Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan

No, thanks



This is a true story as told by my uncle:

While I was completing my postgraduate program in Germany, I was once invited by my tutor, Professor Herz, to his flat for supper with his family. The dinner was scheduled for eight o'clock but I was living in another district quite far from his, so I set out very early. Then, while standing outside his gate, my watch read half past seven. Thank goodness! The German people think highly of punctuality, and fortunately I reached his flat ahead of the time. After all, sooner is better than later, right?

However, unexpectedly, my early arrival made them a little embarrassed, because in Germany hosts are considered thoughtless and impolite if they make guests wait for dinner. And at that time when I arrived, the whole family was still hustling in preparation.

"What would you like to drink for supper, Mr. Ruan?" asked Professor Herz with an apologetic smile on his face.

"No, thanks!" I replied.

A few minutes later, when we were seated, a table of delicious food jumped in front of my eyes. Ah, braised beef—my favorite! The smell was stimulating my appetite. I yielded to its temptation, ate some and chewed slowly in order to keep its fragrance in the mouth longer.

"How about this? Would you like some more, Mr. Ruan?" asked Ms. Herz.

"No, thanks!" I answered. A well-mannered Chinese person will generally decline the host's first offering and expect a second inquiry.

"Oh, what a pity. I thought you liked it."

To my disappointment, no second inquiry came. Instead I had to suffer a severely watering mouth, while watching the others enjoy my favorite beef to their hearts' content.

Then it was time for dessert. Strawberries with cream, which, unfortunately, was especially delicious during that season. I took some into my mouth with a pair of greedy eyes still lingering on the plate in secret.
"Could I give you some more?" Said Ms. Herz in her sweet voice.

"No, thanks!" I declined once more, expecting another inquiry. But Ms. Herz' sweet voice didn't sound again.

Then, due to my adherence to Chinese dinner manners, I missed successively the enjoyment of a cup of coffee, ice cream, chocolate, candy...

Finally, I left the house with a half-empty stomach.

Till now, when reminded of this experience, he always sighs saying, "I could have enjoyed a delicious dinner if I had just done as the Romans do. That night's beef was really tasty, so was the strawberry dessert, coffee, ice cream..."

 

复活节购物

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important feast in the Christian calendar.

在欧美各国, 复活节是仅次于圣诞节的重大节日. 根据西方教会的传统, 在春分(3月21日)当日见到满月或过了春分见到第一个满月之后, 遇到的第一个星期日即为复活节. 所以让我们看看庆祝复活节怎么说吧.

1. We are meeting here tonight in the house of Mr. Smith, along with other American friends of his, to observe Easter.
今晚我们聚集在史密斯先生家里, 和他的美国朋友一起共同庆祝复活节.

过节时少不了商家的大打折, 就是购物的黄金时期了. 买东西时会遇到些什么话呢？
2. How are you going to pay﹖
你要怎么付款?
这句话问你要用什么方式付款. 如信用卡(credit card), 提款卡(debit card), 或是现金(cash) 来付账. 这句话在"You've got mail "(《电子情书》)这部电影中曾出现过. 男主角去书店买东西, 店员就问男主角这句, Tom Hanks的回答是cash, 就是付现的意思.

3. We have a clearance sale today.
我们今天清仓大拍卖.
Clearance sale是固定的用法, 就是所谓的清仓大拍卖. 前两天, 去大陆商厦刚好碰上Clearance sale, 抢了不少好东西. 不过据说在美国Clearance sale, 价位是低得惊人, 有些甚至是免费的! 很诱人吧.

4. Can you give me the invoice﹖
能不能给我一张发票?
常听到有人在问发票的英文怎么讲, 就是invoice啦!购物索要发票是我们的正当权益.

5. Easter Egg 复活节彩蛋
从过节买东东的句子中跳出来, 看看象征着新生命的复活节彩蛋吧. 据说每年复活节的第二天, 美国总统都会邀请客人到白宫的草坪上, 让小朋友在草坪上玩复活节彩蛋的一些游戏.
现在复活节彩蛋也指程序中隐藏着的一段意外的内容, 通常是制作者设计的搞笑内容. 送大家一个复活节彩蛋:启动Word 2000后, 按下"Ctrl+Alt"键的同时, 再按下"+"和"-"键, 你将发现鼠标指针会改变形状. 如图: ╋、━. 如果你按下"Ctrl+Alt"键的同时, 再按下数字键盘上的"+", 鼠标将变成一个漂亮的菊花状. 是不是很有趣啊？

 

Ask the Chef !
（英文写作专栏）

  Chef's Profile:

This chef is not just any chef, not only does he know everything there is to know about cooking, but also he is an absolute guru in Engish writing. Therefore, if you ever feel hungry or stuck in your English writing, you should go ask the Chef!

Last week's assignment:
Write an email suggesting that your colleagues stop downloading from the Internet to help prevent virus infection.

Lily wrote:
Hi dear friends,
(1)Does everything go well recently? I hope so.
(2)As we all know the Internet is so convenient for us today. It seems that we can't be without it. It really helps in many aspects of our life, especially in terms of information. But as far as I know, downloading information will be quite dangerous in respect of virus infection. (3)As the IT of our company, I'm obliged to remind all of you, my dear colleagues: please be cautious of this kind of risk, and (4) if I may suggest, (4)you'd better stop downloading information via internet.
Could you please take my advice into account?
(5)Wish you happy!
Lily Zhou

Chef's comment:
(1)我们先把这句话译成汉语: "(亲爱的朋友们, )最近一切都好吧, 我希望是(这样的). " 不知道大家会怎么想, 但如果是我从公司的IT那里收到一封这句话为开头的信,我真的会感到很别扭的.
(2) 在公司内部的交流中, 由于大家的忙碌工作, 一封好的email应该是开门见山, 直接礼貌地说明你的用意会使同事之间的交流更加有效. 上小学的时候, 我的语文老师老是批评我的作文: "包子皮太厚, 一口咬不透! "现在我把这句话送给你.
(3) 这句话的开头写得不错, 非常"professional". 但是这句话越来越长, 弄得chef我老人家一口气差点没喘上来. 一般来说, 英文句子的独立性要比汉语的高一些, 所以在英文写作中用到的逗号要比汉语中的少很多. 当然, 也有特例, 如马克思的资本论什么的.
(4) 这两句话前一句过于礼貌, 后一句则太不礼貌.
(5) 我建议你在这儿还是用我们常用的Best regards, Best wishes, Warm regards 等等.

Chef's revision:
Dear Friends:
I am writing this email to kindly suggest that you all stop downloading information from the Internet to help protect our company's computers from virus infection.
With all the convenience the Internet has brought us, it also brings "inconveniences" like viruses, which are a threat to our network. As the IT of our company, I'm obliged to remind you all to stop downloading information. Please take my advice into account and thanks for your cooperation.
Best regards,
Lily Zhou

This week's assignment:
Write an email to your boss and politely ASK FOR A RAISE!

Please email you assignment to common-talk@fj172.com