【大紀元2012年09月14日訊】A: 歡迎大家來到這期的美語訓練班! 我是楊琳!

B: 我是Mike! 楊琳，咱們今天學些甚麼呢?

A: 今天，咱們要來聊聊美國人日常談話中的禁忌，去看看美國大選怎麼投票，還要告訴你怎麼說”不折不扣”!

B: 談話禁忌? Are you talking about sensitivity training?

A: 對呀! 人家都說美國人非常直接了當，但是其實也有很多約定俗成大家不會觸及的話題呢!

B: Yeah that’s true. Just like the other day, one of my Chinese friend told me that he thought I’m gaining weight! I didn’t know how to respond…but Americans would never say such things in front of your face!

A: 哈哈哈!!!Hmmm…..你應該跟他說，我這個叫肌肉! (笑) 不過這個咱們等會再說，現在，咱們還是趕快來進入第一個單元，

Learn a word!

B: Speaking of sunburns, remember that I said I didn’t need sun scream at our pool party? Turns out I’m totally wrong….

A: 哈哈，你怎麼曬得都脫皮了?不過啊，我覺得你們外國人曬完只是變成粉色，不像我，你看，曬完之後就變成了一隻小紅豬…..

B: Hahahaha, LOL yeah… actually I think you are right….

A: Hey!!! But seriously, I’m never going to the swimming pool at 2pm again! Every inch of me got sunburn!

B: You know, a lot of people here would love to get tanned!

A: 我可不喜歡，我曬完黑裡透紅呀….

B: Well, it’s considered very healthy in American culture! Actually, you just mentioned a very good term: every inch. Let’s listen to today’s words and idioms to see what it means!

A : 我也來造個句! Hmmm…說甚麼好呢? I’m every inch a great host! 嘿嘿嘿，do you agree, Mike?

B: You? Well… you can’t judge your ability by yourself! How about we start a vote and let the audience decide who’s better, ha?

A: 讓聽眾投票? 好呀，我才不怕你呢! 肯定我贏!

B: Well… we need to see about that, let the reality speak.

A: 就是呀! 到時你別太鬱悶就行! 話說，現在好像人人都在談投票!

B: Yeah, that’s because we are going to have the presidential election in November, so who to vote for is currently our hot issue.

A: 對了，美國大選將近，大家都在討論要投誰的票! 正好，今天的美語三級跳裡，剛剛成為美國公民的Amir就在跟他的妻子Sharon談論要投票給誰，咱們一起來聽聽吧!

Citizenship: Advanced

大家好！今天我們為您播出「美語三級跳」節目「移民入籍」單元的高級課程。

Professor: Amir just became an American citizen, and this year he is voting in his first American election. Today he is having breakfast with his wife, Sharon, and they’re talking about the upcoming election.

Amir: So honey, who do you think you’re going to vote for in the election? I really like both the Republican and Democratic candidates, but I can’t decide who to vote for.

Sharon: You like both of them? I think they’re both terrible. For me the question isn’t who I like the most, but who I dislike the least!

Amir: Well, I guess that’s an interesting way to look at it. To be honest I don’t care if Virginia is a blue state or a red state. I just want a moderate candidate who will do a good job.

Sharon: Yeah, you’re right. The only thing I care about is that whoever wins isn’t too partisan.

看來Amir和 Sharon都是 moderate voters–溫和的選民。不過我不明白，Amir說，他不在乎Virginia州變成blue state or red state，這是甚麼意思呢？

Professor: In America, the color red represents the Republican Party, and the color blue represents the Democratic Party.

哦，紅色代表共和黨，藍色代表民主黨。所以，Amir 意思是，他不在乎州長是由共和黨人來做，還是民主黨人來做，最好是個溫和派、干實事兒的人。

Professor: Right! And Sharon says she doesn’t want a candidate who is too partisan. Someone is partisan if he refuses to compromise with the other side.

哦， partisan就是「黨派性的」

Amir: Well what do you think the results are going to be? Virginia used to always be a landslide for the Republicans, but these days it’s a tossup.

Sharon: You’re right, it’s pretty hard to say. But since the incumbent is a Republican, I’d have to give him a slight advantage.

Amir: Yeah, incumbents always have an easier time with fundraising, and everybody already knows them because they’ve been in office for a while.

Sharon: Yeah, but judging by what a bad job he’s done, I don’t think that name recognition is going to help him!

看來這次選舉競爭很激烈。現在選舉結果是tossup – 就像扔硬幣一樣，勝選機會是一半一半，哪個候選人都不會有landslide–壓倒性勝利。

Professor: Exactly. But one candidate has an advantage, right?

對，那就是the incumbent–現在在任的州長。Amir說，他在 fundraising–籌款，和name recognition–知名度方面，都有優勢。

Professor: That’s true, but name recognition isn’t always a good thing, right?

對，知名度不一定都是好事，因為不知道是好名還是罵名!

Amir: A lot of analysts are saying that the election is going to be decided by turnout. The more people vote, the more it’s likely to benefit the Democrat.

Sharon: (Sigh) …. Amir, can we stop talking about politics? I just want to eat my breakfast in peace.

Amir: But Sharon, this is my first time voting in an American election. Can’t you understand how excited I am?

Sharon: Look, if you’re really into the election, why don’t you listen to the pundits talk about it?

Amir: Come on Sharon, how can you think about eating breakfast at a time like this? This election is going to decide the future of our country!

Sharon: Amir, if you don’t stop talking about politics, it’s going to decide the future of your marriage!

professor, 甚麼叫「turnout」？

Professor: Turnout is the number of people who actually go out and vote on election day. In the US, turnout is usually about 50 percent across the country.

哦， turnout就是投票人數。 那麼，甚麼叫pundits呢？

Professor: Pundits are professional commentators. They are famous people who spend all their time talking about their views on current events.

哦，就是那些專門在電視廣播裡對時事發表看法的評論家! 這麼說，我同意Sharon的觀點。現在，只要一開電視，到處都是pundits，已經夠煩人了，誰還想自己家裏的老公也每天大談政治呢？

A: 原來，Amir和Sharon都是moderate voters, 溫和選民，他們更注重的不是partisan黨派，而是誰的政策更合理。兩人覺得，這次的選舉會是個tossup, 兩黨機會旗鼓相當，哪個候選人都不會有landslide, 壓倒性勝利。

B: Yeah, I guess that’s the situation today. The new poll shows that Obama and Romney’s support rate are incredibly close.

A: So who are you going to vote for?

B: Hmm….楊琳, let me give you some sensitivity training. In America, we don’t ask people this kind of question. Anything involving the politics are extremely sensitive.

A: 哦對了，政治問題不能隨便問! 不過……咱倆都這麼鐵了，你就告訴我嘛!

B: Haha, I’m a moderate voter, I will vote for whoever with the best policy for my country. But…remember don’t ask other people such questions, you might offend them without even realizing it!
A: 嗯，謝謝你的忠告! 在今天的business etiquette裡，Jason也犯了跟我類似的錯誤，咱們趕快去聽聽吧!

禮節美語 – BE-255 Sensitivity Training – Money I

晚宴結束，Jason跟同事Harold一起往外走。Jason說：

Jason: That was a lovely party, wasn’t it?

Harold: Yes, it was. The food was pretty good, too.

J: I was a little puzzled about something, though.

H: What was that?

J: At one point in our conversation, Mr. Jones gave me a really funny look…it was almost like I’d broken some sort of a rule.

H: Oh, yes…well you did ask him how much he paid for his apartment.

J: And? What’s wrong with asking someone how much they paid for a piece of property? Back in China everybody talks about buying and selling apartments.

Jason是從中國來的，在晚會上問東道主Mr. Jones公寓是多少錢買的。Mr. Jones gave me a really funny look. Mr. Jones 看他的表情有些奇怪，好像他這樣問犯了甚麼大忌。a funny look意思是說不清楚的奇怪表情。Jason 說，在中國，大家見面就是談房子，因此他不懂，What’s wrong with asking someone how much they paid for a piece of property? 問別人買房子花了多少錢有甚麼不妥呢？Harold解釋說：

H: Yeah, I know….but in many Western societies, talking about money in public is a faux pas.

J: What’s a faux pas?

H: It’s a French term that means a social blunder. Questions like that are considered a little bit impolite.

J: Really? I had no idea. Back in China, it’s not generally a problem to ask about how much something costs.

H: I know you meant no offense. When I was assigned to Guangzhou for 6 months, people frequently ask me how much my monthly salary is.

Harold解釋說，在很多西方國家，公開談錢是 faux pas, faux pas is spelled f-a-u-x, faux and pas p-a-s, pas, faux pas 也就是 social blunder 在社交上忌諱做的事，屬於失禮的行為。Jason聽了覺得很出乎意料，說自己完全不知情，I had no idea. 因為在中國，詢問財物的價錢完全不是問題。Harold說，I know you meant no offense. 我知道你不是故意冒犯 Mr. Jones. Harold說自己派駐廣州半年時，就經常有人問他每個月的工資是多少。Jason說：

J: That’s funny, because Western society seems so open. People talk about all kinds of private things that we wouldn’t bring up in China. Buy money is a no-no, huh?

H: If your Western friend buys something for a really good price, he or she might mention it to you by saying something like, “Take a look at this camera that I got on sale for only $99 dollars.” But unless the person is a close friend, we almost never ask how much something costs.

J: So, do you avoid talking about money so that people with less money don’t feel bad?

Jason覺得很有意思的是，西方社會如此開放，對很多中國不敢涉獵的私人問題都可以拿到檯面上來說，但是 money is a no-no. 錢的問題卻是個禁區。no-no 兩個no連在一起，中間加個連接線，是一種非正式用法，名詞，意思是不可以，不被接受的事情。西方人迴避談錢，是因為怕刺激沒錢的人嗎？我們下次繼續聽。

A: Jason在聚會的時候問東道主房子是多少錢買的，主人給了他a funny look， 一個奇怪的表情。原來，在西方文化中，公開談錢是faux pas, 社交忌諱，除了特別熟識的好友，money is a no-no，錢的問題是個禁區。

B: Yeah, money is something we always avoid talking about.

A: 這跟中國真不一樣! 我一回去，就常常有人問我掙多少錢呢! 真讓人沒法回答! 為甚麼西方人不願意談錢呢?

B: I think it’s in part because personal finances are considered to be a private matter in American culture.

A: 聽起來真不錯薩! What are the other topics that you would avoid in your conversation?

B: Let me see….Politics, income, age, family issues, religion….there are a lot!

A: 真麻煩呀……咱們還是接著去聽聽Harold分析為甚麼外國人不談錢吧!

禮節美語 – BE-256 Sensitivity Training – Money II

晚宴結束，Jason跟同事Harold一起往外走。Jason是從中國來的，對西方人交往時迴避談錢的問題感到不解，問這樣做是不是為了不去刺激那些沒甚麼錢的人。Harold回答說：

Harold: Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head. Also, I think many Westerners believe that if you’re rich, you should be quiet about it. In fact, I believe many wealthy people in the West feel a little bit guilty.

J: Why would they feel guilty?

H: Because so many other people work very hard, but never become successful. When the wealthy turn on TV, they see so much pain and suffering…. but their own lives are so comfortable.

J: Ah….I can understand that. If I were a wealthy person I think I’d feel the same way.

Harold說Jason, you hit the nail on the head. 你說得一點沒錯。to hit the nail on the head 意思是一下子就說到了點子上，還有兩種類似的說法，一種是 you are right on. 另外一種說法是 you are right on the money. 都是同樣的意思。Harold說，因為西方很多人不喜歡炫富，有些人還會因為自己太有錢，而其他人生活貧苦而感到內疚。Harold 說：

H: It’s interesting that some of the most successful entrepreneurs such as John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates ended up setting up charity organizations and giving away a large portion of the money they made.

J: So you’re saying that Bill Gates, for example, doesn’t necessarily think he deserves all the money he made….he knows a part of it was luck, right?

H: Yeah. Bill Gates is a computer genius, but he was there at the right place and the right time.

J: That’s a good attitude. It’s good to remember that hard work and good luck often go hand-in-hand. Okay, so one more time….what’s the etiquette when it comes to talking about money with Westerners?

Harold說，這也就是為甚麼比爾.蓋茨和洛克菲勒這種成功的企業家最後都會 end up setting up charity organizations 成立慈善機構，把錢捐出去。雖說比爾.蓋茨是電腦天才，但他的成功在很大程度上也是靠機遇，He was there at the right place and the right time. 他在正確的時間出現在了正確的地方，類似中文裡說的天時地利人和。Jason很欣賞這種心態，因為 hard work and good luck often go hand-in-hand. 勤奮和運氣二者往往必須兼備才能成功。

H: If the person doesn’t volunteer information about how much something costs…don’t bring it up. Don’t ask about personal savings or salary.

J: Is it OK to comment on or praise someone’s possessions? If you have a really nice car, can I say, “Wow…nice car?”

H: Yes, that’s fine. It only gets complicated when you start talking about specific prices.

J: I see your point. Topics like that could lead to embarrassment.

H: Exactly. Maybe Mr. Jones’ apartment was really expensive, but his company paid for it…or maybe he overpaid and got a bad deal….in either case, it’s easier for everyone if we don’t discuss it in public.

Harold最後總結說，在西方，除非別人主動告訴你，否則不要問人家賺多少工資，有多少存款，買東西花了多少錢這類問題，可以誇別人的東西好，但不要詢問價錢，免得彼此尷尬。

A:Hard work and good luck often go hand-in-hand. 聽見沒有，要成功，勤奮和運氣缺一不可呀!

B: Yeah, you are already lucky enough to host the show with me, the only thing you need now is working hard!

A: 我了個去 ! 你真是個臭美典型! (笑) 好啦同學們，這次節目時間就到這裡。