VOA慢速英语2020 称呼老师用“Teacher”吗？

This week, we received a question from Agnaldo, a teacher in Brazil.He asks,

这周，我们收到了巴西一名老师——阿纳尔多的一个问题。他问， 

Ive seen recently that we shouldnt call a teacher "Teacher."We should call him or her by their name.Is that true? Why?Is it the same for professors? -- Agnaldo, Brazil.

我最近看到，我们不应该叫老师“Teacher”。我们应该叫他或她的名字。这是真的吗？为什么？教授也一样吗？——阿纳尔多，巴西。

Dear Agnaldo,

亲爱的阿纳尔多， 

This is a great question.I have taught in many countries where the common practice is for students to call me Teacher.It always sounded a little strange to me.Most Americans do not use Teacher to address a teacher in English.Sometimes Americans do use titles this way, however.For example, they might address a medical doctor as simply Doctor,a religious¹ leader as Reverend or a judge, as Your Honor².

这是个好问题。我在许多国家教过书，在那些国家学生习惯叫我“Teacher”。对我来说那听起来总有点奇怪。大多数美国人不用“Teacher”来称呼老师。然而，有时美国人确实这样使用头衔。例如，他们可能简单称呼医师为“Doctor”，称呼宗教领袖为“Reverend”或称呼法官为“Your Honor”。

So, how should students address their teacher?

那么，学生应该如何称呼他们的老师呢？ 

Most American teachers of children are addressed using the honorifics Miss, Mizz, Missus or Mister³, with their family or last name.The last three are shortened⁴ in writing to Ms., Mrs. and Mr.The honorific Miss does not have a shortened version⁵.

对大多数美国儿童老师的称呼是用尊称“Miss”，“Mizz”，“Missus”或者“Mister”加上老师的姓氏。后三个尊称可以缩写为“Ms”，“Mrs.”和“Mr.”。“Miss”这个尊称没有缩写形式。

At the beginning of a school term, a teacher should tell students how to address her or him.

在学期开始时，老师应该告诉学生如何称呼自己。 

Suppose the teachers name is Elissa Brown.She most likely will tell her students to call her Ms. Brown.

假设老师的名字是艾丽莎·布朗。她很可能会告诉她的学生称呼她为布朗女士。 

For men, Mr. is used.

用“先生”称呼男士。 

The honorifics Miss and Mrs. identify if a woman is unmarried⁶ or married.These terms are less common in the modern world as they provide unnecessary⁷, personal information.There is no English honorific that communicates if a man is married or single.

尊称“小姐”和“夫人”辨别出一名女性是未婚还是已婚。这些称呼在现代社会不太常见，因为它们提供了不必要的个人信息。英语中没有能传达出一名男性是已婚还是单身的尊称。

You also asked about professors.Generally, they also choose how they want to be addressed.It is not unusual for a professor to be addressed as Professor, however, especially in the learning⁸ setting⁹.Here is an example sentence:

你还问怎么称呼教授。一般来说，他们也会选择自己想要的称呼。 然而，称呼教授为“Professor”并不罕见，尤其是在学习环境中。下面是一个例句：

Professor, what is the difference between Mr. and Ms.?

教授，“Mr.”和“Ms.”有什么区别? 

Most university professors in America hold doctoral degrees and many of them use the title of Doctor.

美国大多数大学教授都有博士学位，而且其中许多人还使用博士这个头衔。 

The second part of your question was about why "Teacher" is not a good name to call your teacher.In many cultures, using the word "Teacher" shows great respect.But for many American teachers, including me, "Teacher" is an impersonal¹⁰ term.

你所问问题的第二部分是关于为什么“Teacher”不是对老师的一个好称呼。在许多文化中，使用“Teacher”一词表明极大的尊敬。但对包括我在内的许多美国老师来说，“Teacher”是一个非人称结构的词语。

The good news is teachers of English as a second language expect cultural differences between themselves and their students.We understand our students are trying to show respect when they address us.

好消息是，以英语作为第二语言的老师希望自己和学生之间存在文化差异。我们理解我们的学生在称呼我们时是想表达对我们的尊敬。

Thats Ask a Teacher for this week.

以上就是本周《名师答疑》的全部内容。 

What questions do you have about English?Send us an email at [email protected].

你有什么英语问题吗？那就给我们发电子邮件到[email protected]。 

Im Jill Robbins.

吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。 

1 religious   

adj.宗教性的，虔诚的，宗教上的；n.修道士，出家人

参考例句：

• She is very religious person who goes to church every Sunday.她十分虔诚，每个星期天都上教堂。
• It is hard for me to reject religious beliefs.要我抛弃自己的宗教信仰是困难的。

2 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

3 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

4 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

5 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

6 unmarried   

adj.未婚的，单身的

参考例句：

• Though he is forty,he is still unmarried.尽管他已经40岁了，但还是独身。
• I was still unmarried then.当时我还没有结婚。

7 unnecessary   

adj.不必要的，无用的，无益的

参考例句：

• There's no sense in taking unnecessary risks.做不必要的冒险毫无意义。
• It's unnecessary to go into details.无须细说。

8 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。

9 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

10 impersonal   

adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的

参考例句：

• Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远，没有人情味。
• His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。