Why the girls keep away from me?
By Lele
Picture by Zhu Lijun

含蓄--中国人的特质. 古老的文化底蕴, 赋予中国人内敛的思维方式. 我们习惯娓娓地道出自己的想法, 委婉地表达内心的情感, 努力地压抑真实的感受. 含蓄似乎是稳重, 内敛和矜持的一种象征. 直率--西方人的性格. 坦率地表达自己内心深处的所想所感, 往往被认为轻率和放纵. 含蓄也好, 直率也罢, 真实地生活才是最动人的.

An Australian guy found a job teaching English at a middle school in Shanghai. He wanted to show his friendliness to the Chinese. So when he had his first lesson, he told his students that he loved China and also Chinese girls. His lessons were humorous, interesting and fantastic. All the students liked him very much and enjoyed his lessons, which made the Australian feel happy.

But there was one thing that puzzled him for a long time. All the female teachers in the office would not talk to him, even the girls in his class seemed afraid to talk to him. So he had no opportunity to practice his oral Chinese.

One day, after class, a girl was cleaning the classroom. He walked up to her and said politely, "You are beautiful. Your eyes are really beautiful." The girl did not appreciate his kind remarks but instead ran away with the answer of "No!" He stood there with so many question marks burning in his mind.

He asked his Chinese friend, "Does my appearance make Chinese girls appalled? "
His friend said: "Why do you say that? You are a cute and smart guy. "

"Why do the Chinese girls stay away from me and do not like to talk to me?" He said sadly.

His friend thought for a while and said, "Did you say something that caused some misunderstanding?"

The guy said, "Actually no. I love China and Chinese girls and I treat them as friends. "

His friend asked, "Did you tell them you like Chinese girls?"

"Yeah, I did. It is really what I feel in my heart. Is that a problem?" His voice rose a little.

His friend said, "It is not a problem, but a different cultural background exists between Australia and China. Chinese people are reserved in ideas and feelings. We will never express our feelings in a direct way. If you directly show your love to Chinese girls they will misunderstand your true intentions."

The Australian seemed disappointed, " It seems that I do not understand Chinese culture very well. I still have a long way to go. "

 

 

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



Across
1. Give up.
4. Stained, not clear, also an English rock band.
6. All of a sudden.
9. Change.
10. Short for gymnastics.

Down
1. Beside a table.
2. The night before.
4. Where do students learn?
6. To cause danger.
7. A number.
8. To promise to marry.
10. To put food in your body.

The following people have won free movie tickets:蒋莹,韩雪华,肖杨,苏志杭,祝捷,李彩霞,俞艳婷,黄学梅,刘玉蓉,王安珍. 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

一列观光火车载着日本旅行团行驶在英国某山地景区. 正当列车即将进入一条隧道之时, 一位初学英语的日本游客突然把头伸出窗外. 坐在他身边的导游被他这一危险举动吓了一跳, 急忙将他拽回, 并善意地警告他别把头和手伸出去. 那日本人说:"刚才我明明看见铁路边一块巨大的广告牌上写着‘Look out!'"
导游哭笑不得, 急忙和他解释, "Look out!"在此处作"注意"解释, 而不是叫他往外看.

By Happy Hong

有一名男子走在大街上, 一不留神撞到一个老外. 那名男子十分不好意思, 连忙道歉:"I'm sorry! "老外也觉得挺不好意思的, 说:"I'm sorry, too! "那名男子不懂英语, 以为老外说两个对不起(因为too与two的发音相同), 心里既高兴又纳闷:咦, 我说一个对不起, 老外竟跟我说两个对不起. 于是, 那个男子就说:"I'm sorry, three! "老外听了, 心里搞不明白, 便问:"Do you have‘sorry four'? "那名男子听到了"sorry four", 兴奋地答道:"有, 有, 有! I'm sorry, five! "

By Hong Ying

在一次派对上, 一个中国男孩看见一个很漂亮的金发MM, 他走过去赞美道:"You look white.(你长得很白. )"他想, 每个女孩子听到这样的称赞都会很高兴的. 谁知那个女孩疑惑地看着他, "Pardon? What did you say?"男孩又重复了一下, 心想肯定是还想让我再夸夸她. 这时旁人对这个女孩说:"He says you look fair."女孩听后, 开心地笑了. " you look fair"才是赞美女孩的地道表达. (有些话是不能按照中文直接翻译的, 不然会出糗的. )

By Joanna

 

 

Hot Word
Collected by Jianjiang

● deposit
The United States may open to Chinese group tours next year, but travelers will have to put down a substantial deposit before booking a trip to America.
中美《旅游合作谅解备忘录》的签署, 意味着美国即将成为中国公民自费旅游的"乐土". 但是将来赴美旅游者必须缴纳几万元的保证金方可成行.
deposit, 保证金, 押金. 买房就要先付押金, put a deposit on a house.

● undernourished
After falling for several years, the number of undernourished people in developing countries has begun to climb again.
2000年至2002年, 全球处在饥饿和营养不良之中的人口增长了1000万, 共有8.52亿. 在下降几年后, 发展中国家的饥饿人数又有上升趋势.
undernourished, 营养不良的. nourish是动词表示"滋养", nourishing就是形容词啦.



● mouthwatering
There is a mouthwatering choice of special festive deals from hotels, restaurants and shopping malls crammed to the roof with gift ideas for jolly Christmas.
圣诞节已逐渐成为商家年末掘金的阵地. 商场, 酒店, 旅行社, 酒吧等都在借节造势, 全面激活一片令人垂涎的繁荣市场.
mouthwatering, 令人垂涎的. 真是很形象的一个词, 是不是勾起您面对美食口水直流的回忆?

● longshot
The 1.4 million Republican volunteers, even those in the most remote campaign offices in the most longshot states, have all received a card by way of a thank-you.
布什真是大手笔, 一下发出200万张圣诞卡. 即使是那些曾在获胜可能性最小的州, 最偏远地区工作的人们, 也都收到了一张写着"感谢你"字样的卡片.
longshot, 成功率很小的冒险. 射程长, 当然命中机会小啦.

● beat off
Shevchenko, with 175 votes, beat off competition from two Barcelona players, Deco and Ronaldinho, with 139 and 133 votes respectively.
2004年度的"欧洲足球先生"花落AC米兰, 舍甫琴科凭借绝对优势, 将德科和罗纳尔迪尼奥斩落马下, 站到了欧洲之巅.
beat off, 打败. 去年眼睁睁看着马尔蒂尼抱憾而归的米兰球迷, 终于可以痛快一把了.



● leg
The speech at Renmin University is the last leg of Chow's university tour promoting his latest blockbuster "Kung Fu Hustle".
周星驰在中国人民大学的讲座依然是挤了个水泄不通, 这次人大之行也是他轰轰烈烈的内地高校巡回演讲活动最后一站.
leg, 旅程中的一段. 不起眼的小单词也有大玄妙啊. 航程中的最后一段, the last leg of the flight.

 

 

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)

Appreciation 赞美之词

● All respect! 佩服之至!
● You look great today. 你今天看起来真不错.
● Excellent job! 做得非常好.
● Simply brilliant! 太精彩了!
● That's amazing. 这太神奇了.
● You are incredible. 你简直不可思议.
● You are a heck of a man doing a heck of a job. 你是个了不起的人, 做着一件了不起的工作.

 

 

Tongue Twister
Translated by Cathy

Fried fresh fish,
Fish fried fresh,
Fresh fried fish,
Fresh fish fried, and
Fish fresh fried.

大意:炸新鲜的鱼, 鱼刚刚被炸, 新鲜的炸鱼, 新鲜的鱼被炸, 鱼新鲜地被炸. (虽然中文毫无意义, 但这段英文绕口令绝对是锻炼英语发音的超级法宝. )

 

 

英美国家的"厕所"文化
Collected by Suky

一个外宾想上洗手间, 便委婉地对翻译说:"I wonder if I can go somewhere?"(我可以方便一下吗?)而翻译却把somewhere误解为"某处", 因而回答"Yes, you can go anywhere in China."(行, 中国你哪儿都可以去. )外宾不禁愕然. 可见, 如不了解英语中"厕所"的一些表达法是会闹笑话的.

1. Public Lavatory意为"公厕".
在公共场所, 厕所门上都标有Gent's(男厕), 或Ladies'(女厕), 有时也标有Men's, Men's room, Gentleman's, Women's, Women's room. 如:Where is the Gent's?(厕所在哪儿?)又如:If you would like a wash, the Gentleman's is just over there.(如果要上厕所, 男厕就在那边. )

2.Toilet是最常用的一个词. 可指"公厕", 也可指"私厕".
例如:I wonder where the toilet is.(我想知道厕所在哪儿. )

3. Lavatory是个客气的词, 但不如toilet常用. bathroom是书面语.

4. Excuse me, would you like to tell me where the loo is?(请问, 厕所在哪儿?)
loo是口语, 在英国用得很普遍, 主要指私人住宅中的厕所.

5. Powder room是美语, 女士常用.
如:I would like to powder my nose.表现了美国人的幽默.

6. Wash Room, Washing Room, Restroom常用于美国英语.

7. W.C.是water closet的缩写, 常用于英国英语, 表示"有抽水没有设备的厕所".
该词也可用手势表示, 即拇指和食指圈成半圆, 其他三指向上, 模仿成英文W和C的形态. 不过在美国这个词已经渐渐不用了, 问路人也多半不知, 倒是在中国大家都懂, 也是蛮奇怪的.

8. Last night I went to visit John twice.(昨晚我去了两趟厕所. )
还有go and see one's aunt也是俚语, 常用于英国英语, 表示"上厕所". 还有answer nature's call( 回应大自然的呼唤), 也是很有意思的表达.

 

 

Guessing Game
Collected by Lily Yang

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.

What do you throw out when you want to use it, but take in when you don't want to use it?
You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What is it?
Every day, a cyclist crosses the border between France and Germany carrying a bag. No matter how much customs officials investigate him, they do not know what he is smuggling. Do you know?

上期答案

1. What letter in the alphabet can travel the greatest distance?
The letter "d", because it goes to the end of the world.

2. Which bus crossed the ocean?
Columbus

3. What starts with "P", ends with "E", and has millions of letters?
The "Post Office"