英语访谈对话 441 Samoan Life

 　　Joel: So, a lot of Americans, we know about Hawaii, and Samoa is fairly close to Hawaii, right? So is the culture similar? Do you know about Hawaii?

　　Patricia: I have family in Hawaii, actually and from seeing them and hearing about their way of life, I think it's a bit different. Perhaps the traidtional life, way of life in Hawaii, like 50 years ago probably is the same as our life now but I think we're more on a cultural basis as I said earlier.

　　Joel: OK, and is that because Hawaii has much more tourism, and so they've advanced more?

　　Patricia: I don't think it's based on the tourism. I think it's based on the multicultural¹ ideal, idea in it, in Hawaii itself, I mean, it consists of so many cultures, so many ethnicities and Hawaii itself, like the original people are not really Hawaiians, I mean, there supposed to be from another area. If you, this has actually, this all goes back to history. It's a historical point that the migration², the original people of Hawaii. They were the last, I think they were perhaps the last settled, after them it was us and then New Zealand, so their people were also mixed so their tradition, there're different cultures that they inherited as they were navigating³ around the world created a certain culture that is very complex, very mutlicultural I think it's very different in Hawaii and Samoa.

　　Joel: So what are the popular sports and popular hobbies and pastimes⁴ in Samoa?

　　Patricia: Rugby

　　Joel: Rugby, really! What, even on the American side?

　　Patricia: Football

　　Joel: American football or soccer?

　　Patricia: Yeah, both.

　　Joel: yeah, a lot of big people so maybe they are good at American football and rugby. And what about triditional dance? I know Hawaii has like hula dance. Do you guys have something distinct⁵ like that?

　　Patricia: We have the taualunga. It's called taualunga.

　　Joel: taualunga.

　　Patricia: Taualunga. Hawaii is a bit different because they have, the hula is done by many people. For us, our traditional dance which is called the taualunga, is usually done by one individual. The girld is supposed to be the daughter of a cheif and she's known as a Taupo.

　　Joel: Taupo (Taupo) is the daughter of a chief. OK.

　　Patricia: The daughter of a chief, and she will be the only individual to be dancing and all the other people will be sitting around her cheering and singing songs while she's dancing. This individual the taupo is supposed to be, well you can consider her a princess of the village. She will hold the most highest title. she will also be the person who is most cared about. She will usually be the first person to eat. Her brothers are supposed to take care of her, sort of stuff, like all these sort of everyday life is put into the dance. (Wow) It's like appreciation⁶ value and the importance of being a female, and how culture should be respected in this way because this individual is pure, sort of.

　　Joel: Oh, that sounds really interesting. I'm going to have to go and see that some time. It usually happens like in the evening. I imagine like tiki torches and things like that, but maybe that's a stereotype⁷.

　　Patricia: Usually it happens in the evening but nowadays with tourism and all we usually have it in the afternoon, morning, it depends on the event. If we have, say a festival or something, and important event, we usually have these taualungas

　　Joel: All right. Wow, that's fascinating

1 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

4 pastimes   

n.消遣，娱乐( pastime的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First, pastimes (or \"amusements\") must be distinguished from true games. 首先，必须将消遣活动与真正的游戏加以区别。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• She shared their expatriation, their convictions, their pastimes, their ennui. 她与他们有共同的流亡国外的命运，共同的信念，共同的乐趣，共同的苦闷。 来自辞典例句

5 distinct   

adj.种类不同的，有区别的，清楚的，明显的

参考例句：

• I had the distinct impression that I was being followed.我清楚地感觉到有人跟踪我。
• The party split into two distinct groups.该党分裂成两个截然不同的团体。

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。