Topic related to eating
By Zhang Yan
Picture by Zhu Lijun



Simon, who comes from Denmark, has been in China for half a year. He once stayed in Beijing before coming to Xiamen. What surprised him is that the topic of conversation in both cities is often related to eating and drinking, such as "Have you eaten yet?","What did you have for dinner?" and so on. One question, "Why do people always talk about food?" has been on Simon's mind.

"In the European point of view," he told me "the matter of daily eating and drinking is a private matter which isn't related to others and isn't important enough to mention everyday."

Simon's words remind me of an old Chinese saying, that is "民以食为天(min yi shi wei tian)". I think it is necessary to explain the Chinese idiom to Simon. "Simon, this old saying means 'food is the necessity of subsistence'. Maybe you don't know but the culture of eating and drinking has a long history and abundant content. Chinese people often naturally regard chatting about food and drink as a greeting. Actually, there are two meanings, one is only a common greeting, similar to the words 'How are you?' or 'It's a nice day, isn't it?' And the other is that the speaker is really concerned about your health, he or she hopes you have a good meal so that you will stay in good health. These two meanings reflect the differences between Chinese and western culture."

Moreover, the word "吃(chi)" means "to eat". This Chinese word has many other interesting meanings besides "to have a meal", such as "吃醋" which actually means "jealous", and"吃惊" which means "frightented". All these words sound like "to have a meal" or at least seem to be related to eating, but they don't have this meaning at all.

"Aha, no wonder they say that in China many things can be eaten!" Of course, clever Simon made a pun.

 

 

来自校园的酷酷英语
By Suky

1. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna miss this curfew.
怎么办!我会赶不上关门(时间).
美国口语常用 I'm gonna (=going to)及 I wanna (=want to) 的省略形;听起来虽有亲切感,但应避免在正式的场合中使用. curfew 是指"关门"之意."我赶不上(宿舍等的)关门时间"是I'm not gonna make (it for) the curfew.

2. I just bought a brand new bike.
我买了一辆新车.
Brand new 感觉上比 new 还要来的更新一点.凡是全新, 刚出厂的东西叫 brand new, 可能是说连商标(brand) 都还在上面的意思吧! 不过厦大的"brand new bike" 比恐龙还少见,大家更愿意自己的车灰头土脸不要让小偷看中的好.

3. No. A ratty-haired bookworm, in this day and age?
噢!现在都什么时代了,还有这种满头邋遢头发的书呆子?
ratty-haired 是"邋遢的头发"之意. bookworm 如字面所示,是"书虫(书呆子)"的意思."用功念书的古怪家伙"在美国俚语中是 nerd, 而英国俚语指猛K(啃)书的人则说 swot.

4. I feel relief when I see the questions.
看到题目才放心.
What a relief! 是多么令人感到欣慰或放心的意思.

5. I rack my brain trying to remember the answer.
绞尽脑汁想答案.
rack one's brain 是"绞尽脑汁",也顺便记下 on the rack, 意思是"非常痛苦".

6. He is really a tough guy he takes no prisoners.
他很严格, 绝不手下留情.
这是我听老美形容他们教授的, 就是说教授很严格,而且绝不留活口(就像厦大的"四大名捕", 当人无数) 所谓takes no prisoner指的是战争时不收战俘, 抓到全部杀死的意思, 也就是说够狠.
老美常用 tough 来形容一件事情的困难或是一个人的强硬态度, 例如, "Today is a tough day for me." 就是说今天过得很不容易啦.要是说 "The professor is tough."则是说这个教授教课很严格, 很不好混.要是别人遇到这种 tough 的教授, 你就可以鼓励他, "Tough it out!" (撑过去). 同样地, 这句话也可说成 "The professor goes for the kill. (这个教授绝不手下留情.)"

7. It's a cake course.
这是一门大补丸的课.
我们说一门课很好修, 就用 cake course, 或是只说 It's a cake, 别人也会明白的.

 

 

Ask the Chef!
By Chef

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:
One of your colleagues has been promoted and please write him an email (less than 100 words) to congratulate him/her.

Lily wrote:
Dear Annie,
I'd like to send you an e-mail to (1) celebrate you for your promoting
(2) And I can share your happiness, right? I really envy you for your talent and your hard work, (3) you deserve to be promoted. Obviously our boss also thinks so. He is very right that he said, ″Annie's spirit should be appreciated″.
I think there are (4) still many good characters I can learn from you. And thank you for your help with my work. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. Let's make progress together.
Wish you all the best
Lily

Chef commented:
(1)这句话中有两个错误,celebrate是庆祝的意思,我们只能庆祝某件事情,不能庆祝某个人, 在这儿应该用congratulate (祝贺). 另外,应该是 "congratulate you for your promotion", 而不是promoting.
(2)这句话有点中式英语的味道,可以说成:"As a colleague and friend, it feels great to share your happiness."
(3)可能是因为我过于敏感,可这几句话听起来好像你不认为你的这个同事应该升职.
(4) 如果你把这句话翻译成汉语:(不管怎么说)我还是觉得你有很多优点值得我学习.感觉不大对头吧.是still这个词把你想表达的意思给完全地改变了.

Chef revised:
Dear Annie,
Congratulations on your promotion! As a friend and colleague, I feel so happy for you and it's great to see that your talent and hard work has been appreciated and rewarded by the company.
It has been great working with you and has definitely been an unforgettable experience. I sincerely thank you for all of your help and let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future. I hope we can continue our pleasant cooperation at work.
Wish you all the best!Lily

This week's assignment:
One of your colleagues has quit his/her job. Please write him/her a farewell email to wish him/her all the best in the future.

编者按:
请将你的作业发送到thecommonchef@yahoo.com.另外,为了感谢广大读者的参与,the Chef将慷慨地向参加本栏目投稿并被采用的同学们送出电影票.

 

 

Classic English
经典英语

The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of books-a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. -Albert Einstein In Nature

 

 

<心灵鸡汤·女人心语>
王鸽鹏



昨天,当<心灵鸡汤>风靡全世界的时候,我们还懵懵懂懂,因为眼中闪耀的只是它的知名度,至于心中的体味,依稀尚未沸腾.今天,当整套英文版原汁原味的<心灵鸡汤>兀自沉淀在眼底时,对灵魂和生命的渴望骤然攀升.原来,我们都是那么憧憬内心深处的那缕烛火呵!

这里只有质朴的语言,流露的却是人间的真情;这里只有纯真的情感,述说的却是五彩人生;这只是个角落,却能把真情的火炬点燃;这里只有一缕清香,却能在世间悠悠流转.来吧,在心灵与心灵的碰撞中,让瞬间凝固成永恒.

谨以此书奉献给全世界29亿位有感知的女性,但愿这101个故事能触动你们的心灵,鼓舞你们的灵魂.市内新华书店不见不散.