Black or white?
By Wen Lei
Picture by Zhu Lijun



Ten years ago Mrs. Vine got married to Mr. Vine, a foreign expert working in China. Last month her husband went back alone for a short visit to Britain, his home country. Unfortunately, he died in a terrible car accident. Heartbroken about the grievous news, Mrs. Vine flew to London to attend the funeral.

The day before the funeral, Mrs. Vine found herself in a dilemma. Her husband's brother, Richard, took to her room a suit of British mourning apparel, which was as black as pitch. Surprised to hear that she was supposed to wear it at the funeral, she showed Richard the Chinese mourning apparel she had brought from China and insisted that she would wear it in accordance with the Chinese custom. This time it was Richard who was in for a shock. He told her that it was inappropriate for her to be dressed the Chinese way at a British funeral since it would be regarded as disrespectable for the dead.

The two suits in striking contrast lay quietly on the bed, and Mrs. Vine, a firm believer in traditional Chinese customs, was left greatly perplexed(困惑), unable to make a decision. Why should there be such a big cultural difference and what should she do? After a tough mental struggle, she decided to follow the British custom. "I will do as the Romans do," she told herself. "But when I am back home, I will arrange a traditional Chinese funeral where every mourner will be in white."

Globalization seems to be narrowing down or even leveling off many discrepancies(差异) between different cultures, but will all such discrepancies disappear? I have my doubts.

 

 

万丈高楼平地起
By Suky

创业似乎是一种时尚, 创业也许是一种心态, 创业更多的是对自己的负责. 当大学生创业计划大赛在厦门大学轰轰烈烈地开展之时, 还未起航的你是否也跃跃欲试了呢? 不管怎么样, 今天我们先一起来说说创业.

1.That's the best bet
最佳选择
bet:本意是赌博, 但是这里应该理解为可能性, 一种可能的计划或选择.
Here is an example: The best bet for me is to find employees needed for the e-era. 对我来说最好的选择是找到适合e时代需要的员工.

2. You are wet behind the ears.
乳臭未干!
我们常用这个句子来表达某人初出茅庐(a green hand), 缺乏经验(inexperienced)!所以当你发现某人太年轻, 不适合做某事的时候, 就可以用这个句子!但是就像广告语说的: 年轻, 没有什么不可能!所以我要说的是, 创业中的你可不要被You are wet behind the ears.这句话给吓坏了哦!

3. Now we have to tighten our belts.
从现在起我们必须要勒紧腰带度日了.
Tighten one's belt意思就是缩减开支, 勒紧腰带度日, 与汉语有异曲同工之处. 创业之初, 除非你是家财万贯, 不在乎小钱, 否则真是要tighten your belts啊.

4. You should pull up your socks and make an effort to improve your behavior or your work.
你应该打起精神, 不要沉沦下去, 凡事看看有利的一面.
pull up one's socks 本意是把袜子拉起来, 引申为多加把劲, 努力改进, 奋发图强的意思. Rose has broken up with Jim. But Jim doesn't abandon hope. He pulls up his socks and works hard at his job. (Rose 和Jim分手了, 但Jim 并没有放弃, 他奋发图强, 努力工作. )tighten one's belt, pull up one's socks不正是一个整装待发的形象?

5. Everything must have a beginning.
万丈高楼平地起.
记住我们的题目哦, Everything must have a beginning.碰到事情不要轻言放弃, 相信自己是最强的.

 

 

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!

Chef wrote:
Ask the chef这个栏目开办以来, 得到了Common Talk读者的大力支持. 同学们的来信越来越多, 水平越来越高, 我备感欣慰. 于是, 也就更加努力地工作, 和大家一起提高.

今天我们一起温故而知新, 在这里我除了把同学们作业中比较常见的错误指出来外, 还特意附上一封来信(措词和语法上我稍微改动了一些), 以便更客观地分析我的工作, 从而取得更大的进步, 让大家更喜欢我.

First of all, those petty grammatical mistakes are still very common. As I mentioned in one of the remarks before, every detail counts in your email. Once a great man said: Success is for those who are a little bit more careful than others.

Secondly, repetition of the same meaning. I remember in middle school, my teacher used to tell me: the whole night's croak is not worth a crow in the morning. Repeating the same meaning will simply make people bored in this type of fast-paced work, whereas being "succinct(简明)" is what you should aim for.

Last but not least, connections between sentences are very important in a short and efficient office email. A smooth email with good reasoning will speak out loud, hence making it an effective one. The best way to improve this is to read your own emails as if you are someone else; if there is something you don't feel absolutely comfortable about, that is where you need to improve.

And what if you still don't feel absolutely comfortable about your writing after rewriting your mails again and again? That's right-you go and Ask the Chef!

Lily wrote:
What a chef!
Since the new column "Ask the Chef" appeared, my written English has improved considerably. Because all of the assignments are very practical in the office, now we know how to write letters to our bosses, colleagues and employees. When we want something reasonable, such as more time for the project, or a vacation after busy days, we should ask for them in a polite and frank way. And after we do something successfully with others' help, we should thank them sincerely. In addition, our chef also taught us how to deal with our staff's requirements in case we become bosses someday. (I hope so!)
It's good to review the old assignments, so that we can keep them in our mind. And if I may suggest, how about using some family letters or even love letters?
One thing I must say, thank you chef. Your work is really helpful for us English learners.
Many thanks to Common Talk too!

编者按:
恭喜王志军, 蔡利, 陈事功获得都市风健身中心提供的复活瑜伽、腰腹操、杠铃操等价值50元的体验券一张. 希望广大读者踊跃参与、继续关注Ask the Chef.

 

 

Crossword Puzzle



Across:
3. Not old.
6. A prep.
9. Return or repay.
10. Boat.
11. Kids' friend
12. Solid form of water.

Down:
1. Although, though.
2. Chinese Martial Art.
4. Dull and boring.
5. Name of a country.
6. Suspended.
7. To ease, to make peaceful.
8. People who practice arts, such as "the Chef".
13. A list, displayed on a monitor, of options available to a computer user.

 

 

哲人智语



流芳千古的画家凡·高喜欢荷兰的乡土气息;曾名噪一时的英国作家夏洛蒂·勃郎特年轻时是个安静、爱深思的少女;浪漫而又粗犷的密西西比河赐给马克·吐温诸多灵感和感动;著名舞蹈家邓肯在离开学校以后才真正成为一个爱读书的人;美国18世纪名列华盛顿之后的名人富兰克林认为自己有雄心当作家;萧伯纳孩提时代居然害羞到令人难以置信的地步...

这些名人背后, 有着令人诧异的故事, 此书悉数将他们的圣言哲语袒露给大家, 让我们了解到名人不为人知的另一面. 它以生动的趣事和流畅的语言浓缩了无限闪光的真理--生命是最宝贵的, 现实与幻想有很大差异, 要时刻保持对大自然的热爱. 知识性、思想性、哲理性, 这就是它最让人心潮澎湃的魅力, 想过瘾的请到市内新华书店来.