A matter of respect
By Zhou Jing
Picture by Zhu Lijun



The Russian National Dancing Team was coming to Xiamen to put on a Swan Lake performance on October 20th, which happened to be my birthday. I had never watched a live Swan Lake show, so my American friends, Robbi and Tina, decided to take me to the show as my birthday present.
Even a week before the show, Robbi and Tina began to discuss what we should wear to watch the performance. I didn't take their discussion as such a big deal because I used to think that going to a live performance was not too much different from going to a movie. We spent money and we could just relax. I would not burden myself with worries over what to wear. I didn't realize how serious they were until they asked me what kind of formal dress I had. "Can't I just wear casual as usual?" I asked. "Nope. When we go to an opera or a ballet, we try to take it seriously and wear formal dress." I was puzzled. We were not going to be on stage, nor were we going to meet any acquaintances there. Who cares about our dress? "It's a matter of respect to the artists," my friends explained to me. I finally realized that our dress is not only a symbol of our status but also a demonstration of our attitude toward other people.

On the performance night I was amazed by some westerners who were in really decent dress. I would have been thrilled, if I was an artist, to see the respect shown by the audience through their dress. Yeah, it is a matter of respect.

 

 

押韵的词语
By Suky

本期Suky将为大家介绍一些念起来押韵而且在日常生活中常常会用到的一些词汇,希望各位会喜欢.

1. I just had a super-duper meal in the restaurant.
我刚刚在餐厅吃了一顿超级大餐.
Super-duper是一种加强语气的说法,程度上比 Super 还要再高一级.比方说我要跟老美说我的网页有多棒,就可以说Welcome to my super-duper website!

2. I can't believe you say this is a tiny-little mistake.
我不敢相信你居然说这是微不足道的错误.
与Super-duper 正好相反,当你要特别强调某件东西很小很小时,就可以用 tiny-little 来形容. 也可以用timi-tiny来形容很小很可爱的东西. 例如,Hey! Look at those tiny-little(timi-tiny) creatures.

3. Sticks and stones.
我不认为你的话会伤了我.
这是一句很长的英文句子的开头.原文是这样的, Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.(石头和棍子能够打断我的骨头,可是你的话一点也伤不到我.) 这跟中文的意思是不是正好相反? 在中文里我们认为一个人的话比真实的武器还会伤人, 但是在英文中却是只有棍子和石头才能伤得了我,你的话却不能.所以你跟别人说 sticks and stones 就是告诉别人,我对你的话是完全免疫的.

4. Okey-Dokey /'oki'doki/
好, 没问题.
okey-dokey 跟我们平常口语上常用的 OK 是一模一样的, 但不知为什么,有些人就喜欢说成 okey-dokey.另外有一点值得一提,有些人觉得 OK 还不够省略,他们就只说 K.有一次在网络上跟一个老美聊天,他一直跟我说 K,我觉得很奇怪, 后来我问别人才知道 K 就是 OK的意思.

5. She is willy-nilly.
她非常地犹豫不决.
Willy-nilly 就是 will or not 的另一种说法, 形容一个人一下子要 (will=willy) 一下子不要 (not=nilly).但是这种说法其实蛮少用的,未必每一个老美都会知道哩.

6. See you later, alligator.
再见.
有一首歌就叫 See you later, alligator. Alligator 是指产在美国东南部一种很像鳄鱼但嘴巴较短的动物,在这alligator 完全没有意思, 只是为了让整句话听起来较押韵而已.
In a while, crocodile. 再见了. 如果人家说 See you later, alligator, 那你要怎么接话? 答案就是 In a while, crocodile.Crocodile 在这里指的就是鳄鱼, 所以这两句话对仗和押韵兼而有之, 赶紧学起来吧.

 

 

Ask the Chef
By the 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:
You are just back from a business trip on market research. Please write a short email to your boss to report that your trip was a successful one.

Amy wrote:
Dear Sir(1),
Yesterday I just returned from the business trip on market research. I gladly inform you that the trip (2)is very successful. I traveled several big cities around the country and met our local agencies. (3)I was told that our products were welcome in the market and the sales (4)increased significantly since last year. I believe that the market of our products is huge and the prospect is quite cheerful. The detailed report on this trip will be given to you later this week.
Yours sincerely
Amy

Chef commented:
(1)这封信表达简练流畅,令chef我老人家的敬佩之情如滔滔江水.当然敬佩之余,也发现了几个小小的语法错误,除此之外,我认为句子之间的衔接可以变得更加紧密.
(2) 一个粗心的语法问题,was才是正确的时态.
(3)　既然是市场调查,就要尽量表明你付出了很多工作,仅仅一个"I was told"可能会让老板觉得你的工作不是非常的努力.
(4)这个副词用得非常漂亮,但是要注意时态,有了 "since last year" 就应该用完成式.

Chef revised:
Dear Sir,
I returned yesterday from a market-researching trip, which I believe was quite a successful one. During the trip, I traveled through several big cities to meet up with our local agencies as well as some of our major customers. Everything showed that it was true that our products were welcome in the local market and sales have increased significantly since last year. Information I have acquired from the trip made me strongly believe that the market for our products is huge and prosperous. A more detailed report on this trip will be handed to you later this week.
Yours sincerely
Amy

This week's assignment:
You have found that there is a serious problem in the process of an urgent project, and you are writing to everyone concerned to call a meeting for a solution to this problem.

编者按:
又一年的高考结束了.每逢高考,chef总会感慨万千,不知不觉地回忆起很久以前生命中最难忘的三天,特别是当看到英文书面表达题目时的恐慌……不管怎么说,祝同学们考试成功, 然后度过一个轻松的暑假!还有,在将您的作业发送到thecommonchef@yahoo.com的同时,别忘了附上您的中文名字,以便我向您送出电影票.

 

 

Classic English

Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a College Education. —Mark Twain

 

 

Crossword Puzzle



Across
2. The act of soaking or cleansing the body (pl.)
5. The condition or quality of being deep.
6. The same as stated above or before.
7. To say "yes".
8. Past tense of "eat".
10. Of or relating to a small area.
12. To make fun of.
13. A pronoun.

Down
1. To delay.
2. Something to sleep in.
3. Distinctively; representatively.
4. A very learned person.
6. A season when water is precious.
9. To be thrown off balance or fall back.
11. Brave, firm and resolute.
13. No one can see without it.

The following people have won free movie tickets:卓岚,谢燕莺,朱艺伟,蔡莉,陈霓曼,陈智鹏,陈强,陈雅娟,罗剑,张玲玲.Please go to the Jinying Cinema (世贸金鹰影院) within two weeks. 欲知上期答案,请登录 www.common-talk.com。

 

 

<世界的节日>
By 王鸽鹏



温馨四溢的"父亲节"到来之际,全球各地的孝子爱女纷纷为伟大的爸爸准备礼物.或许有人蓦然觉察:刚费尽心思送走了"母亲节",又要绞尽脑汁迎接 "父亲节",何时也让自己过一次"兄弟姐妹节"?其实这不是白日梦,因为在地球的另一个角落还真有这个节日!不仅如此,还有更多五彩缤纷、奇形怪状的节日,一起去感受一下吧!

3月3日是日本女孩展示布娃娃的"女孩节",5月5日是日本家家户户挂起鲤鱼风筝的"男孩节",8月是印度姐妹送给兄弟手镯的"兄弟姐妹节",就连欣欣向荣的春天、骄阳似火的夏日、硕果累累的秋天和寒风凛冽的深冬也各有独特的庆典,你能想象吗?最后,再带你参观五彩斑斓的"艺术节"和疯狂怪异的"狂欢节 ",想象自己身着绚丽的服装、头戴诡异的面具、和着劲爆的爵士乐在街头狂舞,够刺激吧!还不快去市新华书店找这本<世界的节日>过足瘾!