Why doesn't she like my present?
By Lily
Picture by Zhu Lijun

美国男孩爱上了中国女孩, 本以为可以谱出一曲缠绵的"跨国恋", 可惜的是, 对中国文化的无知, 导致送礼送出了重重误会. 在美国送菊花是很常见的事, 而在中国送给活人可是大忌讳, 更不用说送钟了. 可见, 学语言的同时别忘了其背后的深刻文化内涵.

James, an exchange student from the US, has been in China for half a year. He fell in love with a Chinese girl, Xiaojing.

James repeatedly and explicitly expressed his love for the girl, but the girl, with her own idea of how a girl should express her love, did not seem to give much response. Disheartened, James thought to himself: Well, maybe my verbal expression of love was not romantic enough and I should be materialistic and show my love for her by buying her presents. So, believing that no woman can resist the charm of flowers, he went to a nearby flower shop. Once inside, his attention was quickly drawn to a bunch of dainty chrysanthemums(菊花). He knew that the chrysanthemum is one of the flowers that are extremely popular with girls back home in the States. "I'll have a bunch of these," he decided at once. While getting the flowers ready, the shop girl looked at him in a curious way. Once, she was about to say something but then refrained herself from doing so. Though feeling a little puzzled, he did not pay much attention, as his mind was full of the happy smiles that would appear on Xiaojing's face when she saw the flowers.

With a singing heart, James hurried to Xiaojing's dormitory building. Seeing her walking down the aisle, he took out the daisies from behind his back and handed them to her in excitement. However, what he expected to happen did not happen. On the contrary, Xiaojing looked over the flowers hesitantly, looking a little confused and unhappy. James was at a loss: What have I done wrong? Maybe she does not like flowers, he thought. Then I should get her something practical, like... Suddenly, he remembered that Xiaojing had complained to him that she often overslept in the morning so that she could hardly get to the classroom in time. "Now I know," He said.

Thinking that Xiaojing must be happy with what she was in real need of, James hummed(哼歌) on his way to meet her. To his great surprise, it was even worse this time. When Xiaojing opened up the beautifully decorated pack and saw the nice little alarm clock in it, she became quite irritated, but out of politeness, she said "Thank you" coldly and walked away without saying goodbye.

More bewildered than the last time, James went to another Chinese friend. "Why doesn't she like my presents?" he asked. The answer was totally out of his expectation: in Chinese culture, chrysanthemums are often used when offering a sacrifice to the dead and the Chinese sentence "giving a clock as a gift" is an idiom which means "saying farewell to the dead"!

Having learnt a lesson from this, will James get the right present for the Chinese girl he loves next time?

 

 

Crossword Puzzle
本栏目内容由 www.1cm.com.cn 提供



Across
3. Not pretty.
5. Easy to burn.
7. Man's best friend.
11. Someone or something that is very good looking.

Down
1.Where there are loads of kangaroos.
2. Not narrow.
4. A measurement of length.
6. Someone that is being followed.
8. Reason why people are sick.
9. Not a friend.
10. Highly explosive.

The following people have won free movie tickets: 蔡小英, 薛诗瑶, 叶雅丽, 王毅, 张毅, 郑朝阳, 陈华, 邱泽民, 赵娟, 郜小凤. 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.

 

 

鸡同鸭讲

人们都说中华语言博大精深, 其中的奥妙常常搞得老外焦头烂额. 但是中国人要搞明白英文中的小细节, 也是颇费周章. 当一个个蝌蚪字母遭遇方块文字中的乾坤, 两种截然不同的语言和文化就在撞击中, 闪现许多让人忍俊不禁的"美丽错误". 如果你也碰到这种"cross cultural humor", 无论是搞笑还是新奇, 快快发邮件给我们, 让大家一起分享吧!

在加拿大的一所中学里, 有个长相很抱歉的老师, 却很喜欢装扮. 一次课间, 她又急匆匆地奔去化妆间补妆, 出来时正好遇见几个调皮的男生在走廊里. 他们异口同声地喊着"You are pretty...", 这个老师乐得合不拢嘴. 男孩子们突然跑开, 回过头来喊道"ugly", 她的表情可想而知了. (pretty用在形容词前有强调的作用啊. )

一个中国男孩留学美国, 隔天有个重要约会而不能做课题, 所以提前去找老师沟通. 来到教师办公室后, 他礼貌地问"May I do a case(课题)tonight?"金发碧眼的女教师看了看他, 有些羞涩地说:"It's up to you.(由你决定. )"这个男孩高兴地说了声"Thanks"就走了. 可后来, 这个女教师对他的态度来了180度的大转弯, 总是安排最难的课题给他. 原来由于发音不准, 他把"case"说成了"kiss", 随后拂袖而去, 难怪人家会生气. (元音【ei】和【i】一定要搞清楚啊. )
By Joanna

高一时有个同学中文名字叫"约翰". 英文老师每每举例造句时又特别偏爱"John"这个英文名字, 每回老师要造句前就说:"比如说约翰......", 还没往下说, 全班同学就笑成一团, 几次之后, 老师终于放弃了自己的偏好, 把"约翰"改成了"彼得"或是"布朗".

一次上口语课, 班上一个女生用英文讲了一个故事. 虽然她平时口齿清晰, 可那天她讲完, 全班就是没有一个人听懂她讲的是什么, 木木然一片. 老师复述了一遍, 我们这才发现, 原来该同学讲的是个笑话!
By 吴云华

 

 

Hot Word
Collected by Jianjiang

● bumper
The world's largest retailer Wal-Mart has reported rising profits and expects a bumper Christmas. It is optimistic it will see sales accelerate over the festive season.
圣诞渐行渐近, 商家们也早早盘算开了. 全球最大的零售商沃尔玛已经在美滋滋地预言节日消费旺季将带来大丰收.
bumper作名词是"缓冲器"的意思. 在这作形容词指"丰收的, 丰盛的".

● catering
Consumption in the catering sector was up by 18.5 percent and food recorded a 17.8 percent rise in retail sales.
月度形势报告显示, 10月我国社会消费品零售总额呈稳步增长. 其中又以餐饮业与食品零售的势头最为强劲.
catering, 公共饮食业. Mobile catering, 流动餐车. 据说"老友利"也将出现在流动早餐车上了呢.

● blockbuster
Chinese mainland's A-list director Chen Kaige's new blockbuster, The Promise, is reported to be aimed at next year's Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, and even the 2006 Oscars.
不管电影好不好, 炒作是正道. 陈凯歌的声势之猛丝毫不逊于老谋子. 据说《无极》即将进军戛纳影展和威尼斯电影节. 甚至有消息称, 它的真正目标在奥斯卡.
blockbuster, 轰动、一鸣惊人, 大片. The campaign was a blockbuster. 这场竞选非常轰动.

● evergreen
Hong Kong evergreen beauty Liu Jialing, alias Carina Lau gears up in the business arena by running an around the clock commerce TV Mart channel.
日前, 影坛常青树刘嘉玲宣布首次进军商界, 出任24小时电视购物频道TVMart的行政总裁一职.
evergreen, 永葆青春的. 刘嘉玲从事演艺事业二十年, 依然身材曼妙、风姿绰约, 用这个词来形容真是再合适不过了.

● heartthrob
Grant, who plays heartthrob Daniel Cleaver in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," was quoted by a magazine as saying film acting is a "miserable experience."
《BJ单身日记》北美票房一路高歌猛进. 但英俊男主角的扮演者休·格兰特却对记者透露了想告别演艺生涯的想法.
heartthrob, 使女孩倾心的英俊男子. "英伦情人"淡出影坛, 又有多少芳心要为之黯然呢?

 

 

Cartoon English
By Bo & Bob

 

 

Daily English
Collected by the Chef

衣食住行,学英语要从身边的小事开始.本栏目将带给您最实用的日常口语. 同时也非常欢迎读者来信来电"点题", 我们将尽力满足大家的要求. (联系电话:5581650;电邮地址:common-talk@fj172.com)

How to say sorry 如何道歉

●Sorry, it was all my fault. 对不起, 全是我的错.
●I was mistaken. Please forgive me. 我错了, 请原谅.
●I sincerely apologize. 我真诚地道歉.
● I did not mean that, sorry. 我不是故意的, 对不起.
●Apologies, man. 对不起.
●I was wrong. How can I make it up to you? 我错了, 我该怎么补偿你呢?
●My bad (informal). 我的错(非常不正式).

 

 

Tongue Twister
Colleted by 陈奕坚

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickle prepared by his parents and put them on a big paper plate.

大意:彼得·派博把父母腌制的泡菜取出很多, 放在一个大纸盘里. (请数数看, 这句话用了多少个以"p"打头的单词. )

 

 

十条帮助提高效益的准则
Collected by Suky

有人曾经问一位非常成功的传奇人物:"您认为您能够获得如此巨大成功的最重要原因是什么?"他回答道:"因为我有非常多的经验. " 那人又问: "那你是怎样获得这么多的宝贵经验呢? " 答: "通过非常多次的失败. "
If you have not succeeded, it's because you have not failed enough times.
如果你没有成功, 那是因为你还没有经历足够多次的失败.

1. Create a plan for each day - use the plan to organize your day, but don't be married to the plan - remain flexible.
每天做一个计划--用这个计划来安排你的日子, 但不要过于死板, 要保持灵活性.
我们经常定下很多宏伟的长期计划, 可是总是忘记去实施. 那么为什么不制定一个短期的有效计划呢?

2. Keep a list of your priorities in view. Measure your to-dos and planned actions against them.
为考虑之中的事情按主次列一个表, 衡量它们的重要性并且有计划地对待. 每天从最重要的事情做起, 这条准则曾经挽救了一家濒临倒闭的美国企业.

3. Start each day with 30-60 minutes of reading - business, educational or inspirational.
每天早上阅读30-60分钟--内容可以是商业的, 有教育意义或能给人灵感的.

4. Refine and clarify your vision. Where are your actions taking your organization?
精练地阐明你的见解. 行为的最终目的是什么?

5. Whatever you are currently complaining about - stop it.
放弃所有的抱怨.
"今天作业太多了", "老板怎么把所有的工作都压在我身上"......当你抱怨的时候, 本来不多的时间正悄悄地溜走.

6. Work on one item at a time.
在一个时间内集中精力做一件事情.

7. Put your goals (all of them) into writing.
把你所有的目标写下来.

8. Do your next day's planning at the end of the day.
今晚就要做好明天的计划.

9. Figure out what you are very good at doing - delegate or outsource the rest.
确定你最善于做什么--将其他事交给别人做.

10. Ask yourself, ″Is what I am doing the highest value contribution I can make now?″ If not, don't do it.
问你自己:"我正在做的事情是我现在能获得的最大利益回报吗?", 如果不是这样, 你就不要去做.

 

 

Guessing Game
Collected by Daw

习惯了中文的脑筋急转弯游戏, 不妨玩玩英语的, 感觉又会如何呢?答案及分析请关注下期报纸. 参与者将有机会获得联合国儿童基金会精美明信片一张.

提示:本期的英语脑筋急转弯, 很多都是利用英语单词的双关意思.
1. How do we know the ocean is friendly?
2. Which can move faster, heat or cold?
3. Why is the library the highest building?
4. Why is an empty purse always the same?

上期答案
1. What month do soldiers hate?
March (三月, 行军)
2. How many feet are there in a yard?
It depends on how many people stand in the yard. (feet既表示度量单位"码", 又指脚)
3. What kind of dog doesn't bite or bark?
Hot dog. (热狗)
4. What is the smallest room in the world?
Mushroom. (蘑菇)
5. What kind of water should people drink in order to be healthy?
Drink well water. (well可指井, 又表示健康的)