  They’re supposed to meet in front of the theater at five to seven, five minutes before the movie starts.  And now it’s seven o’clock and Gary still hasn’t appeared.  She decides to look for him at his apartment.  (Evelyn is knocking the door.)
Gary:  Come in, come in！
Evelyn:  Hi, Gary, what happened? I was waiting for you at the theater. Why didn’t you meet me there?
Gary:  I thought we were supposed to meet HERE.
Evelyn:  Don’t you know our movie starts at seven? And we were going to meet at the theater at five to seven. Then it doesn’t make sense3 to meet at the apartment.
Gary:  I’m sorry. We must have misunderstood each other.
Evelyn:  Why don’t you try to be clearer about your intentions4?
Gary:  You’re right.  I am sorry.  Let’s go and watch the movie.
Evelyn:  It’s okay.  I don’t want to go now.  We’ve already missed ten minutes of the movie.  I don’t want to see a movie without watching the beginning.

【译文】
——进来，进来!
——嗨，加里，发生了什么事？我在电影院等你。你为什么没去那里和我碰面呢？
——我原以为我们说好了在这里见面。
——你难道不知道我们的电影七点开始吗？而且我们又打算七点差五分在电影院见面。那在公寓见面就没有道理了嘛。
——对不起。我们肯定是相互误解了。
——你的意图为什么就不想清楚一点呢？
——你说得对。对不起。我们去看电影吧。
——没关系。现在我不想走了。我们都已经错过十分钟的电影了。我不想看电影不看开头。

4. Sorry I’m late.
A high-school student from Brazil is visiting several American universities5 with her parents.  They are waiting to see the dean⁹ of a small college in Maine.

Father:  I see you've brought something to occupy your time while we wait.  Good.  We may be here a long time.
Isabel: Yes, Papa.  I brought the catalog6 for the next college we're going to visit--the one in New Hampshire.
Mother:  Maybe we won't have to wait long.  We've only been here fifteen minutes.
Isabel:  I'm not used to the way they treat time here.  They wouldn't see me at that place in Massachusetts yesterday.  I missed the appointment because I was forty-five minutes late.  That's no time at all back in Brazil.
Father:  It’s just that North Americans pay more attention to exact times.  They're very punctual7 people.
Mother: I think that if you're more than thirty minutes late, you have to apologize and explain what delayed¹¹ you.
Father:  Our appointment with this dean is for three-fifteen. My watch says three-thirty.  I'm sure we’re not late.
(The dean comes out of his office.)
Dean:  Isabel?  Come in.  Sorry I kept you waiting. We're running a little behind schedule8 today.

【译文】
——我知道你带了一些东西过来，在我们等的时候来打发你的时间。这样好。我们可能要在这里呆很长时间。
——是啊，爸爸。我把我们将要去的下一个学院的目录表带来了－在新罕布什尔的那个。
——也许我们不要等很久。我们到这里才十五分钟。
——我不习惯他们这里这样对待时间。昨天在马萨诸塞州那个地方他们就不会见我。就因为我迟了四十五分钟，我连面试都错过了。在巴西，这点时间根本就不算什么。
——美国北方人就是更注重时间的准确性。他们很守时。
——我想如果你迟到超过三十分钟，你就得道歉并且解释是什么延误了你。——我们和这位系主任的约面时间是三点十五分。我的手表是三点半。我想我们没迟到。（系主任从他的办公室出来。）
——伊莎贝尔？请进。对不起让你久等了。今天我们比预计时间晚了一点。

 4  Words and Expression
1. hold up  阻碍，拦截
2. let up 减少，暂停，减缓
3. make sense  使人懂，合理
4. intention⁸ 意图,意向,目的 
5. university  大寝室，团体寝室
6. catalog¹⁰ 目录;目录册,目录簿
7. punctual 严守时刻的;准时的
8. behind schedule 落后于预计时间 

 

1 customs   

n.海关，关税

参考例句：

• The customs officials turned the man over to the French police.海关官员把那个人移交给了法国警察。
• They are collecting customs.他们正在收缴关税。

2 manners   

n.礼貌；规矩

参考例句：

• You should mend your manners.你的态度应当纠正。
• His manners are rough,but he is a kind man at heart.他虽然举止粗鲁，但心地善良。

3 punctual   

adj.严格守时的；正确的，精确的；点状的

参考例句：

• I have to go now because I must be punctual for class.我现在不得不走了，因为我得准时去上课。
• If you are punctual you are not late.如果你严守时间，你就不会迟到。

4 punctuality   

n.严守时间；正确，规矩

参考例句：

• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality. 他对守时要求越来越过分了。
• a stickler for punctuality 非常注重守时的人

5 impolite   

adj.无礼的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• It is impolite to get a word in.别人谈话时插嘴是不礼貌的。
• It is very impolite of you to do so to customers.你这样做对顾客太不客气了。

6 lobby   

n.前厅，（剧院的）门廊

参考例句：

• As he walked through the lobby,he skirted a group of ladies.他穿过门厅时，绕过了一群女士。
• The delegates entered the assembly hall by way of the lobby.代表们通过大厅进入会场。

7 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

8 intention   

n.意图；目的；打算

参考例句：

• I'm sorry I offended you,but it wasn't my intention.对不起，冒犯你了，但我绝不是有意的。
• We understood her intention.我们明白了她的心意。

9 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

10 catalog   

n.目录(册)vt.将…编入目录，将…编目

参考例句：

• Can you catalog all these books?你能给所有这些书编目录吗？
• You can look for the book in the library catalog.你可以在图书馆的图书目录上查找这本书。

11 delayed   

adj.延时的，定时的v.（使）耽搁，延误( delay的过去式和过去分词 )；推迟；使延期；使延迟

参考例句：

• Deliveries of mail could be delayed because of cost-cutting. 由于削减成本，邮件的递送可能会延迟。
• The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. 最可能的解释是他的飞机晚点了。